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Cops bust 2 men who stole 3,000 lottery ticketsNews Story
Two men who allegedly made off with 3,000 lottery tickets from a Chinatown, California, liquor store are in custody, along with a woman accused of trying to cash some of the tickets, thanks to a school principal who recognized two of the suspects as the parents of one of his students, police reported. The woman, who is not suspected of taking part in the Feb. 20 robbery, allegedly visited a liquor store in Highland Park the next day in an unsuccessful attempt to try to cash some of the stolen
Mar 15, 2007, 10:33 am - Lottery News

Calif. Lottery hops on raffle bandwagonNews Story
With Million Dollar Raffle, California becomes the latest state lottery to introduce a raffle-style game. The new game, which goes on sale February 5th, gives players the best odds of winning a million dollars of any game ever offered by the California Lottery. Million Dollar Raffle is played like a typical raffle type draw game that many people have already experienced. The game will have a maximum of 5 million unique (7 digit) raffle numbers available for sale to players for $5 per n
Jan 19, 2007, 8:52 am - Lottery News

Calif. couple claims $41 million SuperLotto jackpotNews Story
A Laguna Hills, California, couple have claimed a $41 million Super Lotto Plus jackpot and plan to buy homes for family members and take a belated honeymoon, lottery officials said Tuesday. Jimmy Balloue, 36, bought the winning Quick Pick ticket at Dimension Liquor in Lake Forest for Saturday's drawing. Officials said he was a longtime lottery player. Balloue opted for the cash value and will receive a single payment of about $20 million. The liquor store owner will receive $205,000 for se
Jan 11, 2007, 3:54 pm - Lottery News

Calif. Lottery misprint leaves 'winners' with nothingNews Story
Many people thought they struck it rich playing one of the California Lottery's Scratcher games. But they didn't, and lottery officials blame a misprint, an error, to explain why some folks got a free game ticket instead of thousands of dollars in cash. The Luna family thought Christmas had come early. My understanding is I won it fair and square. Lucy Luna was playing the $3 Scratcher Word Crossword. The ticket says scratch letters to reveal 10 words win $20,000. Lucy scratch
Dec 12, 2006, 7:35 am - Lottery News

Opinion: Calif. Lottery should not rubber-stamp GTECH dealNews Story
As part of a major deal with 24 states, including California, an Italian company has purchased the United States firm that runs lotto and other online games for those states. The merger, where Lottomatica acquired GTECH, was finalized in August and expected to be completed by year's end. The agreement surprised and stunned state lawmakers. Not even the attorney general's office, which is supposed to defend the state lotto, was aware of it. The deal was orchestrated by the state lottery's act
Dec 11, 2006, 11:25 am - Lottery News

Backlash in Calif. over sale of lottery operator GTECHNews Story
As the new 2007-08 Legislature convened Monday, the backlash over an Italian firm's quiet takeover of California's lotto contractor grew when a second legislative committee said it would investigate. Assemblyman Alberto Torrico, a Newark Democrat who chairs the government organization committee in the lower house, said his panel is probing the matter and may convene hearings. I'm taking a look at the situation. I've read the press report. I've been briefed by my staff, said Torrico, whos
Dec 6, 2006, 9:57 am - Lottery News

Man who stole winning lottery ticket gets 5 yearsNews Story
A judge on Friday sentenced Sam Grair to five years and four months in prison for stealing a lottery ticket worth $524,000 at the store where he worked. Grair, 43, pleaded guilty in September to grand theft and presenting a fraudulent claim to a government agency. Prosecutor Howard Wise said the message is this: It is a deterrent to any store clerk that is in a position of trust so they won't do the same thing. Wise said Grair, of Camarillo, had no prior criminal history. In cour
Nov 18, 2006, 10:45 am - Lottery News

Verifying California Lottery WinnersNews Story
When there is a big jackpot winner in the California Lottery officials won't say exactly how much the winnings must be security officers ask a series of questions to make sure the person holding the ticket is the actual purchaser of the ticket. Lottery officials won't tell me the exact questions, but they are along the lines of: When did you buy the ticket? Where did you buy the ticket? If the answers seem odd or out of place the security officer can decline to pay at that time and launc
Nov 3, 2006, 7:06 am - Lottery News

$45 million Calif. SuperLotto winner claims jackpotNews Story
The holder of a $45 million California SuperLotto Plus ticket, which was purchased at a Calabasas Shell station, came forward Monday, lottery officials said. Lee Jarrett claimed the jackpot, saying he just realized that he was holding the winning ticket from last Wednesday's drawing. I checked the Lottery's Web site around 3 a.m. and then I just stared at the ticket for 20 to 30 minutes, making sure I had the right draw date and that all the numbers really matched and that I wasn't imagin
Oct 24, 2006, 10:27 am - Lottery News

Elderly S.F. man loses $10,000 in lottery scamNews Story
Police are asking for the public's help in their investigation of a lottery scam after a 75-year-old San Francisco man was swindled out of $10,000. According to San Francisco police, the victim received a letter in the mail last week from Global Investment Securities World Trust Services telling him he had won $82,459.61 in the Canadian lottery. The letter included a false notarized letter listing the man's name, address and the amount he had supposedly won and a bogus receipt purporting t
Sep 18, 2006, 11:18 pm - Lottery News