Archived Lottery News for September, 2004

Thursday, September 30, 2004

• 7:40 am – Cut Line Causes Lottery Problems.  Tuesday a worker accidentally cut a main line in Sioux Falls, South Dakota, knocking out Powerball machines in the area.
• 3:46 am – There was no jackpot winner in the Wednesday Powerball drawing, but 11 lucky players matched the first 5 numbers for a $100,000 prize: 1 from Arizona, 3 from Connecticut (1 with Power Play), 1 from Delaware, 1 from Idaho, 1 from Indiana (1 with Power Play), 1 from Kentucky, 2 from Minnesota and 1 from Pennsylvania.  For the complete rundown of winners by prize category, see the Ways to Win page.

Wednesday, September 29, 2004

• 9:20 am – Mega Millions rockets to $101 million.  The jackpot in the multi-state Mega Millions lottery grew to $101 million Wednesday.
• Powerball jackpot winner dies.  Melvin Rhodes — who won a big Powerball lottery jackpot four years ago — has died in Maryville, Tennessee at 78.
• California Lottery has highest sales in history.  California Lottery officials announced a stellar year with estimated sales for Fiscal Year (FY) 2003-04 over $2.9 billion, representing the highest sales since the commencement of the Lottery in 1985.
• Iowa woman to plead guilty for lottery ticket theft.  A Fonda, Iowa, woman has agreed to plead guilty to claiming a lottery pool's prize as her own.
• 9:00 am – Virginia Lottery Celebrates 16th Anniversary.  In the sixteen years since the first ticket was sold, the Virginia Lottery has sold $14.3 billion in tickets and turned over more than $4.9 billion to the Commonwealth.
• 6:37 am – There was no jackpot winner in the Tuesday Mega Millions drawing, but 6 lucky players matched the first 5 numbers for a $175,000 prize: 1 from Georgia, 1 from Illinois, 1 from New Jersey, 2 from New York and 1 from Washington.  For the complete rundown of winners by prize category, see the Ways to Win page.

Tuesday, September 28, 2004

• 9:00 am – Ohio Lottery Rolls Out New Game: Rolling Cash 5.  The Ohio Lottery Commission yesterday announced a new game for Ohio Lottery players that provides a “little lotto” twist.  Rolling Cash 5, a new 5-of-39 game set to replace Buckeye 5, goes on sale Sunday, Oct. 3.

Monday, September 27, 2004

• 8:20 am – Powerball jackpot soars to $128 million.  Because no one correctly matched all six numbers in Saturday's Powerball drawing the jackpot grew to an estimated $128 million with a cash option value of $70.7 million — the largest lottery jackpot in the world.
• Ohio lottery player cries foul over scratch ticket.  The Ohio Lottery is refusing to pay a $2,000 prize to a player who insists his straight poker hand beats the dealer's three of a kind.
• 7:40 am – Broke lottery winner turned to theft.  A lottery winner who stole more than £10,000 in an effort to buy back her popularity has been jailed for 12 months.
• N.C. Governor changes tactics in push for lottery.  North Carolina Governor Mike Easley has mentioned the lottery more and more often during the election season, but not in the insistent tone in which he demanded one in his State of the State address nearly two years ago.
• Dark clouds over Florida hold silver lining for one lottery winner.  Someone who bought a Florida Lotto ticket in New Port Richey can claim a jackpot worth an estimated $11 million.

Saturday, September 25, 2004

• 11:53 pm – There was no jackpot winner in the Saturday Powerball drawing, but 2 lucky players matched the first 5 numbers for a $100,000 prize: 1 from New Hampshire and 1 from South Carolina (1 with Power Play).  For the complete rundown of winners by prize category, see the Ways to Win page.
• 2:47 am – There was no jackpot winner in the Friday Mega Millions drawing, but 7 lucky players matched the first 5 numbers for a $175,000 prize: 1 from Illinois, 1 from Massachusetts, 3 from New Jersey and 2 from Virginia.  For the complete rundown of winners by prize category, see the Ways to Win page.

Friday, September 24, 2004

• 9:00 am – One ticket wins $19 million Illinois Lotto jackpot.  A single player has won the $19 million grand prize from the latest drawing of the Illinois State Lottery's Lotto game.
• Minnesota Lottery hires S.D. lottery chief.  The nationwide search for a new director to lead the beleaguered Minnesota Lottery ended close to home Thursday with the appointment of Clint Harris, executive director of the South Dakota Lottery.

Thursday, September 23, 2004

• 10:40 am – Powerball Jackpot Leaps to $110 Million.  Because no one correctly matched all six numbers in Wednesday's Powerball drawing the jackpot grew to an estimated $110 million, with a cash option of $60.3 million.
• 8:40 am – Elderly NJ man victim of lottery scam.  Flimflam artists conned a 75-year-old Perth Amboy, New Jersey man out of $6,000 on Monday afternoon, city police said.
• California lottery millionaire tries not to change.  Two months after Charles "Chuck" Bush became an instant millionaire, the only things that have changed are his address, the car he drives and the number of telephone solicitors who call him.

