INTERRUPTION OF LOTTERY PROMOTION MEANS
MORE $20 BONUSES FOR PLAYERS

Operator Error At Vendor Caused Promotion Interruption Sunday-Tuesday Morning

DES MOINES, Iowa – An operator error by a vendor temporarily interrupted the Iowa Lottery's "Big Beepin' Deal" promotion and lottery officials plan to make it up to players by increasing the number of bonuses available for the impacted period.

Any Iowa Lottery player who made a qualifying purchase in the Big Beepin' Deal promotion on Sunday, Monday and part of Tuesday can receive a $20 bonus by mailing their ticket to the lottery. Lottery officials made the announcement Tuesday after learning that an operator error at the lottery's computer system vendor inadvertently prevented the promotion from running for a time.

"Some of our players were impacted by this error, but it would be impossible to identify them all, so we're expanding the offer to all players who made a qualifying $10 Powerball® with Power Play® purchase during the affected time," said Iowa Lottery CEO Terry Rich. "More lottery players will be eligible for a $20 bonus, so in the end, that's good news for our players."

The Big Beepin' Deal promotion began May 3 and after a successful three-week run, the lottery announced that the special offer would continue through the final week of May. For every 20th $10 Powerball with Power Play purchase made statewide, the lottery terminal makes a beeping sound like a car horn and the customer who purchased the ticket wins $20 cash on the spot.

However, an operator error at the lottery's computer system vendor prevented the promotion from functioning from Sunday through 11:28 a.m. Tuesday. Rich said that with brisk sales leading up to Wednesday's $222 million Powerball jackpot drawing, more than 5,000 qualifying purchases were made during the impacted time.

After the error was discovered, corrections were made so that the promotion resumed at 11:28 a.m. Tuesday.

Rich said that the lottery's computer system provider has agreed to compensate the lottery for added expenses involved in the promotion's expansion.

"The state of Iowa will not lose any net income as a result of this issue, and players will actually win more," Rich said.

Iowa Lottery players who have a qualifying Powerball ticket from the impacted timeframe should mail it to the lottery to claim their $20 bonus along with any prize they have won. The mailing address is: Iowa Lottery, P.O. Box 10474, Des Moines, Iowa 50306. Players have until May 27, 2010, to claim their bonuses from the lottery.

Rich said the lottery wants its players to know it appreciates their support.

"The changes we've made mean more players who made Big Beepin' Deal purchases will be eligible for $20 bonuses," Rich said. "An error has turned into more luck for our players."