EASTERN IOWA WOMAN WINS $500,000 TOP PRIZE
IN IOWA-KANSAS LOTTERY GAME

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Kim Hertel and Lottery CEO Terry Rich with ceremonial check

Lottery officials conducting the Midwest Millions drawing Friday

Three versions of the "Midwest Millions" tickets

Five Other Players Win $10,000 Prizes Friday In "Midwest Millions" Drawing

TOPEKA, Kan. – An eastern Iowa woman won a $500,000 prize and five other lottery players from Iowa and Kansas won $10,000 prizes Friday in a joint drawing by the Kansas and Iowa lotteries.

Kim Hertel of Washington was selected as the top-prize winner of $500,000 in the "Midwest Millions" drawing conducted by lottery officials in Topeka, Kan. Five winners of $10,000 prizes also were selected in the drawing, including Diane Robinson of Indianola.

"This isn't a joke is it?" Hertel asked when she was contacted Friday by lottery officials. "$500,000? For me? My legs are going numb, I have to sit down!"

Friday's winners were:

The Kansas and Iowa lotteries became the first in the United States to offer a joint instant-scratch game when the initial version of Midwest Millions began sales in September 2007. The lotteries have built on that game's success with two more versions of the game, including the current Midwest Million game that began sales in September.

Iowa Lottery CEO Terry Rich said players' continued enthusiasm for the game was evident in strong sales of Midwest Millions in both states. Players sent in approximately 94,000 entries for Friday's drawing.

"The continued strong sales in Midwest Millions show that the game has delivered what players want: the chance to play for big prizes, but lots of smaller prizes as well," Rich said.

Kansas and Iowa split Midwest Millions' top prizes in the game's first two years, with Iowa Lottery players winning both $500,000 prizes in the initial version of the game and Kansas Lottery players taking home both $500,000 prizes in the game's second round.

Hertel, 50, a registered nurse who works at the Veterans Administration Medical Center in Iowa City, said she and her husband both sent in tickets for the Midwest Millions drawing. She said they liked the game because of its Midwest theme and because it featured a second-chance drawing. She said she'll definitely share her winnings with her husband, Steve Stone.

"Oh yeah, our money is the same," she said. "I'm seeing a house being built now!"

Hertel also has a new set of wheels in mind.

"We live in the country and we have a car and an old pickup," she said. "And getting down the road in the winter is not really easy with the car, so I am going to get a pickup."

Tickets in this year's Midwest Millions game feature scenes of outdoor activities in both Kansas and Iowa. Players in both states are buying tickets and competing for prizes as part of one big pool. In addition to the prizes available in the Midwest Millions drawings, the $10 game offers instant prizes ranging from $10 to $50,000. The game's second drawing will be April 16 in Des Moines, Iowa.

The idea behind the game is to apply to another product line the "Powerball concept" that has enabled states to join together in lotto games and offer bigger prizes and more chances to win than they would have been able to achieve on their own.

Kansas Lottery Executive Director Ed Van Petten said it has been gratifying to see Midwest Millions succeed.

"This game has delivered more exciting prizes to our players and helped both our lotteries raise more money for valuable state causes," Van Petten said.

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.