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Lotteries hit record profits last yearNews Story
Lottery sales are strong, but there are points of weakness By Todd Northrop Government-sponsored lotteries are continuing their broad expansion as income-producing entities, as many lotteries reported record profits in the last fiscal year. Reports of record profits from the lotteries come despite continuing high unemployment and an economy that has been flat or downward-trending for the past two years. Iowa Lottery CEO Terry Rich says he believes the lottery does well in a bad econo
Jul 25, 2011, 1:19 pm - Lottery News

Ark. lottery winner busted for drug traffickingNews Story
Includes video report A past $100,000 winner of Arkansas' lottery was indicted today for allegedly being the kingpin of a major crystal methamphetamine operation. A federal grand jury returned an 18-count indictment against Daniel Dano Henry Jr. of Austin and 19 others, capping a five-year investigation that was dubbed Operation Big Winner last fall after Henry claimed a $100,000 lottery prize on Sept. 24. The organization that prosecutors allege Henry led dealt 5 to 10 pounds of crysta
Jun 15, 2011, 8:50 am - Lottery News

Multi-state lottery game comes to ArkansasNews Story
After a false start, Decades of Dollars finally lands in fourth state By Todd Northrop In January, a new multi-state lottery game called Decades for Dollars was introduced, and was intended to be offered in the state of Arkansas, but legislative obstacles stopped the plan dead in its tracks at the time. Now those issues have been cleared, and Decades of Dollars has landed in the state three months after the game's first drawing. Starting Tuesday, May 3, tickets for Decades of Dollars
May 2, 2011, 8:10 pm - Lottery News

Arkansas Lottery partners with grocery chain on vending machinesNews Story
An Ohio-based grocery store chain has signed a contract with the Arkansas Scholarship Lottery to sell lottery tickets through vending machines. Lottery Director Ernie Passailaigue signed the agreement April 11 after the House Rules Committee declined to recommend passage of a Senate-approved bill that would bar the lottery from using the machines. The Arkansas lottery began selling tickets through the machines on Feb. 3 at a Love's Travel Stop in North Little Rock, and the machines have si
Apr 25, 2011, 8:03 am - Lottery News

Arkansas Lottery conducts first state raffleNews Story
By Todd Northrop Lesson learned: if you want to sell-out raffle lottery tickets, set (and hold to) an end date. In what started as one of the longest raffle ticket sales periods in recent memory, and ended in a flurry of last-minute sales, the Arkansas Lottery officially concluded its first-ever raffle today. At the end of the day, there are two freshly-minted millionaires, and over a thousand winners of $1,000 and $100 prizes. The two winning $1 million numbers were 199692 and 40926
Apr 7, 2011, 2:32 pm - Lottery News

Last day to play Arkansas Lottery's raffleNews Story
Update: Lottery averaging 1,000 tickets sold per hour since Tuesday By Todd Northrop Arkansas lottery players have been patiently waiting for the day to arrive: Wednesday is the last day to purchase tickets for Arkansas Million Dollar Raffle, and Thursday ticketholders will find out if they have won $1 million. The Raffle will pay off big in addition to the two winners of $1,000,000, there will be 540 $1,000 winners, and 600 $100 winners. Until the end of the day Wednesday, there wil
Apr 6, 2011, 7:42 am - Lottery News

Arkansas Lottery anticipates drop in revenue next yearNews Story
Delays participation in Decades of Dollars game The Arkansas Lottery Commission approved a new budget Wednesday that takes into account expected reductions in revenue. Under the budget for the fiscal year that begins July 1, operating revenue would be $459 million, compared to $464 million for the current fiscal year, with $100 million in net proceeds, down from $105 million. Lottery Director Ernie Passailaigue said the budget for the upcoming year is based on actual revenue. The com
Mar 11, 2011, 10:44 am - Lottery News

Bill dissolves Arkansas lottery panelNews Story
Move designed to give legislature more direct oversight The legislative committee that oversees the Arkansas Lottery would be dissolved under a bill filed Monday. Senate Bill 365 by Sen. Larry Teague, D-Nashville, would repeal language in the state lottery law that created a 12-member legislative oversight committee on the lottery. Teague's bill would require the Arkansas Lottery Commission to submit contracts, rules, reports and other information to the Legislative Council for review.
Feb 22, 2011, 10:27 am - Lottery News

Ark. Lottery panel votes for changes to unclaimed prize moneyNews Story
The legislative Lottery Oversight Committee voted today to recommend a fix for a 2010 law change that Arkansas lottery officials say hampers their ability to maximize ticket sales. During last year's fiscal session, the Legislature changed the state lottery law to add unclaimed prize money to net profits. Lottery Director Ernie Passailaigue said after the session that the change meant the lottery could not use some of the unclaimed money on efforts to boost prizes and sales in response to
Feb 16, 2011, 10:50 pm - Lottery News

Arkansas Lottery director's benefits in conflict with law?News Story
Arkansas law expressly prohibits the use of a multiplier in determining the state lottery director's salary for retirement purposes, Attorney General Dustin McDaniel said in an opinion Monday. Lottery Director Ernie Passailaigue's base salary is $141,603 a year, but the Lottery Commission has been paying him $324,000 a year thanks to an optional multiplier included in the state's lottery law. His retirement benefits have been based on the $324,000 figure, not his base salary. Sen. Bobby Gl
Feb 8, 2011, 8:54 am - Lottery News