ialottery blog

Not Many Progressive Jackpots Left -- What Will Happen When They're Won?

Our blog post last month highlighting the remaining prizes list on the lottery’s website led to this blog entry today after a player question. A player named Billy reviewed the list and asked what will happen when all the progressive jackpots have been claimed in the Cherry Twist Progressive InstaPlay game.

The answer to Billy’s question highlights the unique nature of InstaPlay games, and how they combine features from both scratch and lotto games.

If you go to the remaining prizes list, you’ll see that 93 of the progressive jackpots in the game have been claimed with three still to go. But Cherry Twist Progressive won’t end when all the jackpots have been won.  

The prizes shown on the list are for the tickets released to date in Cherry Twist Progressive. Over time, as the supply of tickets in particular InstaPlay games has been purchased, the lottery has ordered more tickets. When that happens, players will notice that the available prizes increase along with the new supply of tickets. The tickets currently available in Cherry Twist Progressive are actually the third re-order in that game. We anticipate that the fourth round of tickets in the game will hit the market in the near future.

That same situation sometimes applies in scratch games. If a particular scratch game is popular, the lottery can order additional tickets to keep it available in the marketplace, knowing that customers like it.

InstaPlay Games: Standard And Progressive-Jackpots At All Price Points, From $1 to $30

Here’s a quick recap of the lottery’s line-up of InstaPlay games, with standard and progressive-jackpot games available at all price points.

Iowa’s newest InstaPlay games just debuted last weekend, with the $30 Hit the Jackpot and Super 7s Progressive InstaPlay games beginning sales on Sunday. There are now 12 InstaPlay games available in Iowa ranging in price from $1 up to $30, the same price range for Iowa Lottery scratch games.

If you aren’t familiar with InstaPlay games, here’s the background about them: Their tickets borrow features from both scratch and lotto games. InstaPlay tickets are called "scratchless" because they don’t have a coating that needs to be removed to determine the prize won. And rather than having supplies of tickets printed in advance like scratch and pull-tab games, InstaPlay tickets are printed on demand from the lottery terminal, just like tickets in lotto games like Powerball® and Mega Millions®.

In standard InstaPlay games, several set prize levels are available. The prize levels involved don’t change.

Progressive-jackpot InstaPlay games have that name because the top prize grows with each ticket sold statewide in that particular game. (In other words, the jackpot gets progressively larger.) Some InstaPlay progressive jackpots have climbed into the hundreds of thousands of dollars and players definitely have fun playing for them as they climb!

InstaPlay games have been offered in Iowa since 2016. You can buy tickets in them at any lottery terminal or self-service kiosk.

Ticket Purchased In Eastern Iowa Wins Biggest InstaPlay Jackpot Yet

Someone who bought an InstaPlay ticket in Linn County has won the largest jackpot to date in the games since they began being sold in Iowa nearly four years ago.

A ticket purchased at the Otter Creek Country Store, 3445 County Home Road in Robins, has won a jackpot of $276,296 in the Extreme Green Progressive InstaPlay game. That’s the largest jackpot ever won in an InstaPlay game.

A prize of that size has to be claimed at Iowa Lottery headquarters in Clive, where prize claims are currently being handled by appointment due to COVID-19. If the winner or winners have questions before coming forward to claim the prize, they’re welcome to reach out to us at the lottery at 515-725-7900 or by email at [email protected].

The Robins jackpot is a big jump up from the previous record jackpot in an InstaPlay game. That prize – $173,725 in the JACKPOT PARTY® Progressive InstaPlay game – was won in July 2018 by a central Iowa man. Nick Keeling of Norwalk claimed that prize with a ticket he bought at an Indianola gas station.

Extreme Green Progressive is a $20 InstaPlay game. Its jackpot starts at starts at $20,000 and grows with each ticket sold statewide in the game. The game's jackpot had been growing since late July, when it was won with a ticket purchased in Clear Lake.

The amount of the starting jackpot in our InstaPlay progressive games varies by game and price point. As you might anticipate, higher price-point games have a higher starting jackpot amount and those jackpots grow more quickly. Back in May, I blogged about how the progressive jackpot amounts are determined, so feel free to check out those details if you’ve wondered the same thing.

Player Question: What Determines The Jackpot In InstaPlay Progressive Games?

