Texas Lottery hits new sales record
Scratch-offs are biggest chunk of $3.77 billion, as Lotto Texas' popularity drops
Officials with the Texas Lottery Commission took a gamble on scratch-off games a few years ago and, according to the latest figures, the bet's paid off: The agency's overall ticket sales rose to $3.77 billion in fiscal 2006, the highest total in the agency's history, with most of the increase coming from the games that provide immediate gratification.
The big growth is in the scratch-offs, said Robert Heith ...
Sep 27, 2006, 11:37 am - - Lottery News forum
Texas Lottery makes contingency plans for takeover
The Texas Lottery Commission began laying the groundwork Wednesday to take over the $95 million-a-year operation historically carried out by a private corporation in the event that the state is no longer satisfied with its work.
Officials made clear that the prospect of the lottery severing its 14-year relationship with Rhode Island-based Gtech Corp. was highly remote.
But they also expressed deep concerns over recent reports that the gaming giant, which is soon to be sold to the Italian f ...
Aug 18, 2006, 3:15 pm - - Lottery News forum
Texas Lottery chairman OK with GTECH sale
The Texas Lottery Commission questioned the chief executive of lottery operator GTECH Corp. for more than three hours on Wednesday about accusations it used unsavory tactics to win or keep business in several countries, but the panel's chairman said he saw nothing unsuitable in the company's sale to an Italian firm.
Investors feared a highly critical Texas Department of Public Safety report delivered to the commission last month could hinder GTECH's sale to Italian lottery operator Lottomatic ...
Aug 18, 2006, 2:15 pm - - Lottery News forum
Texas Lottery accuses GTECH of bribery
GTECH executives will appear before Texas commission
The criminal allegations read right out of a crime novel: bribing overseas government officials, withholding evidence and lying about it.
Those are some of the charges Texas investigators accuse GTECH, the international lottery services company that enjoys a lucrative contract with the state of Texas, of engaging in internationally.
The findings have angered and embarrassed lottery commissioners, who have used GTECH as the agency's so ...
Aug 16, 2006, 11:42 am - - Lottery News forum
GTECH sale closer as more states approve
The sale of West Greenwich-based GTECH Holdings Corp. to Italian lottery giant Lottomatica SpA this week inched toward completion.
Lottomatica said that the state lotteries would continue existing contracts with GTECH, which it plans to buy in a $5 billion deal that would create the world's biggest lottery operator.
Lottomatica had asked various U.S. states to confirm that the deal would not hurt existing lottery concessions when it launched the takeover earlier this year.
Most states ...
Jul 28, 2006, 9:48 am - - Lottery News forum
Texas lottery raises concerns over GTECH's practices, ethics
Lottery giant's merger with Lottomatica requires that Texas agree to keep its contract with the company
GTECH Holding Corp.'s stock plummeted as much as 14 percent yesterday morning before rebounding after the Texas Lottery Commission and the Texas Department of Public Safety raised concerns about the company's business practices and ethical integrity.
Investors, anticipating that Texas might adversely impact GTECH's pending $4.8-billion acquisition by Italy's Lottomatica SpA, sold off so ...
Jul 21, 2006, 10:45 am - - Lottery News forum
Texas Lottery audits find more problems
Prize estimates were inflated at least 3 times after scandal
Months after Texas Lottery officials were chastised for inflating Texas Lotto jackpot estimates in a scandal that cost the executive director his job, the agency did it again at least three more times, according to one of two highly critical state auditor reports on the lottery released Tuesday.
Auditors found a significant number of instances in which agency management did not comply with policies and procedures to review or ap ...
Jul 13, 2006, 12:15 pm - - Lottery News forum
Texas Lottery defends jackpot advertising policies
The Texas Lottery Commission defended its Lotto Texas jackpot advertising policies yesterday, after an audit said the current practice could reduce the amount of money transferred to the state to support education.
An uproar last summer over the lottery's decision to advertise four jackpots that officials knew they couldn't afford to pay cost former executive director Reagan Greer his job and shook public confidence in the games.
As a result, the lottery commission approved a measure in Oc ...
Jul 13, 2006, 7:36 am - - Lottery News forum
Texas Lottery hires interim director to full-time post
FLASH: New lottery director may change computerized Megaplier to real lottery ball drawing, expert says computerized drawings flawed
Anthony Sadberry, a longtime Houston attorney who led a reorganization of the Texas Lottery in the past five months as acting director, was named the agency's permanent head Wednesday.
Sadberry's hiring was widely expected among agency observers and staff, many of whom have praised his straightforward and hands-on approach.
Commission Chairman C. Tom Clow ...
Jun 29, 2006, 11:12 am - - Lottery News forum
Winning lottery ticket led police to murder suspect
A winning Texas lottery ticket has put police on the trail of the suspect in a DeKalb County, Georgia, murder.
Police had been searching for Kelsey Ruth since the murder of his ex-girlfriend, 27-year old Tai Morgan, in her home on Canary Court on Tuesday.
DeKalb Police suspected Ruth fled to his home state of Texas so they sent wanted posters to television stations there.
At the same time those wanted posters with Ruth's picture and a shot of his car went out his mother was winning $3.4 ...
Jun 15, 2006, 1:15 pm - - Lottery News forum
