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Illinois to fire private lottery operatorNews Story
The bumpy marriage between the state and the private company that operates the Illinois Lottery is ending in a divorce. Gov. Pat Quinn's office confirmed to me today that it is ending its contract with Northstar Lottery Group LLC to operate the $2 billion-a-year lottery system, seven years earlier than scheduled. It is not yet certain whether the separation will be voluntary by both parties, but a decision to end the contract has been made. The governor's office has directed the lotter
Aug 23, 2014, 10:20 pm - Lottery News

Indecision at the Illinois Lottery over new national gameNews Story
The Illinois Department of Lottery is working to decide whether it wants to take a chance on a new Monopoly game that will be rolled out in October across the United States. The decision-making process is hurting the profitability of the Illinois Lottery, according the private company that manages it. Northstar Lottery Group, which was awarded a 10-year contract to manage the Illinois Lottery in 2010, is pushing for the state to include a new, national $5 Monopoly game. Northstar CEO
Jul 29, 2014, 7:06 am - Lottery News

Illinois legislator urges Gov. to fire company running the lotteryNews Story
Northstar disagrees, says revenue targets met Citing nearly three years of lackluster performance, an Illinois state lawmaker is urging Governor Pat Quinn to fire the company his administration hired to run the Illinois Lottery. State Rep. Jack Franks, D-Marengo, said the state's contract with Northstar Lottery Group has cost taxpayers hundreds of millions in lost revenues due to the firm's failure to meet revenue goals. The privatization of the Illinois State Lottery has been nothing
May 15, 2014, 12:13 pm - Lottery News

Chicago man credits mom with $2.5 million lottery winNews Story
A Chicago man is planning a special Mother's Day for his mom after she bought a lottery ticket for him that wound up being worth $2.5 million. Daniel Stojak, 46, of Chicago, said his mother, Shirley, 77, also of Chicago, frequently buys him tickets at the Jewel-Osco in Niles where she has worked as a cashier for about 15 years. Though Shirley Stojak had won some money before playing the lottery the most was $10,000 this April 1 was special. That day, she bought a $10 instant ticket and
May 9, 2014, 4:21 pm - Lottery News

Chicago man wins lottery three times in three weeksNews Story
Three is a magic number, at least it might be for one Chicago resident. Christopher Kaelin, an occasional lottery player, won the same lottery game three times in three weeks, officials announced Wednesday. I never expected to win, Kaelin told Illinois lottery officials earlier this month, especially not three times. Kaelin said his first win came during his lunch break when he bought a Crossword instant ticket at Gateway Newstand on Clark Street in Chicago and won $25,000. Image:
Apr 24, 2014, 7:56 am - Lottery News

Lucky woman buying lottery ticket narrowly escapes truck crashNews Story
Includes video report Surveillance cameras captured amazing video of a woman who barely escaped with her life when a truck crashed into a grocery store in the Park Manor, Illinois, neighborhood Friday afternoon. It happened at the Farmers Food Basket at 71st and Martin Luther King Drive. Witnesses say a Ford pickup truck hit two other vehicles in the intersection, then careened into the front of the store. The woman, who was buying lottery tickets from a vending machine near the site
Apr 21, 2014, 11:19 am - Lottery News

Iowa Lottery no longer sharing Illinois Lottery drawingsNews Story
State started conducting its own Pick 3 and Pick 4 drawings Wednesday Starting this week, it won't be share and share alike for Iowa Lottery players anymore. Beginning Wednesday, April 16, Iowa Lottery players finally got their own Pick 3 and Pick 4 lottery numbers. Iowa has been sharing Pick 3 and Pick 4 numbers with Illinois since the games were introduced, in 1998 and 2003, respectively. The time of the drawings also changed slightly, as did the deadline by which players must purchas
Apr 17, 2014, 8:38 pm - Lottery News

Illinois Lottery mulling changes to drawingsNews Story
Could this be a move to all-computerized drawings and the death of real drawings in Illinois? After 20 years of perky hosts and ping pong balls, the future of live Illinois Lottery drawings on WGN-Ch.9 is up in the air. Lottery officials said Tuesday they are considering parting ways with WGN-TV, home to daily drawings since 1994, when the current one-year contract expires in June. Advances in lottery technology, an influx of new games and the move by Tribune Co. to pull the evening drawin
Apr 16, 2014, 8:07 am - Lottery News

Northstar fights to keep Illinois lottery documents secretNews Story
The company hired to run the Illinois Lottery continued its fight to keep some documents under wraps, arguing their release would violate its contract with the state and expose company secrets to competitors. At a hearing before the Illinois Court of Claims, Northstar Lottery Group argued today that lottery officials have no duty to release a marketing study and a business plan even though the Illinois Attorney General has advised the documents should be made public. The firm asked the cou
Apr 15, 2014, 8:05 am - Lottery News

For some, Illinois Lottery app makes ticket-buying too easyNews Story
When Illinois launched its first-in-the-nation lottery app in January, Matthew Ruder quickly signed up so he could jockey for jackpots with just a tap of the finger on his smartphone. It's really easy to buy lottery tickets on the big draw days, said Ruder, 40, of Pekin in central Illinois. I can just log in to it, add some money to it, buy some tickets, and then I have them right there instead of stopping at the store. It just makes it easier sometimes. State lottery officials hope the
Apr 10, 2014, 8:31 am - Lottery News