A man reached out to us on Facebook to ask about the jackpot amounts in our Progressive InstaPlay games, and I’m sharing our answer here on the blog in case you’ve wondered the same thing.

The man specifically asked how the jackpot amount is determined in the “Extreme Green Progressive” InstaPlay game, but the process applies to the jackpots in any of our progressive InstaPlay games. They’re called progressive because their jackpots grow progressively larger with each ticket sold statewide until they’re won.

InstaPlay as a product combines features from both lotto games and scratch games. The games have a playstyle similar to that of our scratch games, but InstaPlay tickets are printed and sold on demand from the lottery terminal like those in lotto games. And in the case of our progressive InstaPlay games, they have a starting jackpot amount, just as lotto games like Powerball and Mega Millions have a starting jackpot amount.

In the case of Extreme Green Progressive, its jackpot starts at $20,000 and grows from there, increasing by $2 with each ticket sold statewide in the game.

An electronic file of plays exists in the game, and winning tickets are randomly distributed throughout that file. The exact amount of the jackpot won depends upon where the jackpot-winning ticket exists in the electronic file, and when the ticket is purchased.

Some jackpots won in the game will be larger, based upon where that particular jackpot-winning ticket falls within the game, and some will be smaller, for the same reason. As a security feature, not even those of us who work at the lottery know where the winning tickets are within our games, so no one can predict when or where the next big winner will hit.

The jackpot won in Extreme Green Progressive is therefore a combination of the starting jackpot amount in the game and the number of tickets purchased up until that particular jackpot is won.

The jackpot is clearly not the only prize available in that game. Players also can win prizes in Extreme Green Progressive ranging from $20 up to $10,000, so much of the money spent on tickets in the game goes to pay prizes. A portion of the money from sales in the game also becomes part of the lottery's annual proceeds to state causes. And part of it goes to pay the lottery's expenses for the game, including the costs of the paper on which the tickets are printed.

Sales Resume In Cherry Twist Progressive InstaPlay Game After Vendor Glitch

Sales have resumed today in one of our InstaPlay games after it was suspended earlier in the week.

The “Cherry Twist Progressive InstaPlay” game was the only lottery product affected. A system glitch at a lottery vendor caused duplicate plays to be produced in that game during a 25-minute period Sunday morning. As soon as the error became apparent, the game was suspended.

A total of 28 duplicate plays in the game were sold to players from 9:05 to 9:29 a.m. Sunday. Of the plays involved, 8 indicated winnings totaling $23.

If you have questions about what happened, please contact Iowa Lottery Security at 515-725-7900 or [email protected]. And if you think you have one of the tickets involved in the Cherry Twist Progressive InstaPlay game, take it to one of our regional offices or mail it to us at: Iowa Lottery, 13001 University Ave., Clive, Iowa 50325-8225.

 
During the game’s outage, its progressive jackpot had been frozen at $4,923.95, the level it had reached when sales were suspended. Now that sales have resumed, the jackpot will again increase with each ticket sold statewide in the game until it is won.

Over the past few days, we conducted reviews on several fronts. Among other things, we made sure that all plays generated Sunday in the Cherry Twist Progressive InstaPlay game were tracked and that the game’s progressive jackpot was not impacted. We’ve monitored sales in our other games to be sure they’ve continued normally. We requested and received an incident report from the vendor involved, and we’ve been assured that the error relating to Sunday’s difficulties has been addressed.

We also completed some additional testing of the InstaPlay system and it appeared to be functioning normally.

After reviewing all those details, we decided today to resume sales in the Cherry Twist Progressive InstaPlay game.

Norwalk Man Wins Huge InstaPlay Progressive Jackpot

A central Iowa man has won the biggest jackpot offered to date in an InstaPlay game!
 
Nick Keeling of Norwalk claimed his prize of $173,725 this morning at Iowa Lottery headquarters in Clive.

Keeling, 30, a plumber, said he was on his way to work Saturday when he stopped at the Indy 66, 2001 W. Second Ave. in Indianola, and bought a ticket in the JACKPOT PARTY® Progressive InstaPlay game. He won $20 on it, so he decided to buy another ticket – and won the jackpot. 

