Ex-legislator seeks to lead Texas Lottery
Talmadge Heflin, a once-powerful state legislator defeated last year by a political newcomer in a House race decided by 16 votes, has applied to become the Texas Lottery's next executive director.Mr. Heflin, a 65-year-old Houston Republican, submitted his application Monday at the request of Texas Lottery Commission Chairman Thomas Clowe, agency spokesman Bobby Heith said Thursday.He must be interviewed by Mr. Clowe and commissioner James Cox, which could happen during today's commission meeting ...
Nov 18, 2005, 11:18 am - - Lottery News forum
Texas lottery officials concerned about sale of GTECH
The Rhode Island company that operates many of the Texas lottery's most popular games is up for sale, and state officials are looking to hire an independent law firm to help them ensure that any potential buyer is committed to upholding the company's contractual commitments.Lottery officials told a legislative oversight panel this week that Gtech Corp., which has been under contract to the state agency since the lottery was established in 1992, has received an acquisition offer from an unnamed g ...
Nov 16, 2005, 11:25 am - - Lottery News forum
Texas lawmakers hear allegations about lottery disaster site
The Texas Lottery Commission would not be able to resume critical functions in a timely manner if its headquarters were destroyed because its disaster recovery site lacks important equipment, a former lottery employee told lawmakers Monday.Shelton Charles, a senior lottery systems analyst who was fired Nov. 4, told the House Licensing and Administrative Procedures Committee that he warned his bosses that backing up data was useless if the agency didn't have the equipment to access it. He said hi ...
Nov 15, 2005, 5:00 pm - - Lottery News forum
Texas Lottery under the microscope in hearings
Texas Lottery officials were summoned Tuesday to testify before a legislative committee for the second time in five months, this time over allegations of mismanagement brought by a lottery systems analyst who was fired the same day the Houston Chronicle reported his concerns.Shelton Charles, who oversaw much of the lottery's technical operations before his firing Friday, planned to testify Monday at a hearing of the House Licensing and Regulation Committee, which oversees the lottery.The committ ...
Nov 9, 2005, 7:12 am - - Lottery News forum
Texas Lottery worker is fired after e-mail
The Texas lottery fired a senior systems analyst on Friday, hours after a newspaper reported that he had sent a scathing e-mail to two state lawmakers claiming that the agency misled the Legislature about an emergency control center that he says doesn't work.Shelton Charles told The Associated Press that he was fired Friday afternoon for insubordination after he refused to answer lottery officials' questions about the emergency operations center unless they put them in writing.Lottery spokesman ...
Nov 8, 2005, 8:00 am - - Lottery News forum
Texas Lottery will guarantee advertised jackpots
The Texas Lottery Commission approved guaranteed Lotto Texas jackpots Monday, a measure designed to win back player confidence and avoid more inflated prize estimates by the nation's third-largest lottery.The lottery was rocked this summer by revelations that former Executive Director Reagan Greer signed off on advertising jackpots that were higher than ticket sales could support. Greer resigned in July after Commissioner Tom Clowe told legislators that he thought the executive director had dece ...
Nov 1, 2005, 11:14 am - - Lottery News forum
Nine finalists in running for Texas Lottery chief
Trust issues expected to figure prominently in interviews with candidates light on specific experienceWhen questions about inflated jackpots forced Lottery Director Reagan Greer to resign earlier this year, lottery officials said they needed someone to replace him who could regain the public's trust.A special search committee will begin Friday to interview nine finalists for the position, whittled down from 126 applicants. Only one of the nine people has experience working at a state lottery.The ...
Oct 13, 2005, 10:48 am - - Lottery News forum
Lottery gadfly not betting on getting top post
Some say she's a watchdog; others say she's a nuisanceDawn Nettles has a job interview Friday, but she figures the odds are against her. They're not going to hire me, the 54-year-old Garland woman said. They hate me with a passion. They refers to the Texas Lottery Commission and Gtech Corp., the company that operates the lottery for the state. The commission is seeking an executive director to replace Reagan Greer, who resigned in July after admitting he had signed off on advertising inflate ...
Oct 13, 2005, 9:51 am - - Lottery News forum
Former Texas Lottery Director is Bush's Pick for Supreme Court
Harriet Miers proved to be a tough, no-nonsense administrator during her five years heading the Texas Lottery Commission, firing two executive directors to stamp out scandal but leaving unexpectedly amid lagging sales and player interest.President Bush tapped Miers on Monday for the Supreme Court, a nomination that prompted closer scrutiny of Miers' years in Texas as a private attorney, a member of the Dallas City Council and chairwoman of the three-member commission that oversees the state's lo ...
Oct 3, 2005, 3:07 pm - - Lottery News forum
Texas Lottery jackpot game tickets in sales decline
Citing plummeting revenues that indicate a jackpot fatigue in state lotteries throughout the nation, the chairman of the Texas Lottery Commission challenged the organization's staff to consider boosting Lotto Texas sales by making the game more creative. Why can't we do something creative for a change making it a $4 million jackpot and two Harley-Davidson motorcycles or a Corvette or one of those fancy trucks? said Chairman C. Tom Clowe Jr. Let's create some buzz. Let's give $4 million and ...
Sep 29, 2005, 6:51 am - - Lottery News forum
