ialottery blog

After The Storm: Our Cedar Rapids Office Is Unable To Process Prize Claims

In the wake of the powerful storm that swept across Iowa earlier this week, our Cedar Rapids office is unable to process prize claims.

We know that emergency crews are working as quickly as possible to make repairs, but damage in eastern Iowa is extensive. There currently is not a timetable for when our Cedar Rapids office will be able to resume paying prizes. 
 
If you have a prize to claim at an Iowa Lottery office, please know that curbside claims are available at our locations in Clive, Mason City, and Storm Lake. You also can mail your prize claim to us or use our secure dropbox at lottery headquarters in Clive. We have full details on the How To Claim A Prize page of our website.
 
If the Cedar Rapids office would be the most convenient for you to visit, you can always wait until a later date to claim your prize there. Just know that we don’t yet have an estimate for when that would be possible.

A Busy Handful Of Days In Our InstaPlay Progressive Games!

The past few days have been busy ones when it comes to jackpot winners in our InstaPlay Progressive games. Since Friday, players have won four progressive jackpots, with the latest in the Loose Change Progressive InstaPlay game.

A lot of folks are already familiar with the concept of progressive games, but if that term is new to you, they’re referred to by that term because their jackpots have a starting amount, and then the grand prize grows progressively larger with each ticket sold statewide until it’s won. The amount of the starting jackpot varies by game and price point. As you would anticipate, higher price-point games have a higher starting jackpot amount and those jackpots grow more quickly. 

We currently have five progressive InstaPlay games here in Iowa, and since Friday, Iowa players have won four jackpots in them. Friday (Aug. 7) was especially busy, with three progressive jackpots won on that day alone.

Two progressive InstaPlay jackpots were won Friday afternoon. Someone who bought a Jumbo Bucks Progressive InstaPlay ticket at Casey’s, 500 W. Main St. in Seymour, won a jackpot of $30,303.25 in that game. And, a Cherry Twist Progressive InstaPlay ticket purchased at Casey’s, 1001 E. Main St. in Ottumwa, won that game’s jackpot of $23,582.60.

Another progressive jackpot was won Friday evening. A Loose Change Progressive InstaPlay ticket purchased at Casey's, 319 E. Highway 3 in Goldfield, won that game’s jackpot of $1,287.84.

Then yesterday, another progressive jackpot was hit, this time in Dubuque. That prize of $975.04 in the Loose Change Progressive game was won with a ticket purchased at Hy-Vee, 3500 Dodge St. in Dubuque. 

It’s been exciting to see so many progressive-jackpot winners, and they’re definitely an indication of the growing popularity of InstaPlay games here in Iowa.

Take Care of Yourself, And If It’s Causing You Stress, Don’t Play

We’re all feeling extra stress these days with worries about health and safety and just the daily occurrences of life. My team and I here at the lottery can sometimes feel that stress coming through from the folks who contact us, and for whatever reason, this past week has seemed like a hot point for some people.

We do our best to help and provide clear answers to questions. And I’ll stress a point here on the blog that we’ve made to a couple people this past week, because we mean it sincerely.

Please remember that playing the lottery is gambling, and there's no guarantee you'll win when you buy a ticket. Gambling is a form of entertainment, like buying a magazine or watching a movie. How you choose to spend your disposal income is entirely your own decision.

A lottery ticket is always an optional purchase for you as a consumer. If playing the lottery is causing you stress or you don't enjoy it, then please don't do it.

And if you have concerns about problem gambling, please know that help is available 24/7 here in Iowa by visiting YourLifeIowa.org or calling 1-800-BETSOFF.

Take care of yourself out there!

Player Question: How Are The Remaining Prizes Tracked?

A player who reached out to us on Facebook asked an important question about the Remaining Prizes list we keep on our website: Where do those numbers come from?

If you’re not familiar with the Remaining Prizes list, it can be found here. (I also included a screenshot below from that page.) It lists the prizes of $100 or more available in our scratch, pull-tab and InstaPlay games, the number of those prizes that have already been claimed, and the number that are still available. The details automatically record as tickets are scanned on the lottery’s statewide gaming system.

The list on our website is then updated each morning to provide the latest snapshot of our games and prizes.

We want you to know the stats and have regular updates about the tickets that are out there, and the list is a quick way to keep all of those details in one place.

We also keep an Unclaimed Prizes list on our website of the prizes that have been won but not yet claimed in our lotto games including Powerball® and Mega Millions® as well as our InstaPlay games. That information also records automatically as tickets are scanned on our system, and the list on our website is refreshed each morning.

Feel free to check out those lists when you’re looking for the latest details, but if you ever have further questions, feel free to reach out to us. We’ll be glad to help.

Happy 85th! Central Iowa Woman Claims $77,777 Prize On Her Big Day

We think this definitely qualifies as celebrating your birthday in a big way: A central Iowa woman claimed a $77,777 prize on the day she turned 85!

Nedra Schultz of Adel says her birthday today is the best one she’s ever had.

Nedra bought a ticket in the “7 7 7” scratch game because seven has always been her lucky number. And it definitely came through for her this time!

She says she finally believed it was all real once she had the prize check from the lottery in her hands.

She bought her winning ticket at her local Casey’s, 816 Greene St. in Adel. 

Well, happy, happy birthday, Nedra, from all of us at the Iowa Lottery! We're glad to have been a fun part of your big day.  

Iowa Lottery Meets Budget Targets In Latest Fiscal Year

We've released the Iowa Lottery's annual results today, with its sales, proceeds to state causes, and prizes to players all meeting budget targets for fiscal year 2020 even amidst the COVID-19 pandemic.

