The jackpots in Powerball and Mega Millions both continue to climb into the stratosphere, with Mega Millions now at a world record and Powerball’s top prize the third largest ever offered in that game. With strong sales across the country, it’s likely that both prizes with climb even higher before their next drawings this week.
LAST NIGHT’S POWERBALL RESULTS
No one won the jackpot in last night’s Powerball drawing, pushing the game’s big prize to an estimated $620 million annuity, or $354.3 million lump-sum option for Wednesday. That ranks No. 3 on the list of the biggest jackpots in Powerball and No. 6 among the largest lottery jackpots in the United States.
The winning numbers in last night’s $476.7 million Powerball jackpot drawing were: 16-54-57-62-69 and Powerball 23. The Power Play number was 2.
A total of 32,359 plays purchased by Iowa Lottery players won prizes ranging from $4 up to $50,000. Two tickets purchased in Iowa were just one number away from having at least a share of last night’s jackpot, matching four of the first five numbers and the Powerball to win prizes of $50,000 each. They were purchased at: Kwik Star, 201 Greenwood Ave. in Nashua, and Casey’s, 701 32nd Ave. in Council Bluffs.
Iowa Lottery players bought nearly $1.9 million in Powerball tickets for last night’s drawing, including nearly $650,000 in tickets yesterday alone. However, the average Iowa Powerball purchase for the day remained about $5, or two to three plays per ticket. It’s good to see that Iowa players had fun with their purchases and didn’t go overboard.
More than 91 percent of all of the plays purchased in Iowa for last night’s Powerball drawing were easy picks, meaning that the lottery terminal automatically generated the numbers on the ticket.
MEGA MILLIONS DETAILS
The Mega Millions jackpot for Tuesday now stands at an estimated $1.6 billion annuity, $905 million lump-sum option. That has pushed it just past the previous world record, a Powerball jackpot of nearly $1.6 billion that was split by three tickets in California, Florida and Tennessee in January 2016.
Iowa Lottery players bought tickets that won more than 78,000 prizes in Friday’s Mega Millions drawing, including two plays that were just one number away from having a share of the giant jackpot.
The winning numbers in Friday’s $1 billion Mega Millions jackpot drawing were: 15-23-53-65-70 and Mega Ball 7. The Megaplier number was 2. A total of 78,286 plays purchased by Iowa Lottery players won prizes that night ranging from $2 up to $20,000.
Two tickets purchased in Iowa came within one number of having at least a share of Friday’s jackpot, with one winning a prize of $10,000 and the other winning $20,000. They each matched four of the first five numbers and the Mega Ball, but one of the tickets had added the Megaplier option, which doubled its prize.
The $20,000-winning ticket was purchased at EZ Go convenience store, 2723 Grand Ave. in Des Moines, while the $10,000-winning ticket was purchased at Casey’s, 1100 Eagle View Drive in Marion.
Iowa Lottery players bought more than $4 million in Mega Millions tickets for Friday’s drawing, including nearly $2.8 million in tickets on Friday alone. During Friday’s busiest stretch from about 6-7 p.m., Mega Millions tickets were selling at nearly $5,800 per minute in Iowa. However, the average Mega Millions purchase on Friday remained about $6, or three plays per ticket. Lottery officials were pleased that Iowans played at a fun level and didn’t go overboard.
More than 94 percent of all of the plays purchased by Iowa Lottery players for Friday’s drawing were easy picks.
CHECK FOR ALL POSSIBLE PRIZES
As more occasional and first-time players jump into the games with the jackpots climbing, the Iowa Lottery reminds everyone to check their tickets for all possible prizes they may have won.
The jackpots generate headlines, but Powerball and Mega Millions both have nine prize levels, and winnings at the games’ lower levels also can be significant. That’s why it’s important to check for all the prizes you may have won.
Currently in Iowa, there are 52 unclaimed prizes ranging from $800 up to $1 million in the Mega Millions and Powerball games. As more time passes and those prizes remain unclaimed, it becomes more likely that the ticket involved may have been lost or thrown away.
A $1 million Powerball prize in central Iowa is still unclaimed after six months. It was won in the April 11 drawing with a ticket purchased at Casey’s, 1800 S. B Ave. in Nevada. The prize will expire on April 11, 2019, if it’s not claimed before then.
Players in Iowa have up to 365 days after the drawing involved to claim Mega Millions and Powerball prizes.
On our website, we have a complete list of all unclaimed prizes in Iowa of more than $600, the level at which you have to claim a prize directly from the lottery.
PLEASE PLAY RESPONSIBLY
We mean it when we say that playing smart is a lot more fun. Please play responsibly. It only takes one ticket to have a shot at a prize, and we don’t want anyone to get in over their heads while playing the lottery.
Hi, Brian. In general, lottery sales and lottery winnings follow the population patterns. So, there will be more tickets purchased and therefore more prizes won in cities with bigger populations. It doesn't mean that people there are luckier -- it simply means that more tickets are being purchased there because more people live there. And because more tickets were purchased there, more prizes will be won there. The odds of winning are the same for every ticket sold, however. And if you look at our biggest winners in Iowa from this weekend's drawings, those winning tickets were purchased in four different areas of the state: Council Bluffs, Des Moines, Nashua and Marion. Nashua only has a population of about 1,600, so we had winners in communities of several different sizes here in Iowa.
Posted by: Mary Neubauer | October 21, 2018 at 07:29 PM
If these numbers are truly random why does it always seems only higher populated areas have big prize winners?
Posted by: Brian Mckinzie | October 21, 2018 at 01:38 PM