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World's biggest lottery jackpot won by three ticketsNews Story
Winning Mega Millions lottery tickets sold in Illinois, Kansas, Maryland Final jackpot total of $656 million will be split three ways How would you react if you won? By Todd Northrop The largest lottery jackpot the world has ever seen has been won Friday night by three tickets sold in Illinois, Kansas, and Maryland. Since early Wednesday morning, the Mega Millions lottery jackpot was raised three times in as many days, and by the time all the sales were totalled at draw time, the
Mar 31, 2012, 8:56 am - Lottery News

Illinois picks right week to start selling tickets onlineNews Story
But online sales still dwarfed by retailer sales With a record $540 million Mega Millions jackpot in play, Illinois picked the right week to become the first state in the nation to sell lottery tickets online. Others are watching closely to see if the new approach pays off and whether the state takes the next big step: launching online poker, blackjack and other casino games. It took only three minutes for the first online lottery ticket to sell once the system went live at 7 a.m. Sunday.
Mar 30, 2012, 7:51 am - Lottery News

Online Illinois lottery tickets net $15K first dayNews Story
Illinois Lottery officials say the first day of online lottery tickets brought in more than $15,000 in sales. On Sunday Illinois became the first state to offer the games of chance online. The first ticket was bought at 7:03 a.m., just minutes after Mega Millions and Lotto tickets became available online. Within hours, hundreds of people had purchased tickets. Lottery officials say they believe the pace of sales will be fast until Tuesday evening. That's when the Mega Millions drawing take
Mar 26, 2012, 6:54 pm - Lottery News

Illinois to become first state to allow online lottery salesNews Story
A Justice Department opinion issued last year cleared the way. It said the Wire Act of 1961, which bars wagering over telecommunication systems across state or national boundaries, applies only to sports betting. At least 21 states and the District of Columbia are considering online lottery sales or other wagering such as poker, says Frank Fahrenkopf, president of the American Gaming Association, which represents commercial casinos. New York and several other states sell lottery subscripti
Mar 23, 2012, 12:36 pm - Lottery News

Convenience stores worried about online lottery planNews Story
Illinois convenience stores are bracing for a financial hit as sales of Illinois lottery tickets are set to go online later this year. Lottery officials estimate the state will take in $150 million more annually once sales go online, and will attract hundreds of thousands of new players. But Bill Fleischli, executive vice president of the Illinois Association of Convenience Stores, said those are players who will no longer frequent their corner store. They're actually going to reduce o
Jan 17, 2012, 7:15 am - Lottery News

Illinois lottery winners' checks bouncedNews Story
Includes audio report Eighty-five Illinois Lottery winners last week probably thought they were lucky until they tried to cash in their winnings, that is. Their checks, totaling $159,000 in lottery winnings, were no good. Two days after Christmas, Maureen Furio of Lake Zurich bought an instant scratch-off ticket and won $1000. The next day, she got a check from the lottery. I deposited it the same day and went ahead and paid some extra Christmas bills, Furio says. And Jan. 3, it bou
Jan 6, 2012, 5:21 pm - Lottery News

Illinois Lottery hopes to sell tickets online in '3 to 4 months'News Story
Illinois Lottery Superintendent Michael Jones said Monday that he hopes the state will begin selling lottery tickets online in the next three to four months. Officials have long wanted to take the lottery to the web, and the path was cleared Friday with the release of a U.S. Department of Justice legal opinion that supports state-regulated online gambling. (See Ruling by Justice Dept. opens a door on online gambling, Lottery Post, Dec. 25, 2011.) State lawmakers in 2009 approved a massi
Dec 26, 2011, 10:49 pm - 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

$11M lottery win saves Illinois couple from bankruptcyNews Story
Bouncing up and down with excitement, Minooka, Illinois, resident Janet Gossett said she and her husband plan to use their lottery winnings to go to Minnesota and see Walnut Grove, a town made famous on Little House on the Prairie. Craig and Janet Gossett of Minooka began Wednesday in Chicago, picking up the check for $11.25 million that they won in the Illinois Lottery over the weekend. Like many recent lottery winners, the Gossets plan to use the money pay off bills. Although the check
Dec 14, 2011, 6:10 pm - Lottery News

Illinois Lottery run by private company starting FridayNews Story
Illinois' private lottery manager takes over operations Friday, with both the company and the state envisioning greatly increased sales and more money for state coffers. Although Northstar Lottery Group formally assumes the reins July 1, the transition to private management has been under way for some time. Regular players have seen new signage and the rollout of new games in recent weeks, but otherwise shouldn't notice a difference if they buy lottery tickets after the first of the month.
Jun 30, 2011, 8:21 am - Lottery News