Ark. Lottery Commission meets, discusses director candidates
The Arkansas Lottery Commission got a little closer, with emphasis on little, to naming an executive director.
The newly-formed commission met in Little Rock, and commssion chief Ray Thornton told members that the list of applicants for the position currently stands at 55.
That number does not include previous applicant Tom Courtway, interim president at the University of Central Arkansas, who has withdrawn his name from consideration.
The commission opted not to rely on a hiring commit ...
Jun 2, 2009, 8:12 am - - Lottery News forum
Arkansas lottery retailers to be policed for fraud, officials say
The legislation laying the groundwork for Arkansas' lottery does not require it, but officials say they expect the lottery system to include a security division that will be on the lookout for fraud by retailers.
The problem of fraud by lottery retailers gained new attention in the U.S. in the wake of a 2007 scandal in Canada, where investigators found that retailers and their employees were winning a disproportionately large number of prizes.
Between 1999 and 2006, at least 78 retail owne ...
May 19, 2009, 8:32 am - - Lottery News forum
Ark. Lottery Commission Web site launches Monday
The new Arkansas Lottery Commission has been in operation for a little more than a week, and on Monday its own Web site will go live.
The URL for the new, not-yet live site is: www.LotteryCommission.Arkansas.gov.
At publication time, entering that address into one's Web browser displays an under construction message.
In addition, the commission will soon decide the name for the official state lottery Web site for the Arkansas lottery games.
The commission is holding a two-day working ...
May 15, 2009, 4:50 pm - - Lottery News forum
S.C. lottery chief says Arkansas can clear $125M in first year
New commission urged to focus on hiring director
South Carolina lottery director Ernie Passailaigue estimated that the Arkansas lottery could clear roughly $125 million in net profit its first year.
Passailaigue spoke to Arkansas Lottery Commission members Thursday afternoon at a working retreat held at the Winthrop Rockefeller Institute within Petit Jean State Park. Joining him to pass along expertise in helping implement successful state lotteries was Margaret DeFrancisco, director of th ...
May 15, 2009, 8:24 am - - Lottery News forum
Nevada Gov. flip-flops on lottery
True or not, it doesn't really matter
Nevada Gov. Jim Gibbons might not remember it, but the record shows he has flip-flopped on the issue of a state lottery.
Gibbons told a town hall audience in Minden last week, I have no problem with a lottery. As they have for decades, lawmakers are again considering creating a state lottery in Nevada.
Asked about his stance in an interview, Gibbons said, I never have opposed a lottery. When did you hear that?
Gibbons' previous opposition is in ...
May 11, 2009, 6:40 am - - Lottery News forum
A Nevada Lottery? The Line Forms in California
On a recent afternoon, lines of customers snaked to the door of the Primm Valley Lotto Store, a bustling hut just over the border in California. The parking lot was packed with cars sporting Nevada license plates.
The hut, on a dead-end street paved for the sole purpose of crossing that border, holds two important distinctions. It is the lottery ticket vendor closest to Las Vegas, 45 miles to the northeast. And it sells more lottery tickets than any other vendor in California, according to th ...
Apr 26, 2009, 12:36 pm - - Lottery News forum
Nevada Assembly passes lottery bill
Senate vote is next step
The Nevada Assembly voted Wednesday for a lottery in the nation's No. 1 gambling state, despite arguments that it would compete with slot machines and other games of chance.
AJR7 is the latest version of a plan that since the 1970s has failed about two dozen times to win legislative approval. The measure advanced on a 31-11 vote and now moves to the Senate.
The plan would have to be approved by lawmakers this year and again in 2011 and then go to a public vote.
...
Apr 17, 2009, 3:06 am - - Lottery News forum
Arkansas lottery commission fully staffed
Arkansas Gov. Mike Beebe on Monday appointed the final three members of the Arkansas Lottery Commission, naming George J. Hammons of Pine Bluff, Dianne Lamberth of Batesville and Ben Pickard of Beebe to the board that will oversee lottery operations.
Voters in the November general election approved a constitutional amendment authorizing state-run lottery games to raise money for college scholarships. The amendment left the lottery details to the Legislature.
The Arkansas Scholarship Lotter ...
Apr 14, 2009, 8:57 am - - Lottery News forum
Arkansas Lottery Commision takes shape
Confusion over salary cap for director position
Arkansas House Speaker Robbie Wills appointed three members to the newly created Arkansas Lottery Commission, and his lottery cleanup bill to clarify the salary of the commission's director cleared a committee Wednesday.
Wills appointed Joe White of Conway, Mike Malone of Fayetteville, and Susan Ward-Jones of Marion.
I established a criteria [for appointees] of honesty, integrity, and state and community responsibility, Wills said. These ...
Apr 4, 2009, 10:39 am - - Lottery News forum
Arkansas lottery tickets may be available by this fall
The Arkansas lottery is getting closer to becoming a reality.
Soon, people in Arkansas will be able to go into convenience stores and gas stations and buy lottery tickets in their own state rather than heading to one of the boardering states to get their chance at the big money.
March 25, Gov. Mike Beebe signed both the identical Senate and House bills passing the Arkansas Scholarship Lottery Act. Arkansas will soon join boardering states Louisiana, Missouri, Oklahoma, Tennessee and Texas ...
Apr 4, 2009, 10:06 am - - Lottery News forum
