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Small-town newsstand in Ireland sells its fourth winning lottery ticketNews Story
Shop owner's luck refuses to run out By Kate Northrop Third time's the charm is apparently not enough for a small-town newsstand in west Ireland. Irish lottery players might find themselves drawn to the lucky little store in Ballinrobe after it sold its fourth significant winning lottery ticket. Martin Murphy, 68, the owner of Murphys Newsagent on Main Street, celebrated on Thursday after discovering that he sold the winning ticket for the 2.8 million (US$3.2 million) Ireland National L
Jul 7, 2020, 10:31 am - Lottery News

Wisconsin woman receives probation for stealing and cashing $25,000 lottery ticketNews Story
Former convenience store clerk gets a total of three years' probation for theft and fraud By Kate Northrop Jessica N. Surratt, 32, of Eau Claire, Wisconsin was sentenced on Tuesday to two years of probation after pleading guilty to fraud for cashing a winning ticket worth $25,000. This is in addition to the one year of probation she was initially handed for the theft of tickets back in 2018. On June 16, 2018, Surratt stole nine scratch-off lottery tickets from the Portage Market Bask
May 28, 2020, 8:32 am - Lottery News

Former NBA player credits homeless man's good will for $300,000 lottery prizeNews Story
Basketball star says homeless man predicted his lucky win By Kate Northrop On May 12, Gilbert Arenas rushed out of the house to play his lucky numbers at his favorite gas station before it closed for the day. Along the way, a mix of good will, misfortune and luck brought him a Mega Millions 2nd prize of $309,694. Arenas recounted his good fortune in an Instagram post. Soon after leaving his home, Arenas realized his car did not have enough gas to get him to the station. He also forgo
May 19, 2020, 1:12 pm - Lottery News

UK National Lottery website down before drawingNews Story
Frustrated players unable to buy tickets for the 5 million draw By Kate Northrop A power outage in Watford, a small town 15 miles northwest of London, caused the UK National Lottery website and smartphone app to crash and continue to remain out of action just four hours before the big drawing of 5 million (US$6.2 million) on Wednesday. The Camelot Group, the operator of the UK National Lottery, houses its headquarters in Watford. Although the power outage was reported at 6:57 am and
May 7, 2020, 1:46 pm - Lottery News

State of Oregon forcing retailers to pay taxes on video lottery machines that are shut downNews Story
Hundreds of bars and restaurants already struggling to survive are now facing another financial setback. The Oregon Lottery is collecting taxes on each video lottery machine, even though the machines are shut down. I was absolutely floored. I could not believe it, said Gloria Huguley, owner of Newport Steak and Seafood. Huguley said she owes $2,082 in taxes for the six video lottery machines in her restaurant, which remains closed due to stay-at-home restrictions. The family-run restauran
Apr 30, 2020, 8:20 am - Lottery News

Virginia Lottery March profits took a big hitNews Story
The Virginia Lottery is still running during the COVID-19 pandemic, but its March profits dropped 28 percent, according to a new agency report. The Lottery took in $48 million in profits for March, down more than a quarter compared to the same month last year. Though Gov. Ralph Northam has shut down virtually all types of indoor entertainment including the Rosie's gambling facilities operated by Colonial Downs he has not ordered the Lottery, a state agency, to stop selling tickets. Most Lo
Apr 22, 2020, 6:45 pm - Lottery News

Strong Iowa lottery sales are slipping: The culprit? You guessed it, COVID-19News Story
After eight months of Iowa Lottery ticket sales topping budgeted projections, those sales are starting to arc downward. One of the reasons: 95 of the retail outlets selling lottery tickets are shuttered under Gov. Kim Reynolds' COVID-19 orders, Iowa Lottery officials said Wednesday. Through the first three quarters of fiscal 2020, lottery sales were running 1.8 percent ahead of last year's record pace. However, sales of lottery products in March were about $2 million short of the budgeted
Apr 21, 2020, 8:21 am - Lottery News

Liquor, cannabis, lottery: Are our vices essential services in face of COVID-19?News Story
In a series of executive orders, Oregon Gov. Kate Brown has increasingly forced businesses to close their doors to slow the spread of COVID-19. But there are three notable exceptions: Liquor, cannabis, and lottery tickets. Why are our vices exempt? Some other states have deemed liquor stores and cannabis shops essential services, citing both an economic incentive to maintain tax revenues and concern that people with substance abuse disorders would seek urgent medical care while the syst
Mar 30, 2020, 4:17 pm - Lottery News

China's lottery now operating at 2/3 capacity of pre-virus shutdownNews Story
China's state-run lottery operations are now working at about two-thirds of their capacity before they were shut down due to the COVID-19 pandemic. On Thursday, China's National Sports Lottery Center issued an update on the progress made since March 11, when the authorities gave the okay to resume operations following the unprecedented 49-day shutdown prompted by the coronavirus crisis. The notice said that over 110k sports lottery terminals had resumed operations as of March 17, represent
Mar 20, 2020, 8:00 am - Lottery News

Missouri Lottery sales drop amid coronavirus responseNews Story
With Missouri already losing tax revenue from the shutdown of the state's casinos, sales of lottery tickets have taken a nosedive as people stay home amid a pandemic. According to a weekly sales update obtained by the Post-Dispatch, overall sales dropped by 11% this week compared to a similar period last week. Scratch off ticket sales have dropped 9% and lottery draw games are down 11%. For the lottery, that amounts to a total sales drop of more than $1.7 million. The decline in sales i
Mar 20, 2020, 7:25 am - Lottery News