ialottery blog

May Facebook Contest Results

Now for the moment you’ve all been waiting for…THE WINNERS!

Congratulations to:
1) Chris Roder-Olson
2) Larissa Pray
3) Tammy Sorensen

Each of these three winners will receive $10 in Mega Millions® coupons and lottery swag!

We’ll notify the winners by email to claim their prize. We’ll need to verify each winner’s information so we can award their prize packs!

Winners will have until 4 p.m. Tuesday, May 28, to verify their information with us. Thanks to everyone who entered the May Facebook contest.

Be sure to come back and enter June’s Facebook contest anytime from 11 a.m. June 17 through 11 a.m. June 18. We sure hope you can join us!

3X the Sizzle,’ Hot Lotto® Revamp & Other Jackpot News

We’ve got all kinds of jackpot news to talk about right now! Here’s a quick rundown:

You’ve probably heard that the Powerball® jackpot is really getting up there. It’s reached an estimated $350 million for Wednesday’s drawing. That’s the third-largest jackpot in the history of the game. Not too shabby!

And Mega Millions® also is rolling, with that jackpot growing to an estimated $170 million for tomorrow night’s drawing.

And then there’s Hot Lotto®, which just got a make-over and has a new promo offering prizes of free gas to go along with its new look. We blogged about those changes for the first time back in early April, but here are those details again:

Hot Lotto’s make-over took effect yesterday, upgrading the jackpot to a cash-only prize with withholding taxes paid. That means that if the advertised jackpot is $2 million, the winner will receive a one-time, lump-sum payment for that full amount. To be more specific, the current Hot Lotto jackpot is an estimated $6.16 million for Wednesday’s drawing. If you match all six numbers and are the only winner nationwide for that big prize, you will take home $6.16 million.

The revamped game is being introduced with a special promotion offering 85 prizes of free gas. The “3X the Sizzle” promotion means players can purchase three Hot Lotto plays with the Sizzler for $5 (a regular $6 value) and have the chance to enter a drawing for up to $500 in free gas.

When you purchase a 3X the Sizzle ticket, the lottery terminal will automatically generate a trailing ticket containing a special code that you’ll need to enter on the lottery website for a chance to win ethanol promotional checks for free fuel from the Iowa Corn Growers Association.

You can purchase 3X the Sizzle tickets through July 13 and enter the promotion until noon on July 23 at www.ialottery.com.

We’ll select 85 winners of ethanol checks in a drawing July 25. Fifty players will each win $100 in ethanol checks for free gas; 25 each will win $250 in checks; and 10 each will win $500 in checks.

The numbers available to play in Hot Lotto have changed with the new version of the game. You now choose five balls from a pool of 47 (it was 39) and another number, called the Hot Ball®, from a separate pool of 19 (unchanged). The minimum Hot Lotto jackpot is $1 million cash with state and federal withholding taxes paid, and grows until someone wins it.

One Week Left To Enter Tickets For Points In VIP Club

A deadline is approaching for the members of our VIP Club. There’s a week left for you to enter eligible nonwinning scratch tickets for points in the club.

We announced last month that we’re responding to our players’ feedback by revamping the Iowa Lottery’s free VIP Club. We also announced some deadlines as part of that transition. The first of those arrives a week from now.   

You can enter eligible nonwinning scratch tickets for points in the VIP Club until 11:59 p.m. next Wednesday, May 15. And don’t forget the “Cash Blowout” promotion that gives you a new option for your points! 

The Cash Blowout offers 12 cash prizes ranging from $100 up to $20,000! From now until June 30, you can use some or all of the points in your VIP Club account to enter the promotion. Each prize level requires an equivalent number of points for entry. For example, it takes 100 points to enter the drawing for five prizes of $100 and 1,000 points for an entry into the drawing for a $1,000 prize. There are corresponding entry points and prize levels for $2,000, $3,000, $4,000, $5,000, $10,000, and ultimately, 20,000 points for an entry into the drawing for a $20,000 prize.

You can enter the Cash Blowout until 11:59 p.m. on Sunday, June 30. All unused points in the VIP Club also will expire at that time and the Points For Prizes™ store will close. We’ll select the Cash Blowout prize winners in drawings on July 2. The complete winners list will be posted on our website and we’ll also notify winners individually at the contact information provided in their VIP Club accounts.               

As we announced last month, the VIP Club will be in transition for the next couple months, with our focus shifting to cash prizes and additional drawings as the club’s merchandise store is closed down. Moving ahead, we plan to have both cash and merchandise up for grabs as prizes in drawings through the VIP Club. We also want players to be able to use both their lotto and scratch tickets for entries. And of course, we’ll still email monthly coupons to you and have special offers and contests that are exclusive for VIP Club members.   

