ialottery blog

$1 Million Powerball Prize About To Expire!

Here is video from our event yesterday to highlight the $1 million prize that’s nearing its expiration date in central Iowa! We’re hoping to jog someone’s memory who purchased a Powerball ticket at this Casey’s in Nevada for the drawing on April 11, 2018, and won $1 million! The deadline to claim the prize is at 4 p.m. on April 11, 2019. Is it YOU?

Player Mail: Walk Me Through Buying The ‘Play ‘Em All’ Option

An eastern Iowa man’s email is behind this blog entry, and I’ll do my best to walk you through how to find the ‘Play ‘Em All’ feature on the lottery terminal, in case you ever run into trouble when you try to buy it.

 

The man emailed to let us know that he was having trouble buying the ‘Play ‘Em All’ option, which is available in the Powerball, Mega Millions and Lotto America games. The man said that employees in some of the stores in his area didn’t seem to know about the option or how a customer could buy it.

 

In case you’re ever in that same situation, I want you to have the inside scoop about how to find the screen for that option on the lottery terminal. We’ll keep working with our retailers to provide the latest details we can about the lottery, but sometimes the best plan is to have the information yourself.

 

If you’re not familiar with the Play ‘Em All option, it allows you to buy plays for all of the numbers for the Powerball, Mega Ball and Star Ball in the three different games involved. For example, if you buy the Play ‘Em All option in Mega Millions, you’ll get 25 plays with all of the Mega Ball numbers available (1-25). In Powerball, the Play ‘Em All option will give you 26 plays to cover all of the numbers in the Powerball pool; and in Lotto America, you’ll get 10 plays, one for each of the 10 Star Ball numbers available.

 

Here in Iowa, the clerk can find the Play 'Em All feature on the lottery terminal by touching the "Special Offers" tab in the top right-hand corner of the terminal's main screen. That tab brings up the Play ‘Em All screen, and you can then choose the game you want to buy.

 

Or, if you’re buying a ticket at a self-service kiosk here in Iowa, after you select a play option in Powerball, Mega Millions or Lotto America, in the upper right of the screen, you'll see a button that says: Play 'Em All. By touching that button, you can play that option.

 

I hope these “insider” tips can help you walk through the process – and make it easy!

Iowa City Man Says He Now Knows That People DO Win Lottery Prizes

Jim Rogers admits he used to wonder if anyone really won the prizes offered in lottery promotions, but now he knows they do. Rogers, of Iowa City, claimed the grand prize today in the Iowa Lottery’s “Tiny Home, Big Wins!” promotion. Click on the video above to see the highlights of his fun day.

Meet The Iowa Lottery's First Millionaire Of 2018

 

George Dickerson of Colfax almost missed buying the ticket that won a $1 million Powerball^® prize. The cold weather and a quickly approaching deadline for ticket sales almost kept him home. Click on the video above to hear his story!

SW Iowa Man Wins $250,000 Powerball® Prize

(Click image to play winner video.)

 

Now THIS is how to start the week off right! This morning, we got to meet Lon and Terri Grail of Afton and celebrate with them as Lon claimed the $250,000 prize he won in Saturday night’s Powerball drawing.

 

Lon’s easy-pick ticket initially won a $50,000 prize by matching four of the first five numbers and the Powerball. But he’d also added the Power Play option to his ticket, and Saturday’s Power Play number was five, so Lon’s winnings multiplied to $250,000!

 

Congrats to the Grails! As for their “mad money” plans? A new riding lawn mower is in their future …

Two More Big Lottery Prizes Nearing Expiration Dates

For the second time this year, the expiration date is approaching for two big lottery prizes – this time, one for $50,000 and another for $30,000 – that are still unclaimed nearly a year after they were won with tickets purchased in the Des Moines metro area.

Two other sizeable Iowa Lottery prizes expired in March without being claimed, so the lottery is reminding players to double-check their tickets. It’s unusual to see this many large prizes expire or getting close to their end dates, and we want to see them be claimed in time! We hope our reminders will jog someone’s memory. So wherever you keep your tickets, get them out and double-check them!

