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Iowa Lottery CEO plans to retire

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Terry Rich

The leader of the Iowa Lottery says he will retire at the end of this year or early in 2019.

Terry Rich took over as only the second ever Iowa Lottery CEO in 2009 following the retirement of Ed Stanek.

Rich is 65 and while he isn’t required to retire, he says he is ready. “I decided it was time to look out and do those transitions to head for retirement. It’s something that everybody looks forward to, and I really want to spend some more time with my family and friends,” Rich says. Rich has three kids and four grandchildren who all live in the central Iowa area.

He says it has been a great job. “I think that the most fun part of the position is that I have reported to three different governors. So I’ve had the chance to see behind the scenes of the capitol and the whole government structure, Rich says. Rich notes that all three governors had one thing in common — their main concern about the Iowa Lottery was that it is run with integrity, and Rich says he is proud to know that has happened under his watch.

He says the Hot Lotto ticket scandal was probably the biggest challenge he faced as CEO and is proud the organization took the steps that led to the truth. “It was really fun leading a group of professionals that was dedicated to doing whatever it takes to solve that mystery, “Rich says, “and it was really a unique mystery.”  A man who worked for a company that supplied the numbers drawn for the game was eventually convicted of rigging the Iowa Hot Lotto game and others after the Iowa Lottery refused to pay out the jackpot.

Rich says advancements in technology have been a big issue in his time at the Iowa Lottery. “The technology has really improved on both the security side and also the convenience for the players,” according to Rich. “I see as we look into the future that we’ll be able to play the lottery on our cellphones in the future. Or the various things that people do to check the numbers on their cellphones and decide to get in on a special promotion.”

Before coming to the Iowa Lottery, Rich was CEO of the Blank Park Zoo in Des Moines, owned his own production company, and was Vice President of Marketing for Heritage Communications in Des Moines.

 

Final Powerball and Mega Millions drawings this year both top $300 million

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The jackpots in Powerball and Mega Millions have both topped the $300 million mark for the second time this year.

Iowa Lottery CEO Terry Rich says the Powerball jackpot has gone unclaimed since October 25th and the jackpot is an estimated 384 million for Saturday’s drawing.

“That’s a lot of money — 239 million in a lump sum — so it would be quite a treat, king of an after-Christmas present if we could get some of the Iowans to win this big pot,”Rich says. The Mega Millions jackpot is an estimated $306 million for today’s drawing, which would pay out $191.1 million if you take the lump-sum option.

The only other time the two jackpots hit this level together was in August of this year. Rich says this is the level where people who aren’t weekly players try to grab a share.

“That 300 million dollar mark seems to be the point where everybody kind of jumps on board,” Rich says. “The jackpots move a little slow and then once it hits 300 million, everybody dives in and tries to get a piece of it. So, I think it’s kind of the expectations of the customers and players who want to try to hit the big one when it does get big.” These jackpots come at a time when they may not increase as rapidly if they aren’t won.

He says people are on vacation and holiday and that means there’s probably less work pools, which he says seem to increase the jackpots dramatically. Rich says hitting one of the jackpots has high odds — and hitting the double would really be tough. He says the odds of hitting both are astronomical, but he says it’s a fun way to dream a little.

Rich says you should remember the odds and not let the dreams of multi-millions dictate your decision to purchase tickets.

“Play with your head, not above your head,” Rich says. “Have a little fun and we’d love to present you with a big check.” You can buy Mega Millions tickets today up until 8:59 p.m.

Iowa Lottery reveals release of personal information from 2011 winners

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The Iowa Lottery says the social security numbers of nearly 3,000 past game winners were inadvertently posted to a website.

Lottery attorney Rob Porter told the Lottery Board today that the information was part of an open records request made by a journalist who was doing a story on lotteries.

“The data that was provided that included the sensitive information was published to a website in mid-September. It remained on that website for approximately ten days, until Sunday afternoon when the Iowa Lottery requested that the data be pulled down,”Porter says.

Porter says the information involved those who had won a lottery prize of more than $600 in 2011 and that included 2,967 people. “The information does not appear in the main text of the excel spread sheet,” Porter says, “and further, where the information does appear, the data is contained in unrecognizable abbreviations. You have to manipulate the tabs in the data to get the confidential information.”

