ialottery blog

Powerball Jackpot Raised For Tomorrow’s Drawing!

The Powerball jackpot is definitely getting attention right now and all those tickets being snapped up have pushed the big prize even higher for tomorrow’s drawing!

After reviewing the latest numbers, lottery directors in the game decided just a few minutes ago to raise the Powerball jackpot to an estimated $325 million annuity for tomorrow’s drawing. And there’s an even more interesting twist on the cash-option side of things: The lump-sum amount for tomorrow is $202.9 million, a record amount.

We think these latest developments show that $2 Powerball game is performing as expected. We’re less than a month into the new game and it’s already generating the bigger jackpots that we’d said would come with the new game when it was revamped in January. The new version of Powerball debuted Jan. 15. With it came starting jackpots that doubled to $40 million, easier odds of winning and a “second prize” that’s moved to $1 million cash.

Here’s how the jackpot numbers break down: The estimated $325 million annuity is the amount you’d get in annuitized payments over the 30-year payout of the jackpot. But if you were to choose the cash option like a lot of folks do these days, the lump-sum payment would be $202.9 million cash, and that’s a record. The biggest previous lump-sum amount for a Powerball jackpot was $177.3 million from the drawing on Feb. 18, 2006.
     
And the 411 on $2 Powerball: Players still choose their first five numbers from a pool of 59, but the group of numbers in the Powerball pool has shrunk from 39 to 35, producing better overall odds of winning a prize. Along with changes at the higher prize levels, the very smallest prize you can win in Powerball has also increased. You now win $4 when you match just the Powerball.

The Power Play® option is still available for an extra $1 per play. Instead of randomly multiplying prizes by two to five times, the Power Play now increases each prize level by a set amount. For example, if you’ve added the Power Play option to your ticket and you match the first five numbers in a drawing, the $1 million prize you would have won will be doubled to $2 million. Or, if you would have won a $10,000 prize for matching four of the regular numbers and the Powerball, the Power Play option will quadruple that prize to $40,000.

A chart showing all of the Power Play prize amounts is available here.

Two Ways to Check your Powerball® Numbers Now

We’ve been getting some great questions about the changes that came when $2 Powerball launched Jan. 15, and I want to share one of those issues with you here today.

Theresa wrote to us and said, “I was checking my Powerball numbers from the drawing on Dec. 25, 2011, and got a pop-up saying I couldn’t put in a Powerball number higher than 35. What gives?”

As you likely already know, the $2 Powerball game came with a matrix change that produced better overall odds of winning. You still choose your first five numbers from a pool of 59 white balls, but the number of red balls in the Powerball pool was lowered from 39 down to 35.

But since Powerball tickets are valid for up to 365 days from the date of the drawing, we knew we needed to make sure that you could check tickets from before and after the Jan. 15 change.

There’s an easy solution: You’ll now find two “Did I Win?” pages for checking Powerball numbers on our website. One page is for tickets purchased for drawings up to and including Jan. 15, 2012. The other is for tickets purchased for drawings from Jan. 18 up until the present. You may want to bookmark one or both of those for easy access to the “Did I Win?” feature.

And remember, there are plenty of other ways to check your Powerball numbers, including the home page of our website, a self-checker at your local retailer, our iPhone app, or your 
your local newspaper, radio station or TV station.

Facebook Contests Are Back!

Fun news for our friends in the social media world! We’re bringing back our monthly Facebook contests! Can I get a “Woo Hoo”?

Very similar to our monthly Twitter contests, we’ll be asking you a lottery-related question on our “Lottery Contest” tab on our Facebook page.

What’s the prize? Glad you asked. We’ll be giving away three prize packs that will each contain $10 in Powerball coupons and some sweet lottery swag!





A while back, we polled our Facebook fans to see what day of the week and what time they would like to see the contests held. The majority picked Mondays at 11 a.m. So with that said, our January Facebook contest will start at (you guessed it) 11 a.m. on Monday, Jan. 30.

