The Name Says It: ‘Million Dollar Holiday’ Will Give Away Total Of $1 Million In Prizes

When that $1 million Mega Millions® prize in central Iowa expired this fall without being claimed, we said we’d give away the money in the Iowa Lottery’s holiday promotion. Now it’s time to put that into action.

The lottery’s Million Dollar Holiday promotion opened for entries this morning. Players can enter with nonwinning tickets in the seven holiday-themed scratch games available this year in Iowa.

During the promotion’s drawings from mid-November through early January, the Iowa Lottery will give away 89 cash prizes ranging from $1,000 up to the grand prize of $500,000. The total in prizes for the promotion? You guessed it: $1 million. By splitting the total up, we’re giving more players the chance to share in the winnings.

We’re applying the “max bet” concept in the promotion, meaning that the size of the prize you could win increases along with the purchase price of the scratch ticket you’ve entered.

The promotion runs through early January, with its final drawing date on Jan. 10. You can enter tickets on the lottery website or by using our mobile app.

In the promotion’s three initial rounds of drawings, a total of 85 prizes will be awarded. Twenty-five winners of $1,000 will be selected from among the $2 and $3 entries; 30 winners of $2,500 from among the $5 entries; and 30 winners of $10,000 from among the $10 and $20 entries.

The initial drawings will be held on Nov. 16, Dec. 14 and Jan 10. The promotion’s grand-prize drawing also will be held on Jan. 10. In that final drawing, we’ll go out with a bang, awarding a prize of $50,000, two prizes of $100,000 and the promotion’s grand prize of $500,000.

Entries won’t carry over from one drawing to the next, except for the grand-prize drawing. All entries submitted over the course of the promotion that are not selected as a winner in one of the initial drawings will automatically be eligible for the grand-prize drawing.

Comments

[Mary Neubauer]

We have received some inquiries from folks trying to enter tickets in the "Oh Ca$hmas Tree" scratch game into the promotion via the website. They said they did not believe the ticket had the 10-digit number on the front required for entry. The number is there -- it's located along the right edge of the play area on that ticket. The number is under the security coating, so you'll scratch to reveal it.

[Mary Neubauer]

Thanks, Jody. It makes us proud every time to definitively tell people that we gave away the money from unclaimed prizes. We want it to go to our players!

[Jody Whaley]

I LOVE THE IOWA LOTTERY!!