Mother Goose Is Hanging In There

Mother Goose has captured our hearts! 

After I blogged yesterday about the snowbound mother goose outside our regional office in Mason City, her story caught the attention of several Iowa media outlets. Someone even told me she made national news this morning, but I haven’t seen that clip yet.  

We’ve been hearing from people concerned about her welfare. Today’s update: Mother Goose is just fine. She’s still sitting on her nest in the snow, protecting her eggs. I’m posting a couple pictures of her this afternoon.

With all the hub-bub over her, I figured I should get some expert advice. So today, I talked with Kevin Drees, the director of animal care and conservation at the Blank Park Zoo in Des Moines. Kevin had a lot of good insight:

First, it appears that Mother Goose is a Canada Goose. Should anyone be thinking about getting close to her, please be aware that she and other Canada Geese are protected under the Migratory Bird Treaty Act of 1918. That treaty makes it illegal to hunt, kill, sell, disturb nests, purchase or possess migratory birds except as permitted by regulations adopted by the Secretary of the Interior. In short, the law says we should leave Mother Goose alone.

Kevin also says that Mother Goose is doing exactly what she’s supposed to be doing: protecting her eggs. If you were approach her and cause her to fly away, that could harm the eggs in her nest. Kevin says we should all keep our distance and not frighten her away.

Kevin says Mother Goose is a good example of wildlife’s ability to adapt: Not only has she built her nest in an area near an office building, she’s doing just fine on her nest in the snow.

The incubation period for Canada Geese is 25 to 30 days, so by sometime in late May, I’ll bet Mother Goose will have some cute little goslings following her around. Don’t worry, I’ll give you updates along the way about her!

In the meantime, our Mason City crew says they’ll keep checking in on her, but only through our office window so we can enjoy her story without disturbing her.

Iowa’s Spring Winter Wonderland!

It’s what we’re all talking about today, so here are some shots of the weather from around Iowa. Come on, spring, stop playing around and GET HERE!

First up, we have a shot from our Mason City regional office this morning. Yes, that’s several inches of snow that you see on the ground on May 2. Hang in there, Mason City!

Next, we have a shot from yesterday afternoon in Ringsted in northwest Iowa. One of our district sales representatives took that pic out his delivery van’s window during one of his stops in that Emmet County community. That’s definitely NOT chamber of commerce weather!

And our last shot is what it looks like this morning here at lottery HQ in Des Moines. We’re not having a nice day either, but we don’t feel so bad now that we’ve seen those other shots! Everybody be careful today and take your time so you’ll make it safely to your destination!

On a related note, someone who bought a ticket in the Des Moines metro area for last night’s Hot Lotto® drawing won a $10,000 prize. Maybe they can spend part of their winnings to go on a trip to a warmer climate! The winning ticket was purchased at Kum & Go, 801 N. First St. in Grimes. Check your tickets!

Beautiful, Busy Weekend of FUN!

The weather is supposed to be gorgeous this weekend! So, while you’re out and about enjoying Iowa’s beautiful (if belated) springtime, don’t forget these lottery details: 

If you want to enter for a chance to win a $300 gift card to one of five Iowa getaways in our Destination Iowa promotion, time is running out!

You have until noon on Monday to get your nonwinning Bass Pro Shops® scratch tickets entered online in your VIP Club account. That’s the ticket that lets you pick which of the five fabulous destinations you’d like to visit. There’s Honey Creek Resort State Park on Rathbun Lake in South-central Iowa, Café Dodici and Dodici Night Suite in Washington, Frank Lloyd Wright-designed Historic Park Inn Hotel in Mason City, King’s Pointe Waterpark Resort in Storm Lake or Harrah’s Council Bluffs Casino and Hotel.

The five Destination Iowa winners will be drawn on Wednesday. So keep your fingers crossed!

And, as if that’s not enough fun for you, some big jackpots are on the line this weekend, too! Tonight’s Mega Millions® jackpot is at an estimated $103 million. And Saturday’s jackpots for Hot Lotto® and Powerball® are big, too. Hot Lotto is at an estimated $5.28 million and Powerball has reached an estimated $140 million! Man, that’s a lot of dough!

So get out there and have some fun already, no matter what you’re doing this weekend!

April Facebook Contest Results

Now for the moment you’ve all been waiting for…THE WINNERS!

Congratulations to:

1) Kevin Bischel
2) David Taylor
3) Steve Francis

Each of these three winners will receive $20 in Powerball® coupons!

