Search

State auditor general to audit Pennsylvania Lottery, with special focus on high-frequency winnersNews Story
State Auditor General Eugene DePasquale announced a new performance audit of the Pennsylvania Lottery Wednesday, with a special emphasis on studying the state-run gaming franchise's protections against being ripped off by players or retailers who are intentionally gaming the system. Last fiscal year, Pennsylvania Lottery players bought $4.5 billion in game tickets and claimed more than $2.9 billion in prizes, DePasquale said in announcing the new review at the state Capitol. Seniors, lottery
Dec 4, 2019, 3:32 pm - Lottery News

Judge rules Massachusetts Lottery can suspend high-frequency winnersNews Story
The Massachusetts Lottery last week won a court fight over their efforts to fight suspected fraud. The judge's decision lets the Lottery suspend a family of players who have cashed thousands of winning tickets. The Lottery says Ali Jaafar and his two sons are what they call high-frequency winners people believed to be cashing tickets actually bought by others. The Lottery has long suspected that high-frequency winners are part of money laundering schemes. (See Some lottery winning strea
Nov 6, 2019, 5:54 pm - Lottery News

Massachusetts man wins $1M lottery for second time in 18 monthsNews Story
A Massachusetts man won his second $1 million lottery payout last week less than two years after drawing a lucky ticket for the first time. For the second time in 18 months, Rolf Rhodes of Mendon has won a $1 million prize on a Massachusetts State Lottery instant ticket. Rhodes won his most recent prize in the $4,000,000 Instant Jackpot instant game. He chose the annuity option on his prize and received the first of 20 annual payments of $50,000 (before taxes). He purchased his winning
Nov 4, 2019, 8:29 am - Lottery News

81-year-old Mass. man sentenced to prison for part in multimillion-dollar lottery ticket scamNews Story
An 81-year-old man from Lynn, Massachusetts, was sentenced Monday to two months in prison for his part in a multimillion-dollar lottery scam, according to federal prosecutors. Clarance Jones, 81, pleaded guilty in May to conspiring to commit tax fraud and filing false tax returns. The Massachusetts U.S. Attorney's office said Jones was a part of a ten-percenting scheme in which he bought millions of dollars of winning Massachusetts state lottery tickets at a discount to help winners avoid
Sep 25, 2019, 7:53 am - Lottery News

Massachusetts retailers resist Lottery's push for online salesNews Story
The Massachusetts Lottery's technological systems are on par with an old, wall-mounted rotary phone outdated and inconvenient, but it still works while customers increasingly expect to be linked to the world through a smartphone at all times, the agency's executive director told lawmakers last week. Holding up a large, black rotary phone, Executive Director Michael Sweeney made his latest pitch to lawmakers to allow the Mass. Lottery to offer its current products scratch tickets, draw games,
Jul 8, 2019, 8:57 am - Lottery News

One lottery ticket sold in California wins $530 million Mega Millions jackpotNews Story
Somebody in California just added half a billion dollars to their bank account. A single ticket, sold in San Diego, claimed Friday night's $530 million Mega Millions jackpot. That comes with a cash option payout of $345.2 million, according to contest officials. The winning numbers were 17, 19, 27, 40, and 68, with Mega Ball number 2. The Megaplier was 3. The winning ticket was sold at Sorrento Deli Mart, located a short walk from the famous Torrey Pines Golf Course. Even if you didn
Jun 8, 2019, 8:19 am - Lottery News

$530 MILLION: Mega Millions lottery jackpot increases on rolloverNews Story
By Todd Northrop Lottery players across the United States will be lining up at lottery retailers for their chance to win Friday's massive $530 million Mega Millions jackpot, after nobody won Tuesday's $475 million grand prize. The cash value stands at a staggering $343.9 million. Friday's $530 million Mega Millions jackpot is the 7th-largest in the game's history, and the 15th-largest United States lottery jackpot of all time (see full list below). It's also the biggest since a $1.537 b
Jun 5, 2019, 6:58 am - Lottery News

$475 MILLION: Mega Millions lottery jackpot swellsNews Story
16th-largest jackpot in US lottery history By Todd Northrop After 23 drawings without a jackpot winner, the multi-state Mega Millions lottery game now boasts a swelling jackpot of nearly a half-billion dollars that could instantly put someone among the wealthiest people on the planet. When nobody won Friday night's grand prize, the Mega Millions jackpot grew to an estimated $475 million the biggest since a $1.537 billion Mega Millions jackpot from the October 23, 2018 drawing crowned a
Jun 1, 2019, 11:07 am - Lottery News

Massachusetts legislators looking into fairness of lottery fund distributionNews Story
Massachusetts residents have been playing the lottery for nearly 50 years, enjoying both the risk and the benefits their towns and cities see. But some legislators are worried certain communities are getting more out of the game than others. Every year, about 20% of the revenue the state lottery rakes in is distributed to the 351 towns and cities, according to the Massachusetts State Lottery's website. In 2018, the lottery returned $997 million to the state, which was the second-highest total
May 29, 2019, 8:00 am - Lottery News

Massachusetts man pleads guilty in lottery tax fraud schemeNews Story
A Massachusetts man pleaded guilty Tuesday in U.S. District Court in a scheme to buy millions of dollars' worth of winning Massachusetts State Lottery tickets at a discount to help the ticket holders avoid taxes, according to the U.S. attorney's office. Clarance Jones, 80, of Lynn, Massachusetts, was arrested last fall and charged with tax fraud and filing false tax returns. Law enforcement authorities alleged he used a 10-percenting ploy to become the nation's top lottery winner. Under th
May 22, 2019, 6:25 pm - Lottery News