Wednesday, September 22, 2004

• 11:58 pm – There was no jackpot winner in the Wednesday Powerball drawing, but 11 lucky players matched the first 5 numbers for a $100,000 prize: 1 from Arizona, 1 from Colorado (1 with Power Play), 1 from Connecticut, 1 from Iowa, 1 from Idaho, 1 from Louisiana, 2 from Minnesota, 1 from Missouri (1 with Power Play), 1 from New Mexico and 1 from Wisconsin.  For the complete rundown of winners by prize category, see the Ways to Win page.
• 8:40 am – $75 Million: Mega Millions Lottery Jackpot on the Rise.  The jackpot in the multi-state Mega Millions lottery grew to $75 million Wednesday.
• GTech Profits Up.  GTech Holdings Corp., the world's largest lottery systems operator, on Tuesday said quarterly earnings rose on new contracts, acquisitions and strong sales of its products.
• 8:20 am – Record Powerball lottery winner's house burglarized.  Three men burglarized the home of Jack Whittaker, winner of the biggest lottery jackpot in U.S. history, as an acquaintance of Whittaker's lay dead inside, police said Tuesday.
• 1:46 am – There was no jackpot winner in the Tuesday Mega Millions drawing, but 5 lucky players matched the first 5 numbers for a $175,000 prize: 1 from Georgia, 1 from New Jersey, 1 from New York and 2 from Texas.  For the complete rundown of winners by prize category, see the Ways to Win page.

Tuesday, September 21, 2004

• 7:20 am – Crossing the border is good luck for $200,000 lottery winner.  A Clarksville, Tennessee man's luck turned green earlier this month when he won $200,000 in the Kentucky Cash Ball lottery.
• 7:00 am – Canadian Super 7 lottery winner heads back to work.  It's back to work for Shawn MacDonald even if this morning he is Canada's newest multi-millionaire.
• Missouri lottery winner to validate $3.1 million winning ticket.  An Ava, Missouri man must wait until Wednesday or Thursday for state lottery officials to verify whether his lottery ticket will turn him into a $3.1 million winner in the Missouri Lottery.

Monday, September 20, 2004

• 7:40 pm – Man stops for a soda and wins a $100,000 Powerball prize.  For V. Godinez of Carlsbad, winning the latest $100,000 Powerball prize in New Mexico resulted from merely stopping for a soda after his work shift.
• 6:40 pm – New Mexico Lottery Unveils ’4 This Way’.  The New Mexico Lottery Authority will launch a new drawing game on September 26.  "4 This Way" is designed as a game unique to New Mexico with a $4,000 nightly top prize.
• 12:00 pm – Powerball lottery jackpot nears $100 million mark.  Because no one correctly matched all six numbers in Saturday's Powerball drawing the jackpot grew to an estimated $95 million, with a cash option of $52.3 million.
• Mega Millions Jackpot Swells To $64 Million.  The jackpot in the multi-state Mega Millions lottery grew to $64 million Saturday.
• Ontario Lottery Machines Crash.  Three-quarters of Ontario's 8,200 lottery machines weren't working Sunday night.

Sunday, September 19, 2004

• 12:01 am – There was no jackpot winner in the Saturday Powerball drawing, but 11 lucky players matched the first 5 numbers for a $100,000 prize: 2 from Arizona, 2 from Connecticut (1 with Power Play), 1 from Kentucky, 1 from New Hampshire, 1 from South Carolina, 1 from South Dakota, 2 from Tennessee and 1 from Wisconsin.  For the complete rundown of winners by prize category, see the Ways to Win page.

Friday, September 17, 2004

• 11:01 pm – There was no jackpot winner in the Friday Mega Millions drawing, but 8 lucky players matched the first 5 numbers for a $175,000 prize: 1 from Illinois, 2 from Massachusetts, 1 from Michigan, 2 from New York, 1 from Ohio and 1 from Texas.  For the complete rundown of winners by prize category, see the Ways to Win page.
• 12:00 pm – Powerball jackpot rockets to $84 million.  Because no one correctly matched all six numbers in Wednesday's Powerball drawing the jackpot grew to an estimated $84 million, with a cash option of $45.7 million.
• 11:40 am – Poll: most Americans would continue working after lottery win.  In a poll released by Gallup this week, 55 percent of respondents said they would continue to work, while 44 percent said they would kiss the boss or their business bye-bye.
• Minnesota ticket wins record Hot Lotto jackpot.  A ticket sold in Minnesota is the winner of a record $10.8 million Hot Lotto jackpot, lottery officials said Thursday.

