Iowa Lottery to discontinue Monopoly-inspired game

DES MOINES - A new lottery game based on the popular board game Monopoly will cease sales just after Christmas because of lower-than-expected sales, state officials said Monday.

The Monopoly Millionaires' Club lottery game will end in its current format on Dec. 26, Iowa Lottery officials announced Monday.

The game debuted on Oct. 19 in 23 states, including Iowa. But sales came in below industry projections, an Iowa Lottery media release said.

'Like all good businesses, lotteries have to try new ideas,” Iowa Lottery CEO Terry Rich said in a statement. 'We incorporated concepts into this game that have been popular elsewhere, but they just didn't do as well here. We will continue to discuss the possible future of this game and certainly believe in the concept of spreading the winnings around to players.”

The game featured a weekly lotto drawing with a top prize capped at $25 million.

Players still can purchase tickets and win prizes through Dec. 26.