Archived Lottery News for August, 2004

Tuesday, August 31, 2004

• 9:20 am – Toronto couple claims $26.8 million lottery win.  A Toronto couple has claimed the third-largest jackpot in Canadian lottery history -- almost $27 million.
• 9:00 am – $40 Million Man's payments end.  For the first time in 20 years, Michael Wittkowski and family won't be receiving their big fat annual check courtesy of the Illinois State Lottery.
• 80-year-old claims a piece of Calif. lottery jackpot.  Walter F. Tracey slept in until about 1 p.m. Sunday, then got a surprising jolt.  The 80-year-old World War II Navy pilot checked the newspaper, and there it was in black and white: He had the winning numbers for the $100 million SuperLotto Plus jackpot.
• Three tickets split $100 million California lottery jackpot.  California Lottery officials announced Sunday that two of the three winning tickets in Saturday's $100 million Super Lotto Plus jackpot were purchased in the Bay Area, with the thrid being sold in Huntington Beach.

Sunday, August 29, 2004

• 8:40 am – Lottery petition attacks computerized drawings.  A popular lottery Internet Web site is opposing a controversial industry trend head-on, in an attempt to eliminate computer-generated drawings from all US lottery games.

Saturday, August 28, 2004

• 2:02 am – There was no jackpot winner in the Friday Mega Millions drawing, but 4 lucky players matched the first 5 numbers for a $175,000 prize: 2 from New Jersey, 1 from New York and 1 from Ohio.  For the complete rundown of winners by prize category, see the Winning Combinations page.

Friday, August 27, 2004

• 7:40 am – Massachusetts woman scratches a $4 million lottery win.  A Warrendale, Massachusetts woman who bought a winning scratch ticket at a Main Street convenience store this week says the $4 million prize will not completely transform her life.
• Elderly California woman loses $250,000 to foreign lottery scam.  An elderly woman from Lodi, California, was scammed to the tune of a quarter of a million dollars.
• Tennessee couple wins $500,000 lottery prize.  Pat Bates, 57, of Fairview, won a lottery sum of $500,000, making her the recipient of the largest Tennessee Powerball prize to date.
• California has 'lottery fever'.  The California SuperLotto Plus jackpot for Saturday is currently valued at $95 million, and is the seventh largest in the state's history, according to lottery spokeswoman Norma Minas.

Thursday, August 26, 2004

• 3:20 pm – Kansas lottery player keeps winning.  Topeka resident Louis Guebara just added a third big payday to his list of lottery achievements.
• 8:00 am – Powerball Jackpot Reaches $28 Million.  Because no one correctly matched all six numbers in Wednesday's Powerball drawing the jackpot grew to an estimated $28 million, with a cash option of $15.3 million.
• Arizona Lottery has record sales.  Arizonans pursuing quick riches bought a record $366.6 million in Lottery tickets in the year that ended June 30, a nearly 14 percent gain over the previous 12 months.
• Florida Man Accused Of Stealing Lottery Winnings.  A former MetLife salesman from Tampa is accused of stealing more than $375,000 from brokerage and other accounts a millionaire lottery winner established with MetLife, according to a complaint filed in U.S. District Court.
• 7:40 am – Bookkeeper's lottery habit costly.  After serving a 14-month prison term for first-degree theft, the Federal Way woman, now 68, should have her $549,000 restitution bill paid off in a little over 457 years.
• Atlantic Lottery Corporation starts online ticket sales.  The Atlantic Lottery Corporation has pioneered a controversial website that sells lottery tickets on the Internet.

