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Former Texas Lottery employee indicted in scamNews Story
Woman accused of taking money from those hoping to be ticket sellersA former employee of the Texas Lottery Commission has been indicted for allegedly defrauding retailers who applied to become Texas Lottery vendors.The indictment charges Taneil Gage with one count of theft by a public servant of more than $500 but less than $1,500. The offense is a state jail felony punishable by up to two years behind bars.The alleged scam in June and July 2003 preyed on retailers who didn't meet minimum credit
Jul 20, 2005, 11:33 am - Lottery News

'El Gordo' Lottery Scams Target ElderlyNews Story
Pennsylvania Secretary of Aging Nora Dowd Eisenhower today warned older Pennsylvanians to beware of an international lottery scam that adopts the name of Spain's largest lottery prize, El Gordo. The actual El Gordo drawing was conducted on Dec. 22 and awarded more than $2.4 billion in prizes to Spanish citizens who had purchased tickets. El Gordo is a bona-fide holiday season lottery for Spanish citizens, but the e-mails and letters being received by consumers in the United States telling them
Jan 4, 2005, 1:21 pm - Lottery News

El Gordo lottery drawing awards $2.42 billion in prizesNews Story
Winning El Gordo lottery ticket sold in a town called 'Luck'A town called Luck lived up to its name on Wednesday, turning up the winning ticket in Spain's Christmas lottery, featuring one of the world's biggest prizes known as El Gordo (The Fat One).The ticket, which scooped a prize of 390 million (US$521.9 million), was sold at a lottery office called The Golden Witch (La Bruixa D'Or) in the town of Sort, which in the Catalan language means luck .Beas de Segura, a village of 8,000 inhabit
Dec 23, 2004, 9:04 am - Lottery News

Lottery Scheme Now Targeting TennesseeNews Story
Letters purporting to be from the El Gordo Sweepstakes Lottery Company, S.L. in Madrid, Sprain have appeared in some Tennessee mailboxes, informing consumers that they have won hundreds of thousands of dollars.Consumers are told in the letter that Due to the mix up of some numbers and names, we ask that you keep this award from public notice and are instructed to contact a claims agent at an overseas telephone number. As with many schemes of this nature, consumers are asked to provide their
Dec 8, 2004, 1:00 pm - Lottery News

El Paso man claims $145 million Texas Lotto prizeNews Story
A publicity-shy El Paso man today turned in the winning ticket for last month's $145 million Texas Lotto jackpot on behalf of a partnership.The Texas Lottery Commission said that Alfredo Ornelas Barragan accepted an after-tax cash payment of $61.9 million on behalf of VOM Enterprises Ltd. and IBO Management Co.Ornelas arrived with his attorney, Ernesto Pineda, around 10 a.m. and spent most of the day verifying the ticket. Neither man would speak with reporters. He's very quiet but eager to have
Jul 7, 2004, 5:53 pm - Lottery News

Texas lottery posts record June salesNews Story
The Texas lottery hit an all-time sales record in June.Figures released Thursday show sales for last month were nearly $392 million.That includes sales for scratch off games, Lotto Texas, Cash Five, Texas Two Step, Pick Three and Mega Millions.The previous monthly sales record in Texas was $344 million in November of 1996.June included the highest jackpot ever for Lotto Texas.One ticket -- sold in El Paso -- matched all six numbers in the June 19 drawing for a jackpot worth $145 million.
Jul 2, 2004, 8:15 am - Lottery News

Texas looking for its first Mega Million winnerNews Story
Sometimes, the big dog's got to eat last.Texas is the largest state in the 11-member Mega Millions multistate lottery game, and it's the only one that hasn't had a jackpot winner. State lottery officials hope that dubious distinction ends with Friday night's drawing. On Thursday, the jackpot was bumped up to a stratospheric $290 million. If other states can have jackpot winners, we can too, said lottery director Reagan Greer.To be fair, Texas has been part of Mega Millions for just six months.
Jul 2, 2004, 8:13 am - Lottery News

July El Gordo Sales End in One DayNews Story
A last-minute flurry of excitement is expected at El Gordo Online, where sales end Tuesday night (June 29) at midnight for the world's biggest lottery draw to be held July 3.The El Gordo lottery, which is run by the government of Spain, is world-renowned for two massive drawings that take place in July and around Christmas every year. Although the July drawing will dispense $171 million (USD) to almost 400,000 winners, the Christmas draw is by far the biggest, with over $2 billion in payouts to
Jun 28, 2004, 2:07 pm - Lottery News

$145 million winner contacts lottery officialsNews Story
Lotto Texas: Lucky store sees ticket sales riseThe winner of Saturday's $145 million Lotto Texas jackpot who bought the ticket in El Paso contacted the Texas Lottery Commission on Monday. They have passed initial inquiry, meaning they read the unique number off the front of the ticket determining that is the winning ticket, said Bobby Heith, director of media relations for the commission, in a telephone interview from Austin. Hopefully, they are seeking legal and/or financial advice and will c
Jun 22, 2004, 7:41 am - Lottery News

Single ticket wins $145M Texas lotteryNews Story
There was one winning ticket sold in Saturday night's record-setting $145 million Lotto Texas drawing, lottery officials said.The lucky ticket was purchased at a Chevron station in downtown El Paso. The winning numbers were 9-26-28-29-40 with a bonus ball of 16.Earlier Saturday, people lined up at grocery stores and gas stations across the state to buy tickers in hopes of winning the state lottery's largest jackpot ever.Texans seemed undeterred by their slim chances. The odds against winning Lot
Jun 21, 2004, 7:17 am - Lottery News