Lottery News for December 26, 2002

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.

More Mega Millions and Powerball lottery news