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Texas lottery officials concerned about sale of GTECHNews Story
The Rhode Island company that operates many of the Texas lottery's most popular games is up for sale, and state officials are looking to hire an independent law firm to help them ensure that any potential buyer is committed to upholding the company's contractual commitments.Lottery officials told a legislative oversight panel this week that Gtech Corp., which has been under contract to the state agency since the lottery was established in 1992, has received an acquisition offer from an unnamed g
Nov 16, 2005, 11:25 am - Lottery News

Texas lawmakers hear allegations about lottery disaster siteNews Story
The Texas Lottery Commission would not be able to resume critical functions in a timely manner if its headquarters were destroyed because its disaster recovery site lacks important equipment, a former lottery employee told lawmakers Monday.Shelton Charles, a senior lottery systems analyst who was fired Nov. 4, told the House Licensing and Administrative Procedures Committee that he warned his bosses that backing up data was useless if the agency didn't have the equipment to access it. He said hi
Nov 15, 2005, 5:00 pm - Lottery News

Texas Lottery under the microscope in hearingsNews Story
Texas Lottery officials were summoned Tuesday to testify before a legislative committee for the second time in five months, this time over allegations of mismanagement brought by a lottery systems analyst who was fired the same day the Houston Chronicle reported his concerns.Shelton Charles, who oversaw much of the lottery's technical operations before his firing Friday, planned to testify Monday at a hearing of the House Licensing and Regulation Committee, which oversees the lottery.The committ
Nov 9, 2005, 7:12 am - Lottery News

Texas Lottery worker is fired after e-mailNews Story
The Texas lottery fired a senior systems analyst on Friday, hours after a newspaper reported that he had sent a scathing e-mail to two state lawmakers claiming that the agency misled the Legislature about an emergency control center that he says doesn't work.Shelton Charles told The Associated Press that he was fired Friday afternoon for insubordination after he refused to answer lottery officials' questions about the emergency operations center unless they put them in writing.Lottery spokesman
Nov 8, 2005, 8:00 am - Lottery News

Texas Lottery will guarantee advertised jackpotsNews Story
The Texas Lottery Commission approved guaranteed Lotto Texas jackpots Monday, a measure designed to win back player confidence and avoid more inflated prize estimates by the nation's third-largest lottery.The lottery was rocked this summer by revelations that former Executive Director Reagan Greer signed off on advertising jackpots that were higher than ticket sales could support. Greer resigned in July after Commissioner Tom Clowe told legislators that he thought the executive director had dece
Nov 1, 2005, 11:14 am - Lottery News

Nine finalists in running for Texas Lottery chiefNews Story
Trust issues expected to figure prominently in interviews with candidates light on specific experienceWhen questions about inflated jackpots forced Lottery Director Reagan Greer to resign earlier this year, lottery officials said they needed someone to replace him who could regain the public's trust.A special search committee will begin Friday to interview nine finalists for the position, whittled down from 126 applicants. Only one of the nine people has experience working at a state lottery.The
Oct 13, 2005, 10:48 am - Lottery News

Lottery gadfly not betting on getting top postNews Story
Some say she's a watchdog; others say she's a nuisanceDawn Nettles has a job interview Friday, but she figures the odds are against her. They're not going to hire me, the 54-year-old Garland woman said. They hate me with a passion. They refers to the Texas Lottery Commission and Gtech Corp., the company that operates the lottery for the state. The commission is seeking an executive director to replace Reagan Greer, who resigned in July after admitting he had signed off on advertising inflate
Oct 13, 2005, 9:51 am - Lottery News

Former Texas Lottery Director is Bush's Pick for Supreme CourtNews Story
Harriet Miers proved to be a tough, no-nonsense administrator during her five years heading the Texas Lottery Commission, firing two executive directors to stamp out scandal but leaving unexpectedly amid lagging sales and player interest.President Bush tapped Miers on Monday for the Supreme Court, a nomination that prompted closer scrutiny of Miers' years in Texas as a private attorney, a member of the Dallas City Council and chairwoman of the three-member commission that oversees the state's lo
Oct 3, 2005, 3:07 pm - Lottery News

Texas Lottery jackpot game tickets in sales declineNews Story
Citing plummeting revenues that indicate a jackpot fatigue in state lotteries throughout the nation, the chairman of the Texas Lottery Commission challenged the organization's staff to consider boosting Lotto Texas sales by making the game more creative. Why can't we do something creative for a change making it a $4 million jackpot and two Harley-Davidson motorcycles or a Corvette or one of those fancy trucks? said Chairman C. Tom Clowe Jr. Let's create some buzz. Let's give $4 million and
Sep 29, 2005, 6:51 am - Lottery News

Texas Lottery critic applies for Director positionNews Story
Dawn Nettles, the Garland woman who has made criticizing the troubled Texas Lottery Commission a full-time job in recent years, is applying for the job of running the state agency. My goal is to clean up the lottery, run it honestly and still make money for the state, Nettles said this morning. I'm a trouble-shooter, and I know the lottery players. Nettles, who publishes the online Lotto Report, was first to alert the Texas Attorney General's Office that then-Executive Director Reagan Greer ha
Sep 12, 2005, 6:41 pm - Lottery News