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Lottery winner hands out winning tickets at favorite restaurantNews Story
A Maine man who won the lottery twice in recent months shared his winnings with employees and diners of a local restaurant he patronized nearly daily for more than a decade. Hal, who asked that his last name not be used, won a $2 million jackpot from the Maine lottery in April in a drawing among people who submitted their losing tickets. I was there in the audience with my son and my daughter, said Hal, a widowed father of five from central Maine. I said, 'Lord if you want me to win this
Aug 3, 2017, 6:40 am - Lottery News

Maine loses Powerball, Mega Millions during state closureNews Story
After Saturday night, Maine residents will not be able to purchase some multi-state lottery games, such as Powerball and Mega Millions, until the state shutdown ends, state officials announced Saturday. At convenience stores in Portland on Saturday, a bright red screen flashed with Breaking News near cash registers, letting customers know that they had until 9:30 p.m. to purchase Hot Lotto tickets and 9:50 p.m. to buy Powerball tickets. Mega Millions and Lucky for Life stopped being sold on F
Jul 2, 2017, 9:12 am - Lottery News

Maine moves to disqualify lottery winners from receiving food stampsNews Story
The Maine Department of Health and Human Services on Tuesday announced a new rule to ban food stamps for major lottery and gambling winners. The new rule allows for the immediate termination of benefits when a welfare recipient collects winnings of $5,000 or more in one calendar month, the department announced in a press release. The prize will continue to count as an asset that could disqualify a person from welfare under the asset limits recently adopted by the LePage administration. A l
Oct 25, 2016, 10:08 am - Lottery News

Maine gives names of Hot Lotto winners to Iowa team looking into rigging schemeNews Story
The names of Mainers who won cash prizes in the Hot Lotto game between 2010 and 2014 have been forwarded to Iowa officials investigating a burgeoning jackpot fixing case that may have affected winnings in at least five states. Officials with the Maine State Lottery said Hot Lotto winners and prize amounts were shared with the Iowa Department of Criminal Investigations. To date, investigators have not discovered any link between Maine Hot Lotto winners and Eddie Tipton, a former security offic
Dec 23, 2015, 2:25 pm - Lottery News

Some on welfare bet big on Maine lottery in pursuit of life-changing winNews Story
Murky state rules mean those who do collect larger prizes may not even lose their public benefits Maine residents on public assistance have spent hundreds of millions of dollars on lottery tickets, according to an estimate based on the $22.4 million in large prizes they collected between 2010 and 2014, including eight jackpots worth at least $500,000 each. Yet state rules are so murky that the winnings do not necessarily disqualify anyone from continuing to receive food stamps and other be
Dec 16, 2015, 9:18 am - Lottery News

Maine Lottery won't be adding KenoNews Story
Maine Gov. Paul LePage said Tuesday that his administration is backing off its plan to expand the Maine State Lottery to include the gambling game Keno at as many as 300 locations. In remarks to reporters during a maple syrup season ceremony at the Blaine House, LePage said he personally doesn't like gambling and supported the Keno proposal only because he thought Democrats wanted the lottery expansion. If they don't want it, then we'll kill it, he said. In fact, I told them to go kill it
Mar 11, 2015, 10:14 am - Lottery News

Couple wins $3M jackpot 27 years after wife's numbers last came upNews Story
He's finally forgiven, because last time he forgot to buy tickets In February 1986, Robert and Jeanne Gagnon had the winning Megabucks lottery numbers for the weekly drawing. Not that it mattered. I had all the numbers, Jeanne Gagnon said Wednesday. But my husband forgot to pick up a ticket that day. And I've been hearing about it ever since, her husband, Robert Gagnon, said, shaking his head. Now it appears all is forgiven. Two weeks ago, the retired couple learned they held t
Mar 7, 2014, 8:56 am - Lottery News

New England's 'Lucky for Life' game to gain second lifetime prizeNews Story
Lucky for Life, the multi-state draw game that offers lottery players throughout New England the opportunity to win up to $1,000 a day, every day, for their entire life, is going to get a lot more lively with the addition of another lifetime prize to its robust prize offerings. Beginning with the September 19, 2013 drawing, Lucky for Life's second-tier prize will be elevated to a $25,000 a year for life payout, making it the only game in the country that offers two lifetime prizes. This new p
Sep 5, 2013, 4:57 pm - Lottery News

Record Powerball winner offers $2M to fix Maine high school's roofNews Story
The 84-year-old Florida resident who scored the largest undivided American lottery jackpot ever wants to donate $2 million to fix the roof of a Maine high school in her hometown. Gloria MacKenzie, who took home a $590.5 million Powerball jackpot in June, has kept a low profile since she turned in her winning ticket. But the superintendent of schools in East Millinocket, Maine, says Mackenzie has offered to write a hefty check to repair the roof of the town's high school, where her daughter te
Jul 26, 2013, 11:00 am - Lottery News

New Tri-State lottery game debuting SundayNews Story
By Todd Northrop A new pick 5-style lottery game called Gimme 5 goes on sale Sunday in Maine, New Hampshire, and Vermont the states that collectively are known as 'Tri-State'. The first drawing for the new Gimme 5 game will be held Wednesday, May 15, 2013. The Vermont, New Hampshire and Maine Lotteries are once again joining together to offer our players a new draw game, said Greg Smith, Executive Director of the Vermont Lottery. Tri-State Gimme 5 is a fresh, easy-to-play game that car
May 9, 2013, 12:52 pm - Lottery News