ialottery blog

A Milk Run With More: Errand Ends With $10,000 Lottery Prize

There’s something about the every-day aspect of this story, especially during these unusual times, that brings a smile. A southeast Iowa couple has taken home a $10,000 prize from a lottery scratch ticket purchased during a milk run.

Heather Love of Morning Sun claimed the prize earlier this week. She said that her husband, Nick, bought the ticket when he stopped at a local convenience store for milk on the way home from work. She said that Nick rarely buys scratch tickets but decided to get one that day in the “$100,000 Mega Crossword” game.

Heather said she was the one who scratched the ticket later that night after dinner. She thought they’d won big, but said it didn’t really start to sink in until she scanned the ticket on the lottery’s mobile app and it displayed the message: "Congratulations, you won $10,000!"

She said that she and Nick argued good-naturedly over which one of them would actually claim the prize, but agreed that they would use the winnings to buy new carpet and flooring for their home.

Heather said that winning a big prize “kind of makes your heart flutter.” She said she has often heard about people winning the lottery, but now it’s real to her.

Congratulations, Heather and Nick! Thank you for giving us a smile with your story!

Less Than A Week To Go For An Unclaimed $50,000 Powerball Prize Won In Bettendorf

Head’s up in the Quad Cities! A $50,000 Powerball® prize won months ago in Bettendorf will expire in less than a week if it isn’t claimed in time. 

The $50,000-winning ticket was purchased at Kwik Star, 2283 53rd Ave. in Bettendorf. It matched 4 of the 5 white balls and the Powerball in the game’s July 29 drawing to win a $50,000 prize. The winning numbers that night were: 11-27-30-33-44 and Powerball 16.

The prize will expire next Monday (Jan. 27) if it isn’t claimed in time. So if you've got a ticket you haven't checked yet, the clock is ticking!    

The $50,000 prize can be claimed at any Iowa Lottery office, and our prize-claim hours are 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. Monday-Friday. So the functional deadline for this prize to be claimed is before 4 p.m. next Monday.

Players in Iowa have 180 days from the date of the drawing to claim Powerball prizes. If the prize expiration date falls on a weekend or holiday when lottery offices are closed, the winner has until the close of business on the next business day to turn in the ticket.

The money from lottery prizes won in Iowa that expire without being claimed goes into the lottery's prize pools for future games and promotions, so it will be used to pay prizes, just not those prizes that have expired.

In the last fiscal year (FY 2024), nearly $5 million in lotto and InstaPlay prizes expired in Iowa without being claimed.

If you have questions about the unclaimed prize in Bettendorf, please feel free to reach out to us at the lottery at 515-725-7900 or [email protected].

2 New InstaPlay Games Debut Sunday While Another Will End Soon

Update on Tuesday, January 21: The final progressive jackpot in the Jumbo Bucks Progressive InstaPlay game had reached $23,551.75 when it was won yesterday with a ticket purchased in Stacyville. So that game now has ended.   

Hey, InstaPlay fans! Here’s a head’s up that 2 new games will debut on Sunday, while a long-time existing game is on the list to end.

These updates are the final pieces of a refresh in our InstaPlay product line that’s been underway since September. In the months since then, we’ve introduced more than a dozen new InstaPlay games while a corresponding number of older games have ended.

It’s the first major update to our InstaPlay lineup since we began offering the product back in 2016. And it’s been fun to introduce new games for you to check out and have a shot at new prizes!

The updates continue on Sunday when ticket sales begin in the Big Money Doubler Progressive and Ultimate Winnings InstaPlay games.

As the name indicates, Big Money Doubler Progressive (a $5 game) has a progressive jackpot that starts at $5,000 and grows with each ticket sold statewide in the game until it’s won. Other prizes in the game range from $5 up to $1,000.

And, Ultimate Winnings (a $20 game) features set-amount prizes ranging from $20 up to $100,000.

While we’re gearing up for those games, another InstaPlay game is scheduled to end. The $5 Jumbo Bucks Progressive InstaPlay game has been on the game-ending list since Nov. 30. But the exact date it will be removed from sale depends on when the game’s current jackpot is won.

To be fair to our players, we never want to end an InstaPlay game while its progressive jackpot is still growing. Someone should get to win that prize! So as soon as the Jumbo Bucks Progressive jackpot is won, the game will end.

As we move ahead, it will be the norm for new InstaPlay games to regularly be introduced and older games to end. But for now, the refresh over the past few months has created a fun, new mix of games for you to try!

Truth or Myth: Is There A Better Chance Of Winning When The Jackpot Is Smaller?

Here’s another Truth vs. Myth question to test your lottery smarts: Do you have a better chance of winning when the jackpot is smaller?

Some people say they think that’s true. But it’s a myth.

All the plays in a lotto game (including Powerball® and Mega Millions®) have the same odds of winning, no matter the size of the jackpot.

That’s because the odds are based solely upon the numbers available to play in the game. They DON’T change with the size of the jackpot or the number of people playing.

From a practical standpoint, how would lotteries ever be able to tell you the odds if they were based upon the jackpot amount or the number of tickets being purchased? The details would change from minute to minute.

How The Odds Work

Here’s an example of how the odds really work. In Powerball, the odds of winning the jackpot are about 1 in 292.2 million because that’s how many different ways you can combine the numbers available in the game to make a play. You choose 5 numbers from a pool of 1 to 69 for the white balls and another number from a separate pool of 1 to 26 for the red Powerball. There are 292.2 million ways those numbers can be combined.

Each play you buy contains 1 of those combinations. The winning numbers selected in the drawing also are 1 of those combinations. So, there are odds of 1 in 292.2 million that the numbers on your ticket will match all 6 winning numbers in the drawing to win the jackpot.

Those odds never change.

Whether or not you play, the Iowa Lottery wants everyone to have an accurate understanding of how the lottery works. This Truth vs. Myth series is part of that effort.

Minnesota Timberwolves & Iowa Wolves Ticket Packages On The Line In Lottery Promotion

Premium VIP basketball packages to see the Minnesota Timberwolves and Iowa Wolves are on the line in the new lottery promotion that opened for entries today.

The Iowa Lottery’s Feeling Lucky? It’s Timberwolves Time! promotion started at 10 a.m. today, with a total of 17 ticket prize packages up for grabs.

The promotion’s initial drawings will be for courtside-seat prize packages to 7 Iowa Wolves home games in Des Moines. And the grand-prize drawing will be for 10 VIP suite-ticket packages to the Minnesota Timberwolves-Phoenix Suns NBA game on March 28 in Minneapolis.

Members of the lottery’s free VIP Club can enter the promotion with nonwinning tickets from the “Feeling Lucky?” scratch game. Players can make promotion entries until 9:59 a.m. March 10, and there will be 3 drawing dates for the ticket prize packages.

