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N.C. Lottery Appears Dead as Senate AdjournsNews Story
They've finally adjourned, but there's no guarantee that the North Carolina Senate can go home.The General Assembly worked until sunrise to just about finish this year's legislative session. Senate leader Marc Basnight gave up on passing a lottery before going home and he said that, barring unusual circumstances, the lottery is dead for the year. It may come up again when lawmakers reconvene in May.Legislators managed to approve new lobbying rules, and the Senate agreed to a compromise on new re
Aug 24, 2005, 11:09 am - 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

Store clerk accused of stealing $1M lottery ticketNews Story
A Circle K clerk in Nogales, Arizona is accused of stealing a lottery ticket and then collecting the $1 million winnings.The Attorney General's Office says the ticket was one of several that a man had brought in to the clerk's store to check to see if he had won anything.Authorities allege that clerk Delia Kerr returned the other tickets to the man, but kept the jackpot-winning The Pick ticket.The man didn't know he had won the jackpot, but complained to the store manager that one of his ticke
Aug 18, 2005, 5:03 pm - Lottery News

Drug dealer must forfeit lottery jackpotNews Story
Texas man wins $5.5 million in a lottery, but must give it back after drug dealing conviction.A Mexican citizen must forfeit about $2.75 million in Texas lottery winnings because of his drug-trafficking conviction, a federal appeals court said on Wednesday.Jose Luis Betancourt, 52, was arrested after making a cocaine delivery shortly after accepting $5.5 million for having the winning ticket in the December 11, 2002, lottery drawing, according to court documents.A jury convicted Betancourt, who
Aug 18, 2005, 4:06 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

Indiana Lottery banking on fairness, cutsNews Story
The Hoosier Lottery has run into some rough times lately whether it is sagging profits or employees leaking the location of a winning ticket.But the new head of the quasi-governmental agency is focused on running things more efficiently with an emphasis on integrity. It is our absolute focus, said Esther Schneider a 40-year-old native of Las Vegas. We have a moral obligation to make sure our games are fair. When she arrived, Schneider said there was a lot of loosey-goosey activity, inclu
Aug 9, 2005, 9:27 am - Lottery News

Maryland Lottery to replace classic Lotto gameNews Story
A million bucks doesn't buy dreams like it used to.The first Maryland lottery game to offer $1 million prizes seems likely to become extinct, a victim of players who opt to gamble instead on mega-jackpots.Introduced in November 1983 to help bail out financially strapped localities such as Prince George's County and Baltimore, Maryland Lotto once the lottery's flagship game is showing its age, according to state officials.In the past fiscal year, Maryland Lotto sales dropped 5 percent while e
Aug 4, 2005, 7:42 pm - Lottery News

Euro Millions lottery winner makes press wait for prize claimNews Story
The wealthiest winner in European lottery history failed to come forward to collect her 115.6 million (US$136 million) prize yesterday, to the disappointment of waiting press.Dolores McNamara, a housewife and mother of six children from Limerick, was expected to arrive at the Dublin offices of the lottery organization to collect a check for the equivalent of 77 million.Mrs McNamara, 50, won the jackpot in last Friday's Euro Millions draw, but has not been seen since celebrating with champagne
Aug 3, 2005, 9:21 am - Lottery News

N.D. lottery revenues exceed expectationsNews Story
North Dakota's three lottery games have raised $7.2 million for the state treasury since Powerball sold its first ticket in March 2004, the state's lottery director said.North Dakotans bought $24.9 million worth of tickets in 15 months.Although lottery demand was greater than state officials expected, sustaining the pace will be much more challenging, said Chuck Keller, director of the North Dakota Lottery. I realize that our honeymoon period is over, and that sales for the lottery are going t
Aug 2, 2005, 8:06 am - Lottery News

Towns insulted by Kansas Lottery radio adNews Story
Residents in two Kansas communities are angry over a radio spot for the Kansas Lottery that suggests their towns are boring.The Kansas Lottery is partnering with several Kansas radio stations to promote its Great Escape Hybrid Doubler tickets. The promotion gives listeners a chance to call in or register online for chances to win the tickets, trips or prizes such as concert tickets or spa treatments.But WIBW is changing its ad promoting the game after it angered tourism officials in Garden City
Aug 1, 2005, 10:30 am - Lottery News