ialottery blog

Can Group Winners Choose Cash AND Annuity?

A couple great questions have come our way about group play in lottery games. I’ll take on the first one today: Can individuals in a group that wins the jackpot choose the cash AND annuity options?

I suppose the thought process behind the question is that the friends, co-workers, neighbors or relatives who’d pooled their money to buy lottery tickets might not all agree how they’d like to claim the money once they realized they’d won big.

But the question isn’t really applicable in Iowa, and here’s why: When you win the jackpot, whether it’s with a ticket you bought on your own or as part of a group, we only issue one check for all the winnings. If you’re part of a group of 25, we don’t cut 25 checks, we just give you one check and the members of your group have to decide how you’ll divide the money from there.

But to ensure that one person isn’t stuck with all that taxable income liability, all members of the group do have to sign an IRS Form 5754 so all are listed for tax-reporting purposes. On the form, each person states how much of the prize is being claimed by him or her.

We gave a rundown on the ins and outs of group play and groups claiming lottery prizes in a video on our Web site. Click here to watch it.  

Great questions! Keep ‘em coming. I’ll take on another one next week!

Emotional Day At Lottery

It’s been an emotional day here at the lottery. Someone who called us late last week to share the news that Iowa had another lottery millionaire perhaps put it best when he said, “Talk about something good happening to someone who needed it.”

Congratulations to Rich Koenigsfeld of Marble Rock on his big win. We wish you many more bright spots in the day, Rich!

What’s In It For You At Lottery B-Day Party?

The Iowa Lottery is turning 25 this year and we’re celebrating with a summer travel project that will give you the chance to win cash prizes and rack up savings at businesses and local festivals across the state. The key to it all is our new $5 instant-scratch game, “The Silver Ticket.”

You can win instant prizes in the game from $5 up to $25,000. And if you don’t win a cash prize, there are a few different ways your ticket can be used for even more value:

• “Silver Ticket Savings.” Iowa Lottery players can use nonwinning tickets like a coupon for savings at Iowa events, businesses and attractions. A complete list of the special discount offers available to Silver Ticket customers will be available on the Tourism Office Web site at www.traveliowa.com beginning April 26.
• “Silver Ticket Cash Stops.” Lottery players can use nonwinning tickets in The Silver Ticket game for a chance to win cash prizes in contests the lottery will hold at 25 events across the state. Four cash prizes of up to $500 will be awarded during each contest for a total of $1,000 in prizes at each event.
• Finally, State Fairgoers can use their nonwinning ticket as an entry in the Silver Ticket Cash Stop festivities during the Tourism-Lottery project’s finale event, the Iowa State Fair.

Legislation authorizing a lottery in Iowa was signed into law on April 18, 1985, and the Iowa Lottery sold its first tickets during a kick-off celebration on Aug. 22, 1985, at the State Fair.

Meet Iowa’s First Mega Millions Millionaire

Meeting lottery winners and learning their stories is one of the nicest things about working at the lottery. Each person has their own excitement and life story to share. But Iowa’s latest $1 million winner had such a great detail to his tale that we just had to work it in to his announcement.

You see, Robert Boehm of Denison was worried that he would lose his $1 million-winning Mega Millions® ticket. So, to make sure he didn’t accidentally throw it away, he put it inside an envelope and then labeled that envelope “winning lottery ticket.”

And it worked! Robert and his ticket made it to lottery headquarters yesterday, where he claimed his $1 million prize.

Boehm, by the way, has kept Iowa’s string of millionaires going. Twelve Iowa Lottery players have won prizes of $1 million since 2008!

Winners In Midwest Millions Drawing

The Kansas and Iowa lotteries are now tied at 3-and-3 when it comes to the $500,000 grand-prize winners in the “Midwest Millions” instant-scratch game!

The final drawing in this year’s version of the game was held this morning in Des Moines. And the grand-prize winner was … Greg Barnhart of Chanute, Kansas! In this year’s first drawing, Kim Hertel, a nurse from Washington, Iowa, took home the $500,0000 prize.

Here is the complete list of winners in today’s drawing:

Prize Amount	Winner Name	City and State
$500,000	Greg Barnhart	Chanute, Kan.
$10,000	David Smart	Bonner Springs, Kan.
	Connie Easley	Harper, Kan.
	Brad Adams	Newton, Iowa
	Robert Blaine	Wichita, Kan.
	Sherry Mead	Colby, Kan.

Is It You? We Wish We Knew!

We’ve written about it here before, but now we’re really serious: Time is running out for someone to claim a $200,000-winning Powerball ticket sold in Council Bluffs. Several other lotto prizes of up to $10,000 also are unclaimed in Iowa and will expire in the next few months if the winners don’t come forward.

Now is the time to double-check your tickets!

The $200,000-winning ticket was sold at Eddy’s at 3434 Nebraska Ave. in Council Bluffs for the Powerball drawing on Saturday, May 9, 2009. It came close to winning it all, matching the first five numbers but missing the Powerball to win a $200,000 prize. The winning numbers that night were: 4-15-32-49-58 and Powerball 21.

The winner or winners have until the close of business (4 p.m.) on May 10 to claim the prize at a lottery office. The Iowa Lottery has offices in Council Bluffs, Storm Lake, Mason City, Des Moines and Cedar Rapids.  

We visited the Eddy’s location on Tuesday and put up some fun signs outside the store to get people’s attention. Maybe we’ll find the winner before it’s too late!  