All promotion entries not selected as winners of Iowa Wolves ticket packages will remain eligible to win the Minnesota Timberwolves ticket packages in the grand-prize drawing.

Please pay close attention to the entry deadlines involved. The Iowa Wolves games earlier in the season will be closed to entries once the deadline for them has passed.

The winners of the promotion’s first 6 prize packages will be selected in drawings on Jan. 23 and Feb. 11. Each of those prize packages is valued at nearly $1,400 and includes:

• 4 front-row seats at center court for the Iowa Wolves game the player selected when entering the promotion
• 2 VIP parking passes for that game
• Complimentary food and beverages in the Courtside Club.
  AND
• 4 courtside seats in a special Lotto Zone at the Feb. 28 Iowa Wolves game
• complimentary food and beverages in the Lotto Zone
• $500 spending money.

Also on Feb. 11, the lottery will hold a special drawing for an additional prize package to the Feb. 28 Iowa Wolves game. All entries not previously selected as a winner will be eligible for the special drawing. That prize package is valued at nearly $1,000 and includes:

• 4 front-row seats at center court for the game
• 2 VIP parking passes
• Complimentary food and beverages in the Courtside Club
• $500 spending money.

Then on March 11, the lottery will hold the promotion’s grand-prize drawing for 10 ticket prize packages to the March 28 home game of the Minnesota Timberwolves. Each of those packages is valued at more than $3,800 and includes:

• 2 suite tickets to the game at the Target Center in Minneapolis with complimentary food, water and soda in the suite
• 1-night stay with parking for the night of March 28 at a downtown Minneapolis hotel adjacent to the Target Center
• Exclusive meet-and-greet with Timberwolves center Luka Garza
• $1,000 spending money
• 2 co-branded shirts.

As part of the fun, the Iowa Lottery will sponsor Timberwolves Night on Feb. 28 when the Iowa Wolves take on the Osceola Magic in Des Moines. We’ll have more details soon about how VIP Club members can get in on that event!

Central Iowa Man Walked Around For Days With Big Winning Ticket In His Wallet

A central Iowa man walked around for days without realizing he had a lottery ticket in his wallet had won a prize of $25,000 a year for life.

Brandon Richey of Dallas Center claimed his prize today at lottery headquarters in Clive. He says he generally waits to check his lottery tickets until he has a few to scan at a time.

So nearly a week after the Lucky for Life® drawing where he won at the game’s second prize level of $25,000 a week for life, he finally checked his ticket.

Checking It Once, Checking It Twice 

Brandon says he had stopped for coffee on his way to work, and while it was brewing, he decided to check his lottery tickets.

But when the lottery self-checker displayed the amount he’d won, he had trouble believing it. So he took his ticket to another store and checked it again. The results were the same!

Brandon works as a server at a West Des Moines restaurant and says that while he arrived at work soon after that, he may have been a little off that night! He says he was probably more distracted than he should have been as he tried to absorb his lottery news.

How He Won

Brandon bought his winning ticket at Kum & Go, 3105 Grand Prairie Parkway in Waukee, for the Dec. 15 drawing in Lucky for Life.

His ticket matched the first five numbers but missed the Lucky Ball to win at the game’s second prize level of $25,000 a year for life. That night’s winning numbers were: 9-12-22-36-45 and Lucky Ball 3.

Kum & Go received a $500 bonus from the Iowa Lottery for selling the winning ticket.

Brandon chose to receive his prize in the lump-sum option of $390,000 rather than as annuity payments over time.

He says he plans to pay off bills and then invest the rest of his winnings for the future.

Iowa Winning Streak

Brandon is Iowa’s 3rd big winner in Lucky for Life in 3 months.

In November, a Des Moines man won the game’s top prize of $1,000 a day for life. And in October, another Des Moines man won at the game’s second prize level of $25,000 a year for life.

Iowa has now seen 23 winners at Lucky for Life’s top 2 prize levels since the game debuted here in January 2016.

Will The Lottery Terminal, Self-Checker & Mobile App Give the Same Results?

A player just sent us an interesting question about the lottery devices that can be used to check tickets: Will they all give the same result?

The quick answer is yes, and that’s a good security feature to keep in mind.

There are 3 devices for ticket checking in a lottery retail location:

• the lottery terminal. A clerk at the machine can check ticket results for you.
• a self-checker. This electronic scanner is usually installed away from the main cash register so you can be out of the flow of customer traffic when you use it.
• a lottery self-service kiosk. Where available, you can use a self-service kiosk to buy and check tickets on your own. (Kiosks are in about 360 of the 2,500 retail locations in Iowa where lottery tickets are sold.)

In addition, you also can use the lottery’s mobile app to check ticket results from wherever your smart device can connect online. 

The results of a lottery ticket are imbedded in the codes on the ticket itself, so any lottery device will give the same result for that ticket.

All of our devices will display the results of your ticket on the screen. If you’ve won a prize, the dollar amount will be shown. If your ticket has not won a prize, the words “not a winner” will be displayed. Printed receipts are also available from a lottery terminal or self-service kiosk.

If you think you’ve gotten a different answer about your ticket from one device to another, please take the time to verify the information you’ve received.

And if you still have questions after that, we’re glad to help. You’re welcome to reach out to us or send your ticket to us at the lottery so we can double-check it for you.

Giant Mega Millions Jackpot Won, 2 Iowa Tickets Just 1 Number Away

The giant Mega Millions® jackpot was won last night, with 2 Iowa tickets just 1 number away from having a share of the prize.

Last night’s Mega Millions jackpot was won by a ticket purchased in California. The prize of $1.22 billion annuity, $549.7 million lump-sum option, is the 5th largest jackpot in the history of the game and the 9th-largest U.S. lottery prize.

Prizes Won In Iowa, 2 Tickets That Came So Close

Iowa Lottery players won a total of 38,780 prizes in last night’s Mega Millions drawing, ranging from $2 up to $30,000.

Two Iowa tickets were just 1 number away from having a share of the jackpot, matching 4 of the 5 white balls and the Mega Ball.

One of the tickets won a $30,000 prize, while the other won $10,000. The player who bought the $30,000-winning ticket added the Megaplier® option to the purchase, which tripled the prize.

• The $30,000-winning ticket was purchased at New Co-Op Corning, 408 Sixth St. in Corning.
• The $10,000-winning ticket was purchased at Casey’s, 1850 22nd St. in West Des Moines.

Those 2 prizes can be claimed at any Iowa Lottery office.

The Winning Numbers & Iowa Sales

The winning numbers in last night’s Mega Millions drawing were: 3-7-37-49-55 and Mega Ball 6. The Megaplier number was 3.

Iowa Lottery players bought nearly $2.2 million in Mega Millions tickets for last night’s drawing, including about $1.5 million in tickets yesterday alone. But the average Mega Millions purchase in Iowa for the drawing remained about 3 plays, or $6 per ticket.

