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N.C. Lottery spent $11 million on advertisingNews Story
You've seen them and heard them. The cheesy game show character. The singing chorus. The ubiquitous billboards touting a big, life-changing jackpot. No one is immune from the state lottery's advertising efforts. And with good reason: In the last fiscal year, the lottery spent $10.9 million on advertising. Spending records released through a public records request show that lottery officials seek to blanket the state's airwaves and dot its highways with the messages: Buy tickets that will b
Nov 29, 2009, 10:45 am - Lottery News

Calif. Lottery pays out $264,000 after game show mistakeNews Story
The California Lottery will pay $264,000 in additional winnings to nine people whose names were mistakenly transposed on forms during a lottery game show. Lottery officials say a mistake during a taping in February of the Make Me A Millionaire television show resulted in the nine players playing a different game than they otherwise would have. The nine players received another chance at winning Sunday because the Feb. 8 error had resulted in them playing a lower-paying game than they other
Oct 27, 2009, 11:00 am - Lottery News

Bulgarian lottery repeat probedNews Story
The Bulgarian authorities have ordered an investigation after the same six numbers were drawn in two consecutive rounds of the national lottery. The numbers 4, 15, 23, 24, 35 and 42 were chosen by a machine live on television on 6 and 10 September. An official of the Bulgarian lottery said manipulation was impossible. A mathematician said the chance of the same six numbers coming up twice in a row was one in four million. But he said coincidences do happen. Minister of Physical Educa
Sep 16, 2009, 2:34 pm - Lottery News

N.D. lottery ticket sales, profits continue slideNews Story
Despite hefty increases in promotional spending, lottery ticket sales and profits have declined in North Dakota during the past two years and led to a large reduction in the lottery's financial reserves. Ticket sales of the North Dakota Lottery's four games Powerball, Hot Lotto, Wild Card 2 and 2by2 have dropped by 4 percent, to $21.7 million, from 2007 to 2009, according to lottery financial statements. Profits in the 2009 budget year alone dropped 15 percent, to $5.78 million, primarily bec
Sep 14, 2009, 10:32 pm - Lottery News

'Mind reader' lottery stunt debunked by British paperNews Story
The Lotto miracle performed by telly illusionist Derren Brown left millions mystified but today a British newspaper revealed how he might have done it. The Sun reckoned the slick magician used a split screen technique to make it look like he had correctly predicted the six winning numbers in the midweek National Lottery draw. Their conclusion came after we called in experts who analysed footage of Derren's Wednesday night show broadcast on Channel 4 at the same time as the draw was made on
Sep 10, 2009, 8:59 pm - Lottery News

'Mind reader' will predict UK Lotto numbers on show WednesdayNews Story
So-called mind reader Derren Brown is to perform his most audacious stunt yet predicting the lottery results on his British TV show. The television personality plans to forecast the Wednesday night draw as it is screened live on BBC1. And the bearded illusionist will rattle lotto chiefs by telling viewers how to do it. Sadly, Derren will be filmed at a secret location as he predicts the balls tumbling out of the National Lottery machine when it's too late for lottery players to buy a ticke
Sep 7, 2009, 9:30 pm - Lottery News

Italian villager wins record $210M lottery jackpotNews Story
A resident of the castle-topped Tuscan village of Bagnone won more than 147 million (US$210.6 million) in Europe's biggest lottery jackpot, and seemed intent on trying to stay unknown. The winner bought the ticket for 2 at a bar in the central Italian town of 2,000, about 120 kilometers (75 miles) northwest of Florence. The lucky inhabitant, who has yet to come forward, can choose to remain anonymous and has 90 days to claim the cash. Local residents popped bottles of sparkling wine at the
Aug 25, 2009, 3:04 pm - Lottery News

Computerized lottery drawings not problem-freeNews Story
MUSL director Strutt says Small group of players don't like them Passailaigue says players superstitious, spooked by changes in draw format Arkansas lottery officials say their decision to use a computer to generate winning numbers when lottery games start this fall makes economic sense, but the use of computerized drawings by lotteries in other states has not been free of problems. In July 2007, the Tennessee Education Lottery moved to save costs by doing away with its televised drawi
Aug 10, 2009, 9:22 am - Lottery News

Maryland Lottery to tackle budget constraints with social mediaNews Story
The Maryland Lottery will rely more on social media and less on D.C.'s massive media market to tout its games as the state slashes its advertising budget. The state agency said it will look at Twitter, Facebook and other online networking sites to save money after statewide budget cuts slashed its ad spending by $5.5 million. And instead of buying pricey ads on local television stations that reach the entire D.C. market, it may buy Comcast cable ads that target certain neighborhoods, lottery
Jul 31, 2009, 8:37 am - Lottery News

Queens man claims $133M Mega Millions lottery jackpotNews Story
For transparency's sake, and publicity's, too, the New York State Lottery requires its big jackpot winners to step up before the cameras, and flash that giant cardboard check. But many winners these days, with prizes surpassing nine figures, would rather not show their faces on television or in print, said Jennifer Givner, a spokeswoman for the state lottery. And so, when that moment in the limelight comes, the winners come and go as quickly as they can, leaving no time for them to elucidate
Jul 28, 2009, 6:08 pm - Lottery News