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With Powerball Sky High Again, 2023 Is The 1st Year To See 4 Jackpots Top $1 Billion

Powerball’s giant jackpot run continues, with its grand prize now the second-largest in history, behind only the game’s world-record prize of $2.04 billion won in November.

The jackpot for tomorrow night’s Powerball® drawing is now an estimated $1.725 billion annuity, $756.6 million cash option.

2023 marks the first time that four lottery jackpots have topped $1 billion in the same year. 2022 saw two jackpots won at that level and 2021 had just one.

Here are this year’s four giant jackpots so far:

• $1.725 billion – Powerball jackpot for tomorrow night’s drawing (Oct. 11).
• $1.602 billion – Mega Millions® jackpot won on Aug. 8.
• $1.08 billion – Powerball jackpot won on July 19.
• $1.348 billion – Mega Millions jackpot won on Jan. 13.

This time around, the Powerball jackpot has been growing for nearly three months. It was last won on July 19 with a ticket in California.

What’s With All The Huge Jackpots?

The current Powerball jackpot is the ninth U.S. lottery prize to top $1 billion. All have occurred since 2016.

The string of gigantic jackpots has some wondering about the reason behind them. Over time, lotteries in Powerball and Mega Millions have made adjustments to the games to continue to meet player expectations for big jackpots while delivering lots of other chances to win. The definition of a ‘big jackpot’ continues to evolve along with the games themselves.

$2 Million Prize Won Saturday In Iowa Still Unclaimed

The Iowa Lottery reminds its players to check their tickets for any prize they may have won, not just the jackpot. There are nine prize levels in Powerball, ranging from $4 for matching the Powerball alone up to the jackpot for matching all six winning numbers in a drawing.

Non-jackpot winnings can be significant, and that was demonstrated this past weekend in eastern Iowa. Someone who bought a ticket in Johnson County won a $2 million prize in Saturday’s drawing.

The $2 million-winning ticket was purchased at Casey's, 403 Stephans St. in Tiffin. The ticket matched the first five numbers but missed the Powerball to initially win a $1 million prize. But whoever bought the ticket also added the Power Play® option to the purchase, which multiplies prizes at the Match 5 level to $2 million.

The prize won in Tiffin must be claimed at Iowa Lottery headquarters in Clive. Lottery offices are open Monday through Friday, and appointments are strongly encouraged for those claims. To make an appointment or contact the lottery with questions, the winner or winners are welcome to call the lottery at 515-725-7900 or email to [email protected].

Powerball prizes won in Iowa must be claimed within 180 days of the drawing in which they were won.

The Latest Winning Numbers and ‘Coverage’ Estimate

The winning numbers in Powerball’s latest drawing last night were: 16-34-46-55-67 and Powerball 14. The Power Play number was 3.

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 “covered.”

The coverage estimate for tomorrow night’s Powerball drawing is now about 31 percent.
A higher coverage percentage can mean it’s more likely there will be a jackpot winner, but it is not a definite.

(The odds of winning the jackpot in Powerball are about 1 in 292.2 million because that’s how many ways the numbers in the game can be combined to make a play. The winning numbers selected will be one of those combinations.)

Please Play Responsibly

And as always, the Iowa Lottery reminds everyone that it only takes one ticket to win. Please play responsibly. Remember this mantra: Playing smart is a lot more fun.

Iowa Powerball Results: 2 Prizes Of $100K Among State’s Winners

A California ticket has won that world-record $2.04 billion Powerball® jackpot, but 4 Iowa tickets were just one number away from having a share of the big prize.

The jackpot ended up at $2.04 billion annuity, $997.6 million cash option in last night’s Powerball drawing. Strong sales across the country lifted the final jackpot amount even higher than the latest estimates before the drawing.

The winning numbers in last night’s drawing were: 10-33-41-47-56 and Powerball 10. The Power Play® number was 2.

Total Prizes Won In Iowa

Iowa Lottery players won a total of 97,022 prizes in last night’s drawing ranging from $4 up to $100,000.

Four Iowa tickets matched four of the first five numbers and the Powerball to each win a $50,000 prize. But the players who bought two of the tickets added the Power Play option to their purchases, which multiplied their winnings to $100,000 each.

The $50,000-winning tickets were purchased at: Yesway, 1905 SE 37th St. in Grimes; and Casey’s, 2245 Karr Ave. in Early.

The $100,000-winning tickets were purchased at: Walmart, 415 Industrial Ave. in Grinnell; and Casey’s, 5505 Asbury Road in Dubuque.

