Lottery Ticket Purchased in Dubuque is a $40 Million Winner

Someone in Dubuque County had once-in-a-lifetime luck as the lottery ticket they purchased last week turned out to be a $40 million winner.

The Iowa Lottery and the Telegraph Herald confirmed on Sunday, April 2nd that the winning ticket in the Lotto America jackpot was purchased at Dubuque's very own Eichman's Bar & Grill. The establishment is located on U.S. 3.

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The winning ticket was for Saturday night's Lotto America drawing. The top prize was a $40.03 million annuity or a $21.28 million cash option. The winner has not been identified at this time.

What is Lotto America?:

The Lotto America game is conducted like a conventional lottery drawing. The goal is to match up to six numbers and the bonus Star Ball in order to win the lucrative prize. The winning numbers were: 2-38-43-46-51 and Star Ball 7. The Lotto America jackpot continue to rise. According to the Telegraph Herald, the previous record jackpot was a $22.82 million grand prize awarded to a Minnesota family back in 2018.

Iowa Lottery CEP Matt Strawn, who serves as the vice-chairman of the Lotto America game, said it's a moment to celebrate that a jackpot winner came from Iowa:

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As the jackpot continued to climb, we kept saying that the odds of winning it in Iowa are the same as anywhere else, and now it’s happened [....] This is a moment to celebrate for our winner, our retailer, and the Iowa Lottery.

What are the Odds?:

Similar in style to the enormously popular Powerball lottery, Lotto America costs $1 to play and drawings are held on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Saturdays. The game is sold by 13 state lotteries. The odds of winning the jackpot? Approximately 1 in 26 million. The Powerball jackpot, by comparison, has 1 in 292.2 million odds; Mega Millions' odds are about 1 in 302.6 million.

The Iowa Lottery's headquarters are located in Clive, IA. Monday is the earliest that the prize can be claimed. Lottery officials also encourage winners of significant windfalls of cash are encouraged to consult either a lawyer or a financial advisor before claiming the prize.

Dubuque Establishment Cashes Out:

Eichman's Bar & Grill in Dubuque will be awarded a $5,000 check for selling the winning ticket. This marks the second time an Iowa resident has won the Lotto America game. A Davenport man won $4.38 million during a drawing back in 2018.

The Lotto America jackpot reverts back down to a $2 million annuity or a $1.06 million cash option, for the next drawing on Monday, April 3rd, 2023.