Lottery News for December 2015

December 2015

Thursday, December 31, 2015

$334 MILLION: Powerball jackpot rolls into the new year 8:24 am - This Saturday, lottery players will have the chance to buy tickets for the largest Powerball jackpot in nearly a year. 79 comments (last)

Tuesday, December 29, 2015

Tipton granted delay in next trial until July 6:24 pm - A judge has delayed the trial for a former lottery official accused of fixing jackpots in several states. 7 comments (last)

Dutch court rules woman who won lottery during divorce can keep it all 2:13 pm - A woman who won a €2.1 million (US$2.3 million) lottery prize during a divorce has no obligation to share it with her ex-husband, according to a Dutch court decision published on Tuesday. 32 comments (last)

Largest-ever UK Lotto jackpot has players... angry? 9:05 am - In the United States, a record jackpot is cause for celebration and waves of ticket-buying, but in the United Kingdom players are bemoaning tomorrow night's record £42.2 million (US$62.62 million) Lotto jackpot and threatening to boycott the game, according to local media reports. 22 comments (last)

Sunday, December 27, 2015

$300 MILLION: Massive Powerball jackpot fuels New Year's dreams 6:13 pm - Lottery players looking to start off 2016 by with a bang might want to consider purchasing a Powerball ticket this week. 87 comments (last)

Saturday, December 26, 2015

Las Vegas woman wins $100,000 on $5 NFL parlay bet 1:42 pm - One of the biggest long shots in betting history will be cashed on Wednesday afternoon when Tayla Polia gets paid $100,005 for her $5, 15-leg NFL parlay that came through this week. 7 comments (last)

Lottery scandal unlikely to affect New Mexico, official says 1:35 pm - The expanding investigation of a former security chief for the national association that operates Powerball, Mega Millions, Hot Lotto and other lotteries is unlikely to affect New Mexico at this point, state lottery CEO David Barden said this week. 9 comments (last)

Federal officials work to extradite Jamaican lottery scammers 1:27 pm - While the arrest and conviction of one Jamaican lottery scammer was successful this year, rounding up his associate in the wide-ranging operation — and 13 other suspects still believed to be in Jamaica — is proving to be more onerous. 6 comments (last)

Friday, December 25, 2015

Merry Christmas 12:00 am - May the spirit of Christmas fill your heart with peace, love, and joy. 56 comments (last)

Thursday, December 24, 2015

Keno players cash in on lottery glitch in Delaware 9:21 am - The luck has run out for some lottery winners in Delaware after state officials realized that a glitch meant the exact same winning numbers were drawn for six Keno games. 11 comments (last)

Iowa man denied $100,000 lottery win because he's underage 8:39 am - A Des Moines, Iowa, man is facing a charge of underage gambling after he collected a $100,000 Iowa Lottery prize this summer. 29 comments (last)

New Oregon law allows lottery prize garnishments for overpayments 7:51 am - A new Oregon law, effective Jan. 1, authorizes the state Department of Human Services and the Oregon Health Authority to garnish Oregon Lottery prize payments greater than $600 to recover overpayments of public assistance, medical assistance and supplemental nutrition assistance. 2 comments (last)

African migrants win big in Spain Christmas lottery 7:27 am - About 35 African migrants, including at least one rescued at sea from an overcrowded wooden boat, are among the top prize winners of Spain's Christmas lottery, according to the owner of the lottery agency that sold more than 1,000 tickets that shelled out 400,000 euros (US$438,000) each. 6 comments (last)

Wednesday, December 23, 2015

MUSL CHIEF OUSTED OVER JACKPOT-RIGGING SCANDAL 2:39 pm - A prominent lottery official who has run the Powerball game since its inception was quietly removed from his 28-year post leading the Multi-State Lottery Association after a jackpot-fixing scandal inside his organization got bigger, according to a document obtained by The Associated Press. 23 comments (last)

Kansas lottery players questioning game's integrity 2:30 pm - Lottery players are now questioning the integrity of the game after learning that rigged lottery tickets were sold in Kansas. 2 comments (last)

Maine gives names of Hot Lotto winners to Iowa team looking into rigging scheme 2:25 pm - Investigators want to know if any jackpot recipients in Maine are tied to a convicted cheater and gaming official who visited the state in 2014. 3 comments (last)

S.C. Lottery assures public no computerized drawings used in state 8:46 am - Other states may be tainted by an alleged lottery scam involving rigged winning numbers, but not South Carolina, says S.C. Education Lottery executive director Paula Harper Bethea. 11 comments (last)

Tuesday, December 22, 2015

Beach town hits jackpot in Spain's El Gordo lottery 9:26 am - With wide smiles, elated lottery winners popped corks on bottles of sparkling wine Tuesday in in the southern beach city of Roquetas de Mar, where tickets bearing the top prize number in Spain's Christmas lottery were sold. 6 comments (last)

S.C. Lottery to honor two winning sets of Pick 3 numbers 9:18 am - The South Carolina Education Lottery says it will honor two sets of winning numbers for Friday night's Pick 3 drawing. 8 comments (last)

Monday, December 21, 2015

Prosecutors say Tipton rigged two jackpots he purchased tickets for in Kansas 7:58 pm - The former security chief for a national association that operates lotteries personally bought two tickets that won jackpots in Kansas, investigators said Monday, bringing to five the number of states where he may have rigged lottery drawings. 11 comments (last)

Friday, December 18, 2015

$50 million Lotto Max winners finally revealed after 2-year fight to remain anonymous 6:24 pm - The winners of the $50 million Canada Lotto Max ticket have finally received their jackpot, after nearly two years of unsuccessfully trying to claim the prize without revealing their identities. 16 comments (last)

