A half dozen tickets purchased in Iowa came within one number of having at least a share of last night’s (Wednesday) massive Powerball jackpot. The $564 million jackpot was split by three tickets purchased in North Carolina, Texas and Puerto Rico. Iowa Lottery spokesperson Mary Neubauer says six tickets in Iowa were close — matching five of the six numbers drawn. “We saw tickets purchased in Cedar Rapids, Des Moines, Mount Vernon, Newton, Waukee and Waukon – each of those matched four of the first five numbers and the Powerball,” Neubauer said. “Four of them won a $10,000 prize and two of them won a $30,000 prize because in addition to matching the numbers they also had the Power Play option on the ticket which multiplied the prize.”

As of late this (Thursday) morning, Iowa Lottery officials had not identified any of the people who purchased the six tickets in the state that came within one number of sharing the third largest jackpot in the history of the game. “We haven’t heard from any of those big winners yet, but because people were paying so much attention to this drawing, I anticipate we’ll see them soon,” Neubauer said.

In Iowa, nearly $4.7 million in Powerball tickets were purchased for Wednesday’s drawing. “The day of the drawing is always the day with the highest sales for that particular drawing and yesterday in Iowa, players bought about $3 million in tickets alone,” Neubauer said.

A total of 67,320 plays purchased by Iowa Lottery players won prizes ranging from $4 up to $30,000.

Here is a closer look at Wednesday’s drawing and the Iowa results:

·A total of 67,320 plays purchased by Iowa Lottery players won prizes ranging from $4 up to $30,000. Four tickets matched four of the first five numbers and the Powerball to win a $10,000 prize each. They were purchased at: Hy-Vee Gas, 1025 E. Hickman Road in Waukee; Hy-Vee Gas, 4701 Fleur Drive in Des Moines; Casey’s, 20 Miller Ave. SW in Cedar Rapids; and Casey’s, 323 Iowa Highway 30 W. in Mount Vernon.
·Two more tickets also matched four of the first five numbers and the Powerball, but also had the Power Play® option added to them, which multiplied their prize to $30,000. They were purchased at: Casey’s, 1018 First Ave. E. in Newton; and Huba Huba, 9 Ninth St. SW in Waukon.
·The winning numbers in Wednesday’s $564.1 million Powerball jackpot drawing were: 11-13-25-39-54 and Powerball 19. The Power Play number was 3. The final jackpot amount surged well above the $500 million annuity estimate heading into the drawing. The Powerball jackpot returns to its starting amount of $40 million annuity ($22.8 million cash option) for Saturday’s drawing.
·Iowa Lottery players bought nearly $4.7 million in Powerball tickets for Wednesday’s drawing, including about $3 million in tickets on Wednesday alone. During Wednesday’s busiest stretch from about 5-6 p.m., Powerball tickets were selling at more than $6,100 per minute in Iowa. However, the average Iowa Powerball purchase on Wednesday remained just $6, or three plays per ticket. Lottery officials were pleased that Iowans enjoyed playing at a fun level and didn’t go overboard.
·The odds of winning the jackpot in Powerball are about 1 in 175.2 million because there are about 175.2 million ways you can combine the numbers in the game to make a play. By tracking sales, lottery officials can estimate how many of the possible combinations have been purchased for a particular drawing. About 66 percent of all the possible combinations were purchased in Wednesday’s drawing.

(Radio Iowa)