To be eligible to enter, just “Like” us on Facebook – it’s free to create an account. Then give us the correct answer to our super-easy contest question and you’ll be entered for a chance to win one of the prize packages.   

At 11 a.m. on Monday, we’ll pose our question on Facebook. Just click on the “Lottery Contest” tab, read the question, fill in the entry form and your answer and click “submit” during the 15-minute window and you’ll be entered. It’s just that easy!

We’ll print the list of eligible entries and use a random-number generator to select our winners and then post those winners under the “Lottery Contest” tab on our Facebook page. We’ll notify the winners by phone and/or email to claim their prize. We’ll also post a list of the winners’ names here on our blog.

If you win, you’ll need to contact us with your name, date of birth and mailing address so we can send out your prize pack. Winners will have until 4:30 p.m. on Monday, Feb. 6, to contact us with their information in order to claim their prize. We’ll also select alternate names in case any of the winners don’t contact us within the specified amount of time.

A few other details:
• You must be at least 21 years old to enter.
• You must live in Iowa.
• There’s no purchase necessary to enter or win!

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 the lottery’s Facebook contest. 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.

Don’t Worry, Power Play Is Here To Stay!

We’ve now had the first drawing in the new $2 Powerball game, and with it came some confusion about the Power Play option and whether it even exists anymore.   

Let me clear that up here: Yes, Power Play is definitely still part of the Powerball game! And yes, you can still multiply your prize by adding the Power Play option to your ticket.

A few news outlets had reported this week that Power Play had gone away. No need to worry: Power Play is here to stay! But it has changed a bit.

Now, Power Play stays at a set amount rather than changing from drawing to drawing. Let me explain that in a little more detail: I’m sure you remember that under the old system, a Power Play number was selected during each Powerball drawing. So, the prizes you could win with the Power Play option changed from drawing to drawing. In one particular drawing, the Power Play number might have been “2,” meaning that if you won a prize and had added the Power Play to your ticket, your prize would have been doubled. During the next drawing, the Power Play number might have been “4,” meaning that any prize you won would be quadrupled.   

Today’s Power Play gives you a fixed amount rather than a variable number. It’s a lot like Hot Lotto, where the Sizzler option always triples your prize.

Here’s the new prize payout table so you can see how Power Play will multiply your prize:

We think the most exciting change is that now, when you match all five white balls and add the Power Play to your ticket, you’ll win a $2 million prize! That prize was previously $1 million. We think this will help create more millionaires here in Iowa.

You can read about all the changes to Powerball in our previous blog here.

A BIG Twitter Contest

Something BIG is coming tomorrow, and to celebrate, we’re having a Twitter contest!

As you may already know, $2 Powerball® debuted Sunday. Powerball now offers MORE millionaires, BIGGER jackpots and BETTER odds of winning. Well, tomorrow night is the first drawing in the newly designed game, and it’s BIG! Tomorrow’s estimated jackpot is $80 million.

To celebrate the changes in Powerball, we’re giving away three prize packages of $20 in Powerball coupons – so you can have a chance to win BIG from our Twitter contest!

The contest is set for noon on Tuesday, Jan. 24. To be eligible to enter, just follow us on Twitter – it’s free to create an account if you don’t already have one. Then give us the correct answer to our super-easy contest question and you’ll be entered for a chance to win one of the ticket prize packages.

At noon next Tuesday, we’ll pose our question on Twitter. Reply with your answer within the 15-minute time limit and you’ll be entered in the contest! Reply to @ialottery on Twitter. (Don’t direct message us on Twitter, as direct messages aren’t eligible for entry.)

We’ll select the three winners here at our office, and as always, we’ll record a video after the contest and post it on our website and YouTube. We’ll also blog about the winners here, and link to that blog entry on Twitter and Facebook.

If you win, 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, Jan. 31, to contact us with their information in order to claim their prize.

A few other details:
• You must be at least 21 years old to enter.
• You must live in Iowa.
• There’s no purchase necessary to enter or win!

