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Texas Lottery Whistleblower FiredNews Story
The scandal embroiling the Texas Lottery Commission over inflated jackpot estimates intensified Wednesday when top agency officials acknowledged firing a colleague who only days earlier warned ticket sales would fall short of advertised amounts.Mike Fernandez, the commission's administrator, called horrendous the timing of the dismissal of Lee Deviney, the agency's chief financial officer.But he denied there was any connection between Deviney's firing and an e-mail Deviney sent his superiors l
Jun 30, 2005, 11:54 am - Lottery News

Texas lawmakers to grill lottery officials about inflated jackpotsNews Story
Texas lottery officials could face tough questions and some nasty wrist-slapping today when they testify before lawmakers about inflating several Texas Lotto jackpot estimates.But they would face more scrutiny under a bill filed Tuesday that forces the lottery to comply with laws against deceptive trade practices.Sen. Jane Nelson said recent revelations that lottery officials advertised bigger jackpots than they could afford to pay out jeopardize the integrity of the game and the government that
Jun 29, 2005, 5:36 pm - Lottery News

Texas Lottery chief admits jackpots were inflatedNews Story
[Editor: After reading the story, be sure to watch the video report that follows, which provides interesting interviews of the key individuals in this report.]If you've been playing Texas Lotto lately, you may have been playing for less than you thought.Texas Lottery officials admitted Friday they inflated their jackpot numbers on four separate occasions. I will be studying it very closely and clearly to be sure this doesn't happen again, Texas Lottery Commission Executive Director Reagan Greer
Jun 27, 2005, 12:26 pm - Lottery News

Texas Lottery jackpot mess has critics enragedNews Story
Editor's Note: The following opinion article is not necessarily the opinion of Lottery Post, but is presented to illustrate how the latest Texas Lottery gaffe has fueled the fires of long-time critics of the Texas Lottery Commission (TLC). The article is written by Ken Rodriguez of the San Antonio Express-News.Ken Rodriguez: How Texas lottery advertised make-believe payoff for suckersThe sleight-of-hand Texas Lottery Commission has done it again. On Wednesday, the commission turned the Texas Lo
Jun 14, 2005, 11:30 am - Lottery News

Texas Lottery has history of jackpot overestimationNews Story
The Texas Lotto jackpot has fallen short of the amount advertised on three occasions since November because of lower-than-anticipated ticket sales, a lottery spokesman said Monday.Sales are running almost 26 percent behind last year's pace, said spokesman Bobby Heith, blaming the problem on increased competition for the Texas gambler's money.Overall lottery sales, including tickets for scratch-off games, are up almost 11 percent over fiscal 2004, he added.A longtime lottery critic filed a false-
Jun 14, 2005, 10:54 am - Lottery News

Texas Lottery considers changing jackpot calculationNews Story
Amid complaints of false advertising, Texas Lottery Commission officials will consider changing the way jackpots are paid.C. Thomas Clowe, the commission chairman, said the three-member panel will discuss this month whether to guarantee the advertised jackpot or continue basing the grand prize on a percentage of ticket sales.Clowe said Thursday that he is concerned that miscalculating the lotto jackpot could undermine confidence in the game. We want the public to have confidence in the lottery,
Jun 10, 2005, 12:30 pm - Lottery News

Texas Lottery Officials Halt Jackpot IncreaseNews Story
Texas Lottery officials won't boost the estimated top prize for Saturday's Lotto Texas drawing in the wake of accusations of inflated advertised jackpots.Lottery Post reported yesterday that the Texas Lottery has been accused of falsely inflating jackpots to drive ticket sales, leading to charges of false advertising.The Texas Lottery Commission says the estimated jackpot will remain at $8 million.A critic earlier sent a letter to Attorney General Greg Abbott accusing the commission of false adv
Jun 10, 2005, 12:53 am - Lottery News

Technical problems delay sales and drawing of Powerball lottery gameNews Story
Mutliple technology problems yesterday caused problems with both the sales and drawing of the Powerball multi-state lottery game.Getting a Powerball ticket in Nebraska was almost impossible for a short time Wednesday.At about 5:30 p.m., a satellite malfunction shut down all Powerball ticket buying across the Cornhusker state. The problem lasted about 30 minutes.Then, it took up to an hour or more for retailers to log back on.The problems continued for Powerball players later in the night in Iowa
May 26, 2005, 3:27 pm - Lottery News

Lottery officials forsee $500 million Mega Millions jackpotsNews Story
California, the Golden State, will bring a lot of green to the Mega Millions Lottery jackpots when the state joins the multistate game next month. That's green as in greenbacks.Mega Millions Lottery officials expect jackpots, under the right circumstances, to reach a staggering half of a billion dollars, said Michigan Lottery Commissioner Gary Peters. With California in, the computer model says there is a high probability of a $500 million Mega Millions jackpot, Peters said. The largest Mega Mi
May 8, 2005, 7:54 am - Lottery News

Tonight's Tenn. Lotto 5 Jackpot: $1 MillionNews Story
The Tennessee Lotto 5 jackpot climbed to an estimated $1 million after Wednesday night s drawing. Excitement is building about the first in-state million-dollar jackpot, said Rebecca Paul, CEO and President of the Tennessee Lottery. When jackpots reach record levels, we raise even more dollars for education. In addition to the $1 million jackpot estimated for Friday night s Lotto 5 drawing, the Powerball jackpot continues to swell. Since there was no grand-prize winner in that game after last n
May 6, 2005, 11:15 am - Lottery News