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
Texas Lottery critic applies for Director position
Dawn Nettles, the Garland woman who has made criticizing the troubled Texas Lottery Commission a full-time job in recent years, is applying for the job of running the state agency. My goal is to clean up the lottery, run it honestly and still make money for the state, Nettles said this morning. I'm a trouble-shooter, and I know the lottery players. Nettles, who publishes the online Lotto Report, was first to alert the Texas Attorney General's Office that then-Executive Director Reagan Greer ha ...
Sep 12, 2005, 6:41 pm - - Lottery News forum
Drug dealer must forfeit lottery jackpot
Texas man wins $5.5 million in a lottery, but must give it back after drug dealing conviction.A Mexican citizen must forfeit about $2.75 million in Texas lottery winnings because of his drug-trafficking conviction, a federal appeals court said on Wednesday.Jose Luis Betancourt, 52, was arrested after making a cocaine delivery shortly after accepting $5.5 million for having the winning ticket in the December 11, 2002, lottery drawing, according to court documents.A jury convicted Betancourt, who ...
Aug 18, 2005, 4:06 pm - - Lottery News forum
Texas Lottery May Eliminate Lotto Bonus Number
'5 + Bonus' format was a flop with playersLotto Texas players might be saying bye-bye to the bonus ball.One of the proposals being floated by the Texas Lottery Commission is to eliminate the new five numbers and bonus ball matrix and return to a 'pick six of fifty' (6/50) format for the Lotto game, which is the flagship of the Texas Lottery. I don't think that has been discussed specifically, but I think we're discussing all formats for the matrix, to determine what would be the best, to make it ...
Aug 17, 2005, 7:48 pm - - Lottery News forum
Texas Lottery considering guaranteed jackpots
Texas Lottery officials are considering guaranteed jackpots to help avoid inflated estimates like the one in June that prompted a consumer complaint to the state attorney general and cost the agency director his job.New jackpot prize guidelines proposed Monday include a guarantee the winner collect either the advertised amount or the amount calculated by sales, whichever is greater. The guarantees would apply to jackpots paid with the 25-year annuity, not to winners who choose the immediate cash ...
Aug 16, 2005, 6:53 am - - Lottery News forum
Texas Lottery has history of frequent firings
Current and former Texas Lottery employees believe the threat of being fired was used to intimidate anyone who raised questions about lottery operations.Texas Lottery Commission C-F-O Lee Deviney was fired after he questioned the agency's practice of advertising inflated Lotto Texas jackpots.His managers say his termination was unrelated to that.Deviney was among five lottery employees fired in June under the at-will provision, bringing the total to eight so far for 2005.Documents attained by Th ...
Aug 1, 2005, 9:39 am - - Lottery News forum
Texas Lottery critic turns down selection committee post
A lottery watchdog who helped expose inflated Texas Lotto jackpots and a math professor whose students found problems with lottery advertisements were among 10 people chosen to help find the next leader of the struggling Texas Lottery Commission, officials said Friday.Dawn Nettles, a frequent critic of the lottery, later withdrew from the search committee, saying her participation would be a conflict of interest.C. Tom Clowe, who chairs the three-member commission that oversees the agency, appoi ...
Jul 24, 2005, 4:27 pm - - Lottery News forum
Former Texas Lottery employee indicted in scam
Woman accused of taking money from those hoping to be ticket sellersA former employee of the Texas Lottery Commission has been indicted for allegedly defrauding retailers who applied to become Texas Lottery vendors.The indictment charges Taneil Gage with one count of theft by a public servant of more than $500 but less than $1,500. The offense is a state jail felony punishable by up to two years behind bars.The alleged scam in June and July 2003 preyed on retailers who didn't meet minimum credit ...
Jul 20, 2005, 11:33 am - - Lottery News forum
Judge rules lottery cash split properly
Divorce case diminishes returnsAfter the Texas-sized taxes, a month-long trial, and some hefty legal bills, a $20 million Texas Lotto jackpot that is part of a local divorce case is shrinking.But whatever the amount, Circuit Court Judge Robert Childers ruled Tuesday that there was no conspiracy by Cordova, Tennessee resident Larry Stack and co-worker Christine Fellows to hide the money from his wife, Rosemarie Fair Stack.Phase two of the lawsuit, the divorce itself, is scheduled for October. Wit ...
Jul 20, 2005, 8:03 am - - Lottery News forum
Texas Lottery paid for goods it never received
The embattled Texas Lottery Commission is investigating why the agency paid a Nevada company more than $300,000 for goods it hasn't received.The lottery's purchasing department authorized an advanced payment to JB Associates in February 2004 to buy promotional items such as umbrellas, coffee mugs and vinyl wallets, the Fort Worth Star-Telegram reported in its online edition today.JB, based in Reno, Nev., received at least $332,427, but the lottery said it is still owed about $311,000 in undeli ...
Jul 16, 2005, 9:39 am - - Lottery News forum