Click on the video above to learn all the details about the latest unclaimed prizes. The first is a $50,000 Powerball® prize won with a ticket in Altoona for the drawing on May 6 of last year. The other is a $30,000 Hot Lotto® prize won with a ticket in Ankeny for the drawing on May 27 last year.

The money from unclaimed prizes in Iowa 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 fiscal year 2015, more than $1.3 million in lotto prizes expired in Iowa without being claimed.

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

Lucky Clovers Have Sprouted Here At The Lottery

 

 

When you drive up to lottery headquarters, you’ll notice some shiny new clovers on the grounds around the building! There are 15 of them in all, and they’re part of the Art in State Buildings project we’ve been working on for about a year.

The metal sculptures were designed by Des Moines artists TJ Moberg and Dennis Reynolds. As soon as we saw their idea, we thought: lottery luck!

The clovers range in size from 12 inches up to 5 feet in diameter. Moberg and Reynolds selected a variety of materials and finishes that bring additional depth of meaning to the project.

We think the end result is an installation that tells not only the lottery’s story, but that of Iowa as well.

Jesup Man’s Method To His Game Play Results In $1 Million Prize

 

Brian Delagardelle of Jesup said he’s been buying lottery tickets for years at a lucky retailer in eastern Iowa hoping that lightning would strike twice – and it did – to the tune of $1 million! He stopped by Lottery headquarters Monday and shared his unique story of luck with us.

What You Need To Know When You Win The Lottery

 

We’ve been working for the past few months to put together an informational kit we’ll give to our biggest winners when they claim their lottery prizes. It’s always a very exciting time, but tumultuous, too, I’m sure.

Sometimes I can tell it’s all going by in a blur for them. I wonder if in all the excitement they’ll remember anything we talked about while they were here at lottery headquarters claiming their winnings. So, we’ve put together a packet that they can take with them and review once the initial buzz has passed.

A central part of that kit is the video above, which walks you through the prize-claim process and what to expect when you claim a big prize. Once we had the video done, we realized there wasn’t a reason for us to hold it back exclusively for our biggest winners. Maybe you’ve wondered about the prize-claim process, too, and what you should think about if big lottery luck comes your way. So click on the video above to learn all about it!

Why You Are The One Who Can Protect Your Lottery Prize

 

There's been a lot of discussion this week about lottery security and how lottery winnings can be protected. But we've known for a long time that YOU'RE the one who can have the earliest impact in making sure that everyone knows your lottery tickets -- and any prizes you win from them -- belong to you. And it's extremely easy. Click the video above to learn more.

National News Coverage Of Hot Lotto Case

"CBS This Morning" took at look today at the Hot Lotto investigation from here in Iowa.

http://www.cbsnews.com/videos/lottery-security-head-accused-of-scam-to-claim-16-5-million-prize/

POWERBALL JACKPOT IS NOW AN EST. HALF-BILLION DOLLARS

 

Player interest driving strong sales in Iowa and across the county have now pushed the massive Powerball jackpot to an estimated $500 MILLION for tonight’s drawing ($337.8 million cash option).

With that eye-popping jackpot, you might be getting in on the fun for the very first time and wonder, “How do I play that game?” We’re pretty sure you’re not the only one to ask that question. So we came up with a “How to Play Powerball” video that explains how you go about purchasing a Powerball ticket and how to play the game. Check out our short video if you’re new to the game or need a refresher.

And remember, it only takes one $2 ticket to win.

Why We Think There’s Always Buzz About The Lottery

The folks at Mediacom interviewed me for their “Newsleaders” program this month, and I answered all sorts of questions about the lottery! One of the topics I covered is why I think people are so fascinated by lotteries. What do you think? Do I have the answer right? Submit a comment and let me know!     

Unclaimed Mega Millions Prize In Clear Lake!

Time is running out for a $10,000 Mega Millions prize won in Clear Lake. Click on the video above to learn all about it, then CHECK YOUR TICKETS!

The 411 On Refer A Friend

We’ve been getting some questions from folks about the new Refer A Friend option in our VIP Club. So, we put together a quick video to walk you through the process. Click on the link above to hear all about it!