We’re glad to see that a lot of people got in on the fun and didn’t go overboard.

Unclaimed $50,000 Powerball Prize Has 1 Month Until It’s Gone!

Somebody out there could be the winner of a $50,000 Powerball® prize and not know it!

We’re trying to spread the word because that prize won in Bettendorf now is down to 1 month until it expiration date.

Here’s what you need to know about that unclaimed prize:

• The winning ticket was purchased in Bettendorf at the Kwik Star at 2283 53rd Ave.
• The ticket won a $50,000 prize in the July 29 Powerball drawing.
• The winning numbers in that night’s drawing were: 11-27-30-33-44 and Powerball 16.
• The ticket matched 4 of the 5 white balls and the Powerball.
• The prize will expire on Jan. 27 if it isn’t claimed in time.

When a prize goes unclaimed, we really feel for the winner. Imagine leaving all that money on the table! That’s why we’re trying to jog somebody’s memory. If you know anyone who frequents that Kwik Star in Bettendorf, make sure they see this!

If you’re the winner and you’re reading this, bring that ticket to any Iowa Lottery office before the deadline: Cedar Rapids, Clive, Mason City or Storm Lake. Prize-claim hours are 8 a.m. to 4 p.m., Monday-Friday, with lottery offices closed on state holidays.

There are several other unclaimed prizes set to expire within the next month, including:

• A $2,000 Mega Millions® prize. The ticket was purchased at Casey’s, 1207 State St. in Tama, for the July 2 drawing. It will expire on Dec. 30 if it isn’t claimed in time.
• A $1,000 “Hit the Jackpot!” InstaPlay prize. The ticket was purchased on Oct. 9 at Mini Mart, 709 1st St. SW in Independence. Its expiration date is Jan. 7.
• A $1,250 Pick 4 prize. The ticket was purchased at Yesway, 1976 Franklin St. in Waterloo, for the Oct. 25 evening drawing. Its expiration date is Jan. 23.
• A $3,000 Pick 4 prize. The ticket was purchased at Cork’s, 1956 Lafayette St. in Waterloo for the Oct. 28 evening drawing. Its expiration date is Jan. 27.

If nobody steps forward in time to claim these prizes, the money involved will go back into the lottery’s prize pools for future games and promotions. 

We hope to meet these winners!

The Latest On Tonight’s Giant Mega Millions Jackpot

The giant Mega Millions® jackpot continues to climb, now standing at an estimated $1.22 billion annuity, $549.7 million lump-sum option, for tonight’s drawing.

The Mega Millions jackpot is now the 5th-largest prize in the history of the game and the 9th-largest jackpot in any U.S. lottery game.

The current Mega Millions jackpot has been growing for nearly 4 months. It was last won on Sept. 10. The game’s drawings are held at 10 p.m. on Tuesdays and Fridays.

Winning Numbers, Iowa Sales & Prizes

Iowa Lottery players won a total of 30,927 prizes in Tuesday’s Mega Millions drawing. The winning numbers that night were: 11-14-38-45-46 and Mega Ball 3. The Megaplier® number was 3.

Three Iowa tickets were just 1 number away from having at least a share of that night’s jackpot and won $10,000 each. They matched 4 of the 5 white balls and the Mega Ball.

The $10,000-winning tickets were purchased at:

• Smokin’ Joe’s, 1606 W. Locust St. in Davenport
• Hy-Vee, 812 S. First Ave. in Iowa City
• Casey’s, 516 Rossville Road in Waukon.

Iowa players bought more than $1.7 million in Mega Millions tickets for Tuesday’s drawing. But the average Mega Millions purchase in Iowa for the drawing remained about 3 plays, or $6 per ticket. Lottery officials were pleased that a lot of people had fun playing and didn’t go overboard.

Easy Picks vs. Your Own Numbers

The vast majority of tickets in games like Mega Millions are easy-pick plays, meaning that the lottery terminal assigns the numbers printed on the ticket. About 94 percent of the Iowa plays for Tuesday’s Mega Millions drawing were easy picks.

But players also can choose their own numbers. They choose five numbers from a pool of 1 to 70 for the white balls and 1 number from a separate pool of 25 for the yellow Mega Ball.

It HAS Been A While Since The Last $1 Billion+ Jackpot

If it seems like it’s been a while since we’ve seen a jackpot of more than $1 billion, that’s correct.

Prior to the current Mega Millions jackpot, it had been 8 months since the last time a U.S. jackpot topped the $1 billion mark. That Powerball® jackpot of $1.33 billion was won on April 6. The last Mega Millions jackpot to climb higher than $1 billion was a $1.13 billion prize won on March 26.

There were 4 U.S. jackpots of more than $1 billion in calendar year 2023, but the current jackpot is just the 3rd in 2024. And that’s the random nature of the games: You never know when the next big winner will hit!

12 U.S. Jackpots Of More Than $1 Billion

With the current Mega Millions jackpot included, there now have been a dozen U.S. jackpots of more than $1 billion, all in the Powerball and Mega Millions games.

The Deadline To Buy

Remember that the deadline in Iowa to buy a ticket for tonight’s Mega Millions drawing is 8:59 p.m. If you buy a ticket after that, it will be for an upcoming drawing and you won’t be in the running for tonight’s giant prize.

Play Healthy

At the Iowa Lottery, we remind everyone to play just for fun. You are gambling when you buy a lottery ticket and there is no guarantee that you’ll win.

As an additional resource, we keep Play Smart, Be Informed details on our website to help everyone have an accurate understanding of how the lottery works.

Fast Facts For Tonight’s Giant Jackpot Drawing In Mega Millions

Maybe this means another stop today on your shopping list!

Strong sales in Iowa and across the country have pushed the giant Mega Millions® jackpot to an estimated $1 billion annuity, $448.8 million lump-sum amount, for tonight’s Christmas Eve drawing.

The current jackpot is the 7th-largest in Mega Millions history and hovers just under the Top 10 list of the biggest jackpots in any U.S. lotto game.

The Mega Millions jackpot was won 10 times in calendar year 2023 but has been hit only 3 times so far in 2024. That demonstrates the random nature of a game like Mega Millions, where no one knows when the next big winner will hit.

With Iowa Lottery offices closed tomorrow and Thursday for the holiday, players can check the lottery website for the latest jackpot and winner updates.

Will The Holiday Season Change Ticket-Buying Patterns?

In the usual ticket-purchasing patterns for Mega Millions, the day of the drawing always has the highest sales. And sales generally peak that day from 4-7 p.m. as a lot of people head home from work.

But with the holidays this week, players’ purchasing patterns may be different, with a lot of people on vacation and out of their normal routines. The “normal” patterns may fall by the wayside for this drawing.

The added attention on tonight’s drawing also emphasizes the point that lottery drawings happen every day of the year, even when the drawing date falls on a holiday.