Those four prizes can be claimed at any Iowa Lottery office. If the winners have questions before claiming their prize, they are welcome to call the Iowa Lottery at 515-725-7900 or email to: [email protected].

Last Night’s Drawing Was Delayed

One of the lotteries that sells tickets in the Powerball game needed extra time to complete the required security protocols for last night’s drawing. The delay ultimately pushed the drawing back by several hours.

At the Iowa Lottery, we’re proud that our team cleared all the security protocols for the drawing. We expected that the drawing to take place on schedule, but understand that the rigorous security procedures in Powerball and all our games exist to protect the integrity and fairness of the lottery.

It's vital the game that the security steps are followed by every lottery, even if that means a delay.

The Powerball drawing is occasionally delayed as lotteries complete their security procedures. Last night’s drawing just drew huge attention because of the jackpot that was on the line.

Iowa Sales For Last Night’s Drawing

Iowa Lottery players bought more than $5.5 million in Powerball tickets for last night’s drawing, including more than $4.4 million in tickets that day alone.

But the average Powerball purchase in Iowa for the drawing remained about $7, or about four plays per ticket. It’s nice to see that Iowans had fun playing and didn’t go overboard.

Lotto America Jackpot Is Now In Record Territory For That Game

Update on Tuesday, Oct. 11:

The Lotto America jackpot is still climbing. No one hit the big prize in last night's drawing, so the jackpot climbs to an estimated $26.1 million annuity, $13.37 million cash option for Wednesday's drawing.  Here are the winning numbers from Monday night's Lotto America drawing: 4-8-14-32-44 and Star Ball 4. The All Star Bonus number was 4. Good luck on your tickets!

Its bigger cousins may get more attention, but Lotto America® is making news of its own. The Lotto America jackpot is in record territory for that game, at an estimated $24.69 million annuity, $12.98 million cash option for tonight’s drawing.

Lotto America also is in the midst of its longest jackpot run ever. The game’s jackpot has been climbing since July 2021. It was last won in the drawing on July 14, 2021. A ticket purchased in Oklahoma won that night’s $8.04 million jackpot.

This isn’t the first time that Lotto America has gone on a long jackpot run. (A run is the period of time that the jackpot grows before it’s won). The game’s jackpot grew for a little more than 14 months from May 2018 to July 2019 before it was won in the drawing on July 10 that year. A Minnesota ticket won that $21.6 million prize.

Before the current jackpot amount, the previous record jackpot in Lotto America was a $22.82 million prize won in the game in March 2018.

Has an Iowan won a Lotto America jackpot? Yes! A Davenport man won a $4.38 million prize in the game in May 2018.

So how high will the current jackpot climb? Only time will tell. One thing is certain: Someone WILL win it, we just don’t know when.

Lotto America costs $1 to play and it has drawings on Mondays, Wednesdays and Saturdays.

The game has a similar design to Powerball® and Mega Millions®, but its jackpots are smaller and a lot easier to win. Lotto America players choose five numbers from a pool of 52 and another number, called the Star Ball®, from a pool of 10. Players who match all six numbers selected in a drawing win the game’s jackpot.

You Guessed It: Powerball Hub-Bub Means Records Here In Iowa

All that hub-bub over last month’s world-record Powerball^® jackpot has led to some big lottery numbers here in our state. The Iowa Lottery smashed several long-standing records in January.

Our financial figures for January are out today, showing that the lottery set records for its highest monthly sales, highest monthly proceeds to state causes and highest monthly prizes to players since its start in 1985.

The Jan. 13 Powerball drawing was a historic moment, and we thank our players and retailers for being part of it with us. It was definitely a busy time, but we had a lot of fun, too. And our joint efforts have made a big difference right here at home by raising additional lottery proceeds for state causes while at the same time bringing a record amount in prizes to players.

The Powerball jackpot grew for more than two months before it reached a world-record level of nearly $1.6 billion annuity ($983.5 million lump-sum option) and was split in the Jan. 13 drawing by three tickets purchased in California, Florida and Tennessee. During that jackpot run from Nov. 5, 2015, to Jan. 13, 2016, the Iowa Lottery sold about $34.2 million in Powerball tickets. That compares to a total of $52.2 million in Powerball sales in all of fiscal year 2015.

