$1 million winner announced

Quit digging around the glove box or under the seat cushions in the couch, that missing $1 million Iowa lottery ticket isn't really missing.

Here's the release from the Iowa Lottery:


Adair Man Claims $1 Million Powerball® Prize

Steve Petty Loses Sleep Before Claiming Big Prize at Lottery Headquarters Monday

DES MOINES, Iowa – After making several stops for lunch Saturday afternoon, an Adair man decided to purchase a few Powerball plays for Saturday’s drawing and ended up winning a $1 million prize.
Steve Petty, 58, has been staying at the Guthrie County Hospital in Guthrie Center with his mother, who is 95 and recently took a bad fall. Petty’s siblings had been taking turns staying by her side and Petty tried to stop for some lunch before heading back to the hospital Saturday.
“After all the restaurants I went to were closed, I told my sister-in-law, ‘I’ll just run up to Casey’s to get a pizza.’ I waited and waited and said, ‘Give me three quick picks,’” Petty said. “I went home, started working on tax clients and said to myself, ‘Let’s see what happened with the lotto.’”
Petty had purchased three Powerball plays from Casey’s, 100 N. Fifth St. in Guthrie Center, and it was the second play that won him the big prize.
“I saw those numbers so quick, it was unbelievable. I usually have to check my numbers 20 times just to make sure I didn’t win anything,” Petty said with a laugh as he claimed his prize Monday afternoon at the Iowa Lottery’s headquarters in Des Moines.
Petty called his sister, who asked her daughters to try to figure out how much he’d won.
“They called me and said, ‘Steven, you are a millionaire,’” he said. “And I said, ‘Are you sure?’”
Petty’s neighbors urged him to sign his ticket and have it validated. Signing a lottery ticket ensures that no other person can claim ownership of it.
“They scolded me for having an unsigned ticket,” he said.
Petty said he plans to spend his money wisely by planning for retirement and possibly purchasing a newer car.
Petty, who is an organist and tax preparer, said he was astounded that his sporadic lottery playing won him such a big prize.
“I invested maybe $22 on lottery tickets in 2011,” he said.
Petty’s ticket matched the first five numbers but missed the Powerball to win a $1 million prize in Saturday's drawing. Before $2 Powerball debuted on Jan. 15, Petty would have won a $200,000 prize.
“I wasn’t aware of that,” he said. “That makes this fortuitous.”
Players can increase their prizes with the Power Play (except the jackpot). The cost is $1 per play. In the new $2 Powerball game, players who choose the Power Play and match five white balls win a $2 million prize.
The winning numbers in the Saturday’s Powerball jackpot drawing were: 23-28-50-56-59 and Powerball 5. There was no jackpot winner for the drawing.
Since the Iowa Lottery's start in 1985, its players have won more than $2.8 billion in prizes while the lottery has raised more than $1.3 billion for state programs.
Today, lottery proceeds in Iowa have three main purposes: They provide support for veterans, help for a variety of significant projects through the state General Fund, and backing for the Vision Iowa program, which was implemented to create tourism destinations and community attractions in the state and build and repair schools.

Prize amount: $1 million
Federal withholding: $250,000
State withholding: $50,000
Net amount: $700,000