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Arkansas Lottery fires second VPNews Story
The Arkansas Lottery has fired the last of three top officials brought in to launch the games two years ago, and the lottery commission's chairwoman called the move an opportunity for change. Ernestine Middleton, the lottery vice president for administration, was fired Wednesday two days after the resignations of embattled director Ernie Passailaigue and another vice president, David Barden. Passailaigue announced last month he would be leaving, but Barden and Middleton had said they wanted t
Oct 7, 2011, 6:56 am - Lottery News

New travel questions crop up in Ark. Lottery director's final days in officeNews Story
Outgoing Arkansas Lottery Director Ernie Passailaigue gave his last scheduled report to state lawmakers today, as the lottery's internal auditor said new questions have arisen about Passailaigue's travel reimbursements. Michael Hyde told the legislative committee that oversees the lottery today that he has referred to the Division of Legislative Audit a few things that came up. It was of a nature that I felt like it needed to be investigated, he said. Hyde mentioned the matter in answ
Oct 3, 2011, 1:24 am - Lottery News

Tenn. lawmakers float ideas to improve lottery revenuesNews Story
Tennessee state Senate minority leader is calling on fellow lawmakers to find ways to increase lottery revenues instead of cutting back on the scholarship program, while Gov. Bill Haslam has assigned his staff to consider a broad range of options for stabilizing the game's finances. Jim Kyle, D-Memphis, said in a letter released Wednesday that while the Tennessee Higher Education Commission estimates that the lottery will deplete its sizable reserves by 2024, it also says annual losses could
Sep 29, 2011, 9:36 am - Lottery News

Florida Walmart stores to sell lottery ticketsNews Story
Florida may have just hit a jackpot. Wal-Mart, the world's largest retailer, has agreed to end its long-standing refusal to sell lottery tickets in its U.S. stores after reaching a deal with the Florida Lottery. Starting in early October the retailer will embark on a pilot program at 27 Walmart neighborhood markets that stretch across central, southwest and South Florida. The first Walmart stores expected to begin selling lottery tickets are located in Orlando. Ticket sales will start o
Sep 27, 2011, 8:55 pm - Lottery News

Arkansas Lottery VPs hope to stay after director leavesNews Story
Arkansas Lottery Director Ernie Passailaigue is moving on, but the two top executives he brought with him from South Carolina say they hope to stay put. Soon after Passailaigue left his job as director of South Carolina s lottery to become director of the Arkansas Scholarship Lottery in the summer of 2009, he hired two South Carolina lottery officials, David Barden and Ernestine Middleton, to be his vice presidents in Arkansas at nearly $100,000 more than their salaries back home. On Monda
Sep 20, 2011, 8:57 pm - Lottery News

Panel eyes less pay for next Ark. lottery chiefNews Story
The Arkansas Lottery Commission hasn't begun its search for a replacement for outgoing Director Ernie Passailaigue, but the commission's chairman and a key legislative leader said Tuesday that whoever gets the job shouldn't expect the same paycheck. A day after Passailaigue resigned, the lottery commission's chairwoman and the co-chairman of the lottery's oversight committee said they didn't expect the next director to enjoy the same high salary. Passailaigue's $324,000 annual pay, along with
Sep 20, 2011, 8:40 pm - Lottery News

Arkansas Lottery director resignsNews Story
Includes video report The Arkansas Lottery Commission Monday accepted the resignation of embattled state Lottery Director Ernie Passailaigue, who ends his controversial tenure on his own after surviving two past attempts by commission members to fire him. Passailaigue submitted a letter of resignation to the commission's chairman, Dianne Lamberth of Batesville, on Friday. His resignation will be effective Oct. 7. Passailaigue was not hired on a contract and will receive no buyout. Th
Sep 19, 2011, 10:01 pm - Lottery News

Louisiana Lottery may add Mega Millions next yearNews Story
With the price of a Powerball ticket slated to increase from $1 to $2 starting next year, state lottery officials are betting that adding a second multi-state jackpot game will help draw in additional revenue. The game, Mega Millions, is offered in 41 states, plus the District of Columbia and the Virgin Islands. For $1, players pick five numbers, from 1 to 56, and one Mega Ball, from 1 to 46, and are eligible to win the jackpot by matching all six winning numbers in a drawing. In 2010, 23
Aug 30, 2011, 2:15 pm - Lottery News

Florida Lottery to update branding, Web siteNews Story
The Florida Lottery is not aging gracefully. Voters enthusiastically approved state-run gambling 25 years ago, but the Lottery is struggling to keep up with today's demands. Sales are lagging. Its approach to online media is sluggish. And other forms of gambling, such as Indian-run casinos and Internet cafes, are luring customers away from lucky numbers and scratch-offs. State officials are well aware of the shortcomings. Gov. Rick Scott's choice to lead the agency is a branding expe
Aug 1, 2011, 6:56 am - Lottery News

Multi-state lottery game comes to ArkansasNews Story
After a false start, Decades of Dollars finally lands in fourth state By Todd Northrop In January, a new multi-state lottery game called Decades for Dollars was introduced, and was intended to be offered in the state of Arkansas, but legislative obstacles stopped the plan dead in its tracks at the time. Now those issues have been cleared, and Decades of Dollars has landed in the state three months after the game's first drawing. Starting Tuesday, May 3, tickets for Decades of Dollars
May 2, 2011, 8:10 pm - Lottery News