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Impartial choice promised for Texas Lottery chiefNews Story
The chairman of the Texas Lottery Commission said Wednesday that politics will play no part in whether a powerful ex-lawmaker is hired to run the beleaguered state agency.Former state Rep. Talmadge Heflin, a Houston Republican who lost his bid for a 12th term by a scant 16 votes last year, was an 11th-hour entry into the hunt to replace former director Reagan Greer after Lottery Commission Chairman C. Thomas Clowe encouraged him to apply last month. At least eight other applicants had made it to
Dec 9, 2005, 1:30 pm - Lottery News

Iowa Lottery approves self-ban for playersNews Story
The Iowa Lottery Board voted Tuesday to allow lottery players to self-ban themselves from winning game prizes in order to stem problem gambling.After pondering the self-ban move for a few months, and following announcement of record Iowa Lottery sales of $210 million last year, the board felt the time was right for a self-ban, Iowa Lottery CEO Ed Stanek said. We want to maximize our proceeds for the state with everyone playing in moderation, Stanek said. We don't want our success to be at the
Dec 7, 2005, 6:57 am - Lottery News

Lottery number strategies subject of newspaper investigationNews Story
The odds are long. The drawings are random. And the house keeps a much greater share of wagers than other forms of gambling.In sum: The lottery cannot be beaten. There is no system that can improve your chances of winning the lottery, period, says Mike Orkin, a California mathematician who has written extensively about gambling odds.Yet the quest for an ever-elusive winning lottery strategy is alive and well and for sale.On a quiet, dead-end street in Denville stands the headquarters of Doubl
Dec 6, 2005, 1:26 am - Lottery News

Delware Lottery renews contract with Scientific GamesNews Story
Scientific Games will continue to provide cooperative services to the Delaware Lottery for at least another three years under terms of an agreement announced today.Instant ticket services to be provided include warehousing, marketing, distribution and installation of game management software. The contract is valued at $7.1 million over the three years, and includes three one-year extension options.Over the current contract, Delaware Lottery sales have risen more than 46 percent under Scientific
Dec 5, 2005, 10:33 am - Lottery News

Lottery shipments confusing to Oklahoma retailerNews Story
For a guy prohibited from participating in the Oklahoma lottery, Nels Bentson sure has a bunch of tickets that say otherwise.The shipments keep coming, along with calls from lottery representatives asking how his sales are going.Confused? So is Bentson.Bentson owns 11 Cashland payday loan stores throughout Oklahoma.He spent $1,045 last summer on application fees to become a lottery retailer and says he invested an extra $3,400 to send employees to the mandatory training sessions.On Oct. 11, the
Nov 28, 2005, 6:54 am - Lottery News

Texas Lottery to change Lotto game back to 6/54 formatNews Story
Texas lottery commissioners moved one step closer Friday to returning the Lotto Texas game to its original format by signing off on a plan to bounce the so-called bonus ball from the format that decides how the multimillion-dollar jackpots are won.Meanwhile, the two sitting commissioners who oversee lottery operations deferred a decision on who will be hired to run the agency, which generates $1 billion a year for the state. But both offered high praise for former state Rep. Talmadge Heflin, a H
Nov 19, 2005, 9:20 am - Lottery News

Texas lawmakers hear allegations about lottery disaster siteNews Story
The Texas Lottery Commission would not be able to resume critical functions in a timely manner if its headquarters were destroyed because its disaster recovery site lacks important equipment, a former lottery employee told lawmakers Monday.Shelton Charles, a senior lottery systems analyst who was fired Nov. 4, told the House Licensing and Administrative Procedures Committee that he warned his bosses that backing up data was useless if the agency didn't have the equipment to access it. He said hi
Nov 15, 2005, 5:00 pm - Lottery News

Texas Lottery under the microscope in hearingsNews Story
Texas Lottery officials were summoned Tuesday to testify before a legislative committee for the second time in five months, this time over allegations of mismanagement brought by a lottery systems analyst who was fired the same day the Houston Chronicle reported his concerns.Shelton Charles, who oversaw much of the lottery's technical operations before his firing Friday, planned to testify Monday at a hearing of the House Licensing and Regulation Committee, which oversees the lottery.The committ
Nov 9, 2005, 7:12 am - Lottery News

Oklahoma lottery Pick 3 begins ThursdayNews Story
The Oklahoma Lottery Commission on Tuesday gave formal approval to start an online lottery game on Thursday.The game, Pick 3, involves three winning numbers that will be drawn nightly. The drawing will be televised on WB station Channel 19 in Tulsa. With Pick 3, there will be days when we will pay out more than we sell and some days when we have more sales than prizes, Jim Scroggins, executive director of the Oklahoma Lottery Commission, said.Players who match the three numbers could win up t
Nov 9, 2005, 6:43 am - Lottery News

Texas Lottery worker is fired after e-mailNews Story
The Texas lottery fired a senior systems analyst on Friday, hours after a newspaper reported that he had sent a scathing e-mail to two state lawmakers claiming that the agency misled the Legislature about an emergency control center that he says doesn't work.Shelton Charles told The Associated Press that he was fired Friday afternoon for insubordination after he refused to answer lottery officials' questions about the emergency operations center unless they put them in writing.Lottery spokesman
Nov 8, 2005, 8:00 am - Lottery News