And now for the fine print: This promotion is in no way sponsored, endorsed or administered by, or associated with, Twitter. You understand that you are providing your information to the Iowa Lottery and not to Twitter. The information you provide will only be used for the lottery’s Twitter Contest. 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.

Reminder: $2 Powerball® Debuts Sunday

Here’s a reminder for this weekend: Sunday marks the debut of $2 Powerball, and the revamped game will sport several new features. As of that day, Powerball jackpots will start at $40 million and the jackpot will be easier to win. The overall odds of winning any prize also will be easier, and there will be more chances to win a prize of at least $1 million cash.

Powerball has been redesigned several times over the years so it will keep delivering the big jackpots that people expect, but also give players the chance to win other big prizes as well.
U.S. lottery directors approved the upcoming changes back in June. Before that vote was taken, the issue had been studied in two years of national research that involved 5,000 participants.   

Some of you may remember that back when Powerball started in 1992, it was played in just 15 states with jackpots that started at a guaranteed $2 million. Fast forward 20 years to today.  Powerball is one of the world’s biggest and most recognizable lottery games, played by 44 lotteries across the country, with players buying more than $3 billion annually in Powerball tickets. The biggest jackpot in the game so far was a $365 million prize split by eight co-workers at a Nebraska meat-packing plant in February 2006.

But with the game’s success has come demand for innovation to keep things fresh. The latest changes that take effect Sunday will help give players choices when it comes to lotto games and differentiate Powerball from other games. If you’re someone who thinks you’d rather keep playing a $1 lotto game, remember that you still have plenty of choices in that regard: Mega Millions, Hot Lotto and Iowa’s $100,000 Cash Game will continue to be available for $1 per ticket.

As of Sunday, you’ll still choose your first five numbers from a pool of 59. But the group of numbers in the Powerball pool will shrink from 39 down to 35, producing better overall odds of winning a prize.

The Powerball jackpots will start at $40 million – that’s double the current starting jackpot of $20 million. And the “second prize” in the game for matching the first five numbers but missing the Powerball will move to $1 million cash rather than the current $200,000.

Check out the changes on Sunday, and then we’ll all sit back and watch those jackpots climb!

Countdown For Advance Plays In Powerball Begins Soon

With the upcoming changes in the Powerball game, a countdown will kick in soon on the number of Powerball drawings for which you can purchase tickets in advance. It’s a standard procedure when changes like this are made, and it’s designed to ensure that you have valid tickets in the game.

In lotto games like Powerball, you can buy a ticket for just the next upcoming drawing, or you can buy tickets for several drawings in a row. Some people like the option of being able to do their lottery “shopping” for several drawings all at once, others prefer to buy their tickets one at a time – it’s totally up to you. 

Up until the Powerball drawing on Dec. 14, you’ll still be able to purchase tickets for up to 10 consecutive drawings in advance here in Iowa. But after the sales cut-off for that drawing, you’ll only be able to buy plays for nine draws in advance. After the next drawing, it will be down to eight. The countdown will reach zero just before the new features in Powerball take effect on Jan. 15. After that, you’ll be able to buy tickets for up to 10 Powerball drawings in advance again here in Iowa.

So, why the countdown? Well, in addition to the fact that the starting jackpots in Powerball will double, the ticket price will change to $2 and there will be more prizes of at least $1 million when the January changes hit, the overall odds of winning also will become easier when some of the numbers are removed. Right now, you choose your first five numbers in the game from a pool of 59, and that won’t change. But the group of numbers in the Powerball pool will shrink from 39 to 35, producing better overall odds of winning a prize. 

Well, let’s say you always play Powerball 38. After Jan. 15, that number won’t be available in the Powerball pool, so you wouldn’t want to play it. That’s why the countdown on advance plays will kick in later this month. It’s part of the “construction dust” as we get ready to debut a bigger, better Powerball!

Please note that the countdown on advance plays in Powerball does NOT impact the advance plays available in other lotto games. It’s a Powerball-specific change for the next month or so.

