PLEASANT HILL GAS STATION SELLS
$1 MILLION-WINNING POWERBALL TICKET

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Ticket Came Close To Winning Share Of Wednesday's $259.9 Million Powerball Jackpot

DES MOINES, Iowa – A ticket winning a $1 million prize in Wednesday's Powerball drawing was sold at a Pleasant Hill gas station.

The $1 million-winning ticket was sold at the Hy-Vee Gas at 4910 Maple Dr. in Pleasant Hill. It came close to winning a share of Wednesday's $259.9 million jackpot, matching the first five numbers but missing the Powerball® to win a $200,000 prize. But the player who purchased the ticket also added the Power Play® option to the winning play, which multiplied the prize to $1 million.

As of Thursday morning, no one had come forward to claim the $1 million prize. Wednesday's Powerball jackpot was won with a ticket sold in South Carolina.

When the Powerball game was redesigned in January, one of the changes made was specifically for the prize you win if your ticket matches the first five numbers and you’ve added the Power Play. The prize for that play is always $1 million, no matter what the Power Play number is for that drawing.

Terry Rich, CEO of the Iowa Lottery, said Iowa has now had two $1 million winners since the change in January, providing evidence that the updates to Powerball are delivering what players want: continued big jackpots, but the chance to win other big prizes as well.

"There's no easier way to become a millionaire than by adding the $1 Power Play option to your ticket to max out a $200,000 Powerball prize," Rich said. "That's going to be especially true for the lucky winner or winners who bought the $1 million-winning ticket in Pleasant Hill."

In February, a Marshalltown man won a $1 million prize by adding the Power Play option to his Powerball ticket. Ricky Rushton, who worked in the cafeteria at the Swift & Co. pork-processing plant in Marshalltown, bought his $1 million-winning ticket at a Marshalltown convenience store.

The winning numbers in Wednesday's $259.9 million Powerball drawing were: 14-24-31-43-51 and Powerball 27. The Power Play multiplier was 5. The jackpot returns to $20 million for Saturday's drawing.

In addition to the $1 million-winning ticket, another ticket sold in Iowa also came close to winning a share of Wednesday's jackpot. That ticket matched four of the first five numbers and the Powerball to win a $10,000 prize. It was sold at Kum & Go, 1002 West St. in Grinnell.

Prizes of $1 million must be claimed at Iowa Lottery headquarters in Des Moines. If the winner or winners need information before coming forward to claim the prize, they are invited to call the lottery at 515-725-7900.

Lottery officials are reminding players to be sure to check their Powerball tickets for other prizes as well. More than 30,000 prizes ranging from $3 to $10,000 were won in Iowa in Wednesday's Powerball drawing.

With the end of this Powerball jackpot run, much of lottery player focus now is on Hot Lotto. The Hot Lotto jackpot has been growing since late February and has reached an estimated $16.94 million for Saturday's drawing, the second-largest jackpot ever offered in the game. Iowa boasts the winner of the biggest Hot Lotto jackpot since the game’s start in 2002. John Hall, a small business owner from Indianola, won a $19.97 million Hot Lotto jackpot in January 2007.

Hot Lotto was designed to be a mini version of Powerball with smaller jackpots and easier odds. Hot Lotto is played in Iowa, 12 other states and the District of Columbia. Jackpots start at $1 million and grow from there. Players choose five numbers from a pool of 39 and another number – the Hot Ball – from a separate pool of 19. Plays cost $1 and drawings are held just before the Powerball drawings on Wednesdays and Saturdays.

Winning numbers may be checked on the lottery Web site at www.ialottery.com or through the winning numbers' hot line at (515) 323-4633. Winning numbers may also be checked with lottery retail outlets or by calling the lottery at (515) 725-7900 from 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Monday-Friday.

Since the Iowa Lottery's start in 1985, its players have won more than $2.4 billion in prizes while the lottery has raised nearly $1.2 billion for state programs.