With the world-record jackpot drawing occurring in January, total monthly sales for the Iowa Lottery hit $54.1 million, topping the previous monthly sales record of $42.2 million set in February 2006. Monthly lottery proceeds to state causes also were a record, totaling $17.3 million. The previous monthly proceeds total of $11.6 million had stood since February 2006.

Prizes to players also set a record for the month, totaling $30.2 million. That surpassed the previous record of $20.3 million set in March 2013.

During the course of the month, the lottery also saw its highest Powerball sales for one day ($6.3 million on Jan. 13), its biggest sales week ($19.5 million for the week ending Jan. 9), and its highest monthly sales for instant-scratch tickets ($20.8 million).

We know that things will continue to fluctuate in the months ahead, but the lottery is well positioned to meet its budget targets for the year, with sales and proceeds through January both ahead of budget and the lottery’s five-year average.

Our strong performance last month also sent total prizes to players past a historic mark. Since the Iowa Lottery’s start in 1985, players have now won more than $3.6 billion in prizes while the lottery has raised more than $1.6 billion for state causes.

Yep! We’re Powerball Warriors Here In Iowa!

It’s been a few weeks now since we all were buzzing about the world-record Powerball® jackpot that reached nearly $1.6 billion! Whew! It was an intense and exciting time for us here at the lottery, our players, and of course, our retailers, who saw long lines of folks buying tickets all across the state.

At their peak, Powerball tickets in Iowa selling were at $13,800 per minute the night of the epic drawing on Jan. 13. And our 2,400 lottery retailers around the state were doing their best to keep pace with the demand.

As a way to celebrate and commemorate the momentous event, we designed a Powerball T-shirt as a way to say, “Thank you!” to our retailers for their hard work. Shown here is a cashier at a convenience store in the Des Moines area proudly wearing her new “World-Record Powerball Warrior” T-shirt. Looks like they’re a hit!

And even though things have calmed down, Saturday’s Powerball jackpot is an estimated $136 million. As we like to say, the jackpot’s always big! Got your ticket?

We’re off to a very fun start in 2016. Thank you for being part of this ride with us! 

Big Winner & All The Latest About Powerball

 

Our first $1 million winner of 2016 is Joel Dominguez of Sioux City. Joel said he bought his easy-pick Powerball^® ticket at his local Hy-Vee and couldn’t believe he matched so many numbers. He was just one number away from winning Saturday’s $947.9 million record Powerball jackpot.

Initial estimates for tomorrow's Powerball jackpot have been raised again, with the prize currently set at a world-record $1.5 billion annuity, $930 million cash option.

Obviously sales in Iowa in recent weeks have been extremely strong and continue to follow the jackpot up.

WHAT DO SALES LOOK LIKE, EXACTLY?

Statewide lottery sales on Sunday and Monday of this week were about four times higher than they had been on each of those days the prior week.

To give some perspective to the sales figures, in fiscal year 2015, the Iowa Lottery sold a total of $52.2 million in Powerball tickets. Since the jackpot began its current run on Nov. 5, the lottery has sold nearly $25 million in Powerball tickets. That’s almost half a year’s sales in about two months. 

TOP 10 IOWA RETAILERS FOR POWERBALL SALES

Retailers are extremely busy selling Powerball tickets in the lead-up to tomorrow's drawing. Some stores are asking customers to form two lines – one for Powerball tickets and the other for all other business. Some stores are only selling easy-pick tickets, which are a faster transaction and can move customers through the line more quickly. We at the lottery appreciate the hard work of all our retailers at this busy time and are supportive of their efforts to assist their customers and manage traffic flow within their locations. We ask everyone to be patient in the next couple days -- we know it will continue to be busy. 

Here are the Top 10 Iowa retailers for Powerball sales from Jan. 3-11:

$34,937     Hy-Vee, 20 Wilson Ave. in Cedar Rapids
$32,330     Hy-Vee, 1725 Jordan Creek Pkwy. in West Des Moines
$31,919     Hy-Vee, 5050 Edgewood Road in Cedar Rapids
$31,697     Hy-Vee, 1843 Johnson Ave. N.W. in Cedar Rapids
$31,667     Big 10 Mart, 999 Middle Road in Bettendorf
$30,475     Hy-Vee, 4605 Fleur Drive in Des Moines
$29,685     Hy-Vee, 2900 Devils Glen Road in Bettendorf
$29,468     Hy-Vee, 3600 Iowa Highway 151 in Marion
$28,767     Hy-Vee, 8701 Douglas Ave. in Urbandale
$27,681     Hy-Vee 1745 Madison Ave. in Council Bluffs