Wednesday, August 25, 2004

• 9:20 am – Animal group sues Powerball lottery winners.  A bird refuge in Arizona is the second animal group to sue New Hampshire Powerball winners, accusing them of failing to deliver promised donations.
• Vermont Lottery to Issue Amber Alerts.  State officials have enlisted the Vermont Lottery to aid the Amber Alert system, which Rep. Patricia O'Donnell, R-Vernon, initiated in the Legislature.
• All or nothing: Lottery player rejects $1.7M lost-ticket offer.  A gutsy Cape Cod retiree coolly bet a bundle on Lady Luck yesterday, rejecting a sure $1.7 million share of a discarded Lottery ticket in a high-stakes bid to win it all.
• 1:35 am – There was no jackpot winner in the Tuesday Mega Millions drawing, but 2 lucky players matched the first 5 numbers for a $175,000 prize: 1 from Michigan and 1 from New York.  For the complete rundown of winners by prize category, see the Winning Combinations page.

Tuesday, August 24, 2004

• 8:40 am – Mega Millions winnings yet to be claimed.  The winner of last week's Mega Millions jackpot has yet to come forward to claim the cool $52 million prize, Ohio Lottery officials said Monday.
• Lottery winner too busy to spend it.  A former Welsh newspaper editor who left her job after winning £8.5m (US$15.3 million) on the national lottery revealed yesterday that she hasn't spent a penny of it yet.
• Pennsylvania Lottery Numbers Drawing Suspicions.  The same four digits have hit in the daytime Big 4 lottery drawing in three out of the past four days.

Monday, August 23, 2004

• 8:00 am – Powerball jackpot grows to $21 million.  The Powerball jackpot will grow to an estimated $21 million for Wednesday, since no one matched all six numbers drawn in Saturday night’s game.
• Florida Lotto Rolls to $6 Million.  No tickets matched all six Florida Lotto numbers, producing a $6 million jackpot for Wednesday's drawing, lottery officials said Sunday.
• NY Lotto Winner Shares Prize with Ex-Wife.  A Staten Island man who bought a winning $3 million lottery ticket last month pocketed a check for $468,153 on Monday, after sharing half of his prize with his former wife.
• $9 million Florida Lotto winner sought.  If you happened to buy a Lotto ticket this week at a Publix off Wiles Road in Coral Springs, Florida, you may be a millionaire -- times nine.
• 7:40 am – $52 Million Mega Millions Lottery Ticket Sold in Ohio.  A convenience store in the Cleveland suburb of Shaker Heights sold the single winning ticket in the latest Mega Millions lottery drawing, worth $52 million, the Ohio Lottery said Saturday.
• Michigan Lottery dropping Roll Down, adding Fantasy 5.  The Michigan Lottery says it is dropping the Roll Down game Sept. 11 and adding Fantasy 5, a game in which players try to match five numbers from one to 39.

Saturday, August 21, 2004

• 4:00 pm – Penn. Lottery's Midday Mistake Leads to Questions About Drawings.  When news outlets received the results of the Pennsylvania midday lottery drawing 20 minutes earlier than usual, some questioned how the nontelevised drawing operates.
• 9:49 am – Jackpot Winner!  There was one $52 million jackpot winner from Ohio in the Friday, August 20, 2004 Mega Millions drawing.  More details to follow after the winner comes forward to claim their prize.
• Also, 7 lucky players matched the first 5 numbers for a $175,000 prize: 2 from Massachusetts, 3 from New York, 1 from Ohio and 1 from Texas.  For the complete rundown of winners by prize category, see the Winning Combinations page.

Friday, August 20, 2004

• 7:20 am – Man wins share of ex's lotto prize.  A Newfoundland man has won a legal battle with his former live-in lover for half of what's left of a $700,000 lottery prize.
• 7:00 am – Tennessee Policeman wins $200,000 in Powerball.  Metro police Armed Robbery Detective Jonathan Kelton yesterday became the largest Powerball winner in the state to date, lottery officials said.
• Lottery Ticket Loser Says He Won't Give Up.  A Cape Cod man who bought a winning $4 million scratch lottery ticket but discarded it, said he will go back to court to try reclaim the prize.

