Search

Lottery winner tells of lost millionsNews Story
A former ambulance driver in St. Albans who scooped 6m on the UK National Lottery lost his fortune after his new life turned into a nightmare.Tom Papworth, 46, moved to Spain after his 1995 win, but says he was taken in by conmen, swindled, framed, and jailed for cocaine possession.He told BBC's Newsnight programme this week that while he languished in jail for crimes he didn't commit, his new friends emptied his bank account and sold his plush apartment.Mr Papworth claims the man behind the
Mar 23, 2004, 4:43 am - Lottery News

Miami Police Search For Pair In Alleged Lotto ScamNews Story
Man, Woman Robbed Victim Of $11,000Miami Police said a Latino couple approached a woman on Feb. 4, telling her they needed her help to cash a winning lottery ticket valued at $425,000. The man and woman told the woman they would pay her a percentage of the loot, in exchange for a fee of $11,000.The following week, on Feb. 10, the woman gave the men the $11,000, and the three drove to a pharmacy in North Miami, where the woman left the cash in her car and walked inside the drugstore. The woma
Mar 17, 2004, 5:19 am - Lottery News

Whittaker Robbed Again and AgainNews Story
The man who won the largest single lottery jackpot in U.S. history has had a run of bad luck this week: He's been robbed twice and sued.Police said the business office of Jack Whittaker (search), who hit the $314.9 million Powerball jackpot on Christmas 2002, was broken into Tuesday and $2,000 was taken.On Thursday, Whittaker's vehicle at his home was broken into and property was stolen. State Police spokesman Sgt. Jay Powers said he could not release details.No arrests have been made.Earlier in
Mar 12, 2004, 7:37 am - Lottery News

Minnesota Lottery audit finds high costs, no crimeNews Story
The Minnesota State Lottery spends more money and provides less to the state than comparable lotteries and should revisit its ties to the St. Paul-based marketing company Media Rare Inc., auditors reported Thursday.Legislative Auditor James Nobles released the audit of the lottery about three weeks after former Lottery Director George Andersen died, apparently by suicide. Andersen had met with auditors about the review the day before he was found dead. We found many things to question and critic
Feb 20, 2004, 6:36 am - Lottery News

Lottery ticket thieves beginning to strike across TennesseeNews Story
Lottery fever isn't just for paying customers.Thieves from Memphis to Knoxville are trying to cash in on the games, and store owners are taking matters into their own hands to counter them.Ali Haimed of Memphis learned the hard way that criminals have a new target after the lottery's Jan. 20 startup. When he opened his store Jan. 30, about $1,500 worth of tickets and the clear display case they were in were both gone. They took the whole box, Haimed said.Several lottery ticket thefts have been
Feb 16, 2004, 6:01 am - Lottery News

You want the other Jack; he's got the millionsNews Story
The other Jack Whittaker of West Virginia -- the one who wasn't arrested on drunken driving charges last weekend, whose money wasn't stolen outside a strip club and who definitely didn't win $113 million -- wishes the Jack Whittaker of lottery fame would behave.Not that Jack Whittaker of Princeton, W.Va., is one to pass judgment on anyone's personal life.It's just that every time the other Jack Whittaker gets into one of those embarrassing legal scrapes, the non-famous Jack Whittaker gets hit wi
Jan 30, 2004, 6:54 am - Lottery News

Security heads list of lottery prioritiesNews Story
There could be a lot of winners after scratch-off lottery tickets go on sale at 12:01 a.m. tomorrow.But it won't be because the lottery manipulated the games to produce more winners right away to entice more people to play.''It will appear there are more winners the first day than the second day,'' said Rebecca Paul, president and chief executive officer of the Tennessee Education Lottery Corp.''We'll sell more tickets the first day so we'll have more winners based on the fact that you sell more
Jan 19, 2004, 7:18 am - Lottery News

Lottery Dead Issue in Alabama LegislatureNews Story
Recent news accounts suggest the lottery will be back in the legislature this session due to discussion of budget shortfalls. Sen. Barron (D-Fyffe) said, I think we'll vote to let you vote on the lottery. Rep. John Rogers (D-Birmingham) indicated he would seek to introduce a constitutional amendment legalizing casinos and a lottery and Rep. Randy Hinshaw, (D- Meridianville) stated, We're in the position now where nothing is off the table. The Christian Coalition of Alabama distributes Candid
Jan 16, 2004, 5:15 pm - Lottery News

$175,000 Mega Millions Ticket DisputeNews Story
Two traders for the Chicago Board Options Exchange filed a police complaint Friday against a trading clerk who they claim pocketed their $175,000 Mega Millions lottery ticket this week.But a family friend says she doesn't believe the clerk, whom she has known for 22 years, could have stolen anything. She's a very honest, trustworthy person, said Carole Masterson, whose brother is the father of the clerk's two children. I don't think she'd do something like this. She's not stupid. Traders, iden
Jan 3, 2004, 9:08 pm - Lottery News

$24,000 stolen in lottery schemeNews Story
Authorities are looking for a man and woman who duped a Lake Worth-area, Florida businessman into withdrawing $24,000 from his bank in a scheme involving a winning lottery ticket.Sheriff's detectives said the woman approached Claro Hernandez on Sept. 15, claiming she was an illegal immigrant. She asked if he knew of an office in West Palm Beach that offered immigration services. Hernandez, 62, a restaurateur, said he did not. But as the two spoke, a man walked up and joined the conversation, Det
Nov 26, 2003, 4:19 am - Lottery News