Lottery News for December, 2002

Tuesday, December 31, 2002

8:10 am – Don't forget to check back with us tonight at 11:00 PM Eastern Time for the live $12 million Big Game Mega Millions drawing results!

Experts: Lottery Site Has Security Risks. New Jersey Lottery players who sign up for a VIP service offering discounts, bonus games and daily e-mails of winning numbers are risking more than the price of a ticket, Internet security experts warn. Editor: This story refers to the VIP Service at the official NJ Lottery web site (www.njlottery.net). We posted a similar story last Thursday, but felt it was worthwhile to repeat the security threat posed by signing up for that service.

Lottery will drop Max 5 game. Less than a year after its debut, the Hoosier Lottery's Max 5 game is being pulled from stores, a casualty of lackluster sales.

Oregon Lottery's No. 2 director approved perks. As the Oregon State Lottery's No. 2 director, Lee Moore signed off on many of the free-spending perks that have embarrassed the agency in recent months. More: Interim Lottery chief to shave administrative costs.

Monday, December 30, 2002

8:00 am – 2003 could bring new round in N.C. lottery saga. The recent Powerball jackpot win in West Virginia could set the table for an issue the North Carolina General Assembly could face again next year - a North Carolina lottery.

Lottery millions mean little to "boring" Hoquiam couple. Since winning a $93 million Mega Millions lottery jackpot last month, Dick Warren, 70, has spent almost none of his winnings. He drives the same Ford Explorer. He rides the same bicycle. And he still plans to move to a smaller house where he'll no longer have to mow the lawn.

Powerball lottery winner starts handing out the cash. On Sunday, record Powerball lottery winner Andrew "Jack" Whittaker said he was making good on a promise to give his pastor a $334,000 check, the first installment on the church's share - the traditional 10 percent tithe - of Whittaker's $170 million gross winnings. More:

Churches Start Counting Lottery's Blessings
3 pastors ponder Powerball tither's promise
Giving Town Wealth of Pride
Similarity of names causes confusion of lottery winner

Five numbers, one winner, one arrest. The Keno ticket that should have won Jeff St. George $2,250 traveled by bicycle and automobile, spent the night in a trash bin, and now rests safely at the Dracut Police Department...

New Lottery Game Showing Revenue In Missouri. Missouri's Club Keno Lottery Game has been operating for only seven months but it's generating big bucks for the state.

Rather see a regular "Jack" win jackpot?. Admit it. You felt a little disappointed when the lone winner of the $315 million Powerball Jackpot (cash value $170.5 million) turned out to be a man who is already a multi-millionaire.

Saturday, December 28, 2002

2:35 am – There was no jackpot winner in the Friday drawing, but 7 lucky players matched the first 5 numbers for a $175,000 prize: 1 in New Jersey, 1 in Illinois, 1 in Michigan, 2 in New York, 1 in Ohio, and 1 in Virginia. For the complete rundown of winners by prize category, see the Winning Combinations page.

Friday, December 27, 2002

6:40 am – Don't forget to check back with us tonight at 11:00 PM Eastern Time for the live $10 million Big Game Mega Millions drawing results!

More about the $314.9 million Powerball winner:

Video: Winner Press Conference
W.Va. Man Wins $314.9M Powerball Jackpot
Interactive: Past Powerball Winners
Yes, West Virginia, there is a Santa Claus
US man wins record lottery prize
Work, family and God drive history's biggest lottery winner
Lottery winner's priorities: church, family, helicopter
Winner of the $314m lottery jackpot says he will give tithe to church
$314M Powerball Winner to Visit WTC Site

Two more in Upstate claim lottery winnings amidst record-setting sales. Although South Carolina didn't have the big Powerball winner, two tickets worth $100,000 each were sold in the state, one of them in Spartanburg County.

Powerball brings KS some luck. The largest jackpot in the history of the Powerball multistate lottery game paid off for Kansas as it continues to struggle with financial problems.

Florida Lotto millionaire gives total of $250,000 to charities. A financial adviser who held one of the four winning tickets in the $100 million Florida Lotto jackpot earlier this month has already started giving some of his new fortune away to charity.

