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Almost-millionaire on a 15-year political pilgrimageNews Story
Still hasn't given up fight for $5.8 million It all started with a lottery ticket. For Clarence Jackson, life over the past 15 years has been a roller-coaster ride of highs and lows that began with a once-in-a-lifetime ticket that would have made him a multimillionaire. Jackson was the guy who held the winning ticket for $5.8 million and tried unsuccessfully to cash it after he missed the one-year deadline by three days. This year marks the 15th anniversary of a memorable debate in t
Mar 19, 2012, 7:47 am - Lottery News

Iowa Legislators satisfied with Lottery's handling of mystery jackpot winnerNews Story
State lawmakers gave Iowa Lottery officials high marks Tuesday for the way they handled the mysterious circumstances surrounding a winning Hot Lotto jackpot that went unclaimed when attorneys representing a trust that turned in a valid ticket withdrew a claim for the multimillion-dollar prize last week. That's the damndest thing I've every heard of, Sen. Tom Courtney, D-Burlington, said after lottery officials walked members of the Legislature's Oversight Committee through a 13-month saga th
Feb 1, 2012, 7:43 am - Lottery News

Ruling by Justice Dept. opens a door on online gamblingNews Story
2012 may the year of widespread Internet lottery ticket sales The Justice Department has reversed its long-held opposition to many forms of Internet gambling, removing a big legal obstacle for states that want to sanction online gambling to help fix their budget deficits. The legal opinion, issued by the department's office of legal counsel in September but made public on Friday, came in response to requests by New York and Illinois to clarify whether the Wire Act of 1961, which prohibits
Dec 25, 2011, 2:33 pm - Lottery News

D.C. Lottery continues to evolve online gambling planNews Story
The D.C. Lottery's planned online gambling program will not be hosted on the city's secure DC-NET Internet system as originally planned, information technology officials said Wednesday. The gambling program known as iGaming faces a repeal effort in the D.C. Council, yet lottery officials have been working on its implementation since it passed into law as part of a supplemental budget plan last December. D.C. Lottery's initial plans to use DC-NET a high-speed fiber-optic network that carrie
Dec 8, 2011, 8:47 am - Lottery News

Connecticut Powerball mystery deepensNews Story
Includes video report Three money managers who claimed the state's record-breaking $254.2 million Powerball jackpot on Monday may still have a fight ahead of them in the court of public opinion. A day after the trio announced they had scored the windfall on a $1 ticket one of them bought at a gas station, media reports surfaced Tuesday that the men had in fact acted on behalf of an anonymous client. The speculation started almost immediately: Who could the mystery buyer be? A lucky hedg
Nov 30, 2011, 12:26 pm - Lottery News

Washington Gov. orders lottery to return MercedesNews Story
Plans for a lottery promotion van in Washington have been scratched after Gov. Chris Gregoire ordered the the state lottery to take the Mercedes-Benz back to the dealer. The lottery had big plans for the new lotto mobile, and planned to model it after a van used by Virginia to promote its state lottery. (See $49,000 Mercedes is Washington Lottery's marketing tool, Lottery Post, Oct. 3, 2011.) State lottery officials planned to drive the van to events across the state to boost sales of l
Oct 6, 2011, 5:46 pm - Lottery News

$49,000 Mercedes is Washington Lottery's marketing toolNews Story
Some folks may think it's just a new way for Washington's Lottery to take suckers for a ride. That's not quite the agency mission, insists Lottery director Bill Hanson. So what is it? Hanson said Friday the agency bought a $49,000 Mercedes Sprinter van as a marketing tool to boost Lottery ticket sales at the Puyallup Fair and other big festivals where it sets up for marketing. He said it is an idea the agency dreamed up to boost revenues and help fill the state's yawning budget hole.
Oct 3, 2011, 2:21 am - Lottery News

Oregon Lottery chief accused of harassment, retaliationNews Story
Oregon state officials are looking into claims that the director of the Oregon Lottery sexually harassed a female manager, then retaliated against her when she spurned his advances. According to allegations outlined in a letter by the woman's attorney, Lottery Director Larry Niswender made unwanted advances toward the manager, then put her on administrative leave after she and another manager at the Lottery became romantically involved. Both employees were reinstated to their jobs after mo
Oct 3, 2011, 12:42 am - Lottery News

Lottery ticket sales increase across countryNews Story
Financial records for 41 state lotteries that end their fiscal year in June show 28 had higher sales than the year before. Seventeen of those states set all-time sales records. Kate Sweeny, an assistant professor of psychology at the University of California-Riverside, said an uptick in lottery sales largely occurs when people feel a lack of control over events larger than themselves, such as the economy. Jeff Anderson, head of the executive committee of the North American Association of S
Sep 6, 2011, 9:05 am - Lottery News

Legislators grill Ark. lottery financial officerNews Story
The Arkansas lottery's chief financial officer said Wednesday that a $90,000 tax penalty probably resulted because of a data input error, though legislators remained puzzled over how the lottery's director wasn't told of the problem for more than three months. Lottery director Ernie Passailaigue told members of the Lottery Oversight Committee that he was disappointed he wasn't told of the Internal Revenue Service problem until long after it had emerged. The IRS assessed the penalty because
Aug 25, 2011, 10:56 am - Lottery News