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Illinois Lottery offering free trolley service this Saturday in ChicagoNews Story
To promote the upcoming St. Patrick's Day Millionaire Raffle, the Illinois Lottery is offering a free trolley service for people 18 and over in Chicago this Saturday from 3 p.m. to 9 p.m. The St. Patrick's Day Millionaire Raffle trolleys will be available free in a continuous loop at the following locations throughout the day. Union Station 200 S. Riverside Plaza House of Blues 329 N. Dearborn Street Bootleggers 13 W. Division Street The Cubby Bear 1059 W. Addison Street Bootleggers 13 W.
Mar 11, 2015, 4:11 pm - Lottery News

Illinois man claims $265 million Mega Millions lottery jackpotNews Story
Years of playing Quick Pick tickets every day paid off for 70-year-old Jesus Davila Jr. in January when he won $265 million the largest prize in Illinois Lottery history. I'm a regular Joe and I played and I won it, said Davila, as he smiled at a news conference Tuesday in the Thompson Center downtown, where Illinois Lottery Director Michael Jones presented him with an oversized check. Davila, who lives in Naperville, won the Mega Millions jackpot on Jan. 16 and was the only person to mat
Feb 24, 2015, 5:23 pm - Lottery News

$270 million Mega Millions jackpot won in IllinoisNews Story
By Todd Northrop An Illinois lottery player won the first jackpot of 2015, worth an estimated $270 million in a Mega Millions drawing Friday. The ticket, a quick pick meaning the numbers were selected randomly by the lottery terminal, was sold at Bucky's Express, 1202 Bloomingdale Road in west suburban Glendale Heights, said Illinois Lottery spokesman Mike Lang. The store will receive a $500,000 bonus for selling the winning ticket. It is the largest prize in Illinois Lottery history
Jan 18, 2015, 8:47 am - Lottery News

First winner of big Illinois Lotto jackpot didn't let riches change himNews Story
Mike Wittkowski is no longer famous, and he's just fine with that. In 1984, he was a 28-year-old North Side bachelor dreaming of hitting it big just like everybody else in a relatively new Illinois Lotto game that was building to a $40 million jackpot. Unlike everybody else Sept. 1, he did win, picking the numbers 2-3-10-26-30-43 and pocketing what was at the time the single-largest lottery prize in U.S. history. Flashback reader Bob Angone, of the South Loop, said he was at a wedding t
Dec 27, 2014, 12:42 pm - Lottery News

Illinois Lottery cuts ties with private managerNews Story
The split between the Illinois Lottery and its private manager, Northstar Lottery Group, is now official after three years of acrimony over lower-than-expected revenues. The termination agreement, signed Tuesday by Gov. Pat Quinn, comes a little more than three months after he directed lottery officials to sever ties with the company after it fell short of promised revenues for the third consecutive year. At the time, the company had posted record profits to the state, but those figures st
Dec 10, 2014, 9:11 pm - Lottery News

Illinois Lottery cancels My3 gameNews Story
Last drawing Sunday By Todd Northrop Illinois lottery officials, acting on the recommendation of its private manager, Northstar Lottery Group, announced Tuesday they are removing My3 from its draw game portfolio. The final drawing of My3 will be Sunday, September 14th at 6:30pm. The game was launched two years ago and was designed to be a simplified alternative to the Pick 3 and Pick 4 games. However, due to its sales performance, the game is being removed from the draw game portfoli
Sep 10, 2014, 6:58 pm - Lottery News

With Northstar terminated, what will the Illinois Lottery do now?News Story
So what's next for the Illinois Lottery? That's the big question looming in the wake of Illinois Gov. Pat Quinn's politically-expedient move late last week to fire Northstar Lottery Group. Quinn made history late in 2010 when he inked a 10-year contract with Northstar to become the first-ever private manager of any state lottery in the nation. Two other states now have private lottery managers Indiana and New Jersey. Quinn's move last week to terminate Northstar may prove too little too la
Aug 23, 2014, 10:27 pm - Lottery News

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