Search

Former tribal lobbyist named as new California Lottery directorNews Story
California Gov. Gavin Newsom appointed Alva Vernon Johnson to take over the the state's lottery Monday, after former director Hugo Lopez stepped down Friday amid investigations. Johnson, a former tribal lobbyist, takes over a department that has been been under scrutiny from the Department of Justice and the State Controller's Office since August, when anonymous employees sent a letter to former Gov. Jerry Brown alleging misconduct among senior executives at sales conferences. Johnson lobb
Jun 11, 2019, 8:40 am - Lottery News

California Lottery director resigns amid investigationsNews Story
California State Lottery Director Hugo Lopez is stepping down immediately, he announced in an email to lottery staff on Friday. Lopez has led the department since 2015. It's been under scrutiny from the Department of Justice and the State Controller's Office since August, when anonymous employees sent a letter to former Gov. Jerry Brown's office alleging misconduct among senior executives at sales conferences. Lopez in his message said he was proud of the department's performance, particul
Jun 10, 2019, 8:18 am - Lottery News

Mississippi hires experienced executive for its new lotteryNews Story
The Mississippi Lottery Corporation announced Wednesday that it is hiring an experienced executive as its first president. Thomas N. Shaheen, 66, begins June 1 and will oversee operations as Mississippi prepares to join most other states in offering scratch-off tickets and other game of chance. In an interview on Tuesday in Jackson, Shaheen said Mississippi could start selling lottery tickets by the end of this year. We'll work at a pace to get it started off as quickly as possible bec
May 8, 2019, 10:26 am - Lottery News

California Lottery official dismissed amid investigationsNews Story
A senior California Lottery executive has been dismissed from his position six months after anonymous state employees sent a letter to the Governor's Office complaining about rowdy behavior among a group of the lottery's top brass. Deputy Director of Sales James David Cole's dismissal comes amid ongoing investigations into hiring practices and alleged misconduct by senior lottery executives during a 2016 sales conference. Cole was notified Feb. 1 that his employment would be officially ter
Mar 26, 2019, 9:23 am - Lottery News

Tennessee Lottery CEO elected President of the World Lottery AssociationNews Story
Rebecca P. Hargrove, President and CEO of the Tennessee Education Lottery Corporation, has been unanimously elected and is the first female President of the World Lottery Association (WLA). Rebecca's leadership and vision have created an exceptional lottery organization in Tennessee that has provided billions of dollars in support of education initiatives in the state, said Susan Lanigan, Chair of the Tennessee Lottery Board of Directors, and those traits, along with her more than 30 years o
Nov 27, 2018, 6:54 pm - Lottery News

New CT lottery chief draws flak over his response to auditors' report on Jan. 1 drawing disasterNews Story
The Connecticut Lottery Corp.'s new president and CEO, Gregory Smith, was hired this past July amid hopes of a fresh start for the agency that was hit by a million-dollar mistake in a Jan. 1 drawing, after enduring two years of turmoil following a fraud scandal that shut down the 5 Card Cash game in 2015. But Smith has quickly been drawn into a controversy stemming from those very same problems after writing a letter to two key state legislators in which he defended the lottery agency for act
Nov 26, 2018, 7:45 pm - Lottery News

Vermont Lottery boss quits, raising issue of public records on personal accountsNews Story
Daniel Rachek, the head of Vermont's lottery, has resigned less than a year after taking the job. His temporary replacement, Gary Kessler, who was appointed to run the lottery in mid-September, says that Rachek's departure means the department is unable to retrieve public records that may be on his personal accounts or devices. Rachek started the job on Nov. 13, 2017. A job posting for his replacement went up on Nov. 6 this year. He found a job that paid better that suited his skill se
Nov 14, 2018, 9:29 am - Lottery News

Mississippi governor appoints lottery corporationNews Story
Amid the lottery fever sweeping the United States, Mississippi took a step closer to starting a state lottery. The Governor unveiled the first members of the Mississippi lottery board. Governor Phil Bryant says with revenue leaving the state by millions, the new lottery board is the first of many to keep Mississippians playing the lottery at home. We were losing $70 million dollars a year with Louisiana, Arkansas and Tennessee and Mississippians going across the border and buying lotte
Oct 22, 2018, 8:30 am - Lottery News

After bawdy photos, California Lottery workers demand resignationsNews Story
Five veteran Lottery employees on Thursday demanded that senior department executives resign amid investigations into hiring practices and alleged misconduct on a work-related trip two years ago. They addressed the state Lottery Commission one month after an anonymous writer sent a letter to officials in Gov. Jerry Brown's administration that included pictures of senior Lottery leaders carrying on at a Southern California bar. It also included anecdotes describing disparaging treatment of emp
Sep 21, 2018, 12:21 pm - Lottery News

West Virginia Lottery has a new directorNews Story
One day after lawmakers asked tough questions about leadership at the West Virginia Lottery, Gov. Jim Justice has named John Myers as director of the agency. He replaces Alan Larrick, who resigned Sept. 1, right as sports betting was making its debut at West Virginia casinos. Doug Buffington, deputy secretary for the West Virginia Secretary of Revenue, served as the interim director. Myers has been serving as Secretary of Administration for the Justice Administration, but he has a long wor
Sep 20, 2018, 10:29 am - Lottery News