Considering a Lottery in Nevada's Future. The Governor's Task Force on Tax Policy recently recommended a lottery, which could bring Nevada more than $50 million a year.

$30 million lottery ticket still unclaimed. One of two winning tickets for a $103 million Powerball jackpot still has not been claimed.

Thursday, December 26, 2002

6:35 pm – 55-Year-Old Man Wins $314.9M Powerball. Andrew Jackson Whittaker Jr., a 55-year-old contractor from West Virginia, won the $314.9 million Powerball jackpot, the largest single lottery jackpot in history, lottery officials said today. He opted to take the lump sum of more than $111 million after taxes.

8:25 am – W.V. Sells Powerball Ticket Worth $315M. Christmas is over for the rest of us, but for the winner of the $314.9 million Powerball jackpot it just may go on forever. The winning ticket in the Christmas night drawing — the third-largest lottery jackpot in U.S. history — was purchased at the C&L Super Serve in Hurricane, 25 miles west of Charleston, said Multi-State Lottery Association spokesman Joe Mahoney. The prize was the largest ever won with a single ticket. More:

One Winning Powerball Ticket Sold
$314.9 Million Powerball Jackpot Won By A Single Ticket
Lottery ticket buyers swamp store clerks
Record win on US lottery
Single ticket drawn in $315-million U.S. lottery
Jackpot lures lucky in holiday rush
Powerball Jackpot Stuns Lottery Officials
New Yorkers Make The Powerball Trek To Connecticut
Holiday jackpot lures tourists
Jerseyans catch Powerball fever
Powerball players don't take a holiday
N.C. residents catch Powerball Christmas spirit

Lottery creates eight millionaires. Eight ticketholders each scooped £1 million in the UK National Lottery special Christmas Eve draw.

UK Lottery proves a Christmas loser with slumping sales. Further evidence of the National Lottery's decline became apparent yesterday when ticket sales for the Christmas Millionaire Maker game were revealed to have slumped by nearly £13m.

Georgia man arrested for counterfeit lottery ticket. A Georgia man ran out of luck Christmas Eve when he allegedly tried to pass off two losing lottery tickets as one winner.

N.J. Lottery VIP service labeled risk to privacy. New Jersey Lottery players who sign up for a VIP service offering discounts, bonus games and daily e-mails of winning numbers might be risking more than the price of a ticket, Internet security experts warn.

26 factory workers claim second share of $100 million Florida Lotto jackpot. A group of 26 Dothan, Ala., factory workers, who pooled their money for the first time, claimed the second of four shares of the estimated $100 million Florida Lotto jackpot from the Dec. 14, 2002 drawing.

Wednesday, December 25, 2002

7:05 am – Merry Christmas from BigGameLottery.com!

2:05 am – Jackpot Winner! There was one $63 million jackpot winner from New York in the Tuesday 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 in New Jersey, 3 in Illinois, 1 in Michigan, and 1 in New York. For the complete rundown of winners by prize category, see the Winning Combinations page.

Tuesday, December 24, 2002

7:20 am – Don't forget to check back with us tonight at 11:00 PM Eastern Time for the live $63 million Big Game Mega Millions drawing results!

Powerball players dream of a green Christmas. One of the largest Powerball jackpots on record will be up for grabs Christmas Day when lottery players around the country play for an estimated $280 million prize. More:

CT Lottery urges players to buy tickets "inland"
Powerball fever? Not this time
Powerball's growing jackpot leads to record lottery sales in S.C.
Powerball win tops festive wish list
Lotto adds green to holiday dreams
Locals dreaming of a rich Christmas
All I want for Christmas are the 6 right numbers
Secular, sacred converge with holiday lotto drawing
Pa. eating into W.Va.'s Powerball proceeds

Rochester man claims $25 million Lotto prize. Christmas has arrived early for crane operator Richard Krenzer, who bought the sole winning ticket for the December 11th New York Lotto jackpot worth $25 million. More: Brighton man wins $25 million in lottery's Quick-Pick drawing.

