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Iowa woman to plead guilty for lottery ticket theftNews Story
A Fonda, Iowa, woman has agreed to plead guilty to claiming a lottery pool's prize as her own.In a plea agreement filed Monday in Buena Vista County District Court, Mary Farrell, 54, agreed to plead guilty to first-degree theft. District Judge John P. Duffy scheduled sentencing for Nov. 8.Farrell presented a Powerball ticket matching five numbers from the Dec. 31 drawing to claim a $100,000 prize. A group of Albert City, Iowa, residents contacted the Buena Vista County Sheriff's Office in Januar
Sep 29, 2004, 9:01 am - Lottery News

Minnesota Lottery hires S.D. lottery chiefNews Story
The nationwide search for a new director to lead the beleaguered Minnesota Lottery ended close to home Thursday with the appointment of Clint Harris, executive director of the South Dakota Lottery.Harris, 49, has led the South Dakota Lottery since 2000 and posted four consecutive years of record profits beginning in 2001. In fiscal 2004, the South Dakota Lottery produced more than $115 million for a state with a population of 738,000. That's due, in part, to its reliance on video gambling, with
Sep 24, 2004, 8:46 am - Lottery News

Elderly California woman loses $250,000 to foreign lottery scamNews Story
The elderly Lodi woman answered her telephone just like anyone else would.A voice at the other end told her she'd won a lottery and that she'd soon get the first check in the mail. When the check arrived and proved that the lottery was legitimate, she was to send back a check to pay the taxes on her winnings.But then the foreign check didn't clear the woman's bank -- after she'd already sent off a real check of her own. The lottery officials said something had gone wrong, and they'd get another
Aug 27, 2004, 7:31 am - Lottery News

SEC Investigating Gtech in BrazilNews Story
Gtech Holdings Corp. said Thursday that the Securities and Exchange Commission opened a formal investigation into the lottery operator's dealings in Brazil.The SEC previously issued an informal request for documents from Gtech, as part of its investigation into public corruption matters in Brazil. Gtech said regulators told the company that the new order is a routine action, unrelated to any recent developments, that is intended to give the SEC adequate investigatory powers if needed.Gtech said
Jul 29, 2004, 1:44 pm - Lottery News

Missouri shuts down illegal lottery Web siteNews Story
A young man from Festus, Missouri set up his own online lottery and named it after a TV show. He called his Web site pimpmyride.com. Pimp My Ride is a show on MTV. There's no connection between the show and the lottery.The lottery Web site invited people to enter the contest for a $2 fee. The winner of a random drawing was to get $20,000 to customize, or pimp out, their vehicle.The site drew entries from across the country. Some people entered as many as 100 times.According to court record
Jul 29, 2004, 1:30 pm - Lottery News

Questions surround replacement of Mexico lottery directorNews Story
The director of Mexico's National Lottery, Laura Valdes, was replaced Tuesday amid accusations that the agency may have favored some private charities, rather than passing money through normal governmental channels.Valdes will be replaced by Tomas Ruiz Gonzalez, a congressman for the former ruling Institutional Revolutionary Party who also once served as Mexico's assistant treasury secretary.President Vicente Fox thanked Valdes for her work at the lottery, but did not specify why she was being r
Jul 14, 2004, 8:45 am - Lottery News

Minnesota lottery cuts millions from budgetNews Story
Told to cut the fat, the Minnesota State Lottery has trimmed staff, closed offices and reworked or severed business deals to save millions of dollars a year.While the money represents a small share of lottery expenses, the savings will be welcomed by a state struggling to find ways big and small to avoid future budget deficits. The cuts and robust ticket sales mean that the lottery will send more money than ever to the state this year.The changes occur as state gambling agents appear to be in th
Jun 14, 2004, 8:32 am - Lottery News

Colorado Lottery gift scandal continuesNews Story
The upheaval in the Colorado lottery office over gifts just won't go away.The latest controversy involves warning letters sent to 13 lottery employees charging that they didn't, as required, report gifts given to them by vendors.Michael Cooke, director of the Colorado Department of Revenue, which oversees the state lottery, said the Colorado Bureau of Investigation cross-checked records provided by vendors regarding gifts they had given lottery employees against the gift reports employees filed
Jun 4, 2004, 7:57 am - Lottery News

House approves strict rules for Colorado LotteryNews Story
Widespread gift-taking, conflicts led to measureLegislation designed to prdvent conflicts of interest at the Colorado Lottery passed a key hurdle Monday and will likely soon land on the governor's desk.The legislation was created in the wake of deep-seated problems at the Lottery, where officials routinely accepted dinners, golf games and other gifts from vendors doing business with the agency.A key portion of the bill would add the force of law to rules adopted by Lottery officials earlier this
Apr 27, 2004, 8:08 am - Lottery News

Wiretap equipment gets Lottery official firedNews Story
Ohio Lottery Director Dennis Kennedy was only kidding.Told last month that a technician was working on a better fingerprint system, Kennedy quipped that the next thing the technician would want is wiretapping equipment.To Kennedy's surprise, the Lottery's security director told him that the agency already had phone-tap equipment and had used it to secretly record conversations on a phone at Lottery headquarters in Cleveland.The revelation sparked an internal investigation that led to the April 2
Apr 16, 2004, 9:38 am - Lottery News