NC lottery addiction hotline gets different callers than planned
Many callers to the toll-free problem gambling hot line set up for North Carolina's new lottery have sought help of another kind.
We've gotten a lot of calls from people who either don't understand how to play the game or why they didn't win, said Smith Worth, who oversees the help line for the state Department of Health and Human Services.
Only about 15 percent to 20 percent of the 600 to 700 callers to the help line since the North Carolina Education Lottery began last Thursday sought ...
Apr 5, 2006, 7:22 am - - Lottery News forum
N.C. lottery staff win hefty bonuses
The new lottery produced dozens of big-money winners Thursday, none of whom played the games.
With the first ticket sold at 6 a.m., lottery employees qualified for special bonuses.
The rewards are for starting the games before April 5, beating a deadline set last year by the state lottery commission.
In all, 162 employees, from the director to office assistants, will be paid $624,100 in bonuses.
The money comes from ticket sales, pegged at $2 million.
Lottery director Tom Shaheen ...
Apr 3, 2006, 10:36 am - - Lottery News forum
N.C.'s first $100K lottery winner plays it cool
When Richard Garland scratched off his $5 N.C. lottery ticket Thursday in a Conover store, he wasn't quite sure how the game worked.
The Newton man initially thought he had gotten lucky and won $10,000. He was both lucky and wrong.
Garland had won $100,000 and became a part of state history as the lottery's first big winner after the games debuted Thursday.
He spoke Sunday, although the 54-year-old still seemed a bit dazed from all of the attention.
Garland had bought a $1 and a $5 s ...
Apr 3, 2006, 8:42 am - - Lottery News forum
N.C. Lottery pays first big prizes
North Carolinians spend the equivalent of $1.50 per resident on first day and a half
Lottery players maintained a brisk, and somewhat unexpected, spending pace Friday as the games' first big winners came forward to collect jackpot prizes.
Officials were predicting a drop-off Friday from Thursday's steady sales as North Carolina joined 41 other states in sponsoring a lottery. But at 5:30 p.m. Friday a payday for some officials said players were spending at a clip close to the first day' ...
Apr 3, 2006, 7:33 am - - Lottery News forum
N.C. lottery begins with winners, losers -- and some glitches
North Carolina woke up scratching this morning as the state lottery began.
The first tickets in the N.C. Education Lottery, the country's newest government-backed game, began selling at 6 a.m. today.
There were winners, losers and a few technical glitches.
As lottery buyers mixed with regular early morning patrons, ticket sales appeared brisk at gas stations, groceries and tackle shops across Wilmington.
Charles Brinkley, of Wilmington, was ready with $52 at 5:30 a.m. at a Scotchman ...
Mar 30, 2006, 1:56 pm - - Lottery News forum
N.C. Lottery begins today
The signs say it all: Play Here.
After years of watching players take their millionaire dreams and spending money across state borders, North Carolinians will start playing their own lottery today.
At 6 a.m. in Raleigh, State Board of Education Chairman Howard Lee will buy the ceremonial first ticket of the N.C. Education Lottery. Lottery retailers throughout the state will start selling tickets to four scratch-off games at that time.
The state has sent more than 50 million tickets ...
Mar 30, 2006, 6:28 am - - Lottery News forum
Newspaper to decline advertising from N.C. Lottery Commission
Days before North Carolina launches its lottery with scratch-off ticket sales, television and radio ads are being rolled out across the state. But the publisher of one small paper in eastern North Carolina says he's not going to be taking any lottery advertising.
A scam carried out by our state government is no less a scam, wrote Bart Adams, publisher and editor of The Daily Record of Dunn, in a column last week. And ads from the North Carolina Lottery Commission which will no doubt entice ...
Mar 27, 2006, 6:19 pm - - Lottery News forum
Big week ahead for N.C. lottery
The North Carolina Education Lottery gets under way this week and several major events are planned.
On Monday the first advertising will hit radio and television. The ads will be teasers to let consumers know that the lottery starts Thursday.
By Wednesday thousands of tickets will be in the hands of more than 4,000 retailers.
Then, the first ticket will be sold in North Carolina at 6 a.m. Thursday.
Pamphlets will be available at retailers explaining how to play the games and what you ...
Mar 27, 2006, 11:54 am - - Lottery News forum
N.C. Ministers resigned to lottery, but wary
Forget righteous indignation.
With the fight against a lottery in North Carolina a lost cause, the mood for many in the faith community is best expressed by one of the lottery's leading opponents.
A sense of resignation, the Rev. George Reed of the N.C. Council of Churches in Raleigh said.
Lottery tickets go on sale Thursday, but the sermons and prayers in some N.C. sanctuaries on Sunday generally focused more on Lent than on the advent of state-backed gambling.
The Rev. Dan Burrel ...
Mar 27, 2006, 11:15 am - - Lottery News forum
N.C. Lottery will have some unique vendors
Thousands of retailers are getting ready to sell North Carolina lottery tickets. But it won't just be convenience stores and supermarkets.
The Paper Doll Lounge, a Charlotte strip club, will be offering the lottery along with its lap dances.
We're the only (strip) club that has it, said Chris Falls, owner of the Paper Doll Lounge. And I also have something the convenience stores don't.
Any business in the state can apply to sell tickets for the game that begins March 30, with the o ...
Mar 23, 2006, 6:46 am - - Lottery News forum
