ialottery blog

Eastern Iowa Woman Claims $1 Million Mega Millions Prize

An eastern Iowa woman who bought a Mega Millions® ticket on a weekend getaway to her family's cabin along the Mississippi River has won a $1 million prize.

Karen Kramer of Urbana said she initially saw a “1” and some zeroes when she checked her ticket, but didn’t realize just how many zeroes were involved at first. Then it hit her.

Karen, 60, who works as a para-educator in her local school district, said she sent a text about her win to her husband, Brad, and it worried him at first because he only saw the first sentence, which said: “Lightning struck us.”

Then he read the rest of her message where she went on to say: “On Mega Millions, I won $1 million! But please don’t tell anybody yet.”

The couple managed to keep Karen’s big win a secret, not even telling their three adult children before she claimed the prize. She said she wanted to wait until they had completed the claims process, then send out a picture to let them know.

While Tuesday’s Mega Millions jackpot of $56 million was won in Illinois, Karen’s ticket was just one number away from a share of the big prize, matching the first five numbers but missing the Mega Ball.

Tuesday’s winning numbers were: 9-22-39-41-54 and Mega Ball 19. The Megaplier® was 3. Karen’s ticket was one of only two in the country that won a $1 million prize that night, with the other in West Virginia.

Karen bought her lucky ticket at Barry’s Mini Mart, 403 W. Chestnut St. in Harpers Ferry, the community in northeast Iowa where she and her husband have their cabin. Barry’s Mini Mart will receive a $1,000 bonus from the Iowa Lottery for selling the $1 million-winning ticket.

Karen said that she usually buys one play where she chooses her own numbers, then adds four easy-pick plays where the lottery terminal assigns the numbers. She won big on one of the easy picks. She said she’s predicted that she would have a big lottery win, telling her husband that she had the right numbers, the lottery just didn’t pick them!

The couple plans to invest the bulk of her winnings for retirement and pay some bills. But Karen also has a four-footed addition to their home in mind: a dog.

Software Error Led To Incorrect Results For Handful Of Lottery Tickets At 2 Stores

An isolated software error recently caused lottery terminals at two Iowa stores to misread a small number of tickets that won a total of $51 in prizes, and we at the Iowa Lottery ask any customers with questions to contact us.

The issue was quickly resolved. The hard drives in the lottery terminals were replaced and a software update was made to prevent the error from re-occurring.

A review of the Iowa Lottery’s statewide gaming system confirmed that the error occurred during two days in late May at just two stores: Hy-Vee, 1630 E. Seventh St. in Atlantic; and Casey’s, 26701 Scott Park Road in Eldridge.

Retail staff at one of the locations contacted the Iowa Lottery on May 25 to report that they were having difficulty cashing tickets in lotto games: Powerball®, Mega Millions®, Lotto America®, Lucky for Life®, Pick 3 and Pick 4. A review that same day pinpointed the software error and confirmed that it was limited to the lottery terminals in the two locations. The error, which began occurring on May 23, caused the lottery terminals at the stores to read all lotto tickets scanned as nonwinners even if they had won a prize. 

From May 23 to May 25, a total of 47 lotto tickets were scanned on the lottery terminals at the two stores. Of those, 15 had won a total of $51 in prizes, with individual winnings per ticket ranging from $2 up to $6. The lottery terminals indicated at the time that all 47 tickets were nonwinners.

Some of the customers involved later checked their winning tickets at other locations and were able to claim their prizes there. Of the 15 winning tickets that were misread at the two stores, 11 remain unclaimed for a total of $35 in prizes, the largest of which is $4.

Players who still have any of the 11 tickets can cash them at a lottery retail location. Any players with questions are welcome to contact Iowa Lottery Security at 515-725-7900 or Wmaster@ialottery.com.

$1 Million Mega Millions Prize Won In Harpers Ferry In NE Iowa

Last night’s Mega Millions® jackpot was won in Illinois, but two Iowa tickets were just one number away from a share of the big prize. One of those tickets won a $1 million prize while the other won a $30,000 prize.

The $1 million-winning ticket was purchased at a convenience store in far northeast Iowa: Barry’s Mini Mart, 403 W. Chestnut St. in Harpers Ferry. The ticket came within one number of having a share of last night’s $56 million jackpot, matching the first five numbers but missing the Mega Ball.

The Harpers Ferry ticket was one of only two in the country that won a $1 million prize in last night’s drawing, with the other in West Virginia.

The $30,000-winning ticket also was just one number away from a piece of the jackpot. It was purchased at Wayland BP, 213 W. Iowa Highway 78 in Wayland. That ticket initially won a $10,000 prize by matching four of the white balls and the Mega Ball, but the lucky someone who made the purchase also added the Megaplier® option, which multiplied the prize to $30,000. 

