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Florida Lawmaker: Large unclaimed lotto prizes should go to educationNews Story
Instead of using an unclaimed $50 million Lotto jackpot to try to get more people to gamble, the state should have been able to spend the money on schools, a state lawmaker said Friday.Rep. Charlie Justice said he plans to file a bill that would allow large unclaimed prizes -- like the $50 million that a ticket holder failed to claim this week before a 180-day deadline passed -- to be used for education.Right now, all unclaimed money returns to the Lottery, which has to use it for promotions. Th
Sep 12, 2003, 9:58 pm - Lottery News

Minn. Lottery cuts staff, advertising, promotions despite record salesNews Story
The Minnesota Lottery will lay off 34 employees, nearly one-fifth of its workforce of 191, next month to meet state-imposed budget cuts. But the state-run gambling operation still projects a near-record year for sales because of changes in its popular multimillion-dollar Powerball game.Most of the job cuts will come from the lottery's marketing staff, including 16 positions in field offices in Eagan, Brainerd, Detroit Lakes, Marshall, Owatonna and Virginia, assistant director Geno Fragnito said
Sep 12, 2003, 9:46 pm - Lottery News

Bredesen defends state lottery CEO's annual pay packageNews Story
Tennessee Gov. Phil Bredesen said Thursday that Rebecca Paul's potential $752,000 annual salary package involves a much more businesslike arrangement than a similar amount paid to former University of Tennessee President John Shumaker. I don't think that's legitimate at all, said the governor when asked at a brief news conference if it was fair to compare the two pay packages. I think there's much more accountability in this process, Bredesen said. For example, Rebecca Paul has a job now th
Sep 12, 2003, 3:32 am - Lottery News

Treasurer eyes tax-evading Lottery winnersNews Story
Massachusetts State Treasurer Tim Cahill plans to tighten Lottery regulations following an audit report issued Wednesday that shows winners often employ suspicious ticket cashing methods to avoid paying millions of dollars in taxes.''As a result, millions of dollars in taxes were evaded, lost and not reported that could have been used for much-needed state and municipal programs,'' state Auditor Joseph DeNucci said in his report.DeNucci conducted the ''transition audit'' at the request of Cahill
Sep 11, 2003, 4:27 am - Lottery News

Tenn. may pay Paul 6 times what Calif., Texas, Fla. pay lottery chiefsNews Story
Package: $350,000 salary and up to $402,500 in bonusesTennessee's new lottery director will make at least three times the salary and perhaps as much as six times more than the directors of many of the nation's largest state lotteries, a Tennessean survey of lotteries shows.Georgia lottery director Rebecca Paul, who was tapped during the weekend to head Tennessee's new lottery, will receive a base salary of $350,000. This compares with $134,000 in New York, $123,255 in California and $110,000 in
Sep 10, 2003, 4:07 am - Lottery News

State misses the jackpot with Mega MillionsNews Story
Mega Millions, Washington's foray into the world of multistate lottery gambling, has been a mega-disappointment. The state, one of 10 partners in the country's largest jackpot game, had about $51 million in sales during its first year of participation, which ended last week. That's less than half the $117 million originally projected.Proceeds for education and school construction, originally predicted to be $32 million, turned out to be $13 million.Lottery officials attribute the disappointing p
Sep 9, 2003, 4:01 am - Lottery News

Texas Lottery sales climb by more than 5 percentNews Story
Texas Lottery sales grew by the largest margin in six years, jumping 5 percent in the 2003 fiscal year, the Texas Lottery Commission said Monday. Sales were $3.13 billion for the fiscal year ending Aug. 31, compared to $2.96 billion in the previous year, said Reagan Greer, executive director of the commission. This represents the largest increase since 1997.Of the $955.2 million that was transferred to the state, $888.1 million went to the Foundation School Fund, Greer said.Another $67 million
Sep 9, 2003, 3:56 am - Lottery News

New lottery chief gets jackpot, too, if she hits the numbersNews Story
Industry-heralded lottery czar Rebecca Paul could be paid just over $750,000 if:Next year's Tennessee Lottery sells its first scratch-off tickets by Feb.17.Sells its first online tickets 60 days later.And clears $122 million for education by July 1.Those ambitious goals are built into a base- and incentive-pay package worked out with Paul over the weekend by the Tennessee Lottery Board to lure her away from a $500,000-a-year post as chief executive officer of the Georgia Lottery to the same posi
Sep 9, 2003, 3:44 am - Lottery News

N.J. Lottery revenue tops $2 billion for second straight yearNews Story
New Jersey Lottery sales topped the $2 billion mark for the second consecutive year even though sales of tickets for both the Pick 6 Lotto and Lotzee games dropped significantly. The lottery, which is New Jersey's fourth-largest revenue producer, brought in $764 million to state coffers in the fiscal year that ended in June. That was an increase of $10 million over the previous year. The biggest sales gains last year were registered for the state's instant games, which increased by 16.5 percent
Sep 4, 2003, 3:32 am - Lottery News

USC, MUSC, Clemson awarded $6 million in matching lotto research fundsNews Story
South Carolina's three research universities will work together on a project to produce human tissue and organs with the help of $6 million in state lottery funds. The University of South Carolina, Clemson University and the Medical University of South Carolina were told by a state committee Monday they could begin raising private dollars to match the state funds.The project is part of the state's endowed chair program. It was created by the Legislature last year by using $30 million in lottery
Aug 26, 2003, 5:06 am - Lottery News