CA couple claims $50 million lotto prize. A Middletown, California construction worker and his wife on Monday claimed the $50 million California Lottery jackpot -- believed to be the largest prize ever won on the North Coast -- but they said their lives won't change too much. More: $50 million jackpot won in Calistoga.

Lottery win seasonal gift for family. A Flemington, New Jersey man's $7 million lottery win this month will make Christmas a little merrier for his family, but he isn't planning any extravagant lifestyle change.

New life for NC lottery?. The Tar Heel state will never reap any of the profits with its continued ban on a state lottery. In fact, a 60-year-old state law actually makes the trip to buy tickets a crime (although it's a misdemeanor that is almost never enforced).

Monday, December 23, 2002

7:50 am – Powerball jackpot to exceed $280 million. The Christmas Day jackpot in the multistate Powerball lottery is expected to top $280 million, making it one of the largest prizes ever. More: Christmas Powerball to Be Third-Largest.

Spain Holds $1.7B Christmas Lottery. Spain came to a standstill Sunday waiting for "The Fat One" — a $1.7 billion Christmas lottery billed as the world's richest.

Camelot to fight if state tries to take over lottery. Britain's lottery operator pledged to fight its corner yesterday after the government announced it was "seriously considering" nationalizing the game. More: Government set to nationalize lottery.

S.C. lottery officials say record amount spent on large drawing. A record of $6 million was spent in South Carolina for tickets - although no one sold any winning ones - to Saturday night's Powerball drawing with a estimated prize of $216.3 million. More: Georgia, North Carolina residents flood over border to buy lottery tickets.

State lawmakers discover lotteries are big business. On the final day of a two-day fact-finding trip to Georgia, a House-Senate committee charged with crafting a Tennessee lottery got an inside view. Several members said they came away impressed at the enormity of the $50 billion-a-year industry.

Saturday, December 21, 2002

2:40 am – There was no jackpot winner in the Friday drawing, but 6 lucky players matched the first 5 numbers for a $175,000 prize: 1 in New Jersey, 2 in Massachusetts, 1 in Maryland, 1 in New York, and 1 in Ohio. For the complete rundown of winners by prize category, see the Winning Combinations page.

Friday, December 20, 2002

7:05 am – Don't forget to check back with us tonight at 11:00 PM Eastern Time for the live $55 million Big Game Mega Millions drawing results!

S.D. Officials Mull Lottery Compact. It may be late next year before Powerball lottery tickets go on sale in North Dakota, officials said Thursday at a meeting to see if the two Dakotas could cooperate on administrative costs.

Huge jackpot gives boost to state revenues. A big Powerball jackpot, the largest in 16 months, could provide a glimmer of light for an otherwise dismal West Virginia revenue forecast, Lottery Commission members learned Thursday.

No NJ lottery drawings on Christmas. The New Jersey Lottery will not hold midday and / or evening drawings for its Pick 3, Pick 4 or Jersey Cash 5 games on Christmas Day, Wednesday, December 25, 2002.

Thursday, December 19, 2002

7:15 am – No Big Winner: Powerball Jackpot Keeps Growing. No one matched all six numbers in Wednesday night's Powerball drawing, pushing the jackpot to an estimated $215 million for Saturday night's drawing. Saturday's prize will be the third-largest prize in Powerball history.

Tennessee lawmakers head to Georgia for Lottery 101. Tennessee lawmakers received a crash course Tuesday in how to start a $1-billion-a-year enterprise—a state lottery—from scratch in just a few months. More: Legislators see lottery vendor operations.

Another Oregon Lottery employee steps down. Another employee with the Oregon Lottery has stepped down, just weeks after the state agency was questioned about unnecessary spending.

KY couple awarded $4.3 million from lottery. A Jefferson Circuit Court jury awarded a husband and wife more than $4.3 million last night in a lawsuit that claimed that the Kentucky Lottery Corp. wrongfully fired them.

Lawmakers review MD lottery audit. Maryland Lottery Director Buddy Roogow got a mostly sympathetic hearing when he appeared before a legislative oversight committee yesterday as it reviewed a highly critical audit report of his agency.

