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How lottery winners spend their moneyNews Story
Lottery winners: What separates the ones who live happily ever after from the ones who, five years later, wind up drunk, broke, in jail or hounded by the IRS? Stephen Danish knows. In fact, the Virginia Commonwealth University professor of psychology is such an expert on the subject that the Virginia Lottery has hired him to counsel winners. Asked how many winners he has helped, he puts the number is in the double digits. He once told the Roanoke Times that he can tell how well (or badly)
Dec 15, 2012, 12:41 am - Lottery News

NY brothers charged in plot to steal $5M New York Lottery ticketNews Story
They waited until shortly before the $5 million winning ticket in a scratch-off lottery game would have been worthless. Then, when two brothers from the Syracuse area went to claim the prize, they made an unusual offer: They told state lottery officials that they would be happy to take home less than the full amount if they could avoid a news conference. (See NY brothers claim $5M win from '06 lottery ticket, Lottery Post, Oct. 17, 2012.) The officials made them wait some more, saying a se
Nov 14, 2012, 8:07 am - Lottery News

N.J. Assembly panel clears one-year anonymity for lottery winnersNews Story
Twenty-five years ago, Evelyn Adams had the unimaginable luck of winning the lottery twice in two years. But opportunity morphed into misfortune for Adams, who ended up broke and living in a trailer after giving away and gambling away $5.4 million. Everybody wanted my money, the Ocean County woman told the website Bankrate.com in 2004. Everybody had their hand out. I never learned one simple word in the English language 'no.' Monday, a state Assembly panel sought to close the barn doo
Sep 25, 2012, 8:30 am - Lottery News

NJ bill aims to protect lottery winners' identityNews Story
For some lottery winners, a large jackpot can bring out scam artists and others looking to get a piece of the pie. Some winners have even been kidnapped and killed. Now, a New Jersey assemblyman hopes to reduce the chances of that happening through legislation that would keep winners out of the public eye. Winning the lottery can be a blessing and a curse, said Assemblyman Deputy Speaker John Burzichelli. Once their identities become public, winners can become targets for unscrupul
Sep 6, 2012, 3:09 pm - Lottery News

Staten Islander revealed as winner of $85M Mega Millions jackpotNews Story
A Staten Island, New York, woman who bought a lottery ticket while wine shopping can afford champagne now a lot of it. Jin Ok Choi, 54, was introduced at a Manhattan news conference Thursday as the winner an $85 million Mega Millions jackpot. Choi said she bought a quick-pick ticket when she saw how big the jackpot for the July 3 drawing had gotten. I'm still in shock, said Choi, who opted for a lump sum of $64 million and will take home $40 million after taxes. She plans to buy a n
Aug 20, 2012, 7:00 am - Lottery News

12 arrested in conspiracy to rig Mexico lottery drawingNews Story
Twelve people, including four public employees, are accused of attempting to embezzle 160 million pesos ($12.1 million) from Mexico's national lottery, authorities said. Around $8 million of the money has been recovered, the Attorney General's Office and several other federal agencies said in a joint statement. The announcement followed a front-page story in capital daily Reforma that revealed some details of the scheme to rig the Jan. 22 drawing. Four directors of state-owned lottery a
Jul 20, 2012, 9:12 am - Lottery News

Quaker Oats workers claim $241 million Powerball jackpotNews Story
Winners hold press conference but don't reveal names Includes video report Winners of a $241 million Powerball jackpot, the largest ever won by an Iowa Lottery player, claimed their prize Wednesday in Des Moines, but they refused to identify themselves. A bus carrying about 50 people from Cedar Rapids pulled up to Iowa Lottery headquarters on Grand Avenue shortly before noon. The group included almost all of the 20 workers from the Quaker Oats plant in Cedar Rapids who jointly purchased
Jun 21, 2012, 10:06 am - Lottery News

Winners of big lottery jackpots often crave anonymity amid challenges to do soNews Story
The tiny Illinois farm town of Red Bud is the kind of place with few strangers and few secrets. Yet the community of 3,700 has a lingering mystery on its hands: Who bought the winning Mega Millions lottery ticket, and why hasn't the winner of the world-record $656 million jackpot come forward? Though secrecy surrounds the ticket sold at the MotoMart convenience store, lottery officials note it's not unusual for winners to lay low and those who advise them say it's just plain smart. It's ex
Apr 11, 2012, 10:20 am - Lottery News

Maryland Mega Millions winners claim prize anonymouslyNews Story
Three public school employees nab share of record jackpot Includes video report By Todd Northrop The Maryland Mega Millions lottery winners are three Maryland public school employees, who split the world's biggest lottery jackpot with two other winners from Kansas and Illinois. The trio claimed their share of the jackpot Monday at Maryland Lottery headquarters. Maryland laws allow lottery winners to remain anonymous when collecting their prize, and the winners chose that opt
Apr 10, 2012, 8:34 am - Lottery News

Kansas Mega Millions winner claims jackpot anonymouslyNews Story
By Todd Northrop The holder of one of three winning tickets in last week's record $656 million Mega Millions drawing came forward Friday to claim a share, Kansas Lottery officials announced Friday afternoon. The winner a single ticket holder has chosen to remain anonymous, state lottery director Dennis Wilson said. The announcement was made at an afternoon press conference at state lottery headquarters in Topeka. Under Kansas law, lottery winners can choose not to publicly reveal the
Apr 6, 2012, 6:04 pm - Lottery News