Later This Spring, We’ll Give Away That $1 Million Unclaimed Prize

Lottery players in Iowa will get another shot at the money from that $1 million prize that expired last week without being claimed.

On Thursday, the prize-claim deadline passed for a $1 million Powerball® prize won in April 2018 in central Iowa. We had issued several reminders about the unclaimed prize and held events at the Nevada store where the winning ticket was purchased, but a winner never came forward.

So later this spring, the lottery will give players another chance to win the money.

From May 29 through June 18, 2019, Iowa Lottery players will be able to enter a promotion called the “Woo Hoo A Million For You Giveaway” for a chance to win the $1 million prize. Any Powerball ticket purchased in Iowa during that three-week period will be eligible for entry. The drawing for the promotion’s $1 million prize will be held June 19. (You likely already picked up on the fact that the promotion’s name is a nod to the lottery’s long-time catch phrase of “Woo Hoo For You.”)

We believe this is the first time that a $1 million prize has gone unclaimed in the lottery’s 34-year history. Under Iowa law, the money from unclaimed lottery prizes goes into the lottery’s prize pools for future games and promotions. So with this one-time, $1 million giveaway, we’re putting that into action!

The $1 million prize was won in the Powerball drawing on April 11, 2018, with a ticket purchased at Casey’s, 1800 S. B Ave. in Nevada. The ticket matched the first five numbers that night but missed the Powerball. The winner or winners had until the close of business at 4 p.m. on Thursday (April 11, 2019) to claim the $1 million prize at lottery headquarters in Clive. We repeatedly called attention to the unclaimed prize during the past year, and now we’ll dedicate our efforts to making sure that this prize money finds its way to a new Iowa Lottery winner.

Casey’s received a $1,000 bonus from the lottery for selling the $1 million prize at one of its stores, and that payment was made shortly after the prize was won.

There’s another distinction that also applies to this particular unclaimed prize money: When a jackpot prize in Powerball expires without being claimed, the money is returned to the states in the game in proportion to the percentage of sales that came from each state. But because the $1 million prize that expired was at Powerball’s Match 5 level, the entire $1 million will remain in Iowa to be given away as a prize here.    

When the promotion starts on May 29, we’ll have the rules and full details on our website at www.ialottery.com.

Comments

[Mary Neubauer]

Hi, Kevin. Yes, you could use your free-play coupon from the VIP Club to purchase a Powerball ticket later this month, and then use that ticket to enter the "Woo Hoo A Million For You Giveaway." You would have used your coupon to make your purchase, which is a valid form of payment. We'll have the full details about how you'll enter your tickets into the promotion as we get closer to its May 29 start date.

[Kevin Pidima]

Will FREE Powerball tickets from the monthly VIP club coupon be eligible to enter in the Million Dollar unclaimed prize giveaway?
My guess is YES, but the rules so far say "any ticket PURCHASED"
and Coupon tickets are not actually PURCHASED but are FREE. I know that following rules to a T in contests is very important, and disqualifies many entries due to not following rules precisely. Like if a contests rules say "print" you better "print" or your entry is thrown out immediately.
No big deal but if FREE plays are not eligible I won't waste my time entering mine. Thanks!

[Mary Neubauer]

Hi, Chuck. The only Powerball tickets that will be eligible for entry into the promotion are those purchased in Iowa from Wednesday, May 29, 2019, through the close of the entry period, which will end at 8:59 a.m. on Tuesday, June 18, 2019. So, for example, if you buy at Powerball ticket at 4 a.m. on May 29, you will be able to enter it into the promotion even though you purchased it a few hours before the entry period's start, which will be at 9 a.m. that day. But if you buy a Powerball ticket at 5 p.m. on June 18, you will not be able enter it into the promotion because the entry period will already have closed earlier that day.

[Mary Neubauer]

Hi, Ed. From what you have described, you would have purchased one ticket, which you could then use to make one entry into the promotion. Each ticket will be one entry, regardless of the number of plays on that ticket.

[chuck hodson]

I buy my Powerball, Lotto America and Mega Millions tickets by the month. To get in the Powerball promotion I'll have to buy my tickets one at a time, right??