We’ll notify the winners by email to claim their prize. We’ll need to verify each winner’s information so we can award their prize packs!

Winners will have until 4 p.m. Tuesday, April 30, to verify their information with us. If any of the winners don’t contact us within the specified amount of time, alternates will be contacted by email.

Thanks to everyone who entered the April Facebook contest.

Be sure to come back and enter May’s Facebook contest anytime from 11 a.m. May 20 through 11 a.m. May 21. We sure hope you can join us!

Now THAT’S A Lucky Streak

Here’s a story that definitely qualifies as a lucky streak!

Last Friday, a Cedar Rapids woman claimed a $50,000 prize in one of our scratch games. And yesterday, she followed that up with a $100,000 win in a different game! Her name is Jamie Meyers, and even she thinks there’s something special going on.

Jamie told us yesterday that she must have some guardian angels or someone else looking down on her, giving her some good luck.

Jamie, who’s 31 and works as a child care provider, won one of the $50,000 top prizes in the “Super Crossword” game with a ticket she bought at a Cedar Rapids Hy-Vee store. And she won one of the $100,000 top prizes in the “Cash Inferno” game with a ticket she bought at a Casey’s store in Cedar Rapids.   

She had the same plan for both her prizes: Jamie said she’d spend part of her winnings to buy special gifts for her family, then pay bills and put some money into savings.

Congratulations, Jamie! Thanks for lifting our spirits on a rainy day!

April Facebook Contest

Spring is officially here and we’re celebrating the warmer weather with a Facebook contest! This time around, you can enter for a chance to win free plays in Powerball!

You can enter April’s Facebook contest beginning at 11 a.m. Monday (April 22) through 11 a.m. Tuesday (April 23). We’ll be asking you a lottery-related question on the Iowa Lottery’s Facebook page under the “Lottery Contests” tab. Enter for your chance to win one of three sets of $20 in Powerball coupons!

Visit our Facebook page beginning at 11 a.m. Monday through 11 a.m. Tuesday where we’ll pose our question on the Lottery Contests tab located under our cover photo. When the man on the Lottery Contests tab turns green and says “Enter Now!” that’s your cue to enter. Click the tab, read the question, fill in the entry form and your answer and click “submit” during the 24-hour window and you’ll be entered. Limit one entry per person. It’s just that easy!

Important Note: The question will NOT appear on our Facebook “Wall.” You’ll need to visit our Facebook page and click the Lottery Contests tab to see it! Also, if you’re viewing our Facebook page on a smart phone, you will need to use the Desktop view in order to see the Lottery Contests tab. It does not appear in the mobile application view.

We’ll select three winners from the correct eligible answers submitted, so make sure to double-check your answer before you hit the submit button. Winners will be announced in our April Facebook contest results blog, on the Lottery Contests tab on our Facebook page and we’ll link to the blog entry on Twitter.

We’ll notify the winners by email to claim their prize. If you’re one of the winners, we’ll need to verify your information to award your prize pack!

Winners will have until 4 p.m. on Tuesday, April 30, to verify their information with us. We’ll also select alternates in case any of the winners don’t contact us within the specified amount of time.

A few other details:
• You must currently be residing in Iowa to participate.
• You must be at least 21 years old to enter.
• There’s no purchase necessary to enter or win.
• The Powerball coupons are only redeemable for tickets, not for cash.
• You can only enter once. If you try to enter more than once, only your first entry will be accepted.

And now for the fine print: This promotion is in no way sponsored, endorsed or administered by, or associated with, Facebook. You understand that you are providing your information to the Iowa Lottery and not to Facebook. The information you provide will only be used for lottery purposes. The risk of loss for electronic misdelivery, late delivery or failure of receipt for information entered electronically remains with entrant regardless of the cause of the transmission failure.

April Twitter Contest Results

Three lucky winners in today’s Twitter contest will each receive prize packs of $20 in our new CASH INFERNO instant-scratch game. The game offers nine top prizes of $100,000, one of which has been claimed! Meaning there are eight remaining top prize of $100,000 left in the game. So, we accepted the answers of eight or nine in today’s contest. It doesn’t get much hotter than that!

The three winners in today’s contest are:

@DSM_Kurt
@iowasaint09
@jwestergreen77

If you were a winner, you’ll need to contact us with your name, date of birth and mailing address so we can send out your tickets. Winners will have until 4 p.m. on Tuesday, April 23, to contact us with their information in order to claim their prize.

Thanks for participating! Our next Twitter contest is set for 2 p.m. on Tuesday, May 14. See you then!