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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

State cuts lottery winner's benefitsNews Story
Michigan woman who won $1M continued to collect $200 a month in food stamps A Lincoln Park, Michigan, woman who won $1 million in the state lottery but continued to get food stamps has an unusual connection to the legislator seeking to outlaw what she was she's doing. Amanda Clayton, 24, won $1 million in the lottery in September and until recently was still receiving $200 a month in food stamps to feed her and her two children. Late Wednesday, the state Department of Human Services sai
Mar 8, 2012, 7:28 am - Lottery News

Ruling by Justice Dept. opens a door on online gamblingNews Story
2012 may the year of widespread Internet lottery ticket sales The Justice Department has reversed its long-held opposition to many forms of Internet gambling, removing a big legal obstacle for states that want to sanction online gambling to help fix their budget deficits. The legal opinion, issued by the department's office of legal counsel in September but made public on Friday, came in response to requests by New York and Illinois to clarify whether the Wire Act of 1961, which prohibits
Dec 25, 2011, 2:33 pm - Lottery News

Washington Gov. proposes privatizing state's lotteryNews Story
Washington Gov. Chris Gregoire on Thursday floated the idea of privatizing the state lottery system as a way to bring in more money for education. I want to be clear: I am not proposing that the lottery expand gambling, Gregoire said at a news conference. Private-sector operation of the lottery would be the lottery that we have today. She wants the Legislature to approve having the lottery solicit proposals from private vendors to run the operation. The idea would be to see if the pri
Dec 16, 2011, 8:49 am - Lottery News

Tenn. legislators float idea that lower prizes will bring in more moneyNews Story
Task force says 'bad idea' Some Tennessee legislators are eying a reduction in prize payouts for Tennessee lottery players while letting them buy tickets with debit or credit cards. The proposals are among ideas that are being floated as a way to generate more money that can be used for college scholarships. Both were criticized at a meeting last week of the Senate Lottery Stabilization Task Force with a lottery official suggesting that a cut in prizes could be a bad business decision a
Oct 31, 2011, 7:38 pm - Lottery News

Court filings outline steering of D.C. lottery dealNews Story
In recorded conversation, official suggests ousting winner of bidding Documents filed in federal court Thursday portray in vivid detail the efforts of a number of D.C. officials, including then-Council Chairman Vincent C. Gray and Chief Financial Officer Natwar M. Gandhi, to manipulate the outcome of the competitively bid, multimillion-dollar D.C. Lottery contract. The documents, supported by transcripts of tape-recorded conversations, were filed in response to efforts by the city to resis
Sep 16, 2011, 10:06 am - Lottery News

Legislators grill Ark. lottery financial officerNews Story
The Arkansas lottery's chief financial officer said Wednesday that a $90,000 tax penalty probably resulted because of a data input error, though legislators remained puzzled over how the lottery's director wasn't told of the problem for more than three months. Lottery director Ernie Passailaigue told members of the Lottery Oversight Committee that he was disappointed he wasn't told of the Internal Revenue Service problem until long after it had emerged. The IRS assessed the penalty because
Aug 25, 2011, 10:56 am - Lottery News

Starved state budgets prompt new interest in online gamblingNews Story
The District of Columbia is not thrilled that its residents are traveling to Maryland, Pennsylvania and West Virginia to gamble in casinos. Starved for cash, like states across the country, the district wants some of the millions in revenue that gambling generates each year. So district officials want residents to gamble closer to home inside their homes, actually. Or in cafes, restaurants and bars. By year's end the district hopes to introduce an Internet gambling hub that would allow Washin
Aug 14, 2011, 5:05 pm - Lottery News

Minnesota Lottery resumes ticket sales ThursdayNews Story
By Todd Northrop After being shut down for nearly three weeks due to a state government budget impasse, the Minnesota Lottery will begin selling lottery tickets again, starting Thursday, July 21. The resumption of ticket sales follows a special legislative session that put an end to the government shut down. The state's Democrat governor relented, allowing the state budget to follow the Republican-majority state legislature's plan. The lottery suspended operations on July 1. Beginning a
Jul 20, 2011, 4:26 pm - Lottery News

Mass. state senator wants online lottery ticket salesNews Story
A Beacon Hill push under way today to sell Massachusetts Lottery tickets online which backers say could boost cash-strapped state coffers by as much as $1 billion a year is getting strong support from an unlikely corner liberal icon U.S. Rep. Barney Frank. I don't understand why liberals think they're supposed to tell people not to gamble, Frank told the Herald yesterday. They favor gay marriage, legalization of marijuana and sex-oriented literature, but not gambling. It's totally inconsiste
Jul 19, 2011, 11:25 am - Lottery News