It’s gratifying to be able to look back at the past 12 months – and particularly the months of the public health emergency – and see that we’ve been able to adapt and deliver on our promise to responsibly generate revenue for important Iowa causes.

The preliminary figures today show that the lottery generated $81.5 million in proceeds to state causes for the year. Annual lottery sales in FY 2020 were $372 million, while prizes to players totaled $236.3 million. Lottery sales commissions to the local businesses statewide that sell its tickets totaled $24.3 million.

All of those figures are understandably down a bit from the previous year’s numbers. The lottery’s FY 2020 results were largely impacted by two main factors: the COVID-19 pandemic and a relative lack of big jackpots in national lotto games.  

The jackpots in Mega Millions® and Powerball® both repeatedly climbed into the stratosphere in fiscal year 2019, with the Mega Millions grand prize in particular reaching more than $1.5 billion in October 2018, the largest jackpot in the history of that game. But in FY 2020, both games’ jackpots were won more often at lower levels ($40 million to $100 million). That meant lower overall sales in both games, and the COVID-19 emergency impacted the lotto category even more, with sales in lotto games nationwide falling during the pandemic.

But at the same time, scratch-game sales in Iowa had a strong year. Scratch games sold well throughout FY 2020, including during the months of the pandemic. Iowans who suddenly had a lot of time at home made scratch tickets part of their entertainment options along with the puzzles, board games and bicycles that have been selling at such high rates they’re now in short supply in many places.      

Scratch-ticket sales in Iowa have set annual records each year since FY 2015, and did that again in FY 2020, totaling $262.4 million. That’s an increase of $11.8 million from the previous year’s total for that product.

The lottery retailer with the highest sales in Iowa for the year was the Hy-Vee at 1843 Johnson Ave. NW in Cedar Rapids. That store sold more than $911,000 in lottery tickets in FY 2020.

The largest lottery prize won during the year in Iowa was $1 million, and two players each claimed that amount. Shane Saxen of Correctionville claimed a $1 million Powerball prize in March, and a group of five friends from Eldora calling themselves "Just Us" claimed a $1 million Mega Millions prize in December.

Rainstorm Changes Clinton Woman’s Usual Stop For Tickets, She Wins $500,000

Mother Nature played a part in a Clinton woman’s $500,000 Powerball® prize.

Gayle Fraker bought her winning ticket while out running errands in the middle of a downpour. With the weather, she decided to stop at a different store than the one where she usually buys her tickets. And the next day at work, everyone was talking about the $500,000 prize won at the store where she’d stopped. But she’d left her tickets at home, so she couldn’t check them until that night.

As soon as she saw that she’d won a big prize, she took a picture of herself screaming for joy and sent it to her adult children, who all soon converged at her house. She immediately had them double-check the numbers to be sure she really had won.

Fraker, 60, is a supervisor at DM Services Inc., a direct-mail company in Clinton. She bought her easy-pick ticket at the Kwik Star, 911 S. 14th St. in Clinton. She came within one number of having at least a share of last Wednesday’s $87.3 million Powerball jackpot.

Her ticket matched four of the first five numbers and the Powerball that night to initially win a $50,000 prize. But she also added the Power Play® option to her purchase, which multiplied her prize to $500,000. Fraker said she always adds the Power Play so that if she wins, she’ll win big.

That night’s winning numbers were: 27-47-61-62-69 and Powerball 4. The Power Play number was 10. Kwik Star will receive a $500 bonus from the Iowa Lottery for selling the $500,000-winning ticket at one of its stores.

Fraker said she plans to use her winnings to pay off her mortgage and all her bills, and then plan for retirement.

She claimed the second $500,000 Powerball prize won in Iowa this month. A Waterloo man won a $500,000 prize by purchasing the same type of Power Play ticket for the Powerball drawing on July 8. Tu Kha Maung, 29, claimed his prize July 10. 

As she looked at her prize check today, Fraker just kept shaking her head. She said it’s crazy and awesome and her heart still hasn’t stopped pounding.

For the 2nd Time This Month, Iowa Ticket Wins $500,000 Powerball Prize

Someone who bought a Powerball® ticket in Clinton won a $500,000 prize in last night’s drawing. It’s the second prize of that size to hit in Iowa this month.

The latest $500,000-winning ticket was purchased at the Kwik Star convenience store, 911 S. 14th St. in Clinton. The ticket came within one number of having at least a share of last night’s $87.3 million Powerball jackpot.

The Clinton ticket matched four of the first five numbers and the Powerball to initially win a $50,000 prize. But whoever bought the winning ticket also added the Power Play® option to the purchase, which multiplied the prize to $500,000.

A Waterloo man won a $500,000 prize with the same type of play in the Powerball drawing on July 8. Tu Kha Maung, 29, claimed his prize two days later.

Last night’s winning numbers were: 27-47-61-62-69 and Powerball 4. The Power Play number was 10. No one matched all six numbers to win the jackpot, so the big prize climbs to an estimated $97 million annuity ($78.3 million cash option) for Saturday.

The Clinton ticket was one of three in the country to win a $500,000 prize in last night’s drawing, while a ticket in California won a $1 million prize.

Kwik Star will receive a $500 bonus from the Iowa Lottery for selling the $500,000-winning ticket at one of its stores.

Prizes of $500,000 have to be claimed at Iowa Lottery headquarters in Clive. The lottery’s offices are open Monday through Friday, and currently offer curbside prize claims by appointment. To make an appointment, the winner or winners of the Clinton prize should call the lottery at 515-725-7900.