News writer
While the focus for many Iowans over the weekend was on Caitlin Clark and the Iowa women's basketball team making it to the championship game, there also was a big Powerball drawing that took place!
Sure, Clark and the Iowa women's basketball team may have lost in that championship game. However, one lucky Iowa Lottery player hit it big playing Powerball, as some in Newton won $1 million.
The winning ticket
The Powerball drawing for April 6 made it up to $1.33 billion, and the winning ticket was sold in Oregon. However, a ticket sold in Iowa was just one number away from splitting that jackpot. The winning white ball numbers were 22, 27, 44, 52, and 69, and the Powerball number was 9.
The winning Iowa ticket matched all of the white ball numbers but missed the Powerball number to win the $1 million prize. The lucky winner purchased the ticket at Hy-Vee, located at 1501 First Ave. E. in Newton.
The $1 million prize must be claimed at Iowa Lottery headquarters in Clive. If the winner or winners have any questions before claiming the prize, lottery officials said to call the Iowa Lottery at 515-725-7900.
The $1 million winning ticket in Iowa for the April 6 Powerball drawing happened to be one of seven tickets across the country to win $1 million. The other $1 million winning tickets were sold in Arizona, Delaware, Florida, Massachusetts, Michigan, and Wyoming.
Fourth-largest Powerball jackpot
The Powerball drawing on April 6 happened to tie the game's record for the longest string of consecutive drawings without a winner before the lucky ticket in Oregon won the $1.33 billion jackpot. The jackpot had been climbing for three months, with the last jackpot winner being on New Year's Day.
That means there were 41 drawings in a row without a winner. That has happened only two other times, in 2021 and 2022. The April 6 jackpot also happened to be the fourth-largest Powerball jackpot and the eighth-largest U.S. lottery jackpot.
Sales and total prizes won in Iowa
The luck and wins kept happening for Iowa Lottery players. For the April 6 Powerball drawing, there were a total of 45,721 Powerball prizes won in the state. Those prizes range from $4 all the way up to that $1 million prize.
For the night, lottery officials said about $2.4 million in Powerball tickets were purchased in Iowa.
Do you go easy pick or choose your own numbers?
That is one of the biggest questions ever asked by lottery players. Is it luckier to choose your own numbers or have the computer pick them for you?
To give you an idea, the Iowa Lottery said that almost 92 percent of the tickets purchased in Iowa for that April 6 Powerball drawing were easy-pick tickets. Since 92 percent of the tickets were easy picks, more of the winners will come from easy-pick tickets. It doesn't mean that easy-pick tickets are luckier, but just that there were a lot more of them out there and a lot more chances to win.
Enjoy playing the Iowa Lottery, and please remember to play responsibly.
