Monday Marks First Day Of Sales In “The Freedom Rock” Game

Editors/News Directors, note: The Iowa Lottery can now conduct interviews with you on Skype! If you would like to interview lottery officials and/or the artist today using Skype, please contact the Lottery to make arrangements.

TV: Sound bites and b-roll from the event will be available by 4:30 p.m. Monday on Pathfire. In the Digital Media Gateway Content Provider Panel, select NEWS, then VIDEO NEWS FEEDS, then VNF PROVIDER A. Under the IOWA LOTTERY TAB, select “Veterans Games 2009” to preview video.

Newspaper: A digital image in JPEG format of artist Ray “Bubba” Sorenson is available on the
Iowa Lottery's Web site at: http://www.ialottery.com/PressRoom/Press_Images/PR071309_RayBubbaSorensen.jpg

A digital image of The Freedom Rock ticket is available at: http://www.ialottery.com/PressRoom/Press_Images/TheFreedomRockTicket.jpg

Radio: Digital MP3 sound from the event is available at: http://www.ialottery.com/PressRoom/N07-13-09_player.html

If you cannot open these links, visit our Web site at http://www.ialottery.com and click on 'Press Room.

DES MOINES, Iowa – The Iowa Lottery is teaming up with the artist of an Iowa landmark for the latest instant-scratch game that will raise money to support veterans and their families through the Iowa Veterans Trust Fund.
Ticket sales began Monday in “The Freedom Rock™,” a $2 scratch game that features an image of the western Iowa landmark on its tickets. For 11 years, Ray “Bubba” Sorensen II, a Greenfield artist, has painted a 56-ton boulder near his Adair County hometown with patriotic images as a tribute to our nation’s veterans. The giant rock now called The Freedom Rock has become a draw for visitors from around the globe.
Sorensen, 29, was first inspired to paint the boulder in 1999 after seeing the movie “Saving Private Ryan.”
“I thought I’d say, ‘Thank you veterans for our freedom’ and put the flag-raising at Iwo Jima on there. That’s how it kind of got started,” Sorensen said.
He was going to paint the rock just that one year, but veterans had other plans.
“Veterans asked, ‘Would I paint it again for Memorial Day?’” Sorensen said. “And I took it a step further – I painted all the way around it.”
Lottery officials said that as soon as the lottery gained authorization in 2008 to produce games to benefit veterans, they began to receive requests for The Freedom Rock to be put on those tickets. The Lottery met with Sorensen in mid-2008 about featuring his work on lottery tickets and reached agreement with him later that year.
“We’re extremely pleased to be able to offer a game featuring The Freedom Rock,” said Iowa Lottery CEO Terry Rich. “Bubba Sorensen’s art is truly inspiring and we’re honored to showcase his work while helping Iowa veterans at the same time.”
Sorensen said he is glad that his artwork will help veterans in a new way through the lottery.
“Veterans deserve our thanks and support for defending our freedoms,” Sorensen said. “I’m honored that my work can help the lottery provide proceeds for those who have given so much for our country.”
The first lottery games to benefit the Iowa Veterans Trust Fund began sales in July 2008. The Lottery estimates that the new games will raise between $2 million and $3 million in proceeds annually for veterans’ causes.
Tickets in The Freedom Rock game have a red, white and blue theme and feature artwork of this year’s version of Sorensen’s artwork, which bears the message “Thank you veterans” amidst scenes of U.S. soldiers from several different eras. Players can win up to 10 times on each ticket and prizes range from $2 to $7,777.
The next pull-tab game to benefit the Iowa Veterans Trust Fund begins sales on Monday, July 20. The $1 game called “Red, White & Blue” features artwork of several patriotic symbols, including the bald eagle and Liberty Bell.
As for Sorensen, he plans to continue honoring veterans with his work for years to come.
“I’ve been told I can’t give it up until I die,” he said with a laugh. “I delve into books, do my research on veterans, like our past wars and our U.S. history and what’s currently going on. I get letters and e-mails from veterans and people currently serving. That either inspires me or sparks an idea somehow.”

The Iowa Veterans Trust Fund was created to assist qualified veterans in paying for expenses such as:
• unemployment or underemployment assistance due to service-related causes
• assistance with vision, hearing, or dental care
• durable medical equipment and prescription drugs
• counseling and substance abuse services
• emergency housing repair and transitional housing in an emergency.
To learn more about the Veterans Trust Fund, visit www.iowava.org.
Since the Iowa Lottery’s start in 1985, its players have won more than $2.2 billion in prizes while the lottery has raised more than $1.1 billion for state programs. For more information about how lottery proceeds have helped make Iowa a better place to live, go to www.ialottery.com.