Minnesota Lottery director resigns after timeshare inquiry 6:02 pm - Minnesota State Lottery director Ed Van Petten abruptly resigned Friday, coming after an inquiry found that taxpayers have reimbursed the director for staying in his own timeshare unit when traveling. 6 comments (last)

Jackpot-fixing investigation expands to more state lotteries 4:33 pm - Eddie Tipton, former security director of the Multi-State Lottery Association, has been accused of tampering with drawings in four states over a six-year period, and investigators are now expanding the inquiry nationwide to determine if the number could be larger. 22 comments (last)

Tennessee woman charged with stealing ex-husband's $50,000 lottery prize 9:24 am - McMinnville, Tennessee, police have arrested a woman accused of stealing an unsigned $50,000 lottery ticket and then cashing it in herself. 15 comments (last)

Wyoming Lottery updates lawsuit against anti-gambling proponent 7:25 am - The Wyoming Lottery Corporation has updated its lawsuit against a Cheyenne man the company accuses of disparaging its operations, but the man's lawyer said the suit it still improper and fails to give necessary specifics. 1 comment (last)

Thursday, December 17, 2015

$63 million California Lottery ticket expires soon 9:15 am - A $63 million Super Lotto prize may become the largest unclaimed prize in California, but many prizes big and small go unclaimed every year, a spokesperson for the California Lottery Commission said Saturday. 24 comments (last)

Wednesday, December 16, 2015

Some on welfare bet big on Maine lottery in pursuit of life-changing win 9:18 am - Maine residents on public assistance have spent hundreds of millions of dollars on lottery tickets, according to an estimate based on the $22.4 million in large prizes they collected between 2010 and 2014, including eight jackpots worth at least $500,000 each. 16 comments (last)

Sunday, December 13, 2015

Iraqi's Oregon jackpot raises questions on lottery sales 3:34 pm - When a man from Baghdad showed up unannounced this month in a state office building in Salem, Ore., with a piece of paper in his hand that he said was worth $6.4 million, it raised a series of questions about the arrangement of the ticket purchase that officials are still grappling with. 48 comments (last)

Saturday, December 12, 2015

Florida lottery winner accused of grand theft 8:15 am - The man who claimed a half-million dollar Florida Lottery prize a few days ago was determining Friday how much money he would need to post bail after police took him into custody on a warrant. 19 comments (last)

Friday, December 11, 2015

Fantasy sports sites back in business in N.Y. after appeal 5:16 pm - DraftKings Inc. and FanDuel Inc. can continue doing business in New York for now, after an appeals court halted a trial judge's order to temporarily halt daily fantasy games in the state. 1 comment (last)

Thursday, December 10, 2015

Man in Iraq wins $6.4 million Oregon Lottery jackpot 7:11 am - For the first known time in the Oregon Lottery's 30-year history, the ticket for a winning big jackpot has been sold through an international online lottery ticket sales site — and the $6.4 million prize goes to an Iraqi national whose ticket was bought in Bend, and whose name won't be revealed in order to protect him from danger in his homeland, officials confirmed Wednesday. 92 comments (last)

Wednesday, December 9, 2015

Cape Cod fisherman reels in $10M lottery prize 11:11 am - A Massachusetts shellfisherman and champion oyster shucker has won the $10 million prize winner in the Lottery's "$10,000,000 Mega Fortune" instant game. 10 comments (last)

Tuesday, December 8, 2015

Colorado homeless man wins $500,000 in lottery 7:39 am - A Colorado man who had been homeless for more than six years finally got a little bit of luck Friday when he won $500,000 on a scratch-off lottery ticket. 36 comments (last)

Monday, December 7, 2015

Video gaming machines boost Oregon Lottery revenues 10:42 am - State economists say Oregon is seeing a healthy bump in lottery revenues, at least partially from recently installed video lottery machines. 8 comments (last)

Friday, December 4, 2015

Faulty $50 Wisonsin lottery ticket causing a flap 9:36 am - A Milwaukee woman spent $5 on a ticket that appears to be a $50 winner, but the ticket never paid out, despite extraordinary efforts by Wisconsin Lottery staff to validate it. 24 comments (last)

Thursday, December 3, 2015

$144M Powerball jackpot won in Tennessee claimed by trust 4:05 pm - The second largest prize and fourth Powerball jackpot won in Tennessee was claimed today at the Tennessee Lottery's Nashville headquarters. 15 comments (last)

Deal struck, Illinois Lottery winners to be paid 10:42 am - Republican Gov. Bruce Rauner and House Democrats on Wednesday struck a rare agreement, compromising on a plan to release more than $3.1 billion to pay Illinois Lottery winners and help cities and towns operate 911 centers, plow roads and train firefighters. 14 comments (last)

Wednesday, December 2, 2015

Calif. man wins $10M lottery prize right after winning $1K 9:04 am - Just moments after winning $1,000 on a California Lottery scratch-off ticket, a Modesto man learned that he was the winner of a $10 million prize. 15 comments (last)

Tuesday, December 1, 2015

Former Ohio Lottery worker sentenced for stealing instant tickets 12:26 pm - A former Ohio Lottery Commission employee has been sentenced to probation for stealing $115,000 in instant lottery tickets and cashing in winners. 11 comments (last)

Judge gives Wyoming Lottery 15 days to amend lawsuit 10:15 am - A state judge is giving the Wyoming Lottery Corporation 15 days to amend its lawsuit that seeks to block a local man from criticizing the corporation. 3 comments (last)

Arkansas Lottery officials sign contract with Camelot for business plan 9:30 am - Arkansas officials signed a contract Monday with lottery consultant Camelot Global Services, which will develop a business plan for the state lottery and help implement the plan, a spokesman for the state Department of Finance and Administration said. 2 comments (last)