JACKPOT PARTY is a $10 InstaPlay game with a top prize that starts at $10,000 and grows with each ticket sold across the state until it’s won. The jackpot had been growing for nearly two months before Keeling won his big prize on Saturday.

Prior to Keeling’s win, the biggest InstaPlay prize had been a jackpot of $50,197.25 that was won Jan. 2 in the Jumbo Bucks Progressive game by Donna Smith of Tama.

JACKPOT PARTY® and © 2018 Bally Gaming, Inc. All rights reserved.

What Do The Numbers Look Like For InstaPlay's 1st Year In Iowa?

It’s been a little more than a year since we introduced InstaPlay games as a lottery product here in Iowa, and we took time this week to look back at the numbers from the year.
 
InstaPlay games debuted in Iowa on Nov. 13, 2016. Since then, players have won 65 progressive InstaPlay jackpots and there currently is a tie for the busiest month of winners so far. We had eight InstaPlay progressive jackpot winners in both August and October of this year.

The size of the progressive jackpots that have been won ranged from a prize of $1,129.04 won on May 5 in the $1 “Loose Change Progressive” InstaPlay game up to a prize of $42,224.60 won June 1 in the $5 “Jumbo Bucks Progressive” InstaPlay Game. Twenty-four other progressive jackpots also topped the $10,000 mark during the first year of sales.

6 Players Have Won InstaPlay Progressive Jackpots Just Since Oct. 1

A number jumped out at us as we were reviewing some reports this week, and we realized that it really has been a busy month when it comes to winners of progressive jackpots in our InstaPlay games.

So far in October alone, six progressive InstaPlay jackpots have been won, and we’re obviously only part of the way through the month.

The prizes range from a jackpot of $2,217.84 won in the $1 “Loose Change” Progressive InstaPlay game up to a jackpot of $26,047.95 won in the $5 Jumbo Bucks Progressive Instaplay game. Four other progressive jackpots also have been won so far in October.

We don’t know if there’s something in the water or what, but we’re excited to see what the grand total will look like by the end of the month!

Who Won Those Big InstaPlay Jackpots?

Last Friday we told you about some big jackpots up for grabs in our three InstaPlay Progressive games. Here’s an update for those of you wondering what happened to those prizes.

The jackpots in both the Cherry Twist Progressive and the Jumbo Bucks Progressive InstaPlay games were won this week. But as of 2 p.m. today, the big prize in the Loose Change Progressive game was still climbing. UPDATE: A $4,807.84-winning ticket in Loose Change Progressive was sold Friday afternoon at Yesway, 418 S. Federal Ave. in Mason City. Congratulations to the lucky winner!

Earlier today, Brad Yost of Hamburg claimed a $43,224.60 jackpot prize in Jumbo Bucks Progressive. He bought his winning ticket Thursday night at his local Casey’s. Yost, 57, said that he stopped at Casey’s for a pizza and breadsticks and decided to buy a lottery ticket, too. His decision ended up being in his favor as he claimed the biggest progressive jackpot prize to date in our InstaPlay games.

The top prize in the Cherry Twist Progressive game was claimed Tuesday by Larry Shepherd of Fremont. He won a jackpot prize of $17,572.85 on a ticket he bought at his local Casey’s.

Remember, you can see the latest jackpot information in our InstaPlay Progressive games on the homepage of our website, as well as on each game’s webpage. We also list the date and city where the last jackpot prize was won in each of these games.

Just In Time For the Holiday Weekend, Big InstaPlay Jackpots!

As the long holiday weekend approaches, I checked in on the jackpots in our progressive InstaPlay games, and … holy buckets! The jackpots in all three of those games continue to climb.

The jackpot in the $5 Jumbo Bucks Progressive game has been climbing for more than a month and as of about 4 p.m., it stands at nearly $33,100. The jackpot in the $2 Cherry Twist Progressive game has been growing since early this month and as of 4 p.m., was at about $17,400. And the jackpot in the $1 Loose Change Progressive game has been growing since mid-May and as of 4 p.m., had reached more than $2,900.

Can’t wait to see what happens to all three big prizes this weekend! Think they’ll make it through or will they get hit?

And for planning purposes, please remember that our offices are closed on Monday for the Memorial Day holiday. We’ll be back at work on Tuesday!