In the lottery’s latest financial year, more than $1.3 million in prizes went unclaimed in Iowa lotto games. Unclaimed prize money in Iowa goes into the prize pools for future lottery games. So, the money will be used to pay prizes, just not the particular prize that’s expired.

In addition to the ticket purchased in Council Bluffs, tickets for these major Iowa Lottery prizes also are unclaimed and are set to expire in the next few months:

Powerball
Prize Drawing	Amount Won	Retailer	Expiration
July 1, 2009	$10,000	Wings America, Avoca	July 1, 2010
July 15, 2009	$10,000	Kum & Go, Council Bluffs	July 15, 2010
July 18, 2009	$10,000	Git-N-Go, Pleasant Hill	July 19, 2010

Hot Lotto
Prize Drawing	Amount Won	Retailer	Expiration
July 11, 2009	$10,000	Pronto, Kingsley	July 12, 2010

Pick 3
Prize Drawing	Amount Won	Retailer	Expiration
March 16, 2010	$1,800	Quick Shop, Clear Lake	June 14, 2010
March 20, 2010	$1,750	Quick Shop, Clear Lake	June 18, 2010

Iowa's Had 12 Millionaires Since 2008!

Forget about April showers bringing May flowers, it’s raining millionaires in Iowa right now! Since 2008, 12 Iowa Lottery players have won prizes of $1 million. And the total is now up to four just this year.

The latest happened Friday night in Denison. A $1 million-winning ticket was sold at Kum & Go, 1109 Fourth Ave. S. in Denison, for Friday’s Mega Millions drawing.

The ticket originally matched the first five numbers but missed the Mega Ball to win a $250,000 prize. But the player who purchased the ticket also added the Megaplier® option to the winning play, which multiplied the prize to $1 million. The winning numbers in Friday's $90 million Mega Millions jackpot drawing were: 15-18-39-48-53 and Mega Ball 3. The Megaplier® number was 4.

Players can multiply their prizes (except the jackpot) with the Megaplier up to four times. The cost is $1 per play. Nobody won the jackpot Friday, so Mega Million’s big prize climbs to an estimated $105 million for Tuesday's drawing.

This is the second ticket sold in Denison to win a major Iowa Lottery prize. Don Sporrer of Denison won a $2.7 million Hot Lotto jackpot in the drawing on Christmas Day 2002 with a ticket he purchased at a Denison supermarket.

The three Iowa Lottery players who have claimed $1 million prizes so far in 2010 are:

• Richard Bauder of Ankeny, who claimed a $1 million prize Jan. 14 in the "Set For Life" instant-scratch game.
• Sorin Ganea of Dubuque, who also won $1 million in Set For Life. He claimed his prize on Feb. 8.
• David Lyons of Des Moines, who won a $1 million Powerball prize in the March 31 drawing.

We’re still waiting to hear from the latest big winner. Prizes of $1 million must be claimed at Iowa Lottery headquarters in Des Moines. Our prize-claim office is open from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. Monday-Friday.

If you’re the big winner and you need more information before coming in to claim the prize, give us a call at 515-725-7900. We can’t wait to meet you!

Can I Claim This (MN, NE, IL, MO, etc.) Ticket Here?

We get a lot of questions from folks who wonder why they can’t cash tickets from other states in Iowa, and vice versa. It all has to do with the technology that goes into running a lottery today and the fact that each state has its own computer system.   

The Iowa Lottery has a computerized system of lottery terminals around the state that are used to sell and validate the tickets that are sold here. That network is extremely complex – it provides real-time information every day to track each Iowa Lottery ticket that is sold or cashed.

The same is true in Nebraska, South Dakota, Minnesota and any other U.S. state that has a lottery: Each lottery has its own computerized system that tracks the tickets sold in that jurisdiction.  

In addition, the money that is raised from the sale of lottery tickets in each state stays in that state to be used for valuable causes. Here in Iowa, lottery proceeds help veterans and a variety of other vital state programs such as education, law enforcement and agriculture.  

Introducing Iowa’s Newest Millionaire

Iowa is definitely on a hot streak when it comes to lottery millionaires!

In the past two years, 11 Iowa Lottery players have won prizes of $1 million. The latest big winner is David Lyons of Des Moines, who claimed his prize today.
 
David is an overnight stocker at Wal-Mart in Ankeny and bought his winning Powerball ticket early in the morning, which is lunch time for him. Click on the video above to see David’s story. Congrats, David!

Your Chance To See Horse-Racing Elite

Prairie Meadows and the Iowa Lottery are giving you the chance to see horse-racing’s elite in person. It’s all part of our “Racing to Riches” game and promotion.

The $3 Racing to Riches scratch game started sales Monday. You can win instant prizes of up to $30,000! And if you don’t win an instant prize, you can use your ticket to enter the Racing to Riches promotion at Prairie Meadows Racetrack and Casino in Altoona.

There will be three drawings in the promotion for round-trip packages for two to the big horse races at Churchill Downs, Pimlico Race Course and Belmont Park.

To enter the promotion, put your nonwinning Racing to Riches ticket in the drawing drum at the Finish Line Show Lounge at Prairie Meadows. You’ll need to enter in person – tickets that are mailed in will not be accepted.

The first drawing on April 14 will be for a trip to Churchill Downs. Next up will be a drawing on April 28 for a trip to Pimlico Race Course. And on May 19, the drawing will be for a trip to see the races at Belmont Park.

Good luck and we hope that you’ll be off to the races!