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California Lottery director resignsNews Story
The turnover at the top of the California Lottery continues with Robert O'Neil deciding to step down at the end of the day Monday after 18 months as director. The lottery will be headed on an interim basis by Chief Deputy Director Paula LaBrie until Gov. Jerry Brown makes a new appointment, according to Alex Traverso, a spokesman for the lottery. Brown removed Joan Borucki as lottery director shortly after his election in 2010, and the post was filled on an interim basis by Linh Nguyen unt
Jul 15, 2013, 5:12 pm - Lottery News

Single mother's simple error earns her $14 million lottery prizeNews Story
At the intersection of Fate and Lotto, Thuan Le made a very fortunate error. The California single mother of four is thanking her lucky stars after mistakenly slipping an extra dollar into the self-service Lotto machine at her local CVS store in Mission Viejo. That superfluous dollar wound up getting Le the SuperLotto Plus ticket holding the five winning numbers 5, 33, 25, 46, 32 plus the Mega number, 26, selected randomly in the April 24 drawing. In all, Le won a $14 million jackpot.
May 6, 2013, 1:28 pm - Lottery News

California family's fight over $51 million lottery jackpot is overNews Story
A year after winning the big $51 million Mega Millions jackpot, Bakersfield resident Etta May Urquhart took her son to court saying he commandeered the money and went on a spending spree. (See Woman accuses son of taking $51 million lottery ticket, Lottery Post, May 6, 2012.) Well, that lawsuit has now been quietly dismissed following a settlement agreement. I checked it twice before I went outside because I couldn't believe it, Urquhart told 17 News in May 2011. Grinning from ear t
Mar 28, 2013, 9:42 am - Lottery News

Powerball coming to CaliforniaNews Story
Less than 24 hours after the winning Powerball lottery numbers were announced for the largest Powerball jackpot ever, California's five-member lottery commission voted unanimously on Thursday to bring the Powerball jackpot to the state. We have to continually offer our loyal players a variety of entertaining lottery games, and we firmly believe that Powerball is a right fit for the California Lottery, state lottery director Robert T. O'Neill said in a prepared statement. I expect Powerball t
Nov 29, 2012, 7:11 pm - Lottery News

Woman forgot $23M lottery ticket in car and claimed it just before deadlineNews Story
A California woman who didn't know she had a jackpot-winning $23 million lottery ticket in her car has come forward to claim her fortune. The Palmdale woman's daughter recognized her from a newspaper photo of the supposed winner, captured on the liquor store's surveillance camera. More details about the woman's identity were to be announced Friday, lottery officials said. She just never checked the ticket, lottery spokesman Alex Traverso told the newspaper. Her daughter took a picture
Nov 2, 2012, 2:03 pm - Lottery News

California man wins half of $61M Mega Millions jackpotNews Story
A California man is $30.5 million richer after splitting Tuesday night's $61 million Mega Millions jackpot with a co-winner from Massachusetts. he winning ticket was sold at the 7-Eleven store on Shaw and Maple in the last week. Just after 7 a.m. Wednesday morning there was a small celebration going on inside the 7-Eleven store across the street from Fresno State. The clerks were shaking the hands with a man and smiling. A 7-Eleven official confirmed that man was the winner of the $30.5 mi
Oct 18, 2012, 6:55 am - Lottery News

California man collects $120M Mega Millions lottery jackpotNews Story
There's no telling what Ronald Willis had in the back of his mind to buy. He wouldn't say. But whatever it is, he can probably afford it. The 55-year-old Rialto man became the state's newest millionaire, parlaying a Mega Millions ticket purchased at a Riverside convenience store into a $120 million lottery win on a draw Tuesday, Sept. 11. He came forward to claim the prize at the California Lottery headquarters in San Bernardino on Friday, Sept. 14, where he faced a line of television came
Sep 17, 2012, 10:30 am - Lottery News

California Lottery investigating $1M payoutNews Story
The California Lottery has not yet released $1 million that a Dinuba man reportedly won in a Scratcher game. In late June Luis Osejo was identified as the new millionaire. He has yet to receive the money. Nor has the merchant who sold the winning ticket, Brain Park of Downtown Dinuba Market, received his $5,000 check from the Lottery. Russ Lopez, deputy director for corporate communications with the California Lottery in Sacramento, verified that the winnings have not been paid because the
Aug 30, 2012, 2:58 pm - Lottery News

Woman who gave away lotto ticket won't give upNews Story
Emily Leach, who won a million-dollar jackpot in California last January, said she is hoping to fight the state lottery's decision stopping her from collecting a second jackpot of $260,000 winnings that came from a ticket Leach has famously claimed she accidentally gave away to a stranger in March. (See Generous former lottery winner says she accidentally gave away second winning ticket, Lottery Post, Mar. 27, 2012.) A lottery official informed her that we gave the check to the man in June
Aug 20, 2012, 5:45 am - Lottery News

$32 million Mega Millions ticket claimed in LA areaNews Story
The numbers are baffling. The jackpot in the Mega Millions draw on Tuesday, May 29 was huge $32 million. That money will soon be Cindy Huynh's to enjoy. Huynh walked into the California Lottery's Santa Ana District Office and submitted her winning ticket. That lucky little slip of paper hit the numbers 2, 14, 29, 53, 55, and the Mega number of 31. The riches are so overwhelming that Huynh said she has barely slept or eaten since realizing that she, and only she, can lay claim to the jackpot p
Jun 18, 2012, 7:00 am - Lottery News