Iowa Lottery CEO Terry Rich says they are taking steps to let those involved know about the situation. “We’ll offer a credit monitoring service for them. So, those affected will receive a letter soon…once we identified it, we fixed it and now we will notify them and through this process notify the public,”Rich says.

He says they reviewed how the information got out to try to prevent future problems. “The information was actually encoded — you had to know how to find the information with about six different clicks from the original site — and we immediately began discussing how to make sure that it would never happen again,” according to Rich.

Rich says anyone with questions about the release of the information can call the Iowa Lottery office.

Three tickets sold in Iowa were ever so close to Powerball jackpot

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Preliminary information shows more than one Iowan came close to getting a piece of the mega Hot Lotto jackpot.

A single ticket sold in Massachusetts had all the winning numbers for the jackpot that grew to nearly $759 million right before Wednesday’s drawing. The Iowa Lottery says at least three tickets sold here came within one number of grabbing a piece of what is the second largest Powerball prize ever.

Those tickets were purchased in different areas of the state: Ampride All Round Truck Plaza, 3243 Fifth Ave. S. in Fort Dodge; Casey’s, 502 Main St. in Dakota City; and Kwik Star, 100 W. Gilbert Drive in Evansdale.

The Iowa Lottery says there were $4.7 dollars in tickets sold — with $3 million worth sold on Wednesday alone. Tickets were selling at the rate of $7,800 a minute between 5 and 6 p.m. on Wednesday.

The Iowa Lottery says 90 percent of the tickets purchased used the “easy pick”option, where the numbers are randomly selected.

Powerball jackpot is second largest ever

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Powerball ticket sales are expected to be brisk for the big drawing.

The prize in tonight’s Powerball drawing has bumped up to $700 million — making it the second largest lottery prize ever offered in North America.

Iowa Lottery spokesperson, Mary Neubauer, says the big number brings in lots of new players hoping to become rich. She reminds everyone to not get carried away.

“You only have to have one ticket to have a shot at it, so please play responsibly, don’t get in over your head,” Neubauer says. “Just make it something fun that you do — like going out to eat or going to a movie — but don’t spend beyond you means I guess would be the bottom line.” She says big jackpots often lead to groups of people buying tickets together.

“When the jackpot gets big like it is now, we do see the pool play phenomenon, the office pool really kick in. Whether it’s folks playing with their neighbors, or maybe with their family, or with their coworkers,” she says. Buying tickets in a group can be fun if you win, but Neubauer says it can also cause problems if you don’t keep track of everything.

“If you’re the person buying the ticket on behalf of the group, maybe make photocopies of the ticket so that everybody in the group knows exactly what tickets were for the group,” Neubauer says. “Keep very close track of who put in money for the purchase of tickets so there’s no question about that later.”

Neubauer says if you purchase tickets for a group and want to buy some for yourself, you should buy them at a different store and different time so it is very clear that those tickets are yours. She says they have several more tips on their website to help you avoid spending the money you won in a jackpot on lawsuits afterwards.

“It’s a fun thing for everybody to be a part of the collective daydream talking about what you would do with the money if you won — but we just don’t want to see it cause complications later,” Neubauer says. There’s a history of success for pool players in Iowa as the winners of the largest Powerball prize claimed here were members of an office pool.

The group all worked together in the shipping department of the Quaker Oats plant in Cedar Rapids when they won a $241 million jackpot in June of 2012. They called themselves the “shipping 20” when they came to collect the jackpot.

Neubauer says strong sales could push the jackpot even higher before the 8:59 p.m. drawing.

Iowa Lottery photo.

Hot Lotto game will be retired in October

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The Hot Lotto game is heading into retirement this fall after a run that started back in April of 2002.

Iowa Lottery spokesperson, Mary Neubauer, says Iowa and the 13 other lotteries that sell the game decided to make the move after a performance review.

“Any game has a life span and through the years Hot Lotto has been updated just like some of our other lotto games like Powerball and Mega Millions have, to incorporated new features and give players new things to look for in the game. But over time, the sales have simply fallen off,” Neubauer says.

She says it’s a bit ironic as Hot Lotto was developed after players told the Iowa Lottery they weren’t as interested in chasing the mega jackpots generated by some of the other games.

