The state lotteries in Iowa and Kansas are teaming up to offer their first-ever joint scratch-off game. Based in part on the success of the multi-state Powerball lottery, the new scratch-off game Midwest Millions is an experiment that will initially involve just the two states, with more coming on-line later, based on how it’s received.
Iowa Lottery spokeswoman Mary Neubauer says with more people playing, the stakes are higher. Neubauer says: "Midwest Millions is a ten-dollar game. It will offer instant prizes ranging from ten-dollars up to 50-thousand dollars. Then there will be two second-chance drawings in the game that each will offer a prize of 500-thousand dollars."
The first of those drawings will be held in January in Topeka, with the second drawing next April in Des Moines. Neubauer says the prizes in this new game are, by far, the biggest associated with any of the 20-some scratch-off games now being played in Iowa. She says it’ll be a few days before Iowans can start trying their luck with the new game.
Neubauer says: "Midwest Millions tickets have begun to be distributed both in Iowa and Kansas today. They will be available for sale statewide by Friday. Here in Iowa, it takes about a week for our sales representatives to reach all of the 26-hundred retail locations in the state where our products are sold, so they’ll be available statewide later this week." The Iowa Lottery has run more than 500 scratch-off games during its 22-year history but Neubauer says this is the first to run in two states at once. She says it’s a simple concept to follow — as two states will mean twice the players and twice the potential prize money from the pool.
Neubauer says: "So by joining together, Kansas and Iowa basically have the same statewide population, we’re doubling the population in the game. That’s enabling the lottery to be able to offer a higher top prize than they would have been able to do on their own at this price point and to offer bigger smaller prizes and more of them in the game as well."
The tickets themselves feature rolled bales of hay and cash, in addition to several ears of corn — for Iowa — and a sunflower, which is the Kansas state flower. For more information on the game, visit " www.ialottery.com ".