STATE FAIR WILL OFFER HALF-PRICE ADVANCE-PURCHASE ADMISSION AS PART OF TRAVEL CAMPAIGNS

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Iowa Powerball® Players Can Get Half-Price State Fair General Admission Tickets; Lottery's Work Has Led To Increased Lottery Sales, Positive Proceeds News

DES MOINES, Iowa – The Iowa State Fair will make an exclusive offer for advance-purchase general admission tickets as part of the statewide summer travel initiative underway from the Iowa Lottery and Iowa Tourism Office. That project, along with other work by the lottery this year, has lottery proceeds to the state on track to meet or exceed last year's totals, providing valuable revenue for state causes during a tough time.

The latest round of special offers available to Iowa Powerball players in this summer's statewide travel initiative, which start Sunday, will include half-price admission to the Iowa State Fair, the best advance-purchase offer available for Fair general admission tickets.

Lottery CEO Terry Rich said Friday that the travel project the lottery has undertaken with the Iowa Tourism Office is creating buzz about vacation possibilities in Iowa and bringing valuable exposure to businesses statewide that is especially needed during this tough economic time.

"We hope it's all combining to make a positive difference for Iowa's business economy," Rich said. "It's definitely making a difference for Powerball players in Iowa. I mean, how lucky can they get? The jackpot has grown to an estimated $150 million for Saturday and if our players don't win a prize, they have the chance to use any nonwinning Powerball tickets to get great deals at some of our state's biggest attractions. And next week, more offers will be on the way, including buy-one-get-one tickets to the Iowa Speedway."

Rich said the lottery is starting to make a comeback on its budget figures after the economic downturn and storm damage set lottery sales back earlier in the fiscal year, and he hopes the rest of the state will soon follow suit with more positive news.

"Our sales were about 6 percent behind our projections earlier this year and we’ve made up some ground there, with sales currently only about 3 percent behind projections," Rich said. "But perhaps more importantly, our proceeds to the state are on track to end the year even with or ahead of last year's figures, which is good news for our state's budget in these tough times."

The Iowa State Fair and Marriott International Inc. are the latest of eight featured attractions in the summer travel initiative from the Iowa Lottery and Iowa Tourism Office. The idea behind the "Experience Iowa" project with its "Keep Your Powerball Ticket Handy" slogan is to encourage people to travel the state, go to Iowa attractions and businesses and give the entire state a boost in these tough economic times.

Starting Sunday, players can visit the lottery's Web site to find out how they can use nonwinning Powerball tickets from Saturday night's $150 million jackpot drawing to receive $5 off the regular gate general admission at the Iowa State Fair, which runs Aug. 13-23 in Des Moines. That's a 50 percent discount on general admission to the State Fair and is the best advance-purchase price available.

In addition, 13 participating Marriott locations in the state are offering $20 off a guest room to Iowa Powerball players. Marriott is a leading lodging company known for high quality and excellent service with 3,100 locations in the United States and 65 other countries and territories.

To take advantage of the latest offers, Iowa Powerball players who have a nonwinning ticket from the drawing on Saturday (May 16) can log onto the lottery Web site at www.ialottery.com, print off a coupon there starting Sunday, attach their nonwinning ticket and then present the coupon to the participating business to receive the special deal. This latest round of offers will be available through Wednesday.

Powerball ticket holders must use one ticket per coupon, or select which offer they wish to use.

The lottery-tourism project will continue through May and June, with discounts from other featured attractions to include Riverboat Twilight, which offers riverboat trips from Le Claire to Dubuque; King's Pointe Waterpark Resort in Storm Lake; Pzazz/FunCity amusement park in Burlington; the National Mississippi River Museum & Aquarium in Dubuque; Iowa Speedway in Newton; and Honey Creek Resort near Lake Rathbun in south-central Iowa; and Adventureland Inn in Altoona.