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The California lottery, public schools and the mystery of the 'missing' moneyNews Story
By Steve Lopez Where is the money from the lottery going? asked a reader named Jean. It never fails. Write about school funding shortages in California, and the emails start pouring in from people who insist the lottery was supposed to solve all our education money issues and wonder why it hasn't. The latest barrage came after my column last week about Measure EE, the L.A. Unified parcel tax that suffered a crushing defeat at the polls on June 4, despite a projected budget deficit in c
Jun 19, 2019, 8:00 am - Lottery News

New York Lottery first in U.S. to crack the $10 billion mark in salesNews Story
The New York Lottery had a pretty good year. The state's traditional lottery and video lottery gaming operations became the first in the nation to top the $10 billion mark in combined sales and net win, which is the earnings after winners are paid. The New York Lottery, the largest and most profitable in the country, recorded $8.2 billion in sales for the state fiscal year that ended March 31, 2019, the New York Gaming Commission announced in a news release this week. That includes sales f
May 15, 2019, 7:54 am - Lottery News

Nearly $10 million in Louisiana Lottery winnings go unclaimed every yearNews Story
An unclaimed $1 million lottery ticket sold at a gas station near North Rampart Street in August, 2018 just expired in February, but there are millions of dollars in unclaimed prizes still up for grabs. The odds of winning the Louisiana Lotto is 1-in-3.8 million, but you don't have to win the jackpot to get a hefty pay out. We've had four winners this year, and one of them is for $10,000 and no one has claimed it yet, Richard Tallo, owner of Carwash Depot in Ponchatoula, said. Tallo is
May 13, 2019, 7:51 am - Lottery News

North Carolina grandfather gives lottery winnings to granddaughterNews Story
A North Carolina woman will be 'lucky for life' and be able to pay for college, thanks to her grandfather. Peter Beckage won the N.C. Lottery game, Lucky for Life, after buying the ticket on April 14, lottery officials said. The 85-year-old recently moved in with his daughter to be close to family and often plays the game. He bought the ticket after a Palm Sunday pancakes breakfast with his 22-year-old granddaughter, Kelly Thomas. The next day, he stayed up late to check the drawing.
Apr 26, 2019, 1:42 pm - Lottery News

Florida man putting $14.5 million lottery win toward education in IndiaNews Story
A Tampa man is a millionaire after he struck the Florida Lottery's $14.5 million dollar jackpot, and he plans to use his windfall to help less fortunate children in his home country of India. Krishna Barri said he doesn't play the lottery that often but sometimes he will buy a handful of tickets. For the drawing on December 1, he played 10 tickets at the Zephyrhills Publix Liquor Store and hit the jackpot. 21-30-39-44-45-46. I won't forget those numbers anymore, said Barri. Barri s
Dec 11, 2018, 10:24 am - Lottery News

N.J. family that won $429 million lottery jackpot is 'praying' it forwardNews Story
When Pearlie Mae Smith and her seven adult children won a $429.6 million Powerball jackpot in 2016, they promised to give 10 percent of their winnings the largest jackpot ever won in New Jersey to their church and to help others. Almost immediately, the Trenton family donated a portion of their winnings to set up the Smith Family Foundation to dole out grants to charities that support their mission to give back to the community. They view their windfall as a way to uphold their strong faith a
Oct 1, 2018, 10:30 am - Lottery News

Michigan lottery prize worth nearly $520K goes unclaimedNews Story
Money goes to school fund The deadline has passed for a large lottery jackpot to be claimed and as a result, the state School Aid Fund will benefit from it. A winning Jackpot Slots Fast Cash ticket worth $519,456 expired on Friday, July 27, 2018, one year after it was purchased. That ticket was sold at the Marathon gas station, located at 17040 East Warren Avenue in Detroit. The winning ticket is the first major prize to go unclaimed this year, but nowhere near the record set in 1998. T
Jul 30, 2018, 10:59 am - Lottery News

Texas Lottery sets new $5.077 billion sales recordNews Story
Nets $1.313 billion for Texas public schools and $16.2 million for Texas veterans Players won more than $3.3 billion in prizes Even without the benefit of a record-setting jackpot like 2016's $1.6 billion Powerball prize, the Texas Lottery achieved $5.077 billion in sales for fiscal year 2017, breaking the sales record it set just last fiscal year and resulting in a total contribution of $1.334 billion to Texas schools and veterans. This is the seventh consecutive year that the Texas L
Sep 27, 2017, 10:11 pm - Lottery News

Missouri Lottery facing challenging issues with vendor contractNews Story
One of the Missouri Lottery's biggest contracts might not stand up in court if it was challenged by the company that runs its statewide network of ticket sales. That means the state doesn't collect as much money as the contract allows when the company is penalized for breakdowns. And, even when the Lottery does collect money for penalties, the proceeds are not directly funding public schools across the Show-Me state, according to a review by the Post-Dispatch. Rather, the cash is being rol
Sep 20, 2017, 10:48 am - Lottery News

Mississippi panel studying other state lotteriesNews Story
A special House panel has been looking at other states' experience with lotteries as it works on a study requested by House Speaker Philip Gunn, who opposes a lottery for Mississippi but says he wants the issue thoroughly vetted. Members of the House Lottery Study Working Group comprised of lawmakers, state gaming and other officials held their second of three meetings at the Capitol on Tuesday. The first meeting in May was described as lottery 101, on the history of, laws and facts about lot
Sep 6, 2017, 8:10 am - Lottery News