How Has The Jackpot Gotten This Big?

Time combined with sales are why the jackpot has grown so large.

The Mega Millions jackpot has been growing for nearly 4 months. It was last won in the drawing on Sept. 10.

The jackpot increases from drawing to drawing when there is no grand-prize winner, and sales generally increase as the jackpot climbs higher. And higher sales, in turn, push the jackpot even higher.

What’s That About ‘Coverage’?

A detail that gets a lot of attention in Mega Millions drawings is the coverage estimate. By tracking sales, lottery officials can estimate how many of all the possible combinations in the game have been purchased for a particular drawing.

It’s called coverage – how many of the combinations have been purchased, or “covered.”

The coverage estimate for tonight’s 10 p.m. drawing is about 25 percent. A higher coverage percentage can mean it’s more likely there will be a jackpot winner, but it is not a definite. There have been jackpot winners when the coverage estimate was in the single digits, and winners when the estimate was much higher.

The Deadline To Buy

Remember that the deadline in Iowa to buy tickets for the Mega Millions drawing is 8:59 p.m. on the night of the drawing.

If you buy a ticket after that, it will be for an upcoming drawing and you won’t be in the running for that night’s giant prize.

Play Healthy

The Iowa Lottery reminds players to enjoy the moment, but remember that you are gambling when you buy tickets. There is no guarantee that you’ll win. Playing the lottery is something that should be done just for fun.

The Iowa Lottery keeps these and other “Play Smart, Be Informed” details on its website to help everyone have an accurate understanding of how the lottery works.

Player Comment: I’m Obviously Older Than 21, So Why Did They Still Card Me?

Here’s a question we got from a player amid the holiday rush this week. He wondered why he was carded at a local supermarket as he was buying lottery tickets. The man said he’s clearly not younger than 21 anymore, and he still had to show ID.

Some retail locations have that workplace policy, and we understand the real-world situation involved. They ask customers to verify their age before buying certain products as a way to protect their ability to do business.

Lottery tickets are an age-controlled product, and you have to be a certain age before you can buy them. Here in Iowa, the minimum purchasing age for lottery tickets is 21.

Retail locations need licenses to sell age-controlled products, and one of the requirements involved is that they enforce the minimum purchasing age. A business license can be suspended or even revoked for a violation of its terms, and some stores therefore choose to ID everyone, not just those they think may be under 21.

Losing any business license will have a financial impact on the location involved, likely limiting for a period of time some of the products it can sell.

We support our retailers taking a careful approach!

So if you’re asked for an ID when you buy lottery tickets, know that the store is doing the right thing. (And if you think it’s obvious you haven’t been 21 for a while, maybe just have fun in the moment.)

Winning Streak! 3rd Big Iowa Win In The Lucky For Life Game In 3 Months

We’ve got a winning streak going! For the 3rd time in as many months, Iowa has a big winner in the multi-state Lucky for Life® game.

The latest big win hit on a ticket purchased in Waukee for last night’s Lucky for Life drawing. The Waukee ticket matched the first 5 numbers but missed the Lucky Ball to win at the game’s second prize level of $25,000 a year for life.

The ticket was purchased at Kum & Go, 3105 Grand Prairie Parkway in Waukee. Last night’s winning Lucky for Life numbers were: 9-12-22-36-45 and Lucky Ball 3.

Kum & Go will receive a $500 bonus from the Iowa Lottery for selling the winning ticket.

The Winning Streak

Iowa’s Lucky for Life winning streak started in October when a Des Moines man won at the game’s second prize level of $25,000 a year for life. Then in November, another Des Moines man won the game’s top prize of $1,000 a day for life.

With the latest win added in, Iowa has seen a total of 23 winners at Lucky for Life’s top 2 prize levels since the game’s January 2016 debut in our state.

Prize Claim Details

The Lucky for Life prize won in Waukee has to be claimed at lottery headquarters in Clive within 180 days of the drawing.

If the winner has questions before coming forward to claim the prize, they can give us a shout at 515-725-7900 or by email to [email protected].

So Far, We’ve Seen A Lucky Dog & A Brand-New Smile. Will YOU Be A Holiday Winner?

We’ve heard some great stories from the first 10 lucky Iowans who each won a $25,000 prize in our “Cash Prizes are Coming to Town” promotion. You could be the next holiday winner – and the prizes will get even bigger as we move ahead!

We’ve been meeting the initial round of holiday winners one by one since we announced their names on Tuesday.

One of our winners took a “less is more” approach when he entered the promotion. Chad Reusch of Quimby told us he only entered 2 tickets, but that was all he needed to become a winner!

“I just figured I’m going to do it, give it a chance, and it paid off,” he said.

Chad already knows what he’ll do with his $25,000 prize: He wants to buy a rooftop tent for his overland trailer, so he can go on even better camping trips with his “right-hand gal,” Ava.

“I call her my daughter, of course. She’s my service dog, goes everywhere with me,” Reusch said.

Another one of our winners came straight from the dentist’s office to claim his $25,000 prize. Greg Paine of Duncombe had booked an appointment to replace his teeth in Cedar Rapids a while ago. Little did he know when he scheduled that, he’d be making a pit stop at lottery headquarters on the way home.

“It just kind of fell into place,” he said.

It also worked out that his first chance to show off that new smile was the moment he held a giant check with his name on it. Paine said he plans to have plenty of fun with his winnings – after he takes care of some business.

“Well first I’m going to pay the dental bill!” he said.

There is still time for you to enter to win your share of more than $1 million in prizes in our holiday promotion. Here are some key details for you to know:

• Keep entering your nonwinning tickets! Our final drawings in the promotion will take place on Jan. 9. That day, we’ll award 10 more people prizes of $25,000.
• Every ticket entered in this promotion also is eligible to win the grand prize of $250,000 that will be awarded that same day. So if you didn’t win in either $25,000 drawing, you just might get an even bigger prize!
• And for those who entered ELF InstaPlay or scratch tickets but didn’t win in either $25,000 drawing, your tickets will be rolled into a drawing exclusively for ELF tickets for a $100,000 prize!
• The entry deadline for all of these drawings is 9:59 a.m. on Jan. 8. We’ll draw the lucky names the next day, and maybe we’ll be getting in touch with YOU!

Our Latest Promotion Could Have You ‘Dublin Your Luck’

There was so much anticipation for the Ireland trip package we just gave away in the Cyclone™ Football promotion that we’ve decided to do it again!

The Dublin Your Luck promotion opened for entries this morning, with another chance on the line for you to win a trip to see Iowa State’s 2025 season opener in Ireland.

The travel package for two includes airfare, lodging, game tickets to the Iowa St.-Kansas St. football game on Aug. 23 at Aviva Stadium in Dublin, $5,000 spending money and a merchandise pack.

