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Montana Lottery celebrates 25 years of jackpot dreamsNews Story
The Montana Lottery celebrated its 25th anniversary late last month with parties at retail locations around the state and knowledge that it was on a roll. We had a successful first 24 years, said Montana Lottery Director Angela Wong, who's been in the role 18 months. And we just completed a record fiscal year, with sales of more than $50 million for the first time and weekly sales exceeding $1 million for an unprecedented 19 weeks. Fiscal year 2012 ended June 30, and preliminary data ind
Jul 23, 2012, 8:39 am - Lottery News

The lottery fantasy: How much money do you need to say 'buzz off, world'?News Story
By Peter McKay We don't play the lottery very often. So I always get a little aggravated when I'm standing in line to buy Junior Mints and some clown in front of me has an inch-thick stack of lucky numbers he's going to play. But every once in a while, when the jackpot gets into ludicrously high levels, so high that it makes the 6 o'clock news, we break down and get a ticket. And even though we don't actually play the lottery very often, my wife and I spend an inordinate amount of time pla
Jun 24, 2012, 8:52 am - Lottery News

Cuban lottery system turns common words into numbersNews Story
If you dream about a big fish, and then see a man on a bicycle when you walk outside to get the paper, be sure to play the lottery numbers 1-0-5-2. That's La Charada, a system of associating everyday objects with numbers that has taken root in South Florida. It's a Cuban tradition, said 68-year-old Juan Campos as he bought a Play 4 ticket on Wednesday at Navarro Discount Pharmacy in Pembroke Pines. Pescada grande, he explained, is 10. Bicicleta is 52. The tradition goes back to the
Jun 2, 2012, 1:18 am - Lottery News

States up the online anteNews Story
The director of the New York State lottery said a few months ago he had cleared hurdles in his quest to sell lottery tickets over the Internet, but now that plan is stalling. When the U.S. Justice Department in December narrowed its interpretation of the 50-year-old Wire Act, saying it banned only sports betting and not other forms of online gambling, the decision sparked hope in state capitals that lotteries could start selling tickets online and lead a charge into online gambling. But th
Apr 30, 2012, 8:00 am - Lottery News

Lottery leaders convene in D.C. to discuss future of gamesNews Story
La Fleur's annual symposium draws hundreds of lottery personnel, vendors By Todd Northrop This week leaders from nearly every U.S. and Canadian lottery met in Washington, D.C. at the annual La Fleur's Lottery Symposium to discuss the future of government lotteries, especially with regard to Internet sales and play. Emboldened by a U.S. Department of Justice opinion issued in Dec. of last year clarifying that the Wire Act only has bearing on sports wagering, state lotteries have immediat
Apr 26, 2012, 3:40 pm - Lottery News

Lottery Post ranked among biggest lotto Web sites in MarchNews Story
Mega Millions $656 million jackpot causes traffic spike at lotto sites The record $656 million Mega Millions jackpot on March 30 caused a huge lift in traffic to lottery-related Web sites, according to the latest comScore Media Metrix report released today, with LotteryPost.com cited among the industry's biggest winners. comScore reported that the Lotto/Sweepstakes category attracted nearly 29 million visitors in March, a 25 percent increase, making it the top-gaining category for the mont
Apr 25, 2012, 10:30 am - Lottery News

Few major lottery jackpot winners get chance to be anonymousNews Story
Note to the Kansas and Maryland winners of last month's $656 million lottery jackpot: Count your anonymous blessings. The states, where ticket holders claimed their $218.6 million portions in anonymity, are two of only six states that allow lottery winners' names to remain secret. Officials in states other than Kansas, Maryland, Delaware, Michigan, North Dakota and Ohio make public the names of lottery winners, with rare exceptions. Most see the identities of winners as a matter of public
Apr 23, 2012, 5:10 pm - Lottery News

Winners of big lottery jackpots often crave anonymity amid challenges to do soNews Story
The tiny Illinois farm town of Red Bud is the kind of place with few strangers and few secrets. Yet the community of 3,700 has a lingering mystery on its hands: Who bought the winning Mega Millions lottery ticket, and why hasn't the winner of the world-record $656 million jackpot come forward? Though secrecy surrounds the ticket sold at the MotoMart convenience store, lottery officials note it's not unusual for winners to lay low and those who advise them say it's just plain smart. It's ex
Apr 11, 2012, 10:20 am - Lottery News

Almost-millionaire on a 15-year political pilgrimageNews Story
Still hasn't given up fight for $5.8 million It all started with a lottery ticket. For Clarence Jackson, life over the past 15 years has been a roller-coaster ride of highs and lows that began with a once-in-a-lifetime ticket that would have made him a multimillionaire. Jackson was the guy who held the winning ticket for $5.8 million and tried unsuccessfully to cash it after he missed the one-year deadline by three days. This year marks the 15th anniversary of a memorable debate in t
Mar 19, 2012, 7:47 am - Lottery News

11/11/11 was the lottery's lucky dayNews Story
By Todd Northrop Thanks to Friday's lucky date, Nov. 11, 2011, or 11/11/11, lottery ticket sales are booming. All those ones in a row are very attractive for lottery players, since that set of numbers won't roll around again for another 100 years. But many players found that tickets were sold out on combinations with all 1's when they went to purchase a ticket. To ensure every winner gets paid, lotteries with fixed payouts cap sales of certain number combinations. In New York, for examp
Nov 12, 2011, 10:00 pm - Lottery News