We can’t get enough of the Mega Millions® news! Tonight is the very first drawing that will include tickets purchased in Iowa.
The estimated jackpot for tonight’s drawing is $12 million. This comes after a ticket purchased in Texas claimed the estimated $144 million jackpot for last Friday’s drawing.
As we’ve said before, the jackpots start at $12 million and grow until they’re won, so Iowans will have plenty of chances to win playing Mega Millions, along with Powerball and Hot Lotto.
There’s huge lottery news in Iowa this weekend! Starting Sunday, you can buy tickets in both of the country’s premier big-jackpot games when Mega Millions® joins Powerball® on the list of lotto games sold in Iowa.
The addition means players in Iowa will be able to play for even more big lotto prizes. With Mega Millions drawings on Tuesday and Friday nights and Powerball drawings on Wednesdays and Saturdays, you’ll have four chances each week to hit it big!
With more people playing, we expect the Powerball and Mega Millions jackpots to grow bigger and faster than they would have on their own. And, we expect more winners to be taking home more prizes.
Powerball and Mega Millions are both lotto games with jackpot prizes that have climbed into the hundreds of millions of dollars. But to date, the games have been sold by separate groups of lotteries. U.S. lottery directors reached an agreement in October to allow what’s being called “cross-selling” of the two games.
Here in Iowa, we think the biggest impact will be felt in eastern Iowa, and specifically along our border with Illinois. Illinois is the only state bordering Iowa that’s been a member of Mega Millions rather than Powerball, so when the two games’ jackpots have been big, players have driven back and forth to buy tickets. Now Iowa Lottery players will be able to buy all their tickets right here at home.
The Iowa Lottery has had six Powerball jackpot winners. The largest Powerball jackpot won in Iowa was a $200.8 million prize claimed in October 2006 by a Fort Dodge couple. Now we’re looking forward to seeing who will be our state’s first Mega Millions jackpot winner!
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.
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.
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.
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.
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!
With more and more business being done electronically these days, we’ve been getting repeated questions from folks who say they’d like to buy lottery tickets over the Internet. They wonder if one day that will be an option.
The issue of Internet gambling has been the topic of heated debate for some time now. Some of the latest developments on the matter came just this year when two members of Congress introduced legislation that would allow some forms of Internet gaming. One of the bills has been introduced by U.S. Rep. Barney Frank, D-Massachusetts, while the other is sponsored by U.S. Rep. Robert Menendez, D-New Jersey.
There are a lot of issues that rightfully would need to be addressed in any Internet gambling system, including how players’ ages would be verified, possible limits on wagering, the types of gaming that would be allowed, and the security features that would be required.
The Internet purchase of lottery tickets is not something that is being offered in
When it comes to the names of lottery games, sometimes it’s a team effort to find just the right one. Sometimes one of us just comes up with something good, and other times we borrow from popular culture.
There actually is quite a science to the process of choosing lottery game names, themes and colors. Part of it is common sense. Think about it: If every scratch game for sale was blue, people wouldn’t have much to choose from, would they? So, we want to have a mix of game colors for sale at any one time.
The same goes for the themes of our games. It’s good to have a few seasonal games each year, some holiday games, some gaming themes and maybe the theme of a popular movie just for good measure.
The Iowa Lottery works with a few different companies that print our scratch and pull-tab tickets. Those companies also print tickets for lotteries around the world, so they share their expertise and ideas as well.
And, nobody knows what lottery players like more than lottery players themselves, so we occasionally hold contests where our players can win prizes by submitting their own designs for games.
But when it’s all said and done, people just like what they like. That’s why we have lots of different games for sale at any one time so you have choices.
Over the years, a couple themes have always done well here in our state: Iowa and animals. The Iowa part is easy to understand. It’s Iowa, we like it here! As for the animal part, maybe it’s because pets are such a big part of our lives.
In any case, we’ll keep coming up with different game ideas to try to satisfy the tastes of as many people as possible. You’re invited to keep letting us know how we’re doing!
It seems like no matter how early we’ve distributed our holiday scratch games each year, we’ve still had people asking us about them before they’ve hit the streets. So, we’re trying to be ahead of the curve this year!
We’ll have six holiday scratch games this season and they’re being distributed to Iowa Lottery retailers even as I write this. They’ll be available statewide by the end of the business day on Friday!
For the record, they are: $1 Season’s Delight, $2 Oh, Deer! and Snowman Bingo, $3 Jingle Bell Crossword, $5 Holly Jolly Jackpot, and $10 Nutcracker Cash.
Check back here at the blog on Monday, when we’ll announce a bonus contest for each of the holiday games!
As the lottery’s vice president of external relations, I’m a member of the senior management team at the Iowa Lottery, where I’ve worked since 1999. I’ve spent my years at the lottery learning as much as I can about all the ins and outs of the lottery industry. I’ll put that knowledge to work here so I can share the behind-the-scenes details with you!
Text
IALOT to 97063 for IA Lottery messages!
Follow
Us On Twitter
Friend Us On Facebook
Watch Us On YouTube
