ialottery blog

A Pot O’ Cash

What does the luck of the Irish have to do with the Iowa Lottery? Well, have we got a golden nugget for you!

On January 17 we’re starting our “Pot O’ Gold Raffle”! Players will be able to buy a $20 raffle ticket at all Iowa Lottery retailers where they buy Powerball. There will be a limited amount of raffle tickets available, and players can win up to an estimated $1 million playing this game!

No play slip is needed; just ask the cashier for the Pot O’ Gold ticket. Each ticket will show a unique, eight-digit raffle number. All numbers are randomly generated by the terminal, so you will receive the next available number.

The Iowa Lottery will only sell 120,000 of the tickets, so be sure to get yours as soon as you can! Prizes estimated at $1,000, $100,000 and $1 million will be available in the game.

Players will be able to purchase tickets between January 17 and March 13 (unless the tickets sell out before then). The raffle drawing is set for March 17. Make sure you hold onto your ticket until the drawing, because you’ll need it if you win!

Check ialottery.com for details after January 17.

Power Play 10X is Coming Back!

Recently we had a player write to us inquiring about the Power Play 10X promotion, and when he might see it again. The answer: sooner than you may think!

We are tentatively scheduled to bring back the Power Play 10X in the late spring. As you may remember, when Power Play 10X is in effect, one of the four "5"'s in the Power Play drawing will be replaced with a "10."

During this period, if the number "10" is drawn during a Power Play drawing, all Power Play prizes will be multiplied by 10 for eligible players who have purchased the Power Play option.

That means, if you win the $200,000 second tier prize with the Power Play on your ticket and the "10" comes up in the Power Play drawing, you'd win $2 million! As usual, jackpot prizes are not eligible for multiplication.

The promotion will run for at least nine drawings or until the "10" on the Power Play wheel is drawn at least once, whichever period is longer. The "10" could be drawn up to nine times during the promotion (once for each of the nine draws). Otherwise, the promotion will continue until the "10" is drawn.

If you've never used the Power Play option, here's the rundown on how that works:

Normally, when you purchase Power Play for $1 extra per play, your non-jackpot prize is at least doubled and you could win up to $1 million!

The Power Play multiplier number is chosen during the Powerball drawings on Wednesday and Saturday evenings. Normally, the Power Play is drawn from a field of the numbers "2" through "5." The Power Play number determines by how much a winner's prize will be multiplied.

For example, if the number "5" is drawn, each prize, except the jackpot, will be multiplied by five. A $200,000 prize would be worth $1 million. Prizes normally are multiplied by a number from "2" through "5." There are eight ways to win Powerball, other than the jackpot, with prizes ranging from $3 to $200,000 that can be multiplied with the Power Play. During the promotion, the numbers will be changed to the following:

Odds For Power Play 10X
Multiplier	Numbers in Drawing Universe	Odds
10x	1	1 in 16.00
5x	3	1 in 5.33
4x	4	1 in 4.00
3x	4	1 in 4.00
2x	4	1 in 4.00

We'll keep you posted closer to the date that Power Play 10X goes into effect again. But always remember, even without the 10X, adding Power Play to your Powerball ticket for an extra $1 can multiply your prize up to five times the amount (excluding jackpots).

You can check out our Winners Circle for stories of winners who've benefitted from adding the Power Play option.

$106 Million and Climbing!

Although most of us at the Iowa Lottery consider all Powerball jackpots huge, our players get very interested when the jackpot reaches into the hundreds of millions.

Well, it’s happened again! There was no Powerball jackpot winner in Saturday night’s drawing for the $92 million prize, so the current estimated jackpot is $106 million! And it comes at a great time – right around the holidays.

In case you don’t remember, the record Powerball jackpot was a $365 million prize that was won in the drawing on Feb. 18, 2006, by eight co-workers at a Nebraska meat-packing plant.

Past Iowa Powerball jackpot winners include:
• Tim and Kellie Guderian of Fort Dodge, who claimed a $200.8 million jackpot in October 2006.
• Hugh Hawkins of Des Moines, who claimed a $113.2 million jackpot in December 2005.
•  Jacquelyn Moore of Omaha, Neb., who won a $14.4 million jackpot in October 2004. (She bought her ticket at a convenience store in Carter Lake in western Iowa.)
• The Larry Hasken family of Sabula, who claimed a $31.8 million jackpot in January 2000.
• Tim Schultz of Des Moines, who won a $28 million jackpot in February 1999.
• Ed Brown of Washington, who split a $10.4 million jackpot with a woman from Missouri in December 1992.

You could be next, so get out there and get your tickets! And don’t forget to add the Power Play to your Powerball ticket. It’s just an extra $1, but could multiply your win (except the jackpot) by two, three, four or even five times!

You can check winning numbers by watching the drawings live on television, checking the winning numbers on the lottery’s Web site at www.ialottery.com, check drawings results in your local newspaper, listen for lottery results on local radio stations, visit a lottery retailer to get a print-out of the winning numbers, or call one of our offices for the details. And Powerball drawing results just began livestreaming on www.powerball.com as well.

Player-Inspired Games

From time to time we love to get our players involved in the design of our games. Throughout the year we receive ideas and suggestions from our players with games they’d like to see. So, we thought we’d share some of the past tickets with you that were designed with help from our players.

The first example dates back to the summer of 2003. We held a “Dog-Gone Lucky” Contest where we asked players to bring in their dogs to three PETCO locations around Iowa so we could take their picture. From there, we posted all of the dog photos on our Web site and had players vote on their favorite. The top six dogs were then featured on our Dog-Gone Lucky scratch tickets!