How To Enter

To enter the Dublin Your Luck promotion, you’ll need to join or already be a member of the Iowa Lottery’s free VIP Club. The promotion’s entry period opened this morning and runs through the morning of Feb. 10.

You can enter with nonwinning tickets in the “Cyclone™” scratch game. But please note: Any tickets previously entered in the Cyclone Football promotion that ended in late November are ineligible for this new promotion.

Entries can be made on the lottery’s website at ialottery.com or with the lottery’s mobile app.

The lottery will hold the drawing to select the Dublin Your Luck trip winner on Feb. 11.

Maybe you’ll be like Tammy Newcomb of Davenport, the Ireland trip winner selected Nov. 21 in the Cyclone Football promotion, and be on your way to Dublin next year!

A Thought To Keep: Please Reserve Lottery Tickets For the Adults On Your Gift List

Here’s a reminder for the holiday season, but it really applies at any time of the year.

At the Iowa Lottery, we know that in the next month or so, lottery tickets will be given as gifts and put in stockings. And we’re not trying to tamp down on your holiday spirit!

But please remember that our tickets are something to be purchased by adults, for adults.

That’s true for a lot of gift possibilities. Some video games and movies aren’t appropriate for all ages. Alcohol and tobacco-related products have age restrictions. Even toys have age-recommendation guidelines.

In Iowa, you have to be at least 21 years old to buy lottery tickets, and we’ve always considered our products something for adults. You are gambling when you play the lottery.

We want our products to go to those who are mature enough to enjoy that entertainment. Research from the National Library of Medicine notes that adolescents and young adults are more vulnerable to the risks of gambling because their brains are still developing.

So if you’re giving lottery tickets as gifts, please keep them for the adults on your list.

And as always, if you or someone you know has questions about problem gambling, please know that help is available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week here in Iowa. You can text and live chat by visiting Your Life Iowa or call 1-800-BETSOFF (1-800-238-7633).

Truth or Myth: Children Can Buy Lottery Tickets If Their Parents Are OK With It

Here’s the latest in our Truth vs. Myth series to test your lottery know-how. People can get crabby with us on this particular point, so this is a good time to talk about it!

Here goes: It’s fine for children to buy lottery tickets in Iowa as long as the parents are okay with it.

That’s a myth.

Iowa law specifies that you have to be at least 21 years old to buy lottery tickets in this state. There is no wiggle room on that.

The crabby part I referenced can come into play when people are buying tickets and their child with them wants to be involved by handing the money to a clerk or putting it into the bill acceptor on a lottery vending machine. In those instances, there could be a question about who is actually buying the tickets. And when that happens, we ask the adult involved not to let the child handle the money.

You can imagine that if it’s a small child, they can become unhappy that they’re not allowed to be part of the process. Cue a meltdown by the child and a subsequent exasperated parent.

Please know we’re not trying to be mean! We’re just ensuring that the law is being followed. (Apologies for any meltdowns involved.)

While those under 21 can’t purchase lottery tickets in Iowa, it is legal for them to claim a prize, provided that the ticket involved was legally purchased, legally possessed, and legally presented; and that the intent of those involved is not to circumvent the law.

That particular point has to do with property rights. Once someone buys a lottery ticket, it becomes their property, and they can give that property to someone else if they choose.

For example, we’ve seen grandparents give winning lottery tickets to their grandchildren to claim to help pay for college expenses. Another time, a parent gave a winning ticket to a child to claim as a birthday gift.

If the person claiming the prize is younger than 18, a parent or guardian also has to sign the lottery claim form. And when the prize is being claimed at a lottery office, our Security team will review the details to ensure that the law is being followed.

Whether you play the lottery or not, we want everyone to have an accurate understanding of how the lottery works. This Truth or Myth series is part of that effort.

Focus On Convenience: We’re Rolling Out More Vending Machines For Lottery Tickets

Your local store may be sporting some new lottery equipment the next time you buy tickets.

We’re in the process of rolling out new self-service kiosks to 150 retail locations and new pull-tab vending machines in another 30 stores. All of the locations already sell lottery tickets, but the new equipment will provide additional convenience for customers AND employees.

You can see a couple of the new machines in the images at the top of this post! On the left is the new self-service kiosk at Jet Stop in Burlington, and on the right is the new pull-tab vending machine at Brew Oil in Correctionville.

What’s Behind This Move?

Retail studies today show that some customers prefer to make their purchases from another human being, while others want to use self-service. With new equipment in retail locations, you’ll have more options if you want to play the lottery.

The Iowa Lottery’s self-service kiosks allow you to buy lotto, scratch and InstaPlay tickets, while our pull-tab vending machines carry only that product. You of course can still buy tickets at the lottery terminal in stores.

The Timing Involved

We began installing 150 new self-service kiosks earlier this month, and when that rollout is complete in mid-January, we’ll have them in 360 locations. Installation of 30 new pull-tab vending machines began in late October and will be wrapped up by early next month, with pull-tabs being sold in a total of about 425 locations in Iowa.

The machines aren’t in all our retailers – lottery tickets are sold in about 2,500 businesses statewide. But we’ve done our best to identify the busy spots where additional equipment can help make buying tickets and checking prize results easier.

As we move ahead, we’ll continue to evaluate opportunities for other new equipment. But for now, maybe you’ll see a new lottery machine the next time you’re in your favorite local spot!

Why Do So Many Pick 4 & Pick 3 Players Win Multiple Prizes In The Same Drawing?

It’s happened again! An Iowa player won multiple top prizes, all in the same lottery drawing. I’m not sure I can fully explain the thought process involved that led to the happy moment, even after all my years of working at the lottery. But I’ll try! Here goes.

In the latest scenario, a Mount Pleasant man won 3 top prizes of $30,000 in last Saturday’s midday Pick 4 drawing. He chose his own numbers and bought his winning tickets all at the same Mount Pleasant store.

Pick 4 and Pick 3 are both games with drawings twice a day. They’re different from our other lotto games because you as the player can choose the type of play you want to make. And that determines the prize you can win.

How You Play

For example, you can buy a play where you’ll win a prize by matching the winning numbers in the drawing in any order. That’s called a box play. Or, you can buy a play where you’ll win a prize by matching the winning numbers in the exact order they’re selected in the drawing. That’s called a straight play. The different ways you can play – and win – are part of the fun of the games.

In Pick 3, you choose 3 numbers, each from 0-9. And in Pick 4, you choose 4 numbers, each from 0-9. Plays cost from 50 cents up to $5.

Players in both games often choose their own numbers rather than buying easy-pick tickets where the lottery terminal randomly assigns the numbers in the play. And because the players are loyal to their numbers, when they win, they often hit BIG.

