After 40 consecutive drawings without a six-for-six match, the Iowa Powerball jackpot is still primed for a huge win.
No one beat the odds for Saturday night’s $635 million Powerball jackpot, so Monday night’s jackpot is $685 million. In an update just before noon, the Iowa Lottery said:
“The big prize is now the sixth-largest jackpot in the history of the Powerball game and the eighth-largest jackpot in US lottery history. Traditionally, the majority of tickets are purchased the day of a drawing, so it is possible that Monday’s actual Powerball jackpot will be higher than the advance estimates.”
The last Powerball win came from a ticket sold in Florida for the June 5 drawing.
Iowa Powerball winning numbers
The winning numbers on Oct. 2 were 28–38–42–47–52 and Powerball 1.
A customer at the Fareway grocery store on Albia Road in Ottumwa just missed the jackpot. A ticket sold there matched four of the first five numbers and the Powerball to win a $50,000 prize. But the Iowa Lottery said: “Whoever bought the ticket also added the Power Play option to the purchase, which multiplied the prize to $100,000.”
The Iowa Lottery added:
“When the jackpot reaches this level, we see two common themes in the questions coming our way: easy picks vs. your own numbers, and office pools.”
Easy pick option for Powerball jackpot
Some customers use the same set of numbers to chase their jackpot dreams, but the Iowa Lottery says easy picks are more common at convenience stores and customer service counters.
More than 90% of lotto plays are easy-pick, thus more than 90% of the wins are too.
The Iowa Lottery adds:
“Through the years, more and more people have played easy picks because, well, they’re easy. You just ask for a ticket and it’s printed with the numbers in your play already selected.
“The odds of winning are the same for every ticket in our games, no matter the play type. So, if you want to choose your own numbers, go ahead and do that. Or, if you’d rather ask for an easy pick, feel free. It won’t impact your odds of winning a prize.”
A big Powerball jackpot means more office pools
Office pools are a big topic, so the Iowa Lottery offers suggestions:
- Work out the rules and put them in writing — If a regular member of the pool is gone on the collection date, are they included in the winnings anyway? Who is in charge of holding the ticket and claiming the win? Can pool members pick and choose when they play?
- Keep a list of everyone who puts in money — Make sure they’re 21, and get their phone numbers, too.
- Help everyone track results — Give everyone in the office pool a picture or photocopy of the numbers.
- You’ve got to keep them separated — If you buy additional plays for yourself, keep that purchase separate from the purchase you make on behalf of the pool. The pool’s “treasurer” may even want to make the purchases at separate stores.
- One more bit of paperwork — Be ready to fill out IRS form 5754. The Iowa Lottery needs the information if more than one person will claim the win.
Third Powerball drawing added a month ago
Wednesday and Saturday drawings are a Powerball fixture. But, Monday night drawings are a relatively new wrinkle for jackpot enthusiasts. The multi-state game added a third drawing per week starting Aug. 23.
Lottery officials say the increased frequency is “designed to produce more winners” and “generate larger, faster-growing jackpots.” Even with more drawings, the odds of winning per play and the ticket price remain the same.
Forty-eight lotteries in the US carry Powerball as an option.
How to claim your lotto winnings
Winners have 365 days to claim their lotto prize. The largest prizes have to be claimed at the lottery headquarters in Clive. It’s important to check tickets carefully because about $1.5 million in lotto winnings go unclaimed each year. The unclaimed Iowa amounts include scratch tickets, InstaPlay and pull tabs as well.
Powerball odds
Here’s what to watch for with Powerball:
- $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)
Iowa is a Mega Millions lottery state as well. Its next drawing is Tuesday night and the jackpot sits at $45 million.
