CLIVE, Iowa — Despite frigid temperatures across Iowa, the Powerball® jackpot is heating up.
After rolling again Saturday, the prize has now swelled to an estimated $1.1 billion annuity, $503.4 million cash option for the next drawing on Monday. This is the sixth-largest jackpot in the game’s history.
“It’s fun to see the excitement a jackpot like this brings,” said Iowa Lottery CEO Matt Strawn, who also serves as chair of the Powerball Product Group. “We ask players to have fun and enjoy the moment, but play responsibly. It only takes one $2 ticket to win.”
One Iowa Ticket Came SO CLOSE
Iowa Lottery players won 15,382 prizes totaling $118,367 in Saturday’s Powerball drawing, including one ticket that was just one number away from winning the big jackpot.
The ticket matched four of the first five numbers and the Powerball to win a $50,000 prize. It was purchased at Kwik Star, 505 Fair Meadow Drive in Webster City. That prize can be claimed at any Iowa Lottery office.
Saturday’s winning numbers were: 1-28-31-57-58 and Powerball 16. The Power Play® multiplier was 2.
There are nine prize levels in Powerball ranging from $4 up to the jackpot, so the Iowa Lottery reminds its players to be sure to check their tickets for all the prizes they may have won.
Iowa Sales For Saturday’s Drawing
Iowa Lottery players bought nearly $1.43 million in Powerball tickets for Saturday’s drawing, including more than $618,000 in tickets on Saturday alone. But the average Powerball purchase in Iowa for Saturday’s drawing remained about $6, or about three plays per ticket. Lottery officials were pleased that Iowans had fun playing and didn’t go overboard.
How Has The Jackpot Grown So Large?
Time and sales are the reasons the jackpot has grown so large.
The Powerball jackpot now has been growing for more than three months, last won in the drawing on Sept. 6. That $1.787 billion jackpot was won with tickets purchased in Missouri and Texas.
The jackpot increases from drawing to drawing when there is no grand-prize winner, and sales generally increase as the jackpot climbs higher. And higher sales, in turn, push the jackpot even higher.
Easy Picks vs. Your Own Numbers
In games like Powerball, the vast majority of tickets are “easy-pick” plays, meaning the lottery terminal randomly assigns the numbers printed on the ticket. For Saturday’s drawing, more than 91 percent of the plays purchased in Iowa were easy picks.
Players also have the option to choose their own numbers: five numbers from a pool of 69 for the white balls and one number from a separate pool of 26 for the red Powerball.
Because such a large percentage of tickets are purchased as easy picks, most winners will come from easy-pick tickets. That doesn’t mean they’re luckier, it simply reflects that there are far more of them in play.
Please Play Responsibly
The Iowa Lottery reminds players to enjoy the moment, but remember that you are gambling when you buy tickets. There is no guarantee that you’ll win. Playing the lottery is something that should be done just for fun.
Whether you play the lottery or not, we want everyone to have an accurate understanding of how the lottery works. Learn more about healthy play on the Know Before You Play section of the Iowa Lottery website.
