In case you hadn’t heard, it’s Crossword Puzzle Day. That’s according to the National Day Calendar™, the website that tracks unusual and unique National Days and has a day for just about everything.
And since Crossword has been one of our most popular scratch games here in Iowa for years and years, it definitely makes sense to us for this day to be highlighted!
We have had at least one Crossword game in our scratch-game selection for nearly 19 years. The Iowa Lottery introduced its first Crossword game clear back in March of 2000. Crossword quickly became one of our top-selling games and we’ve kept different versions of it on the market ever since because people like them so much. We would definitely hear about it if we didn’t have a Crossword game in stores!
We currently have four Crossword games for sale: the $3 “Holiday Bonus Crossword”; the $5 “$50,000 Holiday Super Crossword”; the $10 “$100,000 Holiday Mega Crossword”; and the $30 “Colossal Crossword.” When the season for our holiday-themed games ends in late December/early January, our regular Crossword games will return to store shelves.
So, happy Crossword Puzzle Day from us here at the lottery. And if you win a prize on a Crossword ticket today, it must have been meant to be. :)
Hi, Dane. You've raised a really good point that has a lot to do with state population. The population base that will play a lotto game is one of the biggest determinates for the size of prizes that it can offer. And the size of the prizes involved drives interest in the game. Florida is the third-largest U.S. state in terms of population, with about 20.1 million residents. Iowa, in comparison, has about 3.1 million residents and ranks 30th in terms of state population. With our smaller population, it is difficult to design an Iowa-only lotto game that offers the size of prizes that capture people's interest. That is what led all those years ago to the start of multi-state games like Powerball and Mega Millions. We always keep player input in mind and do our best to respond, but just know that in this instance, population is one of the major determining factors -- and Iowa is a relatively small state in that regard.
Posted by: Mary Neubauer | December 24, 2018 at 09:37 AM
Hi, Herb. I’m not sure what you’re referencing regarding winners in Des Moines. In just the past week (since Dec. 17), Des Moines residents have claimed two prizes of $3,250 in Pick 4; a $1,000 prize in the Merry Multiplier scratch game; a $30,000 prize in the Holiday Bonus Crossword game; a $30,000 prize in the Merry Multiplier game; a $3,500 prize in the Pick 3 game; a $2,500 prize in the Jingle All the Way scratch game; and a $100,000 prize in the Treasure Tree scratch game. (I listed the prizes in the order they were claimed by date.) Winning tickets in our games are distributed randomly, so there’s no way of knowing when – or where – the next big winner will hit. But overall, if 5 percent of lottery tickets are purchased in a particular area, you expect to find about 5 percent of the overall winners there. Everyone has the same odds of winning, but there will be more winners in places where more tickets are being sold.
Posted by: Mary Neubauer | December 24, 2018 at 09:08 AM
Why doesn't Iowa hve their own pick 6 lotto or at least a daily Fantasy 5 like Florida. 300,000 would change a struggling Iowan family in a heartbeat.
Posted by: Dane urban | December 23, 2018 at 02:13 PM
how about a few more winners in des moines??? you have a lot of small town winners but the biggest city,you bread and butter,has very few winners why???
Posted by: herb s. | December 22, 2018 at 05:21 PM