New Progressive-Jackpot InstaPlay Game Debuts: Jumbo Bucks Progressive

A new InstaPlay game has just debuted here in Iowa, adding another progressive-jackpot game to the mix. It’s called “Jumbo Bucks Progressive” and it’s a $5 game that began sales yesterday across the state.
 
This is the first time we’ve added a new InstaPlay game since the product’s introduction back in November here in Iowa. There now are four InstaPlay games that you can play in our state and we anticipate adding even more over time.

The jackpot in Jumbo Bucks Progressive starts at $5,000 and grows with each ticket sold in the game. That’s the same concept you’ve already seen in the $2 “Cherry Twist Progressive” game – that jackpot starts at $2,000 and grows until someone wins it. Since the start of the Cherry Twist Progressive game in November, its jackpot has been hit 18 times, with the amounts ranging from a little more than $2,200 up to more than $28,200. That’s the fun of a progressive jackpot – you never know when the next win will hit, or how much the prize will be!  

With this new InstaPlay game’s introduction, we’ve redesigned our website’s home page a bit to quickly provide the details that players have said they want. I’ve included an image of the new design below.

In the case of lotto games like Powerball® and Mega Millions®, you’ll now find on our home page the next estimated jackpot amount; winning numbers from the latest drawing; details about when and where the jackpot was last won; and a link where you can check your numbers. For InstaPlay progressive jackpot games, you’ll see the current jackpot amount – updated every two minutes – and details about when and where the jackpot was last won.

(March 28 update: The first jackpot in Jumbo Bucks Progressive has just been won! Someone bought a ticket winning a progressive jackpot of $5,918.40 today at Delimart, 1920 Lower Muscatine Road in Iowa City.) 

Players have let us know that they like our InstaPlay progressive jackpots, so we hope you’ll have fun playing the new Jumbo Bucks Progressive!

InstaPlay Jackpots Won On Same Day

After being won just hours apart, two InstaPlay jackpots now have been claimed within hours of each other as well!

Both jackpots in the “Cherry Twist Progressive” InstaPlay game were won on Wednesday. The first was won about 5:30 p.m. that evening with a ticket purchased at a tavern in Ankeny. That ticket was for a $16,163.30 prize. About three hours later, a jackpot of $2,263.10 was won with a ticket purchased at a Des Moines convenience store. They were the 14th and 15th progressive jackpots won in the game since the InstaPlay product debuted in November here in Iowa.

Both jackpots have now been claimed. The prize of $2,263.10 was won by Daniel Cramer of Des Moines while the prize of $16,1630.30 was won by Robbie Goodwin of Ankeny.

I call that a nice way to head into the weekend!

 

FREE Tickets To Be Randomly Given Away With Some Lotto Purchases

If you buy a Powerball^®, Mega Millions^® or Lucky for Life^® ticket this month, you could randomly win a FREE ticket in one of our InstaPlay games.

Starting Sunday, thousands of players will randomly receive free InstaPlay tickets with a qualifying lotto game purchase in our “Fast and Fun” promotion.

During this promotion we’ll be randomly surprising players with a FREE InstaPlay ticket when purchasing a different lotto game each week. First up will be first Powerball (Sunday – Jan. 14), then Mega Millions (Jan. 15-21), and finally Lucky for Life (Jan. 22-28).

Just buy the lotto game that qualifies for a chance to win a free InstaPlay ticket that week and listen for a special “Surprise, Player Bonus” sounder. If you hear that sound, the terminal will automatically print your free $1, $2 or $5 InstaPlay ticket. We’ll randomly give out free tickets across the state, so it could happen at any time!

First Progressive Jackpot Winner In InstaPlay: That Was Fast!

InstaPlay games just made their debut in Iowa two days ago and there’s already been a progressive jackpot winner!

Someone who bought a ticket in Des Moines has won the first jackpot in the “Cherry Twist Progressive” game. The lucky ticket won a prize of $3,086.15 and was purchased this morning at Casey’s, 2150 E. Army Post Road in Des Moines. Can’t wait to meet the big winner when they come to the lottery to claim the prize!

Cherry Twist Progressive is the InstaPlay game where the jackpot starts at $2,000 and grows with each ticket sold until it’s won. Not familiar with our new InstaPlay games? Click here to learn all about them.