Thursday, September 16, 2004

• 11:00 am – Man claims $7.8 million Hoosier Lotto jackpot.  A Wabash man today claimed a $7.8 million jackpot from a Hoosier Lottery drawing last week.
• South Dakota Lottery upgrades lottery terminals.  The South Dakota Lottery has signed a new contract with Scientific Games Corp. to replace all the lotto machines, upgrade the network, and allow the state to add more lotto terminals.
• Dinner ladies win lottery jackpot.  A dinner lady today told how she was on holiday thousands of miles away in Australia – unaware that she and 11 colleagues had scooped more than £2.3&nbp;million on the UK National Lottery.

Wednesday, September 15, 2004

• 11:01 pm – There was no jackpot winner in the Wednesday Powerball drawing, but 9 lucky players matched the first 5 numbers for a $100,000 prize: 1 from Washington, D.C., 2 from Indiana, 1 from Maine, 1 from New Mexico, 1 from South Carolina, 1 from Tennessee and 2 from Wisconsin.  For the complete rundown of winners by prize category, see the Ways to Win page.
• 11:40 am – Mega Millions jackpot increases to $55 million.  The jackpot in the multi-state Mega Millions lottery grew to $55 million Wednesday.
• 11:20 am – Internet casino profits from lottery name confusion.  One of the Oregon Lottery's latest instant scratch-off ticket games apparently has been helping generate a tidy sum of revenue – for the owners of a 9-year-old, offshore-based online casino.
• 10:40 am – Student wins NY Lotto.  She's only 20, but a Queens college student can afford to throw herself one heck of a graduation party after hitting a $5 million lottery jackpot from a ticket she got from her dad.
• Study: Gambling May Help Keep Older Folks Healthy.  A new study suggests recreational gambling could help contribute to good health in older Americans.
• Hurricane disrupts Florida Lotto sales.  This week's $2 million Florida Lotto jackpot is the smallest since the state went to twice-a-week jackpots in 1999.
• 7:09 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 New Jersey and 1 from Virginia.  For the complete rundown of winners by prize category, see the Ways to Win page.

Tuesday, September 14, 2004

• 11:00 am – Illinois Lottery's founder remembered.  As the Illinois Lottery turns 30, Zeke Giorgi, the lottery's founder, was remembered by his family and the lottery.
• Hundreds Descend on Lottery Headquarters To Collect Winnings.  Four little numbers added up to nearly $6 million for 4,653 people who played the Connecticut Lottery's Play 4 game last Friday.
• 10:40 am – Powerball lottery winnings to help pay bail.  Lottery millionaire Victoria Zell got her money from Powerball, but now she's using a major chunk of it for "powerbail."

Monday, September 13, 2004

• 11:40 am – Powerball Jackpot Soars to $72 Million.  Because no one correctly matched all six numbers in Saturday's Powerball drawing the jackpot grew to an estimated $72 million, with a cash option of $39.2 million.
• 11:20 am – Great-great-grandmother wins $5.6m lottery jackpot.  A 94-year-old great-great-grandmother from Everett, Massachusetts is thinking about fixing her leaky roof and maybe taking a cruise to someplace warm and sunny now that she's won $5.6 million in the state lottery, her great-granddaughter, Cynthia Smith, said yesterday.
• Factory Worker to Quit after Lottery Win.  A manual worker at a lubricants factory was planning early retirement today after scooping more than £1.1 million in the UK National Lottery.

Sunday, September 12, 2004

• 2:06 am – There was no jackpot winner in the Saturday Powerball drawing, but 4 lucky players matched the first 5 numbers for a $100,000 prize: 1 from Arizona, 1 from Connecticut, 1 from Pennsylvania and 1 from West Virginia.  For the complete rundown of winners by prize category, see the Ways to Win page.

Saturday, September 11, 2004

• 12:00 pm – Mega Millions jackpot increases to $46 million.  The jackpot in the multi-state Mega Millions lottery grew to $46 million Saturday.
• Texas Lottery reports $3.5 billion in sales.  Popular scratch-off games and a record lottery jackpot propelled the Texas Lottery to its second-highest sales during fiscal year 2004.
• 2:56 am – There was no jackpot winner in the Friday Mega Millions drawing, but 2 lucky players matched the first 5 numbers for a $175,000 prize: 1 from Illinois and 1 from New York.  For the complete rundown of winners by prize category, see the Winning Combinations page.

Friday, September 10, 2004

• 5:00 pm – Mass. Lottery rolls out new game.  The Massachusetts Lottery retired its 17-year-old Mass Millions game and replaced it with the new $2 CASH WinFall game.

