We’ve got all the details now about Iowa’s results in last night’s world-record Powerball jackpot drawing! Iowa Lottery players won nearly 225,000 prizes in last night’s drawing, including a $2 million prize in Onawa in western Iowa. The game’s jackpot was even higher than the final estimates leading into the drawing, and the giant top prize was split by three tickets purchased in California, Florida and Tennessee.
Strong sales nationwide pushed last night’s jackpot to a world-record of nearly $1.6 billion annuity, or $983.5 million cash option. The winning numbers were: 4-8-19-27-34 and Powerball 10. The Power Play number was 2. A total of 224,656 plays purchased by Iowa Lottery players won prizes ranging from $4 up to $2 million.
IOWA’S BIG WINNERS
Seven tickets purchased in Iowa came within one number of having at least a share of the jackpot. One of those tickets won a $2 million prize. It was purchased at Casey’s, 706 10th St. in Onawa. The ticket initially matched the first five numbers but missed the Powerball to win a $1 million prize, but the person who bought the ticket also added the Power Play option to the purchase, which multiplied the prize to $2 million. The Onawa ticket was one of eight across that country to win a $2 million prize in last night’s drawing.
Casey’s will receive a $2,000 bonus from the Iowa Lottery for selling the $2 million-winning ticket at one of its stores.
Six other Iowa tickets also were one number away from the jackpot, matching four of the first five numbers and the Powerball. Three of those tickets each won a $100,000 prize while the three others each won a $50,000 prize. The difference again was the Power Play option, with the $100,000-winning tickets having the Power Play added to them. Here are the locations where those winning tickets were sold:
THANK YOU FOR BEING PART OF THE FUN!
Over the past several days, it really has felt like we were all part of one big conversation. At the lottery, we extend huge thanks to our players and retailers for being part of this shared moment. It’s been a busy time, but we’ve all had fun and our joint efforts have made a difference right here at home by raising additional lottery proceeds for state causes.
IOWA POWERBALL SALES LEADING UP TO DRAWING
Iowa Lottery players bought more than $12 million in Powerball tickets for last night’s drawing, including more than $6.2 million in tickets yesterday alone. During yesterday’s busiest stretch from about 5-6 p.m., Powerball tickets were selling at nearly $13,800 per minute in Iowa. However, the average Iowa Powerball purchase yesterday was about $7, or three to four plays per ticket. We’re happy to see that Iowans had fun playing the game and didn’t go overboard.
How do the sales figures for yesterday’s drawing compare to those for Saturday’s drawing, when the jackpot was already a U.S. record of $947.9 million? Iowa Lottery players bought more than $8.6 million in Powerball tickets for Saturday’s drawing, including more than $4.4 million in tickets that day alone. Sales peaked at about $7,900 per minute on Saturday. So, total sales for yesterday’s world-record Powerball drawing were nearly 40 percent higher than those for the drawing just four days earlier.
A NOTE ABOUT ‘COVERAGE’
The odds of winning the jackpot in Powerball are about 1 in 292.2 million because there are about 292.2 million ways you can combine the numbers in the game to make a play. By tracking nationwide sales, lottery officials can estimate how many of all the possible combinations have been purchased – or covered – for a particular drawing. Nearly 89 percent of all the possible combinations were covered in last night’s drawing.
Hi, Bonnie. Yes, if you match three of the first five numbers on your ticket, you do win a prize. It's $7. If you match three of the first five numbers plus the Powerball, you win $100. Here is a link to the Powerball page on our website. It includes the game's prize chart so you can see all of the prizes available in Powerball:
http://www.ialottery.com/Games/Online/powerball.asp
Posted by: Mary Neubauer | January 15, 2016 at 01:43 PM
You can win with 4 of the first 5 numbers, can you win if you have 3 of the first 5 numbers?
Posted by: Bonnie Marks | January 14, 2016 at 08:19 PM