Lottery News for July 2015

July 2015

Friday, July 31, 2015

Serbian lottery chief resigns amid drawing scandal 8:02 am - The head of Serbia's national lottery has resigned after a television graphic during this week's draw appeared to predict a winning number. 24 comments (last)

Thursday, July 30, 2015

Michigan lottery winner gives store clerk his car 11:33 am - Paying it forward is the plan for a loyal Michigan Lottery player from Otsego County who won a $13.1 million Lotto 47 jackpot. 12 comments (last)

St. Louis city employees claim $70 million Powerball jackpot 11:21 am - St. Louis' newest millionaires are two city employees who bought a winning Powerball ticket this month. 16 comments (last)

Wednesday, July 29, 2015

Virginia truck driver claims Mega Millions jackpot in Pa. 9:58 pm - A professional truck driver for nearly 30 years will be retiring early thanks to a lottery ticket he purchased at a Pennsylvania travel plaza. 19 comments (last)

Monday, July 27, 2015

$188 million lottery winner arrested on marijuana charges 8:14 am - North Carolina single mother Marie Holmes, who won the $188 million Powerball lottery in February, was arrested on July 23 for marijuana possession. 86 comments (last)

Thursday, July 23, 2015

Canadian lightning strike survivor wins lottery 12:01 pm - A Canadian man survived being hit by lightning when he was a teenager and now he's won the lottery — both events combined come to about a 1 in 2.6 trillion chance. 16 comments (last)

Wednesday, July 22, 2015

$1M Mega Millions prize sold in Michigan to expire soon 4:02 pm - Just two weeks remain for the lucky Michigan winner of a $1 million Mega Millions prize to come forward and claim the big prize. 21 comments (last)

Tuesday, July 21, 2015

20 co-workers share largest Lotto Max jackpot ever 9:50 am - A $55 million (US$42.4 million) Lotto Max jackpot, the largest in Quebec's history, went to a group of workers in Boucherville, with each taking home $2.75 million. 22 comments (last)

Monday, July 20, 2015

Former lottery security employee guilty of rigging $14.3M drawing 2:21 pm - Jurors convicted a former Iowa lottery security official of two counts of fraud Monday for rigging a Hot Lotto drawing to win $14.3 million. 29 comments (last)

Sunday, July 19, 2015

$1M lottery winner admits stealing from cancer-stricken brother's business 9:29 am - A southeastern Massachusetts woman who won a $1 million lottery prize must pay over $100,000 after admitting she stole from her brother's business while he battled cancer. 20 comments (last)

Friday, July 17, 2015

Hot Lotto case moves to jury for deliberations 8:53 pm - Attorneys gave their closing arguments Friday in the fraud case against a former lottery vendor employee accused of manipulating a Hot Lotto drawing to win a $14.3 million ticket. 13 comments (last)

NJ store owner returns lost $2M lottery ticket 1:15 pm - An honest New Jersey store owner returned a winning scratch-off with a $2 million jackpot to a regular customer after it ended up unclaimed in the garbage. 22 comments (last)

Thursday, July 16, 2015

Defense quickly wraps up in Hot Lotto trial 7:25 pm - The defense rested its case Thursday afternoon about an hour after starting to call witnesses in the trial of a man accused of rigging a Hot Lotto computerized lottery drawing. 4 comments (last)

Prosecution rests in Hot Lotto trial 3:35 pm - The defense began calling witnesses Thursday morning in the trial against a former lottery vendor employee accused of rigging a Hot Lotto drawing to win a $14.3 million ticket. 5 comments (last)

Wednesday, July 15, 2015

Lottery security chief: Rigging computerized game "sadly" possible 6:23 pm - The top threat to any lottery's integrity is its own information technology employees, a former lottery security chief told jurors in the trial for his coworker accused of rigging a Hot Lotto drawing to win a $14.3 million ticket. 19 comments (last)

NC residents can now play lottery at the pump 4:46 pm - North Carolina residents can now play jackpot lottery games while pumping their gas. 12 comments (last)

Tuesday, July 14, 2015

Trial underway in world's biggest lottery fraud case 8:35 pm - The first witnesses, including the lottery's vice president of security, took the stand Tuesday after opening statements in the trial of a former lottery worker charged in the Hot Lotto mystery winner case. 8 comments (last)

Lottery ticket thief gets prison term shortened 8:06 am - An appeals court shortened the prison term for lottery-ticket thief Andy Ashkar by at least three-and-a-half years, reducing a sentence imposed by a judge because it was "unduly harsh and severe." 8 comments (last)

Monday, July 13, 2015

Australian lottery winner accused of hiding win reaches deal with pool members 9:20 am - A group of people who sued a Melbourne, Australia, co-worker after he allegedly failed to distribute the winnings of a AU$16.6 million (US$12.3 million) lottery pool ticket have reportedly struck a deal with him. 21 comments (last)

Friday, July 10, 2015

Time running out for $7 million NY lottery winner to claim prize 3:27 pm - The buyer of a top prize-winning lottery ticket worth $7 million has just two weeks left to claim their windfall — or lose it forever. 21 comments (last)

Scratch-off games propel Ohio Lottery to record sales 3:02 pm - Like other state lotteries have recently reported, the Ohio Lottery has managed to increase its sales to record levels in the past year, despite a sharp downturn in multi-state lottery sales, through an emphasis on scratch-off ticket sales. 3 comments (last)

Rural Kansas couple wins $9.85 million Hot Lotto jackpot 8:01 am - When Stephen Harrod checked his Hot Lotto ticket in the early morning on July 2nd to find out the prize amount, the convenience store clerk couldn't believe her eyes. 15 comments (last)

Wednesday, July 8, 2015

Powerball changing in October to generate bigger jackpots 10:30 am - The multi-state Powerball game will be changing in October, making it harder to win the jackpot, while at the same time making it easier to win a smaller prize. 96 comments (last)

Michigan woman nearly throws away $100,000 winning lottery ticket 9:23 am - An aware store clerk saved an Oakland County, Michigan, woman from throwing away a $100,000 winning lottery game ticket. 14 comments (last)

Tuesday, July 7, 2015

Inside the biggest lottery scam ever 1:03 pm - A locked room, a fat suit, and a pump-and-dump stock scheme: They're all part of what the cops say is the ultimate attempt to rig the lotto. 17 comments (last)

N.J. lawmaker proposes a lottery to pay off student loans 11:27 am - A New Jersey lawmaker says the state should try something novel to help people climb out of all that debt from their college days: set up a lottery in which the winning tickets pay off student loans. 7 comments (last)

Monday, July 6, 2015

Lottery winner's first purchase: a new shower door 11:11 am - A man from west Dublin, Ireland, can now afford a new shower door, thanks to winning €500,000 in an Ireland-only EuroMillions add-on game. 16 comments (last)

Saturday, July 4, 2015

Happy Independence Day 6:24 am - From the staff of Lottery Post, have a happy and safe Fourth of July! 27 comments (last)

Friday, July 3, 2015

Scratch-off tickets push Florida Lottery to record sales 7:46 am - Floridians with dreams of instant payoffs are generating record scratch for the Florida Lottery. 3 comments (last)

Thursday, July 2, 2015

9/11 hero wins $5 million NY Lottery prize 11:30 am - A New York City firefighter forced to retire due to Ground Zero ailments won $5 million jackpot with a New York Lottery scratch-off ticket. 24 comments (last)

Minnesota Lottery to change policy after 6 major unclaimed prizes this year 8:46 am - Officials with the Minnesota State Lottery said Wednesday they are changing their policy on information for winning lottery tickets after as many as six major prizes this year have gone unclaimed. 15 comments (last)