Thursday, August 19, 2004

• 8:20 am – $14 Million Powerball Jackpot Up for Grabs.  Because no one correctly matched all six numbers in Wednesday's Powerball drawing the jackpot grew to an estimated $14 million, with a cash option of $6.8 million.
• Mistrial declared in $4M lottery ticket dispute.  A former convenience store clerk will keep collecting winnings from a $4 million Massachusetts Lottery scratch ticket after a Superior Court judge declared a mistrial yesterday in a dispute over ownership of the ticket.
• N.J. Lottery sales top $2 billion for third straight year.  New Jersey lottery revenues rose more than 5 percent in the past fiscal year, topping $2 billion in sales for the third consecutive year.

Wednesday, August 18, 2004

• 11:00 am – Mega Millions jackpot increases to $52 million.  The jackpot in the multi-state Mega Millions lottery grew to $52 million Wednesday.
• Lottery Scammer Sentenced.  A 19-year-old high school student pleads guilty to trying to con the Maryland Lottery out of $175,000.
• Fortune Cookies Net Winning Mega Numbers.  Three Virginians who had fortune cookies for dessert at Chinese restaurants they visited used the numbers they received to win $175,000 each in the July 27 Mega Millions drawing.
• Camelot battling 'lottery fatigue'.  The number of Britons playing the National Lottery has fallen faster in recent years than in any other form of gambling, a survey reveals.
• 8:20 am – Woman must split lottery windfall with ex-fiancé.  A provincial Supreme Court judge has ruled that a Newfoundland woman must share her lottery winnings with her former fiancé.
• 2:14 am – There was no jackpot winner in the Tuesday Mega Millions drawing, but 7 lucky players matched the first 5 numbers for a $175,000 prize: 1 from Georgia, 2 from Michigan, 1 from New Jersey, 1 from New York, 1 from Ohio and 1 from Texas.  For the complete rundown of winners by prize category, see the Winning Combinations page.

Tuesday, August 17, 2004

• 8:40 am – Tennessee unveils new lottery game.  The Tennessee Lottery Monday unveiled its newest computerized game, “Lotto 5,” set to launch August 29.
• 8:20 am – Decision on Tenn. lottery bonuses up in the air.  A pending decision on whether to continue salary bonuses for Tennessee lottery CEO Rebecca Paul and her employees will be based on business principles rather than politician opinions, a key lottery board member said Monday.

Monday, August 16, 2004

• 3:20 pm – Deadline approaches for $4.7 million lottery prize.  Hoosier Lottery officials say time is running out for the winner of a $4.7 million lottery prize to come forward.
• 9:40 am – Mega Millions Jackpot Swells To $42 Million.  The jackpot in the multi-state Mega Millions lottery grew to $42 million Saturday.
• Minnesota Powerball winner may appear today.  A single jackpot-winning Powerball ticket worth up to $98.7 million was sold in Minnesota; it was the second time in the past two months a big winner was sold there.
• Lottery issue low-key in race for N.C. governor.  Even though the the North Carolina gubernatorial candidates have starkly differing views on the lottery, each candidate has their reasons for keeping the topic low-key.
• 9:20 am – UK Lottery faces shortfall.  Camelot faces a £500m shortfall in the money it raises for good causes because of the long-term decline in lottery sales, a former official of the game's regulator has warned.

Saturday, August 14, 2004

• 1:46 am – There was no jackpot winner in the Friday Mega Millions drawing, but 1 lucky player matched the first 5 numbers for a $175,000 prize: 1 from Texas.  For the complete rundown of winners by prize category, see the Winning Combinations page.

Friday, August 13, 2004

• 9:00 am – Lottery ticket number crucial to trial.  The outcome of a civil case pitting Julie Prive, 27, who worked at the Tedeschi's in East Falmouth, Massachusetts where a winning $4 million scratch ticket was sold, against two other Falmouth residents could hinge on the question of when she learned the number of the ticket.
• Kentucky Lottery tries to stave off losses from competition.  Even as Kentucky lottery officials announced Thursday that a record $193.5 million in proceeds were turned over to the state last fiscal year, there was no time for celebration.  Officials are too busy trying to stave off expected losses to Tennessee and its lottery that debuted this year.
• Ministers set on blocking rapist's £7m lottery win.  Two ministers vowed yesterday to stop a convicted rapist receiving his £7 million lottery winnings but no one in Whitehall could say how.
• Georgia Lottery executives get $560,000 in bonuses.  Executives of the Georgia Lottery Corp. received more than $559,000 in bonuses after registering another record sales year, even though the Legislature voted to cut benefits under lottery-funded HOPE scholarships.

