Lawmakers criticize Iowa Lottery bonuses
Iowa Lottery workers are about to receive up to $7,700 each in what their board calls incentive-based pay and what critics call politically tone-deaf bonuses.
The lottery board voted 5-0 Thursday to split $385,710 among the agency's 116 employees, with each person receiving almost 6 percent of annual salary.
The money is to be paid under a long-standing policy that rewards workers when the agency meets financial targets, lottery officials said. In this case, the lottery went almost $3 m ...
Aug 21, 2006, 12:30 pm - - 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
New Ohio Lottery chief appointed
An executive with the Ohio Lottery was appointed on Thursday to replace Tom Hayes as director.
Mike Abouserhal, 47, the lottery's assistant director managing the agency's finance and administration, takes over on Saturday.
Hayes resigned effective Friday to pursue private business opportunities, but he has also accepted a temporary job with Cuyahoga County as project manager for the county's board of elections.
The elections board is attempting to fix flaws in the May primary and prepar ...
Aug 18, 2006, 1:21 pm - - Lottery News forum
Ohio Lottery chief to oversee county election
In Ohio, the two Democrats on the Cuyahoga County Board of Elections said Thursday that they would drop their drive to dump elections Director Michael Vu and his deputy, Gwen Dillingam, once the decision was made to hire Ohio Lottery Director Tom Hayes to oversee the general election.
Hayes was hired by the Cuyahoga County commissioners. His compensation will be determined later.
His hiring, however, raised questions about who is in charge of the board and whether Hayes, a jogging and tra ...
Aug 11, 2006, 2:27 pm - - Lottery News forum
Penn. Lottery chief takes job with newspaper publisher
The executive director of the Pennsylvania Lottery is leaving his post to work for the owner of the Philadelphia Inquirer and the Daily News, the state and the company announced Thursday.
Ed Mahlman will be chief marketing officer for Philadelphia Media Holdings, which is trying to prove the notion about daily newspapers being in decline wrong with its recent purchase of the Inquirer, Daily News and related properties.
In a statement, Pennsylvania Gov. Ed Rendell lauded the work Mahlman d ...
Aug 11, 2006, 12:00 pm - - Lottery News forum
$10 Billion Lottery Proposal Stalls in Illinois
A proposal by Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich (D) to increase funding for public education by selling or leasing the state lottery for $10 billion may be headed nowhere.
Blagojevich announced the proposal with much fanfare on May 23, but no supporting legislation has been introduced, political leaders are peppering the governor with questions that have not been answered, and allegations of political payoffs and cronyism have surfaced.
A key inquisitor has been state House Speaker Michael Mad ...
Jul 26, 2006, 6:12 pm - - Lottery News forum
Bill would allow state leaders to remove N.C. lottery commissioners
North Carolina lottery commissioners could be stripped of their appointments for just cause under a bill recommended Tuesday by a House committee.
The change comes after Kevin Geddings resigned from the commission last November as it was revealed he had worked for Scientific Games Corp., a company that tried unsuccessfully to win North Carolina's lottery business.
House Speaker Jim Black appointed Geddings, but said later he wouldn't have had he known about Geddings' work with Scientific G ...
Jul 26, 2006, 4:36 pm - - Lottery News forum
BETonSPORTS Fires Jailed CEO
Wagering firm distances itself from colorful founder and Costa Rica
Embattled online gambling firm BETonSPORTS dealt its incarcerated chief executive out of the game with a terse announcement Tuesday that David Carruthers has been terminated.
The company also put some distance between its operations and BETonSPORTS founder Gary Stephen Kaplan, who was charged with 20 felony violations and is currently on the lam.
Mr. Carruthers, who was arrested in a U.S. dragnet nine days ago as he cha ...
Jul 26, 2006, 3:17 pm - - Lottery News forum
NJ Lottery's payroll trims state take
Part 1 of a 3-part look at the New Jersey Lottery
To lottery players, the scratch-off tickets and numbers games are a fun way to pass the time and maybe strike it rich.
For state government, however, the games serve a more practical purpose a big business. A significant chunk of money from the lottery goes to causes such as colleges, public schools and veterans' homes.
By many measures, the system works: New Jersey ranks among the top five states in converting lottery sales to profit ...
Jul 25, 2006, 8:51 am - - Lottery News forum
N.J. Lottery players question logic of shutdown
Gov. Jon S. Corzine's decision to shut down state services created confusion for lottery players and those who sell New Jersey lottery tickets.
Sharon Rush, who owns Macaro's Deli in Pennsauken, said she learned about it online.
They haven't told us anything, Rush said. Our customers don't even know about it yet.
Rush said shutting down the lottery and casinos because of fiscal woes simply doesn't make sense.
Something that makes money for the government shouldn't shut down, sh ...
Jul 2, 2006, 4:33 pm - - Lottery News forum