“And that in fact is what Hot Lotto is. It’s a game that has Powerball style play, but with jackpots that start at a million dollars and with easier odds to win than Powerball, and yet the sales have fallen off over time,” according to Neubauer. “People say that’s what they want, but then they’re not backing that up with their choices when it comes to actually purchasing tickets. So, it’s kind of an interesting mindset there that we’ve looked at.”

The Hot Lotto game was at the center of one of the most convoluted stories and mysteries in Iowa that eventually led to a guilty plea in a multi-state lottery rigging scheme. Neubauer says that case had not impact on the decision to end the game.

“No, the decision that led to this point is simply a business decision. It’s based on the performance of the game,” Neubauer says. She expects something to replace the Hot Lotto game.

Neubauer says the lotteries that are members of the Hot Lotto game are working on a new game that would debut later this year, but those plans haven’t been finalized. The last Hot Lotto drawing is scheduled for October 28th.   There is the possibility that no one has the winning numbers for that jackpot.

“Just like other unclaimed prize money, here in Iowa, we will use that money for prizes in future games and promotions, “Neubauer says. And if you win some sort of prize in that last drawing, you can still collect it.

“Prizes in Hot Lotto are valid here in Iowa for up to 365 days from the date of the drawing in which they are won. And that would still be applicable even after the game ends,” Neubauer explains. “So, if you won a prize in the final drawing of Hot Lotto, you would still have another year to claim that prize.”

Iowa Lottery players have won eight jackpots in Hot Lotto since it began. That includes the largest prize ever in the game — $19.97 million jackpot won in January 2007 by John Hall of Indianola.

Iowa Lottery dealing with change in law covering gambling self-ban

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The state law that allowed someone to sign a lifetime self-ban for gambling changed July 1st to give people the option of also signing a 5-year ban.

Anyone who signs the ban is prevented from entering the gaming floor at Iowa’s casinos. Iowa Lottery spokesperson Mary Neubauer says they sell lottery tickets at thousands of retailers across the state, so they had to take a different approach to the ban.

“Obviously we can’t ban folks from going to a convenience store or from a grocery store because they have other business that they need to be doing on in those locations,” Neubauer says. “So the way we came at the motivation to play was to have folks who sign our self-exclusiong agreement to ban themselves from lottery offices across the state.” Neubauer says keeping them out of the Iowa Lottery offices ensures they can’t chase big jackpots.

“Any lottery prize of more than 600 dollars in Iowa has to be claimed at a lottery office,” Neubauer explains, “so in the process of banning yourself from a lottery office — you are preventing yourself from ever being able to claim a big lottery prize.” It’s believed the change to allow for the five-year ban option may encourage more people who see they have a problem to sign up.

“What we’re all trying to do is give someone who is trying to deal with the issue of dealing with compulsive gambling more tools that they can use to try to make a healthy recover from the difficulty that that has caused in their life,” Neubauer says. She says the ban itself won’t help if people don’t follow through and get some help with the problem, and that’s why there also want to ensure people know how to get that help.

Neubauer says the casinos and the Iowa Lottery are working with the Iowa Department of Public Health to develop a brochure that they will give to people who sign up for the ban, to ensure they know about 1-800-BETTSOFF and the Iowa Gambling Treatment Program. Neubauer says the law allows those who think they have taken care of their problem to be removed from the banned list.

“Someone who has signed up for a self-exclusion from an Iowa casino or from the Iowa Lottery has the option if you’ve been on the self-exclusion list

for five years to request that your name comes of the list,” Neubauer says. “But that does not mean that you can just walk into a casino or walk into a lottery office and the process is done.” She says you will have to fill out the proper paperwork to get your name off the exclusion list, and then wait to get a confirmation it has been processed.

“For the first couple of months after July there may be some bumps in the road in that regard if folks aren’t paying attention to the details and aren’t taking the steps necessary to get off the exclusion list. So, we’re doing everything that we can to make it very, very clear how the process works,” according to Neubauer. You can contact the Iowa Lottery or the Iowa Racing and Gaming Commission to find out more about the changes to the gambling ban.

Iowa Lottery sellers could benefit as Illinois stops selling Powerball, Mega Millions

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Budget troubles across the Mississippi River in Ilinois could end up giving Iowa Lottery retailers on the border a boost in sales.