A couple of years later, we held a “Design a Game From Scratch” contest. With this contest, we invited players to mail us their original scratch ticket design ideas. We even gave away prizes for the top 10 winning ideas. The first place winner was Alice Hayes from Webster City. She won a $3,000 prize for her scratch game idea called “Dream’n of Dollars.” As you can see from the pictures below, her original design idea was turned into a real scratch ticket for our players to enjoy!

We sure had a blast with these contests. Who knows when we might come out with another player idea contest? We always welcome player ideas. So, if you’ve been thinking of a fun or unique lottery game, we’d love to hear about it. Not all ideas will be able to be used, but you never know what your idea may spark.

A Unique Party Gift

What is the perfect party gift for everyone? Is it hot cocoa in a mug, candy in a jar or chocolates in a box? All great ideas, but for the perfect gift, why not lottery tickets?

Did you know you can buy lottery tickets in bulk? It takes a little planning on both your part and the retailer’s, but it’s a fun and easy way to give a gift to everyone on your list at the office or even at home.

So just how many tickets do we mean by bulk? Well, as an example, you can purchase a $300 “pack” of tickets. All of our tickets are sold in packs. The price of the tickets determines just how many tickets you will get in each pack.

Each pack is worth $300. So, let’s say for example you wanted to buy a pack of $1 tickets; you would get 300 tickets in one pack. But, if you wanted to get everyone a $5 ticket, there would be 60 tickets in one pack.

Here are some things to keep in mind when ordering in bulk. First, know the date by which you’ll need to pick up the tickets from your retailer.

And second, you’ll want to speak with the retailer ahead of time to give them your order: how many tickets, which game you’d like to order and when you need the tickets. Then your local lottery retailer can place an order with their district sales representative for your tickets. The next time tickets are delivered, which is weekly, they can save your order to have it ready and waiting. Then all you have to do is hand out the gifts and watch them enjoy! You can do this anytime, for office parties, holidays, weddings or whatever large event you’re planning. Lottery tickets are an easy and fun solution.

Let it snow, let it snow, let it snow!

Wow, 16 inches of snow sure looks pretty, but how much fun is it to drive through? Well, just like the post office, come rain, snow, sleet or shine the Iowa Lottery is open for business!

After being hit by the worst snowstorm in 38 years, we had just enough employees yesterday make it in to work to keep the doors open for business. Most Iowans chose to stay home and wait out the storm. Good thinking. After the blizzard conditions swept all across Iowa, most everyone spent their “day off” trying to dig themselves out.

As you can see, our snow removal crew did an awesome job of keeping the pathway clear to our doors so employees and players alike could come inside.

Even with interstates being shut down around the state, our district sales representatives were still able to run most of their routes delivering lottery tickets to retailers everywhere. I don’t know how they did it, but they did so safely.

Now that the worst has past, don’t forget to go get your lottery tickets. They make great holiday gifts if you haven’t finished your holiday shopping. Thanks to the hard work and dedication of the lottery employees, your Iowa Lottery retailers are stocked and ready to do business.

Receive Your Iowa Lottery News Electronically

In these tough economic times, the Iowa Lottery has found another way to help the state by saving resources.

After reviewing some of the Lottery’s current programs, we’ve made the decision to change our quarterly VIP Connection newsletter to a monthly online-only newsletter.

At last count, we mailed more than 82,000 printed copies directly to players’ homes. By going electronic, we expect to save more than $100,000 a year in the future.

So, what does that mean if you’re a current subscriber to our VIP Club? It means you’ll need to visit our Web site, www.ialottery.com, and create your very own FREE VIP online club membership. Once you’re a member, you’ll receive our electronic VIP Connection newsletter beginning March 1.

After that, you can look for the newsletter on the first Monday of every month. As an added bonus, instead of getting a quarterly coupon, you can expect to receive even more coupon offers electronically.

So, starting early next year, go to our Web site and sign up to start receiving your Iowa Lottery news straight to your PC. If you’re already a VIP Club member, you will still need to log on to create your free account. Then just sit back and relax as we take care of the rest.

Winning Numbers Lines To Be Consolidated

For many years, the Iowa Lottery has maintained three separate winning number lines in an effort to make the information available via a local phone call as far and as wide as possible.

However, times are changing and so are we.   With the popularity of mobile phones and long-distance service bundled as part of your service through your local phone company, we thought the time was right to consolidate to one winning number line. Starting January 1 players will all call the same phone number to hear the latest winning numbers: 515-323-4633. 

We're hoping our players will find it easier to remember just one number.  Additionally, we're going to realize cost savings of a few thousand dollars per year.

Don't forget - there are many additional ways to find out the winning numbers.  Log on to www.ialottery.com or sign up for our text messaging service to have the numbers delivered to you the day after each drawing.  You can also visit one of our retailers for winning numbers.

The Perfect Holiday Gift

Oh! Oh! Oh! The holiday season is in full swing. The holidays are a time of giving and sharing. And if you’re still looking for that perfect gift, then look no further than your local Iowa Lottery retailer!

There’s no need to get up at 4 a.m. to get these great gifts. With five holiday-themed scratch tickets left to choose from and over 2,460 retailers to shop at, all you have to do is choose which ones to get!

This year’s remaining selection includes Season’s Delight; Jingle Bell Crossword; Holly Jolly Jackpot; Oh, Deer! and Nutcracker Cash. And remember to grab some free gift envelopes that will make your tickets a snap to wrap for office gifts, stocking stuffers, family and friends!

Also, don’t forget about our Tech the Halls promotion. Players can enter their nonwinning holiday scratch tickets to win cold cash OR hot electronic prizes! There are hundreds of great bonus prizes from Sony® including notebook computers, portable DVD players – even HDTVs. Just visit our Web site for rules and complete details on the Tech the Halls promotion!