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Texas Lottery Whistleblower FiredNews Story
The scandal embroiling the Texas Lottery Commission over inflated jackpot estimates intensified Wednesday when top agency officials acknowledged firing a colleague who only days earlier warned ticket sales would fall short of advertised amounts.Mike Fernandez, the commission's administrator, called horrendous the timing of the dismissal of Lee Deviney, the agency's chief financial officer.But he denied there was any connection between Deviney's firing and an e-mail Deviney sent his superiors l
Jun 30, 2005, 11:54 am - Lottery News

Rhode Island lawmakers to create separate lottery divisionNews Story
The idea of abolishing the legislator-dominated Rhode Island Lottery Commission got its first hearing and a warm welcome from the governor at the General Assembly last night.The question of what to do with the board which is responsible for the state's third-largest revenue source has been an issue since the November passage of a separation-of-powers constitutional amendment. The amendment bars lawmakers from sitting on state boards and commissions with executive functions.The Lottery Co
Jun 24, 2005, 12:54 pm - Lottery News

Scientific Games Hires Former GTECH PresidentNews Story
In a move designed to broaden the company s management team to take advantage of future growth opportunities, Scientific Games appointed Michael Chambrello president and chief operating officer.Chambrello, who has served in a variety of key roles across nearly 20 years in the lottery industry, previously served as President of GTECH Corporation and Executive Vice President of GTECH Holdings Corporation. He will assume his new position at Scientific Games on July 1, 2005. We are all extraordinari
Jun 21, 2005, 9:09 am - Lottery News

New Minnesota lottery director brings fresh startNews Story
Clint Harris often uses the words trauma year to describe what happened at the Minnesota State Lottery in the months before he took over as executive director.George Andersen, who had run the lottery since its inception, had committed suicide shortly after learning that a state audit would reveal an unflattering picture of his management.Harris, at the time director of South Dakota's lottery, had close professional ties with Andersen and considered him a friend. When I came aboard, the staff h
Jun 20, 2005, 1:30 pm - Lottery News

Oklahoma Lottery Director given approval to hire, set up officesNews Story
Oklahoma's lottery director was given authority Tuesday to hire employees and to move ahead with plans to design and renovate the lottery's offices.Executive Director Jim Scroggins said he expects to hire about 130 employees, with about 90 to 100 of them assigned to work at the commission's headquarters, 3815 N Santa Fe.Members of the Oklahoma Lottery Commission voted to give Scroggins authority to hire the employees. Scroggins will report new hires at commission meetings.Among the first to be h
Jun 15, 2005, 3:33 pm - Lottery News

Oklahoma lottery commission urged to keep movingNews Story
After hearing his new bosses debate the definition of rules to govern the newest state agency, Oklahoma's lottery director issued them a gentle reminder.If the Oklahoma Lottery Commission hopes to make a self-imposed October deadline for its first ticket sales, we've got to move, Executive Director Jim Scroggins said.It was Scroggins' first meeting since beginning his new job Monday.At previous meetings, the lottery's volunteer commissioners have held lengthy discussions on how to hire outside
Jun 9, 2005, 2:15 pm - Lottery News

Oklahoma Lottery hires sales director from AtlantaNews Story
The Oklahoma Lottery Commission hired three administrators Wednesday, one of them from Atlanta, to help new executive director James R. Scroggins get the state's education lottery up and running by October.Each of the new administrators personally was recruited for their jobs by Scroggins and will be paid $110,000 a year, he said. Each of them has a wealth of experience in the area they're going to work in, Scroggins said.Named director of administration was Rollo Redburn, a 29-year employee of
Jun 9, 2005, 11:08 am - Lottery News

Oklahoma Lottery vies for Santa Fe headquartersNews Story
The Oklahoma Lottery Commission may have found a home for an agency expected to employ more than 100 workers.Commissioners voted to start negotiations with the owners of Centennial Business Plaza, 3815 N Santa Fe, choosing that building from three prospective sites.Commissioners spent an hour privately discussing the sites, all in Oklahoma City. Upon returning, they declined to disclose specifics, including the proposed lease rate for each site.The vote was unanimous to have state Leasing Direct
May 17, 2005, 1:21 pm - Lottery News

New Oklahoma Lottery Director Welcomes ChallengeNews Story
Jim Scroggins possessed almost every attribute state lottery commissioners were seeking.He had headed two other state lotteries, was articulate, and is regarded throughout the industry as an innovator whose openness to new ideas had paid huge dividends.It was an unexpected intangible, however, that pushed Scroggins over the top as the man to launch Oklahoma's lottery. He's a heartland guy, Lottery Commission Chairman Jim Orbison said.Raised in a southern Illinois farm town, Scroggins has spent
May 16, 2005, 11:03 am - Lottery News

Missouri Director hired to run Oklahoma LotteryNews Story
James R. Scroggins, the executive director of the Missouri lottery for the last 13 years, was hired Tuesday to direct the startup of the Oklahoma lottery.The vote was unanimous from the Oklahoma Lottery Commission to hire Scroggins, 61, at a base salary of $175,000 a year, plus $30,000 in one-time transition expenses.Scroggins also will get a bonus of $25,000 if instant lottery tickets go on sale in Oklahoma during October of this year and another $25,000 if online lottery games go on sale durin
May 10, 2005, 8:37 pm - Lottery News