Urbana Woman Claims $1 Million Mega Millions Win

Written By Russ Mitchell on June 11, 2021
mega millions lotto winner 2021

An Urbana woman’s Mega Millions ticket gave Iowa its third major lotto winner of 2021.

The Iowa Lottery on Thursday said Karen Kramer of Urbana, IA, was at her cabin along the Mississippi River when she won a $1 million prize. Kramer bought the ticket at the Barry’s Mini Mart in Harpers Ferry, IA. She matched the first five numbers to win $1 million from Tuesday’s Mega Millions drawing.

Tuesday’s winning numbers were: 9-22-39-41-54 and Mega Ball 19. The “Megaplier” was 3. An Illinois ticket claimed Tuesday’s $56 million jackpot, so the estimated jackpot for Friday’s Mega Millions drawing is $20 million.

Kramer used the Iowa Lottery’s mobile app to check her numbers. The 60-year-old para-educator told the Iowa Lottery:

“I rechecked everything because I thought, ‘Well, my phone’s wrong.’ And it came up again the same. So I went on the website, then I went and checked on Facebook and it said that the winning ticket had been won at Barry’s. And I’m going, ‘OK, that’s me.'”

The Iowa Lottery said Kramer texted to her husband, Brad, with a first sentence of: “Lightning struck us.” Then he read the rest of her message where she added: “On Mega Millions, I won $1 million! But please don’t tell anybody yet.”

The couple kept Karen’s big win a secret. Their three adult children didn’t know about the win until Kramer claimed the prize. She said:

“I wanted to wait until this was done and send them a picture to let them know, or at least have them call us.”

Three big lotto winners in Iowa so far this year

Gene Dice Sr., of Sergeant Bluff, won $500,000 from the Feb. 20 Powerball drawing.

The retiree matched four of the first five numbers and the Powerball to initially win a $50,000 prize. He added the Power Play option to his easy-pick ticket, so his winnings were multiplied tenfold for the $500,000 win.

Anton Garrett, of Waterloo, claimed a total Powerball prize of $2,000,021.

The Iowa Lottery says he bought five Powerball plays on one ticket for the May 8 drawing. On one of those plays, he won a $21 prize. On another, he won $2 million. The 48-year-old got the first five numbers correct for a $1 million win and doubled the amount by choosing the Power Play multiplier.

Claim your lotto winnings

Tuesday’s win was the first time Mega Millions produced a big winner in Iowa this year. The customer will have to visit Iowa Lottery Headquarters in Clive to claim their winnings.

Sometimes, large lottery prizes go unclaimed. When that happens, the amount goes back into another Iowa Lottery game. Iowa Lottery winners have 365 days to claim their lotto prize.

How to play Mega Millions

Drawings for the Mega Millions are held at 10 p.m. on Tuesdays and Fridays.

Players in $2 Mega Millions choose their first five numbers from a pool of 70. Meanwhile, another number – called the Mega Ball – comes from a separate pool of 25. The Megaplier option is available for an extra $1 per play.

The prize breakdown and odds are:

  • $2 for the correct Mega Ball (1-in-37)
  • $4 for the correct Mega Ball + any other number (1-in-89)
  • $10 for the correct Mega Ball + any two numbers (1-in-693) or any three numbers (1-in-606)
  • $200 for the correct Mega Ball + any three numbers (1-in-14,547)
  • $500 for four correct numbers excluding Mega Ball (1-in-38,792)
  • $10,000 for the correct Mega Ball plus four correct numbers (1-in-931,001)
  • $1 million for five correct numbers excluding the Mega Ball (1-in-12,607,306)
  • The jackpot for correct Mega Ball and all five numbers (1-in-302,575,350)

How to play Powerball

Players in $2 Powerball choose their first five numbers from a pool of 69 and another number – called the Powerball – from a separate pool of 26. The Power Play option is available for an extra $1 per play.

Powerball drawings take place at 9:59 p.m. on Wednesdays and Saturdays. That’s going to change however. The Iowa Lottery and other states will add a Monday Powerball drawing starting Aug. 23.

The prize breakdown and odds are:

  • $4 for the correct Powerball (1-in-38.32) or correct Powerball + another correct number (1-in-91.98)
  • $7 for any three correct numbers with (1-in-701.33) or without (1-in-579.76) the correct Powerball
  • $100 for any four correct numbers with (1-in-14,494.11) or without (1-in-36,525.17) the correct Powerball
  • $50,000 for five correct numbers including the correct Powerball (1-in-913,129.18)
  • $1 million if only the Powerball number isn’t correct (1-in-11,688,053.52)
  • Grand prize is all six numbers are correct (1-in-292,201,338)
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Russ Mitchell

Russ Mitchell has been covering news and sports in northwest Iowa since 1997, including 11 years as managing editor for one of the most acclaimed community newspapers in the state. He looks forward to keeping readers up to date on the growing sportsbook industry in Iowa.

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