EASTERN IOWA MAN WINS $500,000 PRIZE IN
“MIDWEST MILLIONS” LOTTERY DRAWING

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First-Of-Its-Kind Game's Success Paves Way For Future Joint Scratch Games

DES MOINES, Iowa - An eastern Iowa man won a $500,000 prize and 50 other lottery players won $1,000 prizes Friday in the final drawing of an instant-scratch game from the Kansas and Iowa lotteries that was the first of its kind in the nation. The game's success has led the lotteries to make plans for further joint scratch games.

Stephen Zabel of Conesville, Iowa, was selected as the top-prize winner of $500,000 in the “Midwest Millions” drawing conducted Friday in downtown Des Moines by Dawn Carlson, president of the Petroleum Marketers and Convenience Stores of Iowa, and lottery officials. Fifty winners of $1,000 prizes also were selected in the drawing.

Iowa Lottery officials reached Zabel Friday at Tyson Fresh Meats in Columbus Junction, where he works as a supply receiver. Zabel, 55, was floored by the news.

“Oh, geez. You're kidding me!” he said when told that he had won the $500,000 prize. “I'm shaking.”

The Kansas and Iowa lotteries became the first in the United States to offer a joint scratch game when Midwest Millions began sales in September. Players in both states bought tickets and competed for prizes as part of an effort to test the “Powerball concept” that has proven so successful in lotto games. Multiple lotteries have joined together in lotto games such as Powerball to 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 found inspiration for Midwest Millions in the success that Canadian lotteries had achieved by joining together to offer scratch games with millions of dollars in prizes. The provincial lotteries in Canada have successfully offered joint instant-scratch games since 1976. As he initially considered the idea in mid-2006, Van Petten contacted officials at the Iowa Lottery, who also saw merit in the project, and the two began the work of bringing a game to market.

Van Petten and Iowa Lottery Acting CEO Ken Brickman said Friday that they are pleased with Midwest Millions' performance and are planning another joint game with sales to start in September.

“Midwest Millions has joined the list of multi-jurisdictional games that have achieved success by offering players more prizes and larger top prizes through the pooling of resources,” Van Petten said.

Brickman added, “It was invigorating to work on a new generation of lottery product in Midwest Millions. We look forward to continuing and even improving upon the trend with another joint scratch game.”

Zabel said he had played Midwest Millions since the game went on sale in September and sent in several tickets for the second-chance drawings.

“I've been sending them in ever since you came out with that game,” he said. “I thought it was worth a chance.”

Zabel has some plans for his winnings.

“I've thought about it before - I plan on paying my house off and to stick some away for a rainy day,” he said. “That's $500,000? Oh geez. You just made my day. I'm going to go up and tell my boss.”

Midwest Millions offered 1.2 million tickets, with 600,000 going to each state. Statewide sales began in both states on Sept. 10. Instant prizes ranged from $10 to $50,000 and two second-chance drawings in the game each offered a $500,000 prize as well as 50 prizes of $1,000. The first drawing was Jan. 11 in Topeka, Kan., and more than 81,000 entries were received for it. The second drawing was Friday in Des Moines, Iowa, with players sending in nearly 80,000 entries for it.

Ralph Kuwamoto, a railroad worker from Lincoln, Neb., who bought a Midwest Millions ticket while working in Glenwood in southwest Iowa, won the top prize in the Topeka drawing.

Zabel purchased his ticket at the Riverside Travel Mart, 3070 Highway 22 East in Riverside.

The prize winners in Friday's Midwest Millions drawing are: