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$309 MILLION: Mega Millions jackpot rolls into top 25News Story
By Todd Northrop The multi-state Mega Millions lottery game continued growing its jackpot toward frenzy levels last night. After nobody won Friday night's grand prize, the Mega Millions jackpot grew to an estimated $309 million the largest since the near-record-setting $648 million jackpot on Dec. 17, 2013, and the 23rd-largest United States lottery jackpot of all time (see full list below). The lump-sum cash value rose to a massive $169.5 million the 20th-largest U.S. lottery cash valu
Mar 8, 2014, 8:04 am - Lottery News

Oregon Lottery winner won't retireNews Story
You've just won the Oregon Lottery Win for Life game, so how do you celebrate? By dining at Marco Polo Global Restaurant, of course. That's what Shamus Harmon did last week after claiming his Win for Life prize at Oregon Lottery headquarters. I am one of the most boring lotto winners, I'm sure, he said. Or one of the smartest. Harmon, a 34-year-old safety trainer who lives in Salem, said his first plan for the windfall is to pay off his mortgage within five years. He will rece
Feb 25, 2014, 7:00 pm - Lottery News

How lottery tickets are helping states' budgetsNews Story
The scores of losing players in this week's $425 million Powerball jackpot did more than take an extremely long shot at getting rich. Their ticket purchases also helped fund a small but increasingly important part of their states' budgets. Changes in the nationwide Powerball and Mega Millions games have led to some of the world's largest jackpots in the last two years, boosting player interest and sales. Fueled by the growth of those games and the steady expansion of other offerings, many sta
Feb 24, 2014, 7:08 am - Lottery News

$400 MILLION: Powerball lottery jackpot skyrocketsNews Story
6th-largest US jackpot ever; 8th-largest cash value By Todd Northrop For only the 6th time in the history of United States lotteries, a lottery jackpot has grown to $400 million or more. The new high-water mark of $400 million for the current Powerball jackpot was achieved after no winning tickets were sold for Saturday night's $330.8 million grand prize. The lump-sum cash payout value of Wednesday's Powerball jackpot is $227.8 million. After-tax cash and annuity prize amounts are re
Feb 16, 2014, 8:42 am - Lottery News

$330 MILLION: Powerball jackpot quickly ramping upNews Story
Saturday jackpot enters top 25 By Todd Northrop Powerball is on a roll. For the 5th time in the past year, a Powerball jackpot run-up has crossed the threshold to the top 25 jackpots of all time. The new high-water mark of $330 million for the current Powerball jackpot was achieved after no winning tickets were sold for Wednesday night's $286.1 million grand prize. The lump-sum cash payout value of Saturday's Powerball jackpot is $189 million. After-tax cash and annuity prize amounts
Feb 13, 2014, 1:03 pm - Lottery News

Wyoming Lottery targets June for first ticket salesNews Story
But could be as late as October The leader of the Wyoming Lottery Corporation says he is confident lottery tickets will go on sale in the state in June. Jon Clontz, chief executive officer of the lottery corporation, told members of the Cheyenne Greater Chamber of Commerce on Friday that the timeline for selling tickets starts as early as June, but could be as late as October. While Clontz predicted a June launch, he said the timeline depends on how much time is spent on contract negoti
Jan 15, 2014, 7:50 am - Lottery News

Man thought he scratched a $1,000 prize, really won $100,000News Story
David Lane thought he'd won $1,000 with an Oregon Lottery Cash Flurries Scratch-it ticket. He filled out his claim form and mailed the ticket off to Lottery headquarters in Salem. Then the call came from a Lottery employee: Lane had incorrectly filled out the form. When I got David on the phone, I told him he had put the wrong dollar amount on his claim form, said Brandon Grover, a Lottery Security Specialist. That disappointed Lane, who said he had a friend look over the ticket to
Jan 8, 2014, 8:42 pm - Lottery News

Wyoming Lottery might launch ticket sales by AprilNews Story
More than 2 decades in the making Risk-takers from Wyoming crossed the Colorado border with hopes of becoming rich in mid-December. The jackpot for the Mega Millions lottery game was nearing $400 million. Residents from Cheyenne, Casper, Rawlins and Rock Springs, among other cities and town, funneled into the Borderline Cantina to buy tickets. We had a busy morning, store manager Karen Martin said recently. The Borderline Cantina and one other convenience store sit a few miles so
Dec 24, 2013, 8:54 am - Lottery News

MEGA MILLIONS JACKPOT SOARS TO $636 MILLIONNews Story
Mega Millions buying frenzy sends jackpot to brink of world record Includes video report Updated at 1:03 pm with Maryland sales stats By Todd Northrop Certainly the state lotteries expected the multi-state Mega Millions October rules changes to increase jackpots, but it's fair to say the first jackpot run under the new rules exceeded their wildest expectations. When Mega Millions changed its number matrix and prize structure in October, Texas Lottery executive director Gar
Dec 17, 2013, 12:08 pm - Lottery News

$586 MILLION: Mega Millions jackpot climbs toward a new recordNews Story
By Todd Northrop As tickets for the multi-state Mega Millions jackpot pump out of lottery machines across the United States, the question on lottery players minds is just how high will the jackpot go before the drawing on Tuesday night. One lottery official says that Mega Millions ticket sales easily could push Tuesday's jackpot above last year's record $656 million prize. No ticket matched the six numbers needed to win Friday's $425 million prize. It was raised Saturday to $550 million
Dec 16, 2013, 5:10 pm - Lottery News