The Mount Pleasant winner this week is a perfect example of that. He chose his own numbers, buying 3 identical tickets for the same Pick 4 drawing. And he hit big, winning the top prize of $30,000 on each ticket. He had chosen a straight play and won by matching the winning numbers in the exact order selected in the drawing: 7-0-0-6.

But Why Do They Do That?

So what’s behind that thought process of buying multiple tickets, all with the same numbers for the same drawing? Maybe it’s the “max bet” concept, where the players figure if they’re going to win, they want to win big. Maybe they have certain lucky numbers. Or, they could just have a feeling and decide to play.

I’m not sure I can pinpoint the reason, I just know it happens. And when it does, someone has a really good day!

Des Moines Man Says He Can Relax Now After Winning Prize Of $1,000 A Day For Life

Iowa’s first top prize winner of $1,000 a day for life in the Lucky for Life® game says his big prize will allow him to move closer to family.

Shelby Willis of Des Moines says his win will change things for himself, his children and his grandchildren. He knows it’s important and he wants to do get right in terms of managing his winnings.

Shelby, who is 64, was born in Iowa, but spent most of his adult life on the East Coast, where both of his daughters and his brother live today. He returned to live in Des Moines 12 years ago to help his father who was in poor health at the time. Now he’s looking to move east again, likely to New Jersey, to be near his family.

His Plans For His Winnings

Shelby says his win means he can relax and he won’t have to be as concerned with finances. He also looks forward to being able to get some important items on his list, including a townhome or condo in New Jersey.

But baseball is also on his mind! Shelby says he’s been a New York Yankees fan since the 1970s, so tickets to see the Bronx Bombers are definitely in his future.

How He Won

Shelby’s ticket matched all six winning numbers in Friday’s Lucky for Life drawing to win the game’s top prize of $1,000 a day for life. The winning numbers that night were: 2-7-19-42-47 and Lucky Ball 4.

He bought his winning easy-pick ticket at QuikTrip, 1501 E. Grand Ave. in Des Moines. QuikTrip will receive a $5,000 bonus from the Iowa Lottery for selling the winning ticket.

Instant Retirement

Shelby chose the cash option for his prize, getting a lump-sum payment of $5.75 million.

He says winning has meant “instant retirement” for him. After he realized on Saturday that he’d won big, he quit his job in the security industry.  

Shelby's prize is Iowa’s 22nd overall big winner in Lucky for Life since the game’s January 2016 debut in the state. The other big winners were all at the game’s second prize level of $25,000 a year for life.

Iowa Has Its 1st Top Prize Winner Of $1,000 A Day For Life In Lucky For Life Game

Someone who bought a lottery ticket at a Des Moines convenience store has won Iowa’s first top prize of $1,000 a day for life in the multi-state Lucky for Life® game!

This is Iowa’s 22nd overall big winner in Lucky for Life since the game began in our state in January 2016. Iowa’s other big Lucky for Life winners have all been at the game's second prize level of $25,000 a year for life.

Details About The Winning Ticket

The top-prize winning ticket matched all 6 winning numbers in last night’s Lucky for Life drawing to win $1,000 a day for life. The ticket was purchased at Quik Trip, 1501 E. Grand Ave. in Des Moines.

Last night’s winning Lucky for Life numbers were: 2-7-19-42-47 and Lucky Ball 4.

Quik Trip will receive a $5,000 bonus from the Iowa Lottery for selling the winning ticket.

Lucky for Life is a $2 game with drawings each night. It is sold by Iowa and 22 other U.S. lotteries.

The game’s top two prize levels are described as “lasting as long as you do,” meaning that they are truly for life. The minimum guaranteed payout for those two prize levels is 20 years, and there is a lump-sum option for players who would prefer that rather than lifetime annuity payments.

Players can win the game’s top prize of $1,000 a day for life by matching all six numbers selected in one of its drawings. The game’s second prize – for matching the first five numbers but missing the Lucky Ball – is $25,000 a year for life. Other prize levels in the game range from $3 up to $5,000.

Prize Claim Details

There are two options for claiming Lucky for Life’s top prize: annuity payments over time or a single, lump-sum payment. The annuity option would provide annual payments of $365,000 ($1,000 a day) for life. The lump-sum option would mean a one-time payment of $5.75 million.

The prize has to be claimed at Iowa Lottery headquarters in Clive, and we strongly encourage a prize-claim appointment. Iowa Lottery offices are closed on weekends and will be closed on Monday for the Veterans Day holiday, so the earliest that this prize could be claimed is Tuesday.   

Lucky for Life winners in Iowa have to claim their prizes within 180 days of the drawing.

If the winner or winners of the Des Moines prize have questions, they’re welcome to call us at the lottery at 515-725-7900 or email us at [email protected].

A Coin Flip, Rolling The Dice, Shuffling The Cards: A Look At What The Odds Mean

Maybe the best way to explain the odds of winning in a lottery game is to compare them to something else entirely. So we made some new videos to do just that.

Let’s start with scratch games. The odds of winning on a scratch ticket are a lot like the outcome of shuffling a deck of cards. There are 4 suits in the deck, but after the cards are shuffled into random order, you can go a lot more than 4 cards in a row without finding a particular suit.

For InstaPlay games, think of the odds like flipping a coin. You’ve got a 50/50 chance that the outcome will be heads or tails, but we all know you can flip a coin several times in a row with only one outcome.

For pull-tab games, the odds can be compared to rolling a dice. You’ve got a 1 in 6 chance of rolling one of the numbers on the dice, but you can roll it time after time without landing on the number you want!

For lotto games – including Powerball® and Mega Millions® – the odds of winning come from the numbers available to play, and all the different ways you can combine them.

We used each of those concepts for the new videos that went live today to explain the odds of winning in our games. Each video is only about a minute long to quickly provide the details involved.

You can find the videos through the links in this blog entry, and we'll also post them on our website.  

Whether you play the lottery or not, we want everyone to have an accurate understanding of how our games work. These new videos are part of that effort.

Big Change In The Lineup: 10 New InstaPlay Games On The Way In November!

Iowa’s InstaPlay lineup is set for a BIG makeover in November, with 10 new games scheduled to hit the market.

The revamp of our InstaPlay line started a couple months ago when we introduced a few new games. It continued earlier this month when we debuted our first holiday-themed InstaPlay tickets.

Now in the next few weeks, you’ll see another 10 new InstaPlay games hitting the market as some older games end. That approach is similar to the schedules we use for scratch and pull-tab games – as new games are introduced, sales end in older games that have been on the market for some time.

The big difference on the InstaPlay side has to do with progressive-jackpot games. I’ll dig into those details later in this blog entry.

The Schedule Of New Games

The 5 InstaPlay games set to debut Nov. 3 all feature set prize amounts. Here is the list, including their ticket prices:

• $20 on the Spot ($1)
• Fast Cash Bingo ($2)
• Plus the Cash ($5)
• Crazy Wild Cash ($10)
• Top Dollar ($30).