1st winner picks up his Lotto share. The first winner to claim a share of the $100 million Florida Lotto jackpot walked out of the state's lottery offices Wednesday with a lump sum of more than $14 million.

Wednesday, December 18, 2002

7:15 am – 'Euromillions' coming soon?. Details of what could become a Europe-wide Lotto-style draw were released last night by the National Lottery organizer, Camelot. More:

Camelot to organize Europe-wide lottery
Euro Lottery on Cards

S.C. in the grip of jackpot fever. The extra-large Powerball jackpot has turned the tables along the Georgia-South Carolina line. For years there, South Carolinians have crossed to Georgia to buy tickets to that state's high-stakes game, Mega Millions. But with this big jackpot, Georgians are returning the visit.

Gaming case one of biggest. A Bismarck, North Dakota veterans' organization may have been involved in the largest violation of charitable gaming laws in state history by failing to disclose $646,419 it received through on-site charitable gaming.

2:30 am – There was no jackpot winner in the Tuesday drawing, but 3 lucky players matched the first 5 numbers for a $175,000 prize: 1 in New Jersey and 2 in New York. For the complete rundown of winners by prize category, see the Winning Combinations page.

Tuesday, December 17, 2002

5:35 am – Don't forget to check back with us tonight at 11:00 PM Eastern Time for the live $46 million Big Game Mega Millions drawing results!

Texas Lottery celebrates 10 years in state. The Texas Lottery has proven to be big business in Amarillo in its 10 years of existence, but the city's largest ticket retailer acknowledges it is not always a financially lucrative venture.

Lottery giving pull tabs a face lift. Lottery players in Marion, Vinton and Center Point may be among the first in Iowa to try out new video pull-tab machines that the state plans to begin experimenting with early next year, Iowa Lottery officials said Monday.

Monday, December 16, 2002

7:00 am – Lottery officials have advice for Tennessee. As Tennessee lawmakers craft a lottery plan, officials in Southern states that already offer lotteries have plenty of advice. More: Tennessee crafting lottery framework.

4 winning tickets in $100 million Florida Lottery. Four winning Florida Lottery tickets were purchased across the state, and the winners -- who have not yet come forward -- will split an estimated $100 million jackpot, the state's lottery spokesman Sam Oliver said late Saturday. More:

Lotto Choice: Divide It or Lump It
Marco awaits finding out the identity of its lottery winner
Four winners to split $100 million jackpot
Local Lotto winner is incognito

Md. Lottery Blamed For Costly Mistakes. The Maryland State Lottery Agency has been strongly rebuked by legislative auditors for several serious errors and oversights, some of which resulted in the loss of hundreds of thousands of dollars and have been referred to the attorney general's office for possible criminal investigation. More: Audit finds serious problems with lottery.

Funding from lottery now exceeds $10 billion. The Texas Lottery reached the $10 billion mark in money raised for the state for public education, medical institutions and other government expenses, the Lottery Commission announced.

Saturday, December 14, 2002

3:15 am – There was no jackpot winner in the Friday drawing, but 4 lucky players matched the first 5 numbers for a $175,000 prize: 1 in New Jersey, 1 in New York, 1 in Ohio, and 1 in Washington. For the complete rundown of winners by prize category, see the Winning Combinations page.

Friday, December 13, 2002

6:40 am – Don't forget to check back with us tonight at 11:00 PM Eastern Time for the live $39 million Big Game Mega Millions drawing results!

Need to spend $100 million? Here's how. Assuming a single ticket in Saturday's Florida Lotto drawing takes the prize, what could the lucky winner really afford with all that cash? More: Lottery ticket sales increase with stakes.