Thursday, September 9, 2004

• 2:00 pm – Powerball Jackpot Jumps to $64 Million.  Because no one correctly matched all six numbers in Wednesday's Powerball drawing the jackpot grew to an estimated $64 million, with a cash option of $34.4 million.
• Alabama man wins Florida Lotto.  James Kenneth Marlowe of Demopolis, Alabama is $9 million richer after he chose the winning numbers for Florida's Florida Lotto, claiming the Sept. 4 lotto jackpot, estimated at $18 million.

Wednesday, September 8, 2004

• 5:20 pm – Mass. Lottery to host 'retirement party' for Mass Millions game.  Treasurer Tim Cahill and Massachusetts State Lottery Director Joe Sullivan will mark the last drawing of the Mass Millions game by throwing a "retirement party" for the game and by unveiling the Lottery's new numbers game.
• 3:04 pm – Mega Millions lottery jackpot increases to $39 million.  The jackpot in the multi-state Mega Millions lottery grew to $39 million Wednesday.
• 1:28 am – There was no jackpot winner in the Tuesday Mega Millions drawing, but 3 lucky players matched the first 5 numbers for a $175,000 prize: 3 from New York.  For the complete rundown of winners by prize category, see the Winning Combinations page.

Tuesday, September 7, 2004

• 10:20 am – $54 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 $54 million, with a cash option of $29.1 million.
• Man wins Oregon lottery game.  Vancouver resident David Bartkowski, 46, is the latest winner in Oregon Lottery's "Win for Life" contest.
• Tennessee Lottery officials respond to lawsuit.  The Tennessee Attorney General's office says a Fayetteville man can't sue the lottery on grounds he could have won a million dollars.
• $40 million lottery winners still OK after two decades.  When Mike Wittkowski won $40 million in the Illinois Lottery two decades ago, the media reported worldwide on what was called the largest prize ever won by an individual in North America.

Saturday, September 4, 2004

• 9:00 am – Mega Millions jackpot increases to $31 million.  The jackpot in the multi-state Mega Millions lottery grew to $31 million Saturday.
• Ohio Mega Millions lottery winner claims prize.  The owner of a winning Mega Millions lottery ticket claimed a multimillion-dollar prize Friday, ending two weeks of uncertainty.
• 4:34 am – There was no jackpot winner in the Friday Mega Millions drawing, but 6 lucky players matched the first 5 numbers for a $175,000 prize: 2 from Georgia, 1 from New Jersey, 1 from New York, 1 from Texas and 1 from Virginia.  For the complete rundown of winners by prize category, see the Winning Combinations page.

Friday, September 3, 2004

• 9:00 am – Lottery winner retrieves stolen ticket.  It was indeed a lucky day for a Washington, D.C. man who bought a winning $25,000 lottery ticket, had it stolen and got it back within a two-hour span.
• Tenn. Lottery produces $110 million in scholarships.  Tennessee education officials took in early returns on the state's lottery scholarship program and began looking at ways it could be massaged in future years.
• Third suit filed against Powerball lottery winner.  Equine Protection of North America director Ron Levesque has become the third party to file suit against the group’s co-founder and Powerball lottery winner Mary Ellen Sanderson.
• 8:40 am – Canadian woodworker carves out lottery win.  Andre Leveille watched Wednesday night as, one after another, the numbers on the television screen matched those on a Lotto 6/49 ticket he bought at a gas station in Mascouche.

Thursday, September 2, 2004

• 8:20 am – Powerball Jackpot Grows to $45 Million.  Because no one correctly matched all six numbers in Wednesday's Powerball drawing the jackpot grew to an estimated $45 million, with a cash option of $24.4 million.
• S.C. man sentenced for lottery ticket theft.  A Ridgeland, South Carolina man was sentenced to time served, restitution and three years of probation in Beaufort County General Sessions Court Monday after pleading guilty to 12 charges of trying to cash stolen lottery tickets, court records state.
• 8:00 am – Michigan Lottery to start new lottery game.  Michigan Lottery players will have a chance at a daily jackpot of at least $100,000 with Fantasy 5, a new daily game that debuts on September 12.

Wednesday, September 1, 2004

• 8:00 am – Mega Millions jackpot raised to $24 million.  The jackpot in the multi-state Mega Millions lottery grew to $24 million Wednesday.
• Kentucky Lottery rolls out new game.  A kid's game - tic tac toe - is the Kentucky Lottery's newest online offering.
• Teenager Shoplifts Winning Lottery Ticket.  A Swedish teenager who shoplifted a winning lottery ticket that could be worth as much as $1 million has discovered the truth in that old adage 'crime doesn't pay'.
• 2:47 am – There was no jackpot winner in the Tuesday Mega Millions drawing, but 5 lucky players matched the first 5 numbers for a $175,000 prize: 1 from Massachusetts, 1 from New Jersey, 1 from Virginia and 2 from Washington.  For the complete rundown of winners by prize category, see the Winning Combinations page.

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