Five more InstaPlay games are set to begin Nov. 17. Four of them have progressive jackpots, meaning that the top prize increases with each ticket sold statewide until it’s won. Only 1 game scheduled for Nov. 17 features set prize amounts. The games are:

• Big Money Doubler Progressive ($5)
• Hot Ticket Progressive ($10)
• Xtreme Multiplier Progressive ($20)
• Ultimate Winning ($20, game has set prize amounts)
• Blank Check Progressive ($30).

Some Older Games Are Ending

As the new games are introduced, some existing InstaPlay games will leave the market.

Ending dates are solid for the InstaPlay games with set prize amounts that are leaving the market. But the exact date that the Iowa Lottery plans to end an InstaPlay progressive game is dependent upon its jackpot being won.

To be fair to our players, we don’t want to end an InstaPlay game while its progressive jackpot is still growing. Someone should get to win it!

So, for example, the Cherry Twist Progressive game was put on the game-ending schedule on Oct. 19, but it’s still for sale because its current jackpot hasn't been hit yet!

Sales ended Oct. 19 in these 3 InstaPlay games with set prize amounts:

• Lucky Gems ($1)
• Bullseye Doubler ($2)
• Triple Play ($10).

As we move ahead, we anticipate it will become the norm for new InstaPlay games to regularly start and older games to end.

People Watching Leads Des Moines Man To Win $25,000 A Year For Life

A Des Moines man who has carried on his dad’s tradition of people watching decided to buy some lottery tickets during one such stop last week – and he hit big!

Richard Hoversten says people watching was something he and his dad did during the family’s weekly grocery trips when he was growing up. Richard says he’s gone forward with the tradition, and during a recent stop at Hy-Vee, 2540 E. Euclid Ave. in Des Moines, he decided to buy a few lottery tickets.

The next day, he checked the results of his tickets on the Iowa Lottery website and realized he’d won a prize of $25,000 a year for life in the Lucky for Life® game. Richard says he immediately called his son to double-check what he was seeing. And then he admits he was just dumbfounded for a bit!

Richard, who’s 79 and a retired Vietnam veteran, says he was then able to spread the word to his other children and grandchildren. And they believed his news!

Richard won Iowa’s 21st big prize in the Lucky for Life game since its January 2016 debut in the state. His easy-pick ticket matched the first five numbers but missed the Lucky Ball in last Wednesday’s Lucky for Life drawing to win at the game’s second prize level of $25,000 a year for life.

That night’s winning Lucky for Life numbers were: 9-12-22-25-44 and Lucky Ball 9.

Hy-Vee will receive a $500 bonus from the lottery for selling Richard his winning ticket.

Richard chose to receive his prize in its annuity option of $25,000 a year for life. He plans to use his winning to pay off bills and says he may travel more. He also plans to invest for the future and will continue supporting charities important to him.

Iowa Had 2 Big Winners In Last Night’s Lottery Drawings!

Update on Friday, Oct. 25: We're still waiting to meet the Lucky for Life winner, but the Powerball prize has been claimed! Anita Kent of Burlington claimed her $100,000 Powerball prize yesterday at our Cedar Rapids office. 

Iowa saw 2 big winners in last night’s lottery drawings. A Lucky for Life® prize of $25,000 a year for life was won in Des Moines and a $100,000 Powerball® prize was won in Burlington!

Details About The Winning Lucky for Life Ticket

The Lucky for Life ticket in Des Moines won Iowa’s 21st big prize in that game since its January 2016 debut in our state. The ticket matched the first 5 numbers but missed the Lucky Ball in last night’s Lucky for Life drawing to win at the game’s second prize of $25,000 a year for life.

The winning ticket was purchased at Hy-Vee, 2540 E. Euclid Ave. in Des Moines. Last night’s winning Lucky for Life numbers were: 9-12-22-25-44 and Lucky Ball 9.

Hy-Vee will receive a $500 bonus from the lottery for selling the winning ticket.

Details About The Winning Powerball Ticket

The Powerball ticket in Burlington initially matched 4 of the white balls and the Powerball in last night’s drawing to win $50,000. But whoever bought the lucky ticket added the Power Play® option to it, which doubled the prize to $100,000.

The winning ticket was purchased at Liquorland, 600 S. Main St. in Burlington. Last night’s winning Powerball numbers were: 2-15-27-29-39 and Powerball 20. The Power Play number was 2.

Liquorland will receive a $100 bonus from the lottery for selling the winning ticket.

Prize Claim Details

Lucky for Life and Powerball prizes won in Iowa have to be claimed within 180 days of the drawing.

The Lucky for Life prize won in Des Moines needs to be claimed at lottery headquarters in Clive, while the Powerball prize won in Burlington can be claimed at any of the lottery’s offices.

If the winners have questions before claiming their prizes, they’re welcome to reach out to us at the lottery at 515-725-7900 or [email protected].

Why It Matters: The Drawing Date Vs. The Purchase Date On Your Ticket

Here’s a tip we shared with a player this week who thought we’d reported the wrong winning numbers in Powerball®.

It turns out he was looking at the wrong date on his ticket.

In a game like Powerball, the date of the drawing where your ticket could win a prize is printed in large font right in the center of the paper, just above the plays you bought.

The date that you bought your ticket is in the upper right corner of the ticket, in a year-month-day format. You also can see the exact time that the ticket was printed. We provide those details as a security feature to help track and identify the ticket.

The player mistakenly thought that the purchase date on his ticket was the date of the drawing in which it could win a prize.

And when he went to our website to check the results of his ticket, he thought it should have won a prize. But when he scanned the ticket with the lottery’s mobile app on his phone, he got a message saying it wasn’t a winner.

We all can probably imagine ourselves in that situation. The man said he scanned his ticket several times, thinking that the results would change. He even took his ticket to a store to have it checked on the lottery terminal to double-check the results provided by the mobile app. Every time, the results showed that his ticket had not won a prize.

The man then emailed us to ask if something had gone wrong with the results we reported for the drawing.

We were able to figure out that he was looking at the wrong date on his ticket, and then he understood the difference!

The same details apply to tickets in any of our lotto games, not just Powerball. (The others are Mega Millions®, Lotto America®, Lucky for Life®, Pick 3 and Pick 4.)

So now you’ll get it right when you check the tickets you buy!

Truth or Myth: The Cash Option Is The Jackpot’s Annuity Amount Minus Taxes

Let’s test your lottery know-how with a jackpot-related question! Truth vs. Myth: The cash option is the annuity amount of the jackpot minus taxes.

That’s a myth.

The cash option is NOT the annuity amount minus taxes. Here’s why.

When you win the jackpot in a game like Powerball® or Mega Millions®, you have two options for how you’ll receive your winnings: cash or annuity.

