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Pa. Lottery players dig Treasure Hunt gameNews Story
Treasure Hunt, Pennsylvania Lottery's terminal-based Pick 5 game, has exceeded sales expectations. The game, which went on sale May 8, was projected to bring in between $2.5 million and $3 million in its first quarter. Sales have surpassed $3 million. Treasure Hunt is unique because it is animated online. Players get a grid numbered 1-30 and mark where they think the treasures are hidden. After the drawing at 1:35 p.m., the sand covered grid is shown online being cleared off, reveling five
Jun 20, 2007, 10:35 am - Lottery News

Is the lottery a tax? N.C. appeals court hears argumentsNews Story
The profit from the sale of lottery tickets in North Carolina is really a tax on the state's residents, which means the law that created the games was passed unconstitutionally, attorneys for a group of taxpayers argued Tuesday before the state Court of Appeals. The fundamental criteria is that the revenue is going to the general benefit of the public, Robert Orr, the taxpayers' lawyer, told the three-judge panel. The lottery was sold as a revenue-raising proposition to raise money for edu
May 22, 2007, 8:55 pm - Lottery News

Expensive Michigan Lottery tickets sell-out quicklyNews Story
Pundits who doubted the public's desire for $50 lottery tickets are silenced Tickets to the Michigan Lottery's most expensive game sold out Wednesday after less than three days on sale. The lottery's Super Raffle game includes 250,000 tickets sold at $50 each. Tickets went on sale Monday. Winning tickets are scheduled to be drawn June 18. Michigan Lottery commissioner Gary Peters said the public was responding to the game's relatively good odds, compared to other lottery games.
May 10, 2007, 3:27 pm - Lottery News

Maryland Lottery helps taxpayers hit jackpotNews Story
The Maryland Lottery wants to help people dream. While the odds of those dreams becoming a cold, hard-cash reality are more than a million-to-one, look no further than the recent Mega Millions jackpot winners from Georgia and New Jersey, who each came away with half of a stunning $390 million pot. Last fiscal year, the Maryland Lottery generated more than $501 million for the state's general fund. These earnings benefited government-funded services and programs such as education, public he
Mar 22, 2007, 8:36 am - Lottery News

Long odds don't bother 'Mega' fansNews Story
Charles Millard wasn't under any illusion. My chance is a zillion to one, the 60-year-old Johnson City man said on Monday as he bought a ticket for tonight's historic $355 million Mega Millions drawing. Still, across the Greater Binghamton region, players such as Millard lined up Monday at convenience stores and newsstands for a chance to win the largest pot in New York Lottery history, even though they acknowledged their odds were as long as Binghamton being named the sunshine capital o
Mar 6, 2007, 7:54 am - Lottery News

Indiana Senate approves lottery sell-offNews Story
Administration officials worked the back of the Senate chamber Tuesday and managed to secure just enough support to pass Gov. Mitch Daniels' plan to privatize the Hoosier Lottery. The 27-20 vote comes from a GOP-controlled chamber that is far friendlier to the governor's plans than the Democratic-held House, where Senate Bill 577 heads next. The legislation authorizes the state to enter into a contract with a private operator to run the lottery for the next 30 years. In exchange, the st
Feb 28, 2007, 9:06 am - Lottery News

Mass. Rep. says lottery funds should go to areas with highest salesNews Story
Lynn is one of the Massachusetts State Lottery's sales hotspots. Yet while Lynn residents spend $85 million a year on tickets and games, the old industrial city gets back just $15 million a year from a Lottery-financed state aid program. State Rep. Steven Walsh (D-Lynn) said it is this imbalance that drove him to file legislation that could revamp the way Lottery proceeds are doled out to cities and towns. Walsh's bill calls for a commission to explore whether the current formula used t
Feb 28, 2007, 8:38 am - Lottery News

Lotteries long for 'jackpot fever'News Story
To lottery players, $100 million ain't what it used to be. A seven-month streak of jackpots that were big, but not gigantic, has sent traditional lottery sales plummeting in many states. In the past six months, Mega Millions sales are down 30% in Texas compared with a year earlier and 38% in Massachusetts. Powerball sales are off 6% in Wisconsin. The USA is suffering from jackpot fatigue, lottery officials say. There was a time when $50 million created a stir. Then we needed $
Feb 13, 2007, 2:31 pm - Lottery News

N.Y. Lottery: We've got a game for youNews Story
Whether you're looking for instant gratification or prefer to dream big with millions in the bank, the New York Lottery has a game for you. Lottery machines spew out tickets that could be worth millions of dollars if the astronomical odds are beaten. Store counters often have racks displaying dozens of colorful choices for those wanting instant scratch-off tickets. Some people play their favorite numbers twice a day, fearing their Daily Number will surely come in if they skip a bet.
Jan 31, 2007, 3:24 am - Lottery News

Lottery foes try to restrict gambling, with little successNews Story
Some New York lawmakers want the state to tell lottery-ticket buyers how slim the odds are of winning, and raise the gambling age from 18 to 21 to try to discourage gambling sprees. But those who oppose change have a ready rejoinder: The state is, in effect, addicted to the billions in revenue that Lottery games generate. The status quo is likely to prevail. If you put in the ad 'The New York Lottery jackpot is now $10 million' and in the next graph say the odds of wining are 1 in 12 m
Jan 31, 2007, 12:51 am - Lottery News