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Maryland lottery players winning big with Pick 4News Story
Gamblers in Maryland are getting lucky, and that's bad news for the state lottery. The Maryland Lottery is losing more money than it expected to on its Pick 4 game, said Stephen Martino, director of the Maryland Lottery and Gaming Control Agency. The lottery's revenue is down through the first month of this fiscal year largely because of winnings it's paying out to Pick 4 players. Pick 4 sales are up and players are winning more often than usual. Our Pick 4 is killing us, Martino said at
Aug 17, 2014, 8:00 am - Lottery News

Iowa Lottery chief addresses online ticket salesNews Story
Nothing seems farther away from the world of the smartphone, computer tablet and the future than the line at the grocery or convenience store to buy a lottery ticket. However, Terry Rich, president and chief executive officer of the Iowa Lottery, on Monday said the Iowa Lottery is not a stodgy outfit, and he said it is educating itself for a coming time when Iowa Lottery players likely will be able to purchase tickets for lotto games like Powerball and Mega Millions via phone, tablet or compu
Aug 12, 2014, 12:30 pm - Lottery News

Missouri Gov. orders review of Lottery operationsNews Story
Missouri Gov. Jay Nixon has asked the state Office of Administration to carry out a comprehensive review of the Missouri Lottery's operations. The lottery posted more than $1.14 billion in sales last year, according to unaudited figures, but its $267.3 million profit (which goes to education funding) was $31 million short of its goal and was below 2006 totals when adjusted for inflation. The governor cited declining lottery and casino revenue in his decision to withhold $35 million of educ
Jul 24, 2014, 10:13 am - Lottery News

How lottery legend Joan Ginther used odds, Uncle Sam to win millionsNews Story
By Peter Mucha, Philly.com Second of three parts See Part 1 Joan Ginther wasn't necessarily lottery loco. Maybe it wasn't a case of dumb luck, but smart luck. She may have purchased at least 80,000 pricey tickets worth $2 million or more, according to expert analysis of 28 instant prizes she won, including three totalling $15 million. If she also was the source of two dozen lesser wins by her friend Anna Morales, Ginther might have spurred the purchase of as many as 100,000 ticket
Jul 2, 2014, 10:07 am - Lottery News

Minnesota Gov. vetoes bill to limit online lottery salesNews Story
Minnesota Governor Mark Dayton vetoed a bill Friday that would have done away with online instant-play lottery games and barred sales of tickets via gas pumps or ATMs. His decision ends suspense over a bill that passed with big bipartisan majorities on the final day of the legislative session. The Democratic governor confessed to being torn over the strong message sent by lawmakers and his fear that the legislation was partly motivated by other gambling interests looking to protect their turf
Jun 1, 2014, 8:49 am - Lottery News

Texas Woman Scammed by 'Friend' in 'Facebook Lottery'News Story
Includes video report A woman in Texas says she was the victim of a well-worn scam, but what was unique in her case was that the fraudulent pitch came to her through a Facebook friend and was allegedly endorsed by President Obama. Kris White admits that she shouldn't have been fooled last week by the Facebook message saying she had won $250,000 in a Facebook Powerball lottery, ABC News affiliate KTRK reported. She said she was shown documents that wrote United States with lowercase letters
May 23, 2014, 2:05 pm - Lottery News

Minnesota lottery officials try to salvage online salesNews Story
Minnesota State Lottery officials are scrambling to craft a last-ditch deal that would stop legislators from slamming shut the lottery's foray into online ticket sales. Lottery officials have been meeting daily with legislators to broker a compromise that would allow them to continue selling tickets online while prohibiting any new initiatives. I am hoping we can we reach some kind of common ground, state lottery director Ed Van Petten said. I think there is a chance that people will fina
May 9, 2014, 4:48 pm - Lottery News

Ohio Lottery considering offering a $50 instant ticketNews Story
A $50 instant lottery ticket may be in the future, say Ohio Lottery officials buoyed by the success of the agency's first $30 instant ticket. The next step in the lottery world is the $50 ticket, lottery director Dennis Berg told lottery commission members at a recent meeting. We have talked about it here and there are conflicting opinions. Logically it is the next price point, but we do not know when it will happen. Texas appears to be the only state with a $50 ticket, made available by
Apr 26, 2014, 9:36 am - Lottery News

NJ casino alleges famous poker player cheated in $9.6M winNews Story
An Atlantic City casino is suing a big-time gambler, claiming he won $9.6 million in a card-cheating scheme in baccarat. The Borgata Hotel Casino Spa filed a federal lawsuit Tuesday against Phillip Ivey Jr., considered one of the best poker players in the world. The suit alleges Ivey and an associate exploited a defect in cards made by a Kansas City manufacturer that enabled them to sort and arrange so-called good cards in baccarat. The technique gave him an unfair advantage on four occasi
Apr 11, 2014, 7:29 pm - Lottery News

Massachusetts Lottery names new executive directorNews Story
Shaking hands with someone who has just won a million dollars is not a bad way to make a living. Lynn native Beth Bresnahan, 38, is the second woman and youngest person to head the Massachusetts State Lottery, which has 400 employees and 7,400 agents statewide. It generated $4.85 billion in sales last fiscal year, with $956 million returned to cities and towns in unrestricted local aid. Bresnahan, who previously served as the lottery's assistant executive director and marketing and communi
Mar 20, 2014, 4:30 pm - Lottery News