Thursday, December 12, 2002

6:25 am – Double lottery winners beat odds of 1 in 24,000,000,000,000 -- hit jackpot twice in one day. Angelo and Maria Gallina, who figure they have spent $124,000 over the years on lottery tickets, won the California Lottery jackpot -- not once, but twice, on the same day. An hour after winning $126,000 in the Fantasy Five game, they won $17 million in SuperLotto Plus. More:

Lottery Lollapalooza - San Jose Mercury News
Couple's California lottery double take is unprecedented - Seattle Post Intelligencer
Couple Wins Lottery Twice in One Day - KRON4
Belmont couple double Lottery winners - San Francisco Chronicle
Lucky Belmont couple strikes it rich -- twice - San Mateo County Times
Man beats lottery odds - Los Angeles Daily News

D.C. Lottery Looks for New Agencies to Place Ads. D.C. Lottery officials said yesterday that they will choose two new media-buying agencies. The two-year contract of the Kamber Group, a D.C.-based communications firm, expires Wednesday, lottery spokesman Bob Haines said.

Lawyer named interim director of Oregon lottery. Brenda Rocklin, a lawyer in the state Department of Justice, will be the interim director of the Oregon Lottery.

Two Miami women arrested in national lottery scam. Two women were arrested Wednesday and charged with bilking 21 people out of $350,000 in a national lottery scam that targeted the elderly, a federal complaint said.

San Mateo -- the luckiest county ever?. With four California Lottery jackpot winners so far this year raking in a total of more than $115.8 million, this is arguably the luckiest county in the state.

Mailing Lottery Tickets This Holiday Season? DON'T!. Many of you may be thinking that a lottery ticket would be the perfect gift for a loved one. Sounds like a good idea, but did you know that it is actually against federal law to send a lottery ticket through the mail?

Wednesday, December 11, 2002

8:00 am – Winning Texas Lotto could get harder. State officials are considering making it even harder to win the Lotto Texas game, a move intended to lead to bigger jackpots that officials hope will boost drooping lottery sales.

Michigan hopes new lotto game will be a winner. Michigan is replacing its struggling Michigan Millions lotto game with a contest called Winfall that will have mandatory payoffs once the jackpot hits $5 million.

2:55 am – There was no jackpot winner in the Tuesday drawing, but 13 lucky players matched the first 5 numbers for a $175,000 prize: 2 in New Jersey, 2 in Illinois, 1 in Massachusetts, 4 in Michigan, 3 in New York, and 1 in Washington. For the complete rundown of winners by prize category, see the Winning Combinations page.

Tuesday, December 10, 2002

6:25 am – Don't forget to check back with us tonight at 11:00 PM Eastern Time for the live $32 million Big Game Mega Millions drawing results!

Mega Millions winners swamped with pitches for money. Dick and Pat Warren of Hoquiam, Washington say their lives haven't changed much — except for a constant stream of mail and phone calls from folks with ideas about how to spend the first Mega Millions jackpot won by a Washingtonian.

Washington Mega Millions sales not up to expectations. Sales for Washington's newest lottery game, Mega Millions, have been lower than expected, but state officials hope new marketing campaigns, local winners and bigger jackpots will boost ticket sales.

B.C. man held in lottery scam. One of the biggest Canadian investors in a Costa Rican money-management firm that recently closed, leaving thousands of people, including hundreds of Canadians, facing possible financial ruin, is now accused of being involved in a massive lottery scam.

Lottery winner's cash cow dries up. After next week, the check won't be in the mail any more for New York's best-known lottery winner.

Monday, December 9, 2002

7:00 am – Australians arrested over international lottery scam. Australian Federal Police (AFP) have arrested two men in connection with a multi-million dollar international lottery scam.

UK lotto sales hit low. Ticket sales for Saturday night's UK National Lottery draw hit an all-time low.

Unclaimed lottery prizes used to buy homes for the poor. The Kentucky Lottery has given $17.5 million in unclaimed lottery prizes for the construction and renovation of some 3,000 homes and apartments for the working poor and elderly across the state.

Lotto ads raise a whole lotta trouble. The Illinois Lottery makes some people awfully rich, but a local merchant's ads for the lottery are making a Bridgeview resident awfully mad.

New York Lottery pays out seven $175,000 Mega Millions prizes. The New York Lottery paid out a total of $1,225,000 to seven second-prize winners of New York's Mega Millions game. More: Quick Pick Pool Pays off for Popper Employees.