Iowa Lottery spokesperson, Mary Neubauer, says Illinois has stopped selling Powerball and Mega Millions. “This situation has been building for a little while now as the budget stalemate in the state of Illinois has continued. And what has happened over the last couple of weeks, without a state budget in Illinois, the state of Illinois would then be unable to pay lottery prizes,” Neubauer says.

She says the sales of Powerball and Mega Millions sales in the Land of Lincoln are waiting  until a state budget is reached so the state can pay out lottery prizes once again —  so no one knows how long the situation is going to continue. She says Illinois is one of 42 states that participate in Powerball and one of 44 states where Mega Millions is offered, so the games will continue.

“I think the important message for everyone to understand is that this is something that is impacting only Illinois, and it is not impacting other states,” Neubauer says. The one thing players in Iowa and other states may notice is a change in the size of jackpots, as the money that had gone into the pot from Illinois will not be there.

“I think in both Powerball and Mega Millions, what people will notice is that jackpots may grow a little more slowly,” Neubauer explains. “Illinois is a big state, there are a lot of people in Illinois buy tickets. And obviously the money generated by sale of tickets in Illinois, a portion of that goes to help jackpots build in both Powerball and Mega Millions. So, we may see the jackpots growing a little more slowly in the months to come.” This was an issue for Illinois back in 2015 — but at that time the state kept selling tickets and issued IOU’s to winners until the budget was resolved.

Neubauer says Iowa border retailers benefited from that move. “In 2015 the Iowa Lottery saw a sales bump back then, because folks obviously know that the state of Illinois was unable to pay prizes, and so we did see folks from Illinois coming to Iowa to buy their tickets back then,” Neubauer says. She expects sales on the eastern edge of Iowa to increase now from Illinois players who still want to play the two games.

“I fully anticipate that we’re going to see a sales jump along the Illinois border here in Iowa simple because people are going to be looking for a place where they can buy tickets and I think some of them are going to come to Iowa,” Neubauer says. “I think some of them are going to the states surrounding Illinois as well. But I think we are going to see a bump from that here.”

The Iowa Lottery has a budget that is separate from the state budget, so paying out prizes in Iowa is not dependent on the state budget.

Eddie Tipton admits in court to lottery rigging scheme

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Surveillance video of the purchasing of the Hot Lotto ticket which led to the unraveling of the lottery rigging scheme.

The man accused of rigging a Hot Lotto jackpot in Iowa admitted in court today  that he did write the computer code that allowed him get the numbers for the drawing.

Fifty-four-year-old Eddie Tipton appeared in Polk County District Court to make a plea under an agreement that involves the 2010 Hot Lotto jackpot prize as well as rigged lottery jackpots in Wisconsin, Kansas, Oklahoma and Colorado.

Iowa Assistant Attorney General Rob Sand says the fraud involved around $2.2 million, and the Tiptons have agreed to pay back what they can. “He expects that he’ll be able to pay restitution fully. There are some assets that Eddie Tipton has available,” Sand says,”but as is the case in many financial crimes, the individuals who obtain the money usually spend it thereafter, leaving only margins of it to be recovered later. I think we are in better shape in this case than we are in most cases though.”

Sand took over the prosecution of Tipton three years ago following the retirement of another person in the Attorney General’s office. That included the case against Tipton for the Iowa Hot Lotto jackpot and then the multi-state plea agreement.

“It’s been a very hectic three years throughout that time with a trial in between. And it feels very good to be at a conclusion here, a successful conclusion,” Sand says. The Iowa case in itself had many twists and turns and it got even more convoluted as the efforts moved ahead to get the multi-state settlement. “The level of complication of this prosecution and investigation is bar none,” according to Sand.

He credits the Iowa Lottery with taking the right steps to prevent the Hot Lotto jackpot from being paid out when the lawyer attempting to do so wouldn’t reveal the owner of the ticket. That eventually led to the whole scheme unraveling. “Because the Iowa Lottery demanded those answers. And because they weren’t provided, a criminal investigation ensued,” Sand says. “If it were not for the Iowa Lottery’s vigilance in that, we may not be here today.”