Last night’s winning numbers were: 9-22-39-41-54 and Mega Ball 19. The Megaplier was 3. With last night’s jackpot being won in Illinois, the big prize returns to an estimated $20 million annuity, $13.8 million lump-sum option, for the game’s next drawing on Friday.

The Harpers Ferry prize is the third lottery win of at least $500,000 so far this year in Iowa. Barry’s Mini Mart will receive a $1,000 bonus from the Iowa Lottery for selling the $1 million-winning ticket.

The $1 million prize must be claimed at Iowa Lottery headquarters in Clive, while the $30,000 prize can be claimed at any of the lottery’s offices. Lottery offices are open Monday through Friday, and prize claims are currently available by appointment. The winners can call the lottery at 515-725-7900 to make a prize-claim appointment.

Hey, I’m Having Trouble Getting A Clerk To Scan The Electronic Play Slip On My Phone

A player contacted us this week to ask about a difficulty he’s had while trying to buy lottery tickets, and it caused us to wonder if others have experienced the same thing. The situation involves the scanners on Iowa Lottery terminals that read the barcodes on tickets and play slips.

This particular player said that he enjoys using the lottery’s mobile app, but has had trouble getting store clerks to scan the electronic play slips he’s stored on it. The man said the clerks won’t touch his phone, citing company policy. He wondered if there is an easier way for his electronic play slips to be scanned than by handing his phone to a clerk. The good news is there IS an easier way, and the lottery’s barcode scanners were designed for just that purpose.

The barcode readers at our lottery terminals are mounted on the end of the ticket printer. But they’re not permanently built in. They’re wireless and can be taken off the printer and used as a handheld device. They were designed that way because we wanted retailers to be able to use them without having them tethered to the lottery terminal.

If a customer has an electronic play slip stored on their mobile phone or device, a store clerk can pick up the barcode scanner and hold it over the customer’s screen, easily reading the play slip without needing to touch or handle the customer’s device.

We understand why stores would have policies against handling a customer’s mobile device – issues of data protection and germ mitigation come to mind along with the liability of dropping or damaging the device.

But the customer’s question this week was a good reminder that not everyone is as familiar as we are with the way lottery equipment works. And by going over the details about the scanners again for ourselves, we were able to create this quick how-to recap to help.

Ticket To Vegas: How You Can Have A Chance To ‘Fly with Cy’

Here are the details to give you a shot at an exclusive “Fly with Cy” trip to Las Vegas in September! The two most important steps: 1.) Buy a Powerball ticket. 2.) If you’re not already a member of the Iowa Lottery’s free VIP Club, sign up now.

The video above shares the rest of the info. you need to know. We hope to see YOU in Vegas! 

More Drawings Being Added In Powerball And Lucky For Life

Two of the Iowa Lottery’s popular lotto games will get additional drawings starting this summer.

Powerball® will move to drawings three times a week with a new Monday drawing being added to those currently held on Wednesday and Saturday nights.  And Lucky for Life® will move from two drawings per week to drawings each night.

The changes are designed to produce more winners, and in the case of Powerball, generate larger, faster-growing jackpots

The Lucky for Life update will happen first, with that game moving to daily drawings beginning on Monday, July 19. Lucky for Life’s current drawings are on Mondays and Thursdays. The change will give that game’s players a daily shot at winning its top prize of $1,000 a day for the rest of their lives.

Then in August, Powerball will move from two drawings per week up to three, with its first Monday drawing set for Aug. 23.

While the additional drawings will create more chances to win, they won’t change the games’ prize levels, odds of winning, or ticket price.

Players in $2 Powerball will still choose their first five numbers from a pool of 69, and another number – called the Powerball – from a separate pool of 26. The Power Play® option is available for an extra $1 per play.

Lucky for Life players will continue to choose their first five numbers from a pool of 48 and another number – called the Lucky Ball – from a separate pool of 18. Lucky for Life is a $2 game where the top two prize levels are described as “lasting as long as you do,” meaning that they are truly for life. The game has been played in Iowa since 2016.

Tale Of The Ticket: Carefully Scratch Off The Security Coating

A player contacted us this week with a question about a “Colossal Crossword” scratch ticket she and her husband had checked at a lottery terminal after realizing they’d won a prize. They thought they won more than the amount shown on the customer receipt they received, so they reached out to us to ask about it.

As it turns out, they hadn’t scratched off all the security coating on the ticket, and it led to a mistake as they played. I’ve included an image here so you can see the details.

In the “Your Letters” area at the top of the ticket, some of the security coating is still in place in different spots, and in particular, it covers up a portion of the letter highlighted in the red box. At a glance, you might think that letter is an “F,” which is what the couple believed. The letter actually is a “P,” but a portion at the top is still under the ticket’s security coating.

