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S.C. Lottery suspends sales due to computer glitchNews Story
South Carolina Lottery officials suspended sales of the Pick 3 and Pick 4 games Thursday after there was a problem upgrading software.It was not clear when sales or cashing in of winning tickets would resume, South Carolina Education Lottery spokeswoman Tara Robertson said. It's an accounting issue on both parts, in cashing in and on what the retailer owes the lottery on their invoice, she said. If you were to come in and cash a ticket and it was for $1, it may say that it's for $2 or vice ver
Nov 18, 2005, 9:45 am - Lottery News

Powerball lottery madness spreads to big mediaNews Story
Exclusive Lottery Post StoryNow that the multi-state Powerball jackpot is sitting at its highest level ever, everyone is taking notice, creating a barrage of big-media news stories.Unfortunately for the public, the big media is making some mistakes.Although the mistakes at first may seem innocuous, they add up to create player confusion. When a lottery game's jackpot reaches the upper-limits, people who don't normally buy tickets get interested. And those are the people who will be most affect
Oct 18, 2005, 8:40 am - Lottery News

Powerball lottery states report brisk sales for huge jackpotNews Story
Hopeful lottery players are plunking down their money for Powerball lottery tickets at an astounding pace, in advance of tonight's estimated $300 million jackpot drawing.USA Mega will display the drawing results minutes after the drawing, which occurs at 11:00 PM Eastern Time (8:00 PM Pacific Time).Also on www.usamega.com, players will be able to see the Power Play number drawn, and within an hour or two the website will announce whether or not there was a jackpot winner. At that time, the Wedn
Oct 15, 2005, 4:55 pm - Lottery News

USA Mega debuts Powerball lottery annuity calculatorNews Story
An Internet web site offering information about the United States' largest multi-state lottery games, Mega Millions and Powerball, today introduced a new feature for Powerball players.USA Mega (www.usamega.com) created a new annuity calculation feature in response to the new Powerball rules regarding jackpot annuity payouts.Prior to the August 31, 2005 Powerball drawing, jackpot winners who chose the annuity option would receive 30 equal-sized payouts, distributed over a 29-year period.Starting
Oct 9, 2005, 11:49 am - Lottery News

$250M lotto mystery is talk of RutherfordNews Story
The Mega Millions winner watch in Rutherford, New Jersey, entered day two yesterday with much anticipation but without anyone stepping forward to claim the $250 million jackpot.Yogi Patel, owner of the Leprechaun News II store where the winning ticket was sold at about noon on Friday, bundled newspapers in twine and spoke of the newfound fame for his business. People are happy when they find out somebody won from my store, Patel said. Business is increasing. People are now thinking this store
Sep 19, 2005, 11:05 am - Lottery News

Powerball lottery changes go into effect SundayNews Story
Changes to Powerball, the country's largest lotto game, take effect Sunday (August 28), with two new numbers added to the mix.Lottery players will be able to buy the new Powerball tickets beginning Sunday morning, and the first drawing held from among 55 white balls and 42 red balls will be Wednesday night (August 31).The 29 lotteries that operate Powerball announced the changes April 6 to meet players' demands for larger and faster-growing jackpots.The minimum jackpot will increase to $15 milli
Aug 26, 2005, 9:17 pm - Lottery News

Financial analyst looks at lottery jackpot cash/annuity optionsNews Story
Q: I've just won a $50 million lottery. Should I take all cash or an annuity?A: It depends on a lot of things, one of which is the interest rate the lottery uses in calculating the annuity value vs. the immediate payout. Another is the uncertainty associated with future income taxes.The conventional wisdom is to take the money as a lump sum. That's because the lottery takes the cash prize (today's dollars) and uses that money to buy investments that will fund the annual payments. That may mean t
Aug 23, 2005, 6:06 pm - Lottery News

Texas Lottery considering guaranteed jackpotsNews Story
Texas Lottery officials are considering guaranteed jackpots to help avoid inflated estimates like the one in June that prompted a consumer complaint to the state attorney general and cost the agency director his job.New jackpot prize guidelines proposed Monday include a guarantee the winner collect either the advertised amount or the amount calculated by sales, whichever is greater. The guarantees would apply to jackpots paid with the 25-year annuity, not to winners who choose the immediate cash
Aug 16, 2005, 6:53 am - Lottery News

$93.4 million Powerball lottery winner is New Mexico's thirdNews Story
New Mexico has its third multi-million dollar Powerball jackpot winner.One winning ticket was sold in New Mexico for Wednesday night's drawing, according to the New Mexico Lottery Authority. It was the only winning ticket nationwide, and would be the Lottery's second-largest prize.The winning numbers drawn were 31, 13, 49, 38, 36, and the red Powerball was 02.The prize carries a pre-tax estimated annuitized jackpot of $93.4 million, and a pre-tax cash value of approximately $52.2 million. The Ne
Aug 11, 2005, 11:14 am - Lottery News

N.M. Lottery posts second-best yearNews Story
New Mexico legislators were told today that strong sales of in-state games helped drive the New Mexico Lottery to its second-best year of sales.Lottery Authority CEO Tom Shaheen said that sales of all games exceeded $139 million, while net revenues (profits) earmarked for the Lottery Success Scholarship program were $32.2 million, topping $30 million for the third straight year.All financial data for fiscal year 2005 are preliminary and unaudited.Shaheen, appearing before the Legislature's inter
Jul 28, 2005, 4:36 pm - Lottery News