Similar reactions from two of our recent winners caught my attention because they both referenced fake lottery tickets.
First up was Don Burd of Hiawatha, who claimed a progressive InstaPlay jackpot of more than $64,000 on Dec. 24. Don said his initial thought when he saw his winning ticket was that someone must have given him a phony one because there’s no way he would be so lucky. But it wasn’t a fake and Don WAS lucky, taking home a prize of $64,494 on Christmas Eve.
Then a couple days later, we met Laci Kane of Prairie City, who claimed a $50,000 scratch-game prize on Dec. 26. Laci said she won her big prize by buying some lottery tickets to help pass the time while she and her husband drove back from a family Christmas gathering in western Iowa. She told us she was looking forward to showing her family her ceremonial check as evidence of her win because none of them believed her news! She said they all thought it was a fake.
So, while fake lottery tickets do exist and people have been known to give them as a joke, Don and Laci’s tickets were real! And they both have something extra to celebrate for the holidays.
Hi again, Frank. I double-checked the list of winning numbers in Mega Millions, and it shows that 8 and 18 have both been selected as the Mega Ball within the past year. The number 18 came up as the Mega Ball in 2018 on Nov. 27, Oct. 9, and Jan. 16. The number 8 was selected as the Mega Ball on Aug. 24 and March 6. You're right that it's all random, so you never know when a particular number will hit again. Here is a link to the page where you can call up the list yourself if you'd like to review it when you have time. Just go to the Winning Numbers page for Mega Millions on our website and then click on the link in blue at the bottom for "Mega Millions Winning Numbers Text File." https://ialottery.com/Pages/Games-Online/MegaMillionsWin.aspx
Posted by: Mary Neubauer | January 04, 2019 at 12:38 PM
We're always glad to read and see comments to the blog, Frank, so thank you for reaching out. We also appreciate the sense of humor that comes through in your message. Good luck with your lottery play!
Posted by: Mary Neubauer | January 04, 2019 at 12:24 PM
Hi, Kevin. We completely recognize that you are entitled to your own opinion on this front. But here in Iowa, state law requires that lottery winners' information is public.
Posted by: Mary Neubauer | January 04, 2019 at 12:21 PM
Can you have the numbers 8 or 18 appear as a Mega Ball in Mega Millions someday? I know you do it at Random, but I haven't seen 18 being the Mega Ball in 2018.
Playing Mega Millions helps me so I don't go to the Lakeside Casino in Osceola, Iowa. It is too easy to lose to much money there. Also, if you are a winning streak it usually is only $1000 that you can win in a day.
Posted by: Frank McDonald III | January 03, 2019 at 01:23 AM
Good to see someone win some money from the Iowa Lottery. Maybe, someday this 1976-1980 single U.S. Veteran can win a prize bigger than $12.00 on the Mega-Millions.
Thanks for reading my letter.
Posted by: Frank McDonald III | January 03, 2019 at 12:43 AM