ialottery blog

Who Won In The ‘Rock The Stadium’ Drawing?

Check out video of the fun we had Saturday in Ames at our “Rock The Stadium For Veterans” drawing. And congrats to grand prize winner Joseph “Howard” Cox of Grimes, who won two seasons tickets for 2010 Iowa State football and $1,000 spending cash for while he’s at the games!

A New Take On An Old Argument

You’ve probably heard the old argument about whether the lottery is a tax. Then there’s the one about whether the lottery is a quote-unquote good investment.

Both topics make me crazy, which I can delve into at another time. The first because it isn’t true and the second because it just doesn’t apply!

A national Web site that focuses on business issues just published a really interesting new take on the topic. Click here to see what Joe Weisenthal had to say about it at The Business Insider.     

Twitter-Facebook Contest Winners Today

We had some tough competition in our Twitter/Facebook contest today to determine the big winners. As always, we had a ton of fun putting on the contest. Thanks to everyone who entered, and thanks for including us in your social media universe!

This time around, we gave away tickets in our “Midwest Millions” instant-scratch game. That’s the scratch game being played in both Kansas and Iowa that features two drawings with top prizes of $500,000 each.   

There were three winners in our contest today, and each won three Midwest Millions tickets ($30 total value). Congrats to our winners, all of whom are Facebook fans of the Iowa Lottery:

• Blake VerPloeg
• Tammy Heckethorn
• Heidi Gojkovich

You'll need to contact Kim Vore at the lottery at 515.725.7890 by the close of business next Tuesday (by 4:30 p.m. Sept. 29) so she can take down your information and send out your free tix!

Is There A Limit On Group Play?

A lottery player recently asked a question that presents a new twist on an issue that often comes our way. The questioner wanted to know if there’s a limit on the number of people who can pool their money to purchase tickets together in a game like Powerball.

We’ve blogged here before about the issue of group play, but we don’t think the question has ever been posed just the way it has now.

The short answer is that there is no limit. So if you and five of your closest friends or 1,000 of your closest friends want to buy tickets together, you certainly can! You’ll just need to do the math to figure out each person’s share when a prize is won. And, each member of the group also must sign an IRS Form 5754 so all of the winners are listed for tax-reporting purposes.

Whatever the size of the group, here are some other general reminders:

• Keep a list of everyone who gives money to buy group tickets and how much they contribute.
• If you’re buying tickets for a group and also plan to buy tickets for yourself, you may want to buy them separately so there’s no confusion about which tickets are which.
• You also may want to make photocopies of the tickets for your group and give out copies before the drawing so everyone can see the numbers that were played.

Join Us For Our Next Twitter/Facebook Contest!

It’s time for our next Twitter/Facebook contest!

We’ve had a great time with these in the past, and we’re giving away tickets in our newest game this time!

The contest is set for 11 a.m. Tuesday (Sept. 22). As you’ve seen, the popular Midwest Millions scratch game is back for a third year. To celebrate the game’s return, we’ll be giving away the three new scenes of the $10 tickets ($30 value total) to three winners!

Just follow us on Twitter or join our fan page on Facebook, give the correct answer to an EASY question during the contest, and you'll be entered for a chance to win one of the sets of tickets. It all kicks off at 11 a.m. Tuesday and the contest will only last for 15 minutes! (Hint about the question we‘ll ask: It’s on the map.)

At 11 a.m. Tuesday, we'll pose our question on Twitter and Facebook. If you don't know the answer off the top of your head, you'll be able to find it on our Web site!

Reply with the right answer within the 15 minutes and you’ll be entered into our contest for a chance to win one of the three sets of tickets! Reply to @ialottery on Twitter or write your answer on the lottery’s wall on our Facebook fan page. (Don't direct message us on Twitter, as direct messages aren't eligible for entry.)
 
We'll assign a number to your name based upon the order in which the correct answers are received. The numbers will be assigned to lottery staff, who will participate in a grueling match of Musical Chairs to determine who gets the glory!

We'll videotape the contest results, then post the video on our Web site, YouTube and Facebook. We'll also provide a link to the video from Twitter and we'll post an announcement with the winners' names on Twitter and Facebook. If you win, you'll need to contact us by 4:30 p.m. on Tuesday, Sept. 29, with your name and mailing address so we can send out your tix!

A few requirements:
• You must be at least 21 years old to enter, and you must live in Iowa.
• No purchase necessary to enter or to win!

Midwest Millions Is Back!

Midwest Millions is back for another year, giving you the chance to win instant prizes of up to $50,000! The game also will have two second-chance drawings that each will offer a top prize of $500,000.   

Yesterday’s Date Caused Lottery Sell-Outs

You’ve probably heard the reports about long lines for marriage licenses leading up to yesterday’s special date, but the phenomenon also spilled over into lottery games.

Two combinations of numbers sold out for last night’s Pick 3 and Pick 4 drawings. In Pick 3, players bought out the combination 9-9-9. And in Pick 4, players bought out the combination 9-9-0-9.