With the letter “F” correctly taken out of the mix, there are four complete words in Puzzle 3 and three complete words in Puzzle 4 for $70 in total winnings on that ticket.

It’s a real-world example of the message you’ve seen me share many times here on the blog: Please closely check the results of your tickets, and if you ever have a question, feel free to reach out to us here at the Iowa Lottery. We’ll be happy to help get you the accurate information.

When Is The Jackpot Money Available After A Drawing?

Some folks who are looking ahead have contacted us this week with a question that must come from their hope of winning the huge Mega Millions® jackpot. (The giant prize has climbed to an estimated $515 million annuity, $346.3 million lump-sump option for tonight’s drawing.) They asked how quickly after the jackpot is won that the winnings are actually available to the winner.

As you know, tickets in big-jackpot games like Powerball® and Mega Millions are sold across the country. Each lottery involved tracks its sales so that when the jackpot is won, they will know how much of the money will come from each jurisdiction.

After the drawing, all of the lotteries in the game transfer their share of the jackpot into a central account so the jackpot prize can be paid. It takes about two weeks for that process to be completed. If a winner comes forward to claim the jackpot before then, we make arrangements for them to receive the money as soon as it’s available.

If you claim your prize after two weeks, the jackpot money (either the lump-sum amount or the first of the annual annuitized payments, depending on the option you choose) can generally be transferred to you the next day.

Now you know, so you’ll be prepared to claim the jackpot if/when it’s your turn!

Do Easy Picks Have A Better Chance?

With the Mega Millions® jackpot really climbing into the stratosphere (it's currently an estimated $515 million for Friday’s drawing), the question of easy picks vs. your own numbers has come our way. And specifically, which type of play has a better shot at winning? The answer: Neither, the odds are the same for both. Here’s the background:   

You’re probably already familiar with this, but if not, in lotto games like Mega Millions and Powerball®, you have the option of choosing your own numbers or letting the lottery terminal generate the numbers for you. A play with numbers selected by the lottery terminal is called an easy pick. A ticket with numbers you choose is known as a manual play.

Through the years, easy picks have become more prevalent in our lotto games. Today, more than 90 percent of the plays in Powerball and Mega Millions are generally easy picks. Like their name indicates, they’re easy to play!

And with easy picks making up more than 90 percent of the tickets being purchased, they also make up more than 90 percent of the games’ winning tickets. It doesn’t mean that easy picks are luckier, it’s simply that there are a lot more of them.

The odds of winning are the same for every ticket in our lotto games, no matter the play type. So, if you like to choose your own numbers, go ahead and do that. Or, if you’d rather just ask for an easy pick, feel free. It won’t impact your odds of winning a prize.

And remember that the Iowa Lottery’s mobile app (I’ve included an image of it here) allows you to create and save ePlayslips for your favorite lotto games. After you’ve created your ePlayslip, a lottery retailer can just scan it from the screen on your device to print your ticket.

Remember That Ticket Receipts Are Available From The Lottery Terminal

A winner who claimed a prize at lottery headquarters this week said he’d never noticed the receipts before that are available when a lottery ticket is checked at a lottery terminal in Iowa, so I’m sharing the details here on the blog in case you’ve also never asked for a receipt before.

The receipts that print automatically from our lottery terminals are a great way for you to double-check the results your lottery ticket if you ever have any questions.

Whenever a lottery ticket is checked or cashed at a lottery terminal in Iowa, a receipt is available. In the case of a winning ticket, two receipts are automatically generated – one for the player and the other for the retailer. Both show the amount of the prize won on the ticket. In the case of a nonwinning ticket, only a player receipt is available.

There are identifying numbers on the receipt and the ticket that match up so you can cross-reference them. (I’ve included pictures here so you can see the details involved.)

If the receipt is for a scratch ticket, information at the bottom of the receipt shows the game, pack and ticket number for the ticket involved. Those same numbers are just above the barcode on the back of each scratch ticket, so you can check the receipt against the ticket to be sure they match.

If the receipt is for a lotto ticket in a game like Powerball® or Mega Millions®, in the upper left-hand corner the 14-digit serial number for your ticket. The serial number is the string of numbers in front of the dash. That same serial number is in the upper left-hand corner of the ticket itself. So again, you can check the receipt against the ticket to be sure they match.

Receipts are not involved for the Iowa Lottery’s pull-tab tickets because they already include “built-in receipts.” Any prize amount won on a pull-tab is already printed underneath the tabs on the ticket so the prize involved is very clear.

A lot of retail locations automatically offer nonwinning tickets back to their customers, but if that doesn’t happen, feel free to ask for your ticket back if you have any questions. Winning tickets are kept by the lottery and its retailers for record-keeping and security purposes, but nonwinning tickets can be returned to the customer.