Both Tipton brothers have agreed to tell prosecutors exactly how they managed to pull off the crimes. Sand says that is one of the most important parts of the investigation. “That was one of the biggest reasons that the states were interested in a plead agreement — because it was our only means to require Eddie Tipton and his brother to sit down and detail what it was that they did,” Sand explains. “There is a lot of intelligence there that is going to be valuable for states and lotteries moving forward in terms of their ability to make their systems more effective and to be able to protect them.”

Eddie Tipton worked with his brother Tommy and others to collect the jackpots after he supplied them with the winning numbers. Tommy Tipton pleaded guilty to two charges of conspiracy to commit theft. Eddie Tipton faces up to 25 years in prison when a sentencing date is set. Tommy Tipton was sentenced to 75 days in jail.  Sand says they will ask that Eddie Tipton be sentenced to the maximum of 25 years in prison.

Iowa Lottery CEO Terry Rich talked about the pending plea after the Lottery Board’s meeting earlier this week. “We hope that it brings to a conclusion a 6 or 7-year…mystery we are glad will be solved,” Rich says. Rich says the plea agreement keeps the case from dragging on in court.

“It’s really nice in these kinds of processes to have an actual conclusion. Often there are appeals and all sorts of things going on, but this plea really helps bring closure to this whole event,” according to Rich. Rich says he is pleased they way everyone worked together to expose the fraud.

It wasn’t just one or two folks who put this all together — it was a team effort,” Rich says. “Everyone had one goal in mind — it was to keep the lottery games fair and honest in Iowa.”

Court proceedings could provide more answers in rigged Hot Lotto case

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The back of the Hot Lotto ticket that started the Eddie Tipton investigation.

Administrators of the Iowa Lottery are hoping to get more answers as the man who has admitted to tampering with a 2011 Hot Lotto drawing makes an appearance in court Thursday.

The former director of security for the Multistate Lottery Association, Eddie Tipton, is set to plead guilty to a felony count of ongoing criminal conduct after pleading guilty plea to theft by fraud in Wisconsin June 12th.

Iowa Lottery lawyer Rob Porter told the Lottery Board Tuesday the court appearance here will start to bring the case to a close. “The plea deals call for the parties to make various recommendations on criminal sentencing, jail time. Any sort of determinations on that are ultimately in the hands of the judges,” Porter explains. “The judges in Iowa and Wisconsin will ultimately whether Eddie Tipton receives jail time and if so, how much.”

The company Tipton worked for in Urbandale provided the random number generator for drawings to the Iowa Lottery and those in other states. Porter says they hope to learn more specifics on just how Tipton rigged the process so Tipton’s brother Tommie and others could pick the winning numbers and collect the jackpots.

“As a part of the plea deal, there is a process called the proffer. And the proffer process allows the prosecutor the ability to ask Mr. Tipton questions under oath,” according to Porter. “Some of those questions will certainly get to issues that we believe we know the answers to, but we’d like confirmation. Some will get to issue that we don’t believe we know the answers to yet.”

Porter says the information garnered from these questions could go a long way toward putting to rest any concerns about security. “Certainly any information that the lottery and law enforcement get and the results of that will be used appropriately — whether that is to further the investigation or to further enhance the efforts to protect the integrity of the lottery,” Porter says.

He says there’s information that was not publicly released to protect the investigation, and more of that should be released once the process is completed. “My hope is after Mr. Tipton has been sentenced, that we would be in a better position to take questions more open questions from the public, from the media. And by we, I mean the DCI the Attorney General’s Office and the lottery,” Porter says.

Tipton has agreed to pay restitution to lotteries in Wisconsin, Colorado, Kansas and Oklahoma as part of the plea agreement. He will not have to pay anything to Iowa for the Hot Lotto jackpot that was rigged, as the prize was not paid out like it was in other states.

Porter says it’s likely any prison time given Tipton will be spent in Iowa. “Each judge will set their sentence separately. The parties are asking for some concurrences within the deal — for example…the prosecution and Tipton were going to stipulate that any Wisconsin jail time get served here in Iowa,” Porter says.

The ticket that started the investigation was turned in just before it was set to expire on December 29, 2011. A New York attorney tried to claim the prize for a trust incorporated in Belize, but Iowa Lottery officials refused to turn over the jackpot after the people involved in the trust refused to reveal their identities. The investigation eventually led to Eddie Tipton and then the other states.