Saturday, December 7, 2002

3:00 am – The were no jackpot winners and no $175,000 winners in the Friday drawing. For the complete rundown of winners in each of the other prize categories, see the Winning Combinations page.

Friday, December 6, 2002

6:55 am – Don't forget to check back with us tonight at 11:00 PM Eastern Time for the live $26 million Big Game Mega Millions drawing results!

Georgia Lottery sales up. Despite the bad economic times, the Georgia lottery is having another record sales year. Five months into its calendar year, the Georgia lottery is $58 million dollars ahead of last year.

Oklahoma lottery amendment stalled. Educators wanting additional money from a lottery will have to wait until at least August before seeing any more dollars.

S.C. universities submit proposals for lottery funds. USC, Clemson University and the Medical University of South Carolina Thursday began vying for a $30 million pool of lottery money set aside for research projects at three institutions.

Thursday, December 5, 2002

6:30 am – Indictment charges 17 in lottery scheme. Seventeen people are accused of bilking more than $100 million from victims in the United States and abroad through a lottery-ticket scheme that used a string of bogus companies, according to a federal indictment released Wednesday.

First-time Ohio player wins $175,000 Mega Millions prize. In his entire life, Dean Wagner of Zanesville, Ohio has bought exactly one Mega Millions ticket. In fact, when he bought the ticket, he had to ask the clerk to explain it to him. He knows a lot more about Mega Millions now, because that ticket won $175,000.

Wednesday, December 4, 2002

6:15 am – Continuing coverage of the Oregon Lottery Director suddenly resigning Monday:

Director of lottery quits post suddenly - The Register-Guard
Chris Lyons under fire for lottery financial mess - KATU
State lottery director resigns after audit - KPTV (Fox)
Lottery worker found himself poster child of government waste - The Daily News (Longview, WA)
Lottery needs more businesslike attitude - Statesman Journal
Oregon Lottery director steps down - The Business Journal

Florida Lottery head to step down. Lottery Secretary David Griffin submitted a resignation letter saying he would not return to his post. Griffin had previously submitted a resignation letter along with other agency heads as a formality Gov. Jeb Bush requested as he begins his second term Jan. 7. More: Bush takes first steps in retooling inner circle.

N.D. Lawmakers debate lottery. Seven North Dakota legislators who are members of a lottery task force were presented with a raft of possible rules on Monday, ranging from a requirement that gamblers pay cash for lottery tickets to criminal background checks for ticket sellers.

3:05 am – There was no jackpot winner in the Tuesday drawing, but 2 lucky players matched the first 5 numbers for a $175,000 prize: 1 in New York and 1 in Ohio. For the complete rundown of winners by prize category, see the Winning Combinations page.

Tuesday, December 3, 2002

6:50 am – Don't forget to check back with us tonight at 11:00 PM Eastern Time for the live $20 million Big Game Mega Millions drawing results!

Oregon lottery chief resigns in wake of audit. Embattled Oregon Lottery Director Chris Lyons announced her resignation Monday, only weeks after an audit found $750,000 in questionable travel expenses and perks provided to Lottery employees. More: Oregon Lottery director resigns.

Tenn. lottery easily approved as voter results verified. Tennesseans cleared the way for a state lottery with 68,320 votes to spare, according to Nov. 5 election returns certified as official yesterday.

Jackpot-winning young offender compensates coach firm. A young offender who won £9.7 million on the National Lottery has paid compensation to the coach company whose vehicle he damaged.

Monday, December 2, 2002

6:50 am – Branson called in to 'stop Lottery rot'. Richard Branson, a multi-millionaire entrepreneur and owner of the Virgin group of companies, has been asked by the UK Government for ideas on how to inject fresh excitement into the Lottery, which last week announced the lowest ticket sales in its eight-year history. More: Athletes to feel pinch as Lottery ticket sales slump.

Andrew N.S. Glazer: New blackjack trick isn't worth the risk. If you want to be a more successful blackjack player, you'd better be one of those old dogs who can learn new tricks, because the game is changing, and you need to change your playing style with it.

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