If you choose the annuity option, you’ll receive 30 payments over 29 years that add up to the annuity amount of the jackpot. The first payment is made when you claim the jackpot and the 29 other payments are made on that same date each year.

To achieve the annuity amount of the jackpot, the lottery invests in securities with the cash in the jackpot from the sale of tickets in the game. The initial amount of money invested plus all the interest generated over the 29 years of payments adds up to the annuity total of the jackpot.

Withholdings are applied to each annual payment that you receive. And if you die before receiving your final jackpot payment, the money goes into your estate. The lottery will then make any remaining payments according to the terms of your estate or as directed by the court.

If you choose the cash option, you’ll receive a one-time payment of the cash in the jackpot from the sale of tickets. You won’t receive any interest over time because the money is not invested. You took the lump-sum cash instead.

Another way of putting it is that the “rest of the money” doesn’t exist in that scenario. Withholdings are applied to the entire amount of the lump-sum jackpot payment.

So to recap: Annuity = cash + interest. Lump-sum = cash only.

Whether you play the lottery or not, we want everyone to have an accurate understanding of how the lottery works. This Truth or Myth series is part of that effort.

Revamp of Mega Million Game Set To Debut In April 2025

Mega Millions® is getting ready for a “mega” overhaul, with a new design in the game set to debut in April 2025.

Among the enhancements that players will see:

• Improved odds of winning the jackpot
• Bigger jackpots more often
• Larger starting jackpots
• Faster-growing jackpots
• A built-in multiplier on every play, automatically improving every non-jackpot win by 2X, 3X, 4X, 5X or 10X. With the built-in multiplier, players will be able to win up to $10 million for matching just the five white balls but missing the Mega Ball in a drawing.
• No break-even prizes, meaning when a player wins, they’ll always win more than the cost of a play.

When the revamped game begins next April, tickets in it will cost $5 per play. This is only the game’s second price adjustment since the first Mega Millions ticket was sold in May 2002, and the first change since the current game design was adopted in 2017.

Mega Millions has produced winners of 6 jackpots topping $1 billion. The game’s largest prize to date was a $1.6 billion jackpot won in August 2023 with a ticket in Florida.

Mega Millions tickets have been sold in Iowa since January 2010. During that time, Iowa Lottery players have won 18 prizes in the game of at least $1 million.

First She Won Big On The Lottery. Now She’s Buying A Motorcycle

Here’s a lottery winner with VERY clear plans for the future! 

She's from southern Iowa and she has no hesitation describing what she's going to get now that she’s won $50,000 playing the lottery. Lisa Johns of Creston is buying a Harley Trike.

Lisa says it will help her remember her late husband, Sterling, and their favorite pastime. She says they were avid motorcycle riders, and when Sterling passed away, she gave his motorcycle to her son as Sterling had wanted.

It’s now been two years, and Lisa says she’s ready to get on the road again! She and Sterling were part of a big group that rode motorcycles, and she says she can’t wait to ride with them again.

Lisa, a retired postmaster, won the first of eight top prizes in the “In The Money” scratch game that just hit store shelves earlier this month. She bought her winning ticket at Casey’s, 403 E. Townline Road in Creston and claimed her prize yesterday at lottery headquarters in Clive.

Congratulations, Lisa! We wish you many happy miles out on the road! 

A Lottery Sign, A Facebook Post, And A Very Happy Last-Minute Prize Winner

It started with a lottery sign in a store. Which led to a Facebook post about the sign. Which led to a central Iowa woman seeing the post. Which led to her finding a Mega Millions® ticket she’d bought months ago. Which led to her claiming a $20,000 prize this week with just days to go before it would have expired!

Mary Blumer of Ankeny was still a bit in disbelief about it all as she claimed her prize Wednesday at lottery headquarters in Clive. She says she saw a Facebook post the night before about an unclaimed prize won at an Ankeny convenience store.

The post showed a picture of a lottery sign in the Kum & Go with a circle around the $20,000 Mega Millions prize won there in March that still hadn’t been claimed. The sign showed that the prize was going to expire this coming Monday, Sept. 23.

Mary looked in her purse, and sure enough, she had that winning ticket!

She says she has a habit of putting her lottery tickets in her purse and forgetting about them. She remembers that she meant to check the ticket months ago the next time she stopped for gas, but time got away from her.

THE ONE WHO STARTED IT

Enter Anne Rodriguez, who also lives in Ankeny.

Anne says she saw the lottery sign in the Kum & Go at 165 SW Magazine Rd. in Ankeny, and it bugged her that someone was about to lose out on that prize. So she took a picture of the sign and posted it in the “People of Ankeny” group on Facebook. She says she just hoped something would come from it.

And something did!

Anne says she’s shocked that her post worked.

She says she could almost cry, knowing that Mary claimed the prize in time!

Mary says she owes Anne at least a tank of gas or something because without her, she never would have gotten her winnings!

Mary works at a local credit union and says she plans to retire soon. She’s going to use some of her prize money to start savings accounts for her grandchildren.

THAT’S a story with a great ending!

Her Bestie Was Right! Webster City Woman Wins $1 Million Powerball Prize

It was a normal day at work for a Webster City woman until she saw a message from her best friend, saying that someone in her community had just won $1 million in Powerball®.

Lynne Kannuan admits she usually waits for weeks before she checks the results of her lottery tickets. But after hearing from her friend, she got out her ticket, logged onto the Iowa Lottery website, and checked the winning numbers. She says she had to check the results twice before she started to believe she’d won big.

Then she went straight to her boss’s office. But when she got there, all she could say was, “Um …”

She finally got the words out that she may have won $1 million. Her boss also went to the lottery website to check the winning numbers, and she agreed!

Pausing To Make A Plan

Lynne says she immediately told her husband, Pat, and their adult sons, but then the couple stayed quiet for about six weeks while they consulted a financial planner and lawyer. Lynne claimed her prize today at Iowa Lottery headquarters in Clive through the Lynne Kannuan Living Trust.

She says she and her husband plan to pay bills, invest, and share some of the winnings with family. And Lynne says she’ll get a newer car.

The couple, who both immigrated as children to the United States from Laos, talked about how far they’ve come, literally and figuratively. But they plan to just go about their normal days. Lynne describes her winnings as the perfect amount: “Not too much, not too little, just right.”

A Small Prize Led To Something BIGGER

Lynne bought her winning ticket at Fareway, 942 Second St. in Webster City, while stopping for groceries on her way home from work. She says she had a $5-winning scratch ticket in her purse, so she used a portion of that prize to buy a Powerball ticket. And her next win was MUCH bigger!

The winning numbers in the Aug. 5 Powerball drawing were: 29-42-44-51-54 and Powerball 12. The Power Play® number was 2. Lynne’s ticket was the only one in the country to win a $1 million prize that night.

Fareway received a $1,000 bonus from the Iowa Lottery for selling the $1 million-winning ticket.