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Georgia lottery chief keeps education in the forefrontNews Story
Margaret DeFrancisco's mind, like that of many corporate chieftains, is always in marketing mode. Focus groups, retail outlets, promotional buzz and creating new products occupy her thoughts.But DeFrancisco shoulders a responsibility that transcends that of the typical CEO. How she performs as president and CEO of the Georgia Lottery Corp. impacts how many college-bound teens will be able to afford higher learning and how many kids have access to pre-kindergarten.Parents, students and lawmaker
Dec 20, 2004, 8:37 am - Lottery News

Georgia Lottery sales take a dip during quarterNews Story
The Georgia Lottery, which posted record-breaking sales last year, ended the first quarter of the new budget year with a sales decline of $5 million compared with the same quarter a year ago.Despite the slower ticket sales, lottery officials said there will be no impact on any of the educational programs underwritten by the games, such as the popular HOPE scholarship program, which pays college costs for students with above-average grades and technical school costs for others.In fact, the state
Oct 18, 2004, 8:05 am - Lottery News

Georgia Lottery executives get $560,000 in bonusesNews Story
Executives of the Georgia Lottery Corp. received more than $559,000 in bonuses after registering another record sales year, even though the Legislature voted to cut benefits under lottery-funded HOPE scholarships.The $559,623 in bonuses was approved by the lottery board July 22, board chairman Barbara Dooley said.It was less than the $587,000 given out in 2003 because the senior staff shrank by two and a half-year bonus for the new chief executive was slightly less than half the $210,000 full-ye
Aug 13, 2004, 8:45 am - Lottery News

Georgia sheriff has triple lottery winsNews Story
Fayette County Sheriff Randall Johnson is lucky on the draw but not in the sense of an Old West lawman.Johnson picked five of the six numbers in the June 29 Mega Millions lottery drawing and won $175,000.The next day, he returned to the same convenience store and bought two of the Georgia Lottery's Cash 4 tickets. This time, he won a total of $5,400.Johnson didn't have much to say about his good fortune. It feels good, he was quoted as saying in The Atlanta Journal-Constitution on Friday.He to
Jul 16, 2004, 8:01 am - Lottery News

Georgia lottery sales upNews Story
Lottery sales increase $100 million from previous yearRevenue from the Georgia Lottery increased more than $100 million in the year ending June 30 - the ninth sales record since the games began in 1993.Officials said the lottery, which funds the HOPE scholarships and other educational programs, had sales of $2.71 billion last fiscal year, up 4 percent from the $2.6 billion the previous year.The proceeds yielded $782 million for HOPE and pre-kindergarten programs, a $31 million increase from the
Jul 15, 2004, 8:57 am - Lottery News

Georgia Lottery to Drop Change GameNews Story
Apparently, Georgians don't have as much change to spare as lottery officials had hoped.The Change Game - a Georgia Lottery contest that lets people wager their spare coins on several daily drawings - will be discontinued at the end of this month, officials said Tuesday. The Georgia Lottery Corporation is constantly evaluating our products, our games, said spokesman J.B. Landroche. It was determined that the Change Game was not a good fit for the Georgia Lottery's line of products. Landroche s
Jun 23, 2004, 7:05 am - Lottery News

Georgia Lottery HOPE bill adds $4.5 million for schoolsNews Story
While legislators devised a way to say millions of dollars in the HOPE scholarship program, they added a cost of $4.5 million that will benefit students who attend private schools part-time.The annual $1,500 scholarships will go for the first time to about 3,000 students taking six to 11 credit hours each semester, according to state estimates.Some legislators who voted for the HOPE funding package, which was approved by the Legislature but has not yet been signed by Gov. Sonny Perdue, say they
May 12, 2004, 6:43 am - Lottery News

Burglar wins lottery, but keeps day jobNews Story
Carlos Sola decided to keep his job after he won a Georgia Lottery jackpot $1,000 a week for life.His occupation? Burglar.In April 2002, Sola was awaiting trial for stealing $40,000 in coins and jewelry from an Austell home when he hit it big in the Win For Life scratch-off game.Cobb County Superior Court Judge S. Lark Ingram took note of his good fortune and allowed a plea deal that included three years in prison, provided the first $40,000 of his winnings went to repay his victims.So when Sola
May 8, 2004, 1:59 pm - Lottery News

Georgia oversight committee looks into generous lottery perksNews Story
A legislative oversight committee began looking Thursday at the generous employment policies of the Georgia Lottery Corp., whose former director and three top aides collected almost $300,000 for vacation and sick days they were due but never used when they left the state to help start Tennessee's lottery.Rebecca Paul and three of her vice presidents took advantage of a policy which allows corporation employees to get paid for up to three years' worth of unused vacation time - 18 weeks - and for
May 7, 2004, 7:17 am - Lottery News

Georgia lottery sales continue setting recordsNews Story
Georgia lottery sales continued to set records during the first quarter of this year, easing worries that the lottery-funded HOPE scholarship may run dry.Lottery figures to be released Wednesday show a 6 percent growth rate in sales during the first three months of 2004 and a record pace for this fiscal year, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reported.Through three quarters of the 12-month period ending June 30, sales are up more than $100 million compared with the same period last year, accordin
Apr 28, 2004, 7:40 am - Lottery News