Successful lottery winners don't change too much
Eleven years after hitting a $1 million jackpot in the New York Lottery's 7-11-21 game, Agnes Jackman got some free advice on how to handle her winnings.
In a 1991 Money magazine cover story titled Midway Through a Million, financial planner Gary Schatsky suggested investing in money market funds, certificates of deposit and U.S. government bonds. He also told Jackman to stop spending money on lottery tickets.
She rejected his guidance.
And now, seven years after cashing her last inst ...
Jan 31, 2007, 4:39 am - - Lottery News forum
Nationwide, lotteries struggle to stay competitive
Lotteries across the country are struggling to remain competitive, retaining their players while increasing their bottom lines. Last year, 25 U.S. lotteries reported increased sales, but New York's lottery was one of six that had higher profits.
One key to New York's success is that the New York Lottery continues to attempt to be fun and entertaining, said former Lottery Director Nancy Palumbo, who was interviewed before leaving the division late last year.
We're constantly challenged to ...
Jan 31, 2007, 4:03 am - - Lottery News forum
N.Y. Lottery: We've got a game for you
Whether you're looking for instant gratification or prefer to dream big with millions in the bank, the New York Lottery has a game for you.
Lottery machines spew out tickets that could be worth millions of dollars if the astronomical odds are beaten.
Store counters often have racks displaying dozens of colorful choices for those wanting instant scratch-off tickets.
Some people play their favorite numbers twice a day, fearing their Daily Number will surely come in if they skip a bet.
...
Jan 31, 2007, 3:24 am - - Lottery News forum
Meet Yolanda Vega, the lottery queen
One of the most famous names in New York started out as a bookkeeper in Brooklyn. Little did Yolanda Antequera know that one day, she would be introducing herself nightly as Yolannnn daVegaaaa, the most well-known spokeswoman for the New York Lottery.
Born in Brooklyn in 1960, Yolanda had a typical childhood that she says was greatly influenced by a close-knit, loving family that included her five sisters. She attended Hunter College and received a bachelor's degree in economics in 1982. ...
Jan 31, 2007, 1:45 am - - Lottery News forum
Lottery foes try to restrict gambling, with little success
Some New York lawmakers want the state to tell lottery-ticket buyers how slim the odds are of winning, and raise the gambling age from 18 to 21 to try to discourage gambling sprees.
But those who oppose change have a ready rejoinder: The state is, in effect, addicted to the billions in revenue that Lottery games generate.
The status quo is likely to prevail.
If you put in the ad 'The New York Lottery jackpot is now $10 million' and in the next graph say the odds of wining are 1 in 12 m ...
Jan 31, 2007, 12:51 am - - Lottery News forum
N.Y. casinos don't see lottery as a threat
Since casino gambling began in New York in 1993, the increased competition for those gaming dollars hasn't seemed to hurt sales of New York Lottery tickets, which saw a record $6.8 billion in sales in the fiscal year ended March 31, 2006.
Sales have been incredibly strong, said former Lottery Director Nancy Palumbo, who left the lottery late last year. New York's lottery, the most popular in the country, had an increase in sales of 7 percent in 2005-06.
Officials from the four largest ca ...
Jan 30, 2007, 11:15 pm - - Lottery News forum
Lottery revenue important to a host of businesses
If the New York Lottery vanished tomorrow, many store owners would suffer. Their businesses rely on the 6 percent commission they get from lottery sales.
I would not be in business without the lottery, said Mike Palencar, who owns two convenience stores in Webster, N.Y.
He estimates that lottery commissions amount to just 5 percent of his stores' total profit. But sales commissions aren't the only benefit for the lottery's 16,000 vendors statewide. People coming to the stores to buy lott ...
Jan 30, 2007, 10:36 pm - - Lottery News forum
With the N.Y. Lottery, money flows upriver
The New York Lottery isn't just a game in Herkimer County.
With a dwindling tax base and shrinking corporate presence, most of the rural county's school districts rely heavily on annual distributions from the Lottery to stay afloat. One of every 10 dollars spent on education in the county comes from state-sanctioned games of chance.
Districts such as ours are high-need, low-income and low-wealth in property values, said Robert Service, superintendent of the Ilion Central School District, ...
Jan 30, 2007, 9:45 pm - - Lottery News forum
Sales increase as Lottery adds new games
While the number of games has expanded and receipts have greatly increased, the basic structure of the New York Lottery and its mission have remained relatively unchanged over the four decades it has been running, lawmakers and state officials say.
The games, then and now, siphon money away from illegal gambling and help to pay for schools. The lottery was approved by voters, at the urging of then-Gov. Nelson Rockefeller, in a referendum to amend the state constitution in 1966.
The nu ...
Jan 30, 2007, 8:51 pm - - Lottery News forum
Video gambling a cash cow even for smaller states
Surveying West Virginia's rural neighborhoods, where most people lack broadband access to the Internet, you would never guess the state is a lottery cash cow.
That is until you drove by the racetracks that dot major population centers.
There you would see crowds of people shoving streams of dollars into buzzing and blinking video lottery terminals the reason this small state, with one of the country's lowest per-capita incomes is home to one of the most lucrative lotteries in the natio ...
Jan 30, 2007, 8:09 pm - - Lottery News forum
