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Sharon Sharp, 1939-2009: Former lottery director of Illinois, CaliforniaNews Story
She was the GOP candidate for Illinois secretary of state in 1978 Sharon Sharp, whose accidental entry into politics started with a $10 loan from Donald Rumsfeld, ran for Illinois secretary of state in the late 1970s and was the state's lottery director under Gov. Jim Thompson. Mrs. Sharp, 69, died of lung cancer Sunday, July 5, at Northwestern Memorial Hospital, said her son, Christopher Kip Sharp. She lived on the city's Gold Coast. Mrs. Sharp had held posts in the Elk Grove Township
Jul 7, 2009, 1:44 am - Lottery News

Study finds wealthy counties get most benefit from Indiana Lottery profitsNews Story
When you play the Hoosier Lottery, the odds are against you. But if you're poor? Then, so is the system. An Indianapolis Star review of the Hoosier Lottery has found that while lower-income players disproportionately fund the lottery, the state transfers lottery profits disproportionately to the wealthiest counties. It's a quirk that seems to punish the very people the state counts on to fuel a revenue source that last year topped $217 million. It's a sad state of affairs when state po
Jun 8, 2009, 8:36 am - Lottery News

Patriots plan lottery tie-in after NFL eases stanceNews Story
Promo will be a first for a league still sensitive about betting scandals The New England Patriots are developing the first licensed NFL instant ticket with the Massachusetts State Lottery just days after league owners voted to allow teams to partner with lotteries across the country. This is going to be a hugely successful collaboration, Robert Kraft, chief executive of Kraft Group, which owns the Patriots, said yesterday. We are looking forward to helping the lottery generate much needed re
May 26, 2009, 1:27 pm - Lottery News

S.C. lottery chief says Arkansas can clear $125M in first yearNews Story
New commission urged to focus on hiring director South Carolina lottery director Ernie Passailaigue estimated that the Arkansas lottery could clear roughly $125 million in net profit its first year. Passailaigue spoke to Arkansas Lottery Commission members Thursday afternoon at a working retreat held at the Winthrop Rockefeller Institute within Petit Jean State Park. Joining him to pass along expertise in helping implement successful state lotteries was Margaret DeFrancisco, director of th
May 15, 2009, 8:24 am - Lottery News

N.Y. Lottery posts record salesNews Story
Lottery posts small gains in traditional lottery games; higher sales but lower profits in video gaming The New York Lottery is feeling lucky despite the woes of the economy. According to Director Gordon Mendecina, the New York Lottery sold $7.66 billion in lottery tickets in the last fiscal year. $2.54 billion of that went to education, and another four billion dollars was given away as prizes to lucky winners. NY Lottery divides its revenue into traditional lottery (jackpot games and s
Apr 14, 2009, 10:36 am - Lottery News

Book Review: The Lottery WarsNews Story
Review by Joshua Spivak, as published in San Francisco Chronicle, April 7, 2009 All you need is a dollar and a dream. This was the motto for New York Lottery's great ad campaign, and it truly captures the easy-money sales pitch that has turned the lottery into a nationwide success. And it's only growing. Dollars may be in short supply, thanks to the economic collapse, but the dream of instant riches endures. This is actually an old tale. In The Lottery Wars, Matthew Sweeney takes an incis
Apr 7, 2009, 6:39 pm - Lottery News

Mass. Lottery will sell ads on its ticketsNews Story
Massachusetts Lottery officials constantly tinker with their offerings and odds to try to attract players and haul in more money for the state. Now they will have a new way to bring in cash, by selling ads on game tickets and monitors. The Massachusetts State Lottery Commission approved a contract yesterday that will pay the Fenway Sports Group $10,000 a month plus a percentage of whatever advertising revenue the sports-marketing spin-off of the Red Sox is able to attract for the lottery.
Apr 4, 2009, 9:05 am - Lottery News

Florida Lottery chief comes under hostile fire in House committeeNews Story
The Florida Lottery's top executive got a dressing-down today from House Republicans for failing to bid out a lucrative contract produce its TV ads, despite a state law requiring the department to start doing so last summer. The Lottery hired its New York-based ad agency on a month-to-month arrangement on June 30 one day before language in the state budget took effect requiring the department to put the $3.5 million contract out for competitive bids. The monthly arrangement allowed the Lotter
Mar 31, 2009, 9:27 pm - Lottery News

Poll: 58% of N.C. residents tried lotteryNews Story
Survey finds N.C. play similar to national average; no increase in gambling addiction seen Even in Bible-Belt North Carolina, a majority of Tar Heel adults have played the state lottery, according to a study released Tuesday. Fifty-eight percent of North Carolina adults have played the lottery since it was created three years ago, said the first poll conducted for the N.C. Education Lottery Commission. North Carolina's rate of lottery play is similar to the national average, even though
Mar 25, 2009, 1:42 am - Lottery News

New York Lottery axes $1.4M in scholarships after taking in $7.5 billion in 2008News Story
The New York Lottery has quietly halted its college scholarship program for more than 1,150 high school seniors, blaming the governor's budget cuts. One student from every high school in the state has been eligible for a $5,000 Leaders of Tomorrow scholarship since 2000. The cut will save the agency, which took in about $7.5 billion in revenues last year, about $1.4 million. A Lottery spokeswoman said the cut was necessary to comply with Gov. Paterson's request that all agencies cut abo
Feb 27, 2009, 7:48 am - Lottery News