Thursday, August 12, 2004

• 8:40 am – Powerball Lottery Jackpot Approaches $100 Million Mark.  Because no one correctly matched all six numbers in Wednesday's Powerball drawing the jackpot grew to an estimated $97 million, with a cash option of $52.5 million.
• Store clerk tells how she found winning ticket.  Battling the sniffs and coughs of a summer cold, Julie Prive, 27-year-old mother of two, stood before a jury in Barnstable County, Massachusetts Superior Court yesterday and recalled the evening in May 2002 when she had believed her life had changed forever.

Wednesday, August 11, 2004

• 10:20 am – Mega Millions jackpot increases to $35 million.  The jackpot in the multi-state Mega Millions lottery grew to $35 million Wednesday.
• 10:00 am – Saints and Sinners among the Winners.  The UK National Lottery has been dogged by controversy as the game of chance has thrown up some seemingly less-than-worthy winners over the years.
• 2:31 am – There was no jackpot winner in the Tuesday Mega Millions drawing, but 4 lucky players matched the first 5 numbers for a $175,000 prize: 2 from New York, 1 from Ohio and 1 from Texas.  For the complete rundown of winners by prize category, see the Winning Combinations page.

Tuesday, August 10, 2004

• 10:00 am – Michigan man claims $47 million Mega Millions prize.  Larry Campbell, 63, of Pullman, Michigan, picked up his check for $19,128,233 as the sole winner of the July 23 Mega Millions $47 million jackpot.
• Two couples in court over ownership of $4 million scratch ticket.  Two couples are fighting in court over ownership of a Massachusetts Lottery scratch ticket worth $4 million.
• Lottery machines fail before jackpot.  With a $76 million Powerball jackpot waiting Saturday night, some Horry County, South Carolina lottery machines broke down during the weekend.
• Long-time pals hit jackpot.  Four giddy couples dropped off checks of more than $3.6 million at their banks, each couple's share of the Canadian Lotto 6/49 jackpot.
• 9:40 am – Tenn. Lottery Sales Top Half Billion Mark.  The Tennessee Education Lottery announced today ticket sales topped the half-billion-dollar mark over the weekend.
• N.D. lottery profits outpacing estimates.  North Dakota's lottery has already turned over $1.43 million to the state treasury, matching the profits the new gambling venture was expected to make over 15 months, its administrator says.

Monday, August 9, 2004

• 8:40 am – $84 Million Powerball Jackpot Up For Grabs.  Because no one correctly matched all six numbers in Saturday's Powerball drawing the jackpot grew to an estimated $84 million, with a cash option of $45.3 million.
• Iowa Lottery CEO Gets $81,000 Raise.  The CEO of the Iowa Lottery has himself hit the jackpot.  Gov. Tom Vilsack awarded Ed Stanek an $81,000 raise, making him the second-highest paid state employee outside of the university system.
• SC lottery brings in almost $1 billion.  Large Powerball jackpots helped fuel lottery ticket sales of nearly $1 billion in South Carolina for the fiscal year that ended June 30.
• 8:20 am – Group buys every Pick 3 lottery combination and wins.  Ken Seidel and a few St. Louis-area buddies took advantage of a double-draw lottery promotion to make a Missouri Lottery game a nearly sure thing.

Saturday, August 7, 2004

• 1:47 am – There was no jackpot winner in the Friday Mega Millions drawing, but 3 lucky players matched the first 5 numbers for a $175,000 prize: 1 from Michigan and 2 from Texas.  For the complete rundown of winners by prize category, see the Winning Combinations page.