Quad-Cities Couple Become Iowa’s Latest Powerball Millionaires

A Quad-Cities man says the shock of winning a $1 million Powerball® prize brought him to tears, but his wife had a reaction that was even bigger than that! Check out the video above to hear from Esteban and Linda Ramos.A Quad-Cities man says the shock of winning a $1 million Powerball® prize brought him to tears, but his wife had a reaction that was even bigger than that! Check out the video above to hear from Esteban and Linda Ramos.

w00t! Another $1 million lottery prize in Iowa!

A lottery player who bought a Powerball® ticket at a Bettendorf convenience store has won a $1 million prize!

It was one of only two tickets nationwide to win a $1 million prize in Saturday’s drawing. The other $1 million-winning ticket was sold in New Jersey. And in addition to those two big prizes, someone who bought a Powerball ticket in Pennsylvania took home Saturday’s $59.9 million jackpot.

Iowa’s latest $1 million-winning ticket was sold at QC Mart, 1402 State St. in Bettendorf. The ticket originally matched the first five numbers but missed the Powerball to win a $200,000 prize in Saturday’s drawing. But the player who purchased the ticket also added the Power Play® option to the winning play, which multiplied the prize to $1 million.

If your ticket matches the first five numbers in a Powerball drawing and you’ve added the Power Play, the prize you’ll win is always $1 million, no matter what the Power Play number is for that drawing.

The winning numbers in Saturday’s $59.9 million Powerball jackpot drawing were: 9-16-17-28-30 and Powerball 11. The Power Play® number was 3. Players can multiply their prizes (except the jackpot) with the Power Play. The cost is $1 per play.

It’s the ninth lottery prize of at least $1 million won in Iowa this year!

And here is our latest helpful reminder about other big prizes that are still unclaimed out there. We’re still waiting to hear from the person – or the group of people – who bought a $1 million-winning ticket at the Kum & Go at 1317 E. Mary St. in Ottumwa for the July 23 Powerball drawing.

And of course, the much-talked-about $16.5 million Hot Lotto jackpot-winning ticket sold at Quik Trip, 4801 N.E. 14th St. in Des Moines, also is still unclaimed. The deadline to claim that prize is 4 p.m. on Dec. 29 of this year.

Prizes of $1 million must be claimed at Iowa Lottery headquarters in Des Moines. Players can claim prizes from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. Monday-Friday. If the winner or winners need information before coming forward to claim the prize, they are invited to call the lottery at 515-725-7900.

Yep, We've Got A New App For That!

Add the Iowa Lottery to the list of entities that can say, "Yep, we've got an app for that!"

The lottery has added a free app on iTunes that you can install on your mobile device to keep up with all the latest.

To add the app, just visit the App Store in iTunes and install the Iowa Lottery's LotteryPlus Mobile app. The app can run on iPhone 3GS, iPhone 4 and iPad devices running IOS 3.2 and above.

You can use the app's barcode scanner to check your lotto tickets, or you can key in the serial number from your lotto ticket to see if it’s won a prize. The app also supplies the current jackpot amounts and the latest winning numbers in games like Powerball®, Mega Millions® and Hot Lotto®.

You also can use the app to find the closest lottery retailers to your current location by using your device's location services. And maybe the coolest feature of the app allows you to shake your device using the app's plays feature to generate a lotto play. You then can take your device to a local lottery retailer and have the barcode on your screen scanned to purchase that ticket. We do want to clarify, however, that the app doesn't allow you to actually play the lottery online.

You know, we all want our information on the go these days and this is one more way the lottery can get you the details you want when - and where - you want them. And plus, we just really like saying, "Yep, we've got an app for that!"

The lottery is offering the app in conjunction with Georgia-based Scientific Games International, the company that the lottery has a contract with for its statewide gaming network that’s used to sell and cash tickets. We are looking into the possibility of adding apps for other mobile platforms, but this one will get us started.

Iowa is known for being a tech-savvy state and we're proud to continue that tradition of innovation with this new app!