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Florida Lottery chief resigning amid controversyNews Story
Florida Lottery Secretary Cynthia O'Connell is stepping down with the announcement coming days after reports surfaced that she spent more than $30,000 on travel last year. On Friday, Governor Rick Scott tapped Florida Lottery sales veteran Tom Delacenserie to take over as interim secretary of the agency. Politico reported earlier this week that taxpayers last year spent more than $30,000 on travel for O'Connell, whose annual salary is $141,000, on trips to places including Las Vegas, Boston a
Sep 2, 2015, 7:25 am - Lottery News

Florida man says lottery refuses to pay winning ticketNews Story
Includes video report A Brevard County, Florida, man said he had a winning lottery ticket only to have the state deny him his winnings. Robert Klosterman said he is owed $1,000 for a scratch-off ticket he bought in June at a Shell gas station on Fay Boulevard in Cocoa. Klosterman, 68, said he thought June 2 was a lucky day for him, but that it turned out otherwise. I don't want to call them idiots, but they are. They are bureaucrats, Klosterman said. Klosterman said when he tried
Aug 18, 2015, 9:58 am - Lottery News

Florida couple duped by lottery scammersNews Story
The Collier County Sheriff's Office is warning residents about a popular lottery scam. An elderly Golden Gate, Florida, couple told deputies they were swindled out of a large amount of cash Thursday by two people who promised to share lottery winnings with them. A 76-year-old man and his 92-year-old wife said they were at the Grand Buffet restaurant on US-41 in East Naples when two men approached them. The men claimed to have won $500,000 in the lottery. The men said they couldn't cash
Aug 16, 2015, 11:29 am - Lottery News

Police official tried to cash in stolen lottery ticketNews Story
The chairman of a Connecticut police commission has resigned after being charged in Florida with trying to cash in a winning $520,000 lottery ticket that was reported stolen by his niece. Michael Royston, 49, was freed on bond after his arrest last Thursday at Florida Lottery headquarters in Tallahassee, and on Friday night, he sent a terse resignation email to Windsor Locks Town Clerk William Hamel, saying only: Effective immediately I am resigning my position as police commissioner. On
Aug 10, 2015, 7:38 pm - Lottery News

Scratch-off tickets push Florida Lottery to record salesNews Story
Floridians with dreams of instant payoffs are generating record scratch for the Florida Lottery. Lottery revenues for the fiscal year ending June 30 are up $180 million over last year, reaching a record $5.58 billion, with two-thirds of that money via scratch-offs. The state sold $3.7 billion in scratch-off tickets this year, compared with $3.4 billion in 2013-14. That more than offset a drop of about $120 million in Powerball, Florida Lotto and other games. Scratch-offs accounted for 6
Jul 3, 2015, 7:46 am - Lottery News

Florida man out $92,000 after losing winning lottery ticketsNews Story
Everybody's got a story about the one that got away, but Walid Aboroomi's tale of loss and deprivation can bring tears to anyone who favors simple games of chance and the specter of quick riches. Aboroomi has owned the BP service station and convenience store on Cross Creek Boulevard for six months, and on the night of May 28, he felt lucky. He noticed the time: 7:15 p.m.; a glimpse of a license plate in the parking lot, 715. And most importantly, his birthday: July 15. Everything was 715
Jun 20, 2015, 11:25 am - Lottery News

Florida Supreme Court orders new trial in $1M lottery disputeNews Story
Howard Browning is a guy who does not give up. In 2008, he sued his live-in sweetheart, a Seminole County schoolteacher, after she refused to give him half of the $1 million lottery jackpot she won. They had a deal, he insisted, although it was unwritten: If he won the lottery, he'd give her half and if she won, she'd give him half. A judge in Sanford threw out his case in 2012 after a jury had begun to hear evidence, and an appeals court later agreed. But on Thursday, the Florida Supre
May 29, 2015, 11:18 am - Lottery News

Florida man wins $10 million in lottery scratch-off gameNews Story
A Hallandale Beach, Florida, man spent $25 on a Florida Lottery scratch-off card and etched his way into a life-changing, $10 million prize. Bryan Goldstein, 36, bought his Florida Cash ticket Friday at Stop 'N Go at 800 Atlantic Shores Blvd. in the city. He claimed his prize as a lump sum $7,355,576 after taxes were deducted Monday in Tallahassee, Lottery spokeswoman Meagan Dougherty said. The odds of winning $10 million on a $25 ticket in this game are 1 in 8.1 million, according to t
May 20, 2015, 8:07 am - Lottery News

Alabama woman claims $80 million Powerball jackpotNews Story
An Alabama woman has claimed her prize from the winning Powerball ticket sold in North Escambia, Florida, on April 11. Alice Dawson, 60, of Frisco City, AL, chose to receive the $80 million annuity jackpot as a one-time, lump-sum payment of $53,440,213.76. This is a blessing in our lives and proves that anything is possible with faith in God, said Dawson. We plan on using our winnings to help our friends, family and our church. The winning $80 million Powerball Quick Pick ticket was t
Apr 23, 2015, 8:16 am - Lottery News

JUDGE: Florida sex offender allowed to spend $3M lottery winningsNews Story
A convicted sex offender can spend his $3 million Florida lottery winnings any way he wants, over the protestations of two of his alleged victims, a judge ruled Friday. Timothy Poole won the Florida Super Millions scratch-off lottery in December, taking home a lump sum of $2.2 million. (See Florida Lottery winner outed as sexual predator, Lottery Post, Dec. 10, 2014.) Two brothers are suing Poole for psychological damages after they say he abused them when they were 5 and 9 years old in 19
Feb 15, 2015, 10:37 am - Lottery News