Friday, August 6, 2004

• 9:20 am – One ticket wins $40 million Florida Lotto jackpot.  One ticket sold in Tampa matched all six numbers in Wednesday's Lotto drawing from the Florida Lottery to win the jackpot worth $40 million.
• Oregon lottery posts record sales.  The Oregon Lottery finished its 19th year of operation with record overall sales for the second consecutive year.
• 9:00 am – Cancer victim claims £20 million UK Lotto prize.  A cancer sufferer who claimed a record £20.1 million (US$37.1 million) in the UK Lotto has described the moment when she realized that she had won the jackpot.

Thursday, August 5, 2004

• 7:20 am – $76 Million Powerball Jackpot Up For Grabs.  Because no one correctly matched all six numbers in Wednesday's Powerball drawing the jackpot grew to an estimated $76 million, with a cash option of $39.6 million.
• 7:00 am – Winning small: It's still a blast for Lotto pals.  27 lucky players in Ohio shared a $4 million Super Lotto jackpot Saturday night.
• Lottery lunch ladies still humble a year after jackpot win.  It's been a year since the Holdingford, Minnesota lunch ladies struck the jackpot, literally, and they remain celebrities among school food service workers.  But they're also still humble.
• Virginia Lottery posts record profits.  The Virginia Lottery turned a record profit for the third consecutive year, topping $400 million for the first time since the lottery's inception 16 years ago, officials announced Wednesday.

Wednesday, August 4, 2004

• 7:20 am – Mega Millions jackpot increases to $20 million.  The jackpot in the multi-state Mega Millions lottery grew to $20 million Wednesday.
• 2:10 am – There was no jackpot winner in the Tuesday Mega Millions drawing, but 10 lucky players matched the first 5 numbers for a $175,000 prize: 1 from Massachusetts, 1 from Michigan, 3 from New Jersey, 2 from New York, 1 from Ohio and 2 from Virginia.  For the complete rundown of winners by prize category, see the Winning Combinations page.

Tuesday, August 3, 2004

• 9:20 am – Maine Powerball sales strong.  In a little less than 34 hours, Mainers gobbled up $536,191 worth of Powerball tickets to propel the state into the top three markets in the country for the game's Saturday night drawing.
• 9:00 am – UK National Lottery has new rival.  A rival national draw that promises to make competitors millionaires and to take the lottery out of donating money to charity was today dismissed as a threat by Lotto operator Camelot.
• Former S.C. Lottery employee charged with theft.  A former procurement officer with the South Carolina Education Lottery has been released on bond after his arrest on charges that he converted $425 for his own use.

Monday, August 2, 2004

• 10:20 am – Powerball Jackpot Reaches $63 Million.  Because no one correctly matched all six numbers in Saturday's Powerball drawing the jackpot grew to an estimated $63 million, with a cash option of $33 million.
• Florida Lotto jackpot rolls over to $40 million.  The jackpot for the Florida Lotto has rolled over to an estimated $40 million after Saturday night's drawing produced no winning tickets with all six numbers, the Florida Lottery said on Sunday.
• 10:00 am – Powerball lottery tickets go on sale in Maine.  At noon on Friday, Maine became the 27th state, along with the District of Columbia and the U.S. Virgin Islands, to sell Powerball tickets.  The first ticket in Maine was sold at a Hannaford supermarket in Bangor, according to lottery officials.
• Tenn. lottery fans make fewer runs for the Kentucky border.  Between the Tennessee games' Jan. 20 debut and the June 30 end of the 2004 fiscal year, the 16 Kentucky counties that border Tennessee saw their lottery sales drop $12 million, or 22%, from the same time a year earlier, according to the Kentucky Lottery Corp.
• Connecticut recalls 300 scratch tickets.  A printing glitch on tickets for a scratch-off lottery game has prompted a recall of 300 tickets, Connecticut lottery officials said Friday.

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