Every so often, a particular number combination sells out, and unusual dates generally are big sellers. Yesterday’s date worked out to 9-9-09, and we’ve seen similar patterns with dates in the past. For example, on July 7, 2007, several combinations sold out in Pick 3 and Pick 4, including 7-7-7, 7-7-7-7 and 7-7-0-7.

The Iowa Lottery cuts off sales when the state’s liability on a payout reaches $225,000 in Pick 3 and $600,000 in Pick 4.

Offices around the world that issue marriage licenses saw huge demand from couples to be married on Sept. 9, 2009. Lottery players in Iowa also must have considered yesterday’s date lucky. It certainly makes for a fun topic of discussion to see if those lucky numbers will come up!

Last night’s results? One 9 came up in Pick 3 and Pick 4.

Wednesday’s evening Pick 3 results were: 9-7-0. Wednesday’s evening Pick 4 results were: 1-1-1-5.

So I've Won… Now What?

When players win lottery prizes of $10, $20, or even $100, the process of claiming the prize is fairly simple. Just sign your ticket, present it at your local retailer, and collect the cash! But what do you do when you've won a prize that’s too big for the retailer to cash for you?

It's an official lottery rule that retailers cannot cash prizes of more than $600. For security reasons, you need to claim prizes of that level at an Iowa Lottery office. Just follow these few steps:

1. Sign your ticket! This ensures that only you can collect that prize. And always be sure to keep the ticket in a safe place if you cannot come in to claim it right away. Your ticket is your only claim to the prize.

2. Visit an Iowa Lottery regional office or Iowa Lottery headquarters. Lottery regional offices are located in Cedar Rapids, Mason City, Storm Lake, and Council Bluffs. The lottery's headquarters is in Des Moines. Click here to see contact information for each office.

3. You'll need to fill out a claim form, and someone from the lottery will go over your payment options and discuss the taxes that have been withheld. If you need to mail your ticket to the lottery to claim your prize, claim forms can be found on our Web site here.

4. Enjoy!

Other things to consider:

If you win a prize of more than $250,000, it can only be claimed at Iowa Lottery headquarters. Also, if you've won a life-changing amount of money, be sure to contact a trusted financial advisor or attorney for professional tax/financial advice.

Jackpot winners in Powerball® and Hot Lotto® are required to choose one of two payment options. This is another thing to discuss with your financial planner. No matter which option you choose, the Lottery is required by law to withhold 25 percent federal and 5 percent state taxes on your prize payment for all U.S. residents. There may be other tax implications depending on your other income, etc.

If you are a jackpot winner, you’ll have some time to sit back and relax. Because there are 32 lotteries participating in Powerball and 14 lotteries participating in Hot Lotto, it takes approximately 14 working days from the date of the drawing in which you won your big prize to collect the money.

Iowa state law requires the Iowa Lottery to release winners' claim forms, including their name, address and telephone number, upon request. Not only is this information public by law, but publishing it is necessary to ensure the integrity of the Lottery’s games.

We always encourage our big jackpot winners to hold news conferences at the Iowa Lottery. That way our public relations professionals can help winners handle media attention at Iowa Lottery headquarters and try to alleviate reporters from interrupting them at home.

We are here to work with you and make the winning experience as fun and easy as possible!

For more information about claiming prizes, visit our Web site, www.ialottery.com.

Two Big Winners In Our Latest Promotions!

What an exciting time here at the Lottery. We’ve kept so busy lately with the Iowa State Fair and also with our promotions. Well, the fair is over and two of our promotions have ended as well. The winners have all been verified and here they are.

First up, we had our “Win Big or Go Home!” second-chance drawing. Players entered three nonwinning Win Big or Go Home! scratch tickets for a chance to win four tickets to the August 30th I-Cubs baseball game. The prize package also included a parking pass, lunch and $100 spending cash. Once we had all nine semifinalists at the game, we did our reverse drawing to see who the MVP would be. The way it worked is we put all nine names in the drawing drum and one by one we read them out loud. If their name was called out, then they were out of the running for the grand prize. The last person standing wins.

For our Win Big or Go Home! reverse drawing, Carmen Davenport from Des Moines was the last name not called out. She won four tickets to see a professional baseball game in Chicago on Sept. 12 along with $1,000 spending cash! Carmen also got to throw out the first pitch of the I-Cubs game on Sunday and she spent some time up in the broadcast booth cheering on the I-Cubs. Congratulations, Carmen!

We also conducted our drawing to see who would win the 2009 Powerball Patrol Car. Players entered with $10 Powerball with Power Play nonwinning tickets for a chance to win the car. You may have seen the car around Iowa this summer as we attended many events handing out prizes to players just for showing us their Powerball tickets. It was all part of our “Keep Your Ticket Handy” campaign which ended Aug. 31st.

  The big winner was an eastern Iowa woman, Susan Dryden from Clarence. She came in to claim her prize on Monday morning. She said she was so happy that she could “do a jig on a jelly doughnut.”

Susan also won a pair of movie tickets from a local radio station on her way in to pick up the car. What a lucky lady. She said the license plates for her new car will read “Lucki 1” because that’s just how she feels. Way to go, Susan!