ialottery blog

‘Step Down’ On Advance Plays In Mega Millions Will Lead Into Game Redesign

The Mega Millions® game is getting a make-over in early April and in the weeks leading up to that change, the Iowa Lottery will temporarily have a limit on the number of drawings for which you can purchase tickets in advance.

The process is called a “step down” and it’s put in place to ensure that no one mistakenly ends up with an invalid play when the new version of the game begins.

The step down will last only until sales in the revamped game begin April 5. Once the redesign in Mega Millions debuts, players in Iowa will be able to purchase tickets in advance for up to 10 drawings as usual.

The step down will apply only to Mega Millions. You’ll still be able to buy the usual number of advance plays in the other lotto games we have here in Iowa.

The Changes Coming In Mega Millions

The changes on the way in Mega Millions are designed so the game can keep meeting player expectations for play options and big jackpots.

• Tickets in the revamped game will cost $5 each.
• The game's starting jackpot will more than double to $50 million compared to today's general starting jackpot amount of $20 million. With the redesign, the jackpot will grow faster and there will be bigger jackpots more often, with more jackpots anticipated above the $1 billion mark.
• There will be bigger prizes at all 9 of the prize levels in Mega Millions, from matching just the Mega Ball alone all the way up to matching all 6 numbers to win the jackpot.
• The smallest prize in the revamped game will be $10 – twice the purchase price, meaning no break-even prizes.
• The multiplier, currently an add-on feature that costs an extra $1 per play, will be built into the redesigned game and expanded. In the new version of the game, each play will include a randomly-assigned multiplier number that will multiply any prize won. The multiplier currently multiplies prizes by 2-5 times, and the revamped game will add a 10X multiplier.
• The odds of winning the jackpot will improve, going from about 1 in 303 million to about 1 in 290 million.
• The overall odds of winning any prize in the game also will improve.

The Numbers In The Revamped Game

The numbers available to play in Mega Millions will change slightly, with 1 fewer number in the mix. Under the redesign, you'll still choose 5 numbers out of 70 for the white balls. But you'll choose the yellow Mega Ball from a separate pool of 24 numbers. There are 25 numbers available today for the Mega Ball.

That change in the numbers is why the step down is used. Without it, someone could mistakenly buy a ticket with 25 as the Mega Ball for a drawing after the game update happens. That ticket would be ineligible to win a prize in the new version of the game because it would include a number no longer available.

The Step Down Schedule

Here is the Iowa schedule for the step down on advance plays leading into the Mega Millions redesign:

Drawing Date	Max Number Of Advance Plays Available
February 28	10
March 4	9
March 7	8
March 11	7
March 14	6
March 18	5
March 21	4
March 25	3
March 28	2
April 1	1

When The New Game Will Debut

The final drawing in the existing version of Mega Millions will be held on Friday, April 4. Sales in the $5 version of the game begin the next morning, on April 5.

The first drawing in the revamped game will be held on Tuesday, April 8.

Drawings in Mega Millions will continue to be held twice a week at 10 p.m. central time on Tuesdays and Fridays.

For A Mid-Winter Lift, Let’s Play PAC-MAN!

To help spread smiles this winter and beyond, we’ve got a throw-back to the early days of video games! It’s a scratch ticket with a whole new way to play a classic.

Tickets in our PAC-MAN scratch game have started arriving in stores today and will be available statewide by Friday. Each ticket comes complete with winning fruit symbols, ghosts, those tasty PAC-DOTs and POWER PELLETS, and of course, PAC-MAN himself!

You can win instant prizes from $5 up to $50,000 on a PAC-MAN ticket. And nonwinning tickets in the game can become your entry into our promotion offering cash prizes along with a grand-prize package that features a PAC-MAN standing arcade game.

The PAC-MAN promotion opened this morning and the entries can be made through 9:59 a.m. on April 28.

How To Play A PAC-MAN Ticket

Because the PAC-MAN scratch game mimics the electronic version of the game, it plays differently than our other scratch tickets. You normally may like to scratch off the entire play area on a ticket, but that will confuse things in PAC-MAN.

The video above gives tips on how to play, but here is a recap:

• Start by scratching one of the 3 START positions in the maze on your ticket.
• Then scratch ONLY in the direction of each PAC-MAN symbol uncovered. If you find a fruit symbol on your path, you win the prize shown.
• Then keep scratching in the direction of the arrow by the fruit symbol.
• Follow the path for each of the START positions on your ticket.
• Uncover a ghost on your path and it’s game over for that PAC-MAN!
• If a path ends on 1 of the prize spots, you’ll win the prize amount there!
• You can win multiple times on each ticket.

How The Promotion Works & The Prizes Involved

Nonwinning tickets in the game can be entered into the PAC-MAN promotion for a chance at even more cash prizes and that sweet PAC-MAN arcade prize package!

There are 2 entry periods in the promotion and in each of the initial 2 drawings, we’ll give away 10 prizes of $15,000.

All entries not selected as winners in the initial drawings will remain eligible for the final drawing in late April for the grand prize of $25,000 plus a PAC-MAN package that includes a standing arcade game and barstool!

If you enter each promotion entry period, you could win in all 3 drawings.

Here is a breakdown of the promotion dates:

Entry Period	Drawing Date	Prize	Number of Winners
10 a.m. Feb. 4 - 9:59 a.m. March 17	March 18	$15,000	10
10 a.m. March 17 - 9:59 a.m. April 28	April 29	$15,000	10
10 a.m. Feb. 4 - 9:59 a.m. April 28	April 29	$25,000 + PAC-MAN arcade package	1

PAC-MAN™&©Bandai Namco Entertainment Inc.