Lottery News for April, 2002

Tuesday, April 30, 2002

8:35 am – Don't forget to check back with us tonight at 11:00 PM Eastern Time for the live $5 million Big Game drawing results!

New Jersey completes review of "competing claims" to $331 million Big Game jackpot. The official statement from the New Jersey Lottery regarding the facts and events surrounding the dispute and resolution.

Voters have the final say on Tennessee lottery . Tennessee is one of only three states that bars all forms of legalized gambling, but the Tennessee Legislature decided to allow voters to determine in November whether they want a lottery -- and polls show they do.

About 75 people charged statewide with lottery fraud. Since South Carolinians began playing the state's new lottery last January, about 75 people have been charged with stealing game tickets, state Lottery Commission officials reported.

Lottery solves jackpot problem. Ohio Lottery officials said they devised a way to get around the problem of instant game jackpots being claimed before all of the tickets are sold.

Oreana, Ill Man Wins $150,000 Big Game Prize. Kevin Brobst, who says he chooses his numbers randomly, matched five of six numbers for the Big Game drawing of March 1, 2002.

Recent Michigan $150,000 Big Game winners:

Herbert Kallmeyer of Dearborn
Kevin Blume of Indianapolis, IN
Artelia May and Nicole Towns From Detroit

Monday, April 29, 2002

5:40 pm – Lottery Officials Settle NJ Dispute. The big hassle over the Big Game jackpot is over. New Jersey lottery officials said Monday that the person who can claim one-third of the $331 million prize will be revealed Tuesday — and it won't be anyone from an office pool that claimed to have the winning ticket.

8:15 am – Man denies buying winning Big Game ticket for lottery pool. New Jersey's Big Game lottery flap took more twists over the weekend, with the unofficial leader of a nursing home lottery pool insisting Big Game tickets he bought at the store that sold the winner were all losers. Meanwhile, the pool at Newark Extended Care Facility -- whose members saying they're being denied a cut of $59 million -- grew after a pair of workers said they also had anted up by letting past winnings ride.

Lottery disputes can be avoided, experts say. Experts say the current NJ Big Game ticket flap is a reminder that casual agreements among employees can lead to a multimillion dollar mess.

Relaunch for 'boring' lottery. The National Lottery is to be given a £72 million makeover after operator Camelot admitted it has become "bit boring". More:

Can a National Lottery re-launch revive interest? - BBC
"Boring" lottery set for shake-up - Daily Express
£72m revamp for "boring" Lottery - This Is London
Lottery Revamp Launched - The Scotsman

A Warning: Don't turn your lottery riches into rags. Most people react like "a deer caught in the headlights" when they come upon a large amount of money, said Marla Brill, author of "Windfall - Managing Unexpected Money So It Doesn't Manage You."

First-time lottery player wins $1 million. A first-time lottery player won $1 million in the California Lottery's "Big Spin" game broadcast Saturday.

Saturday, April 27, 2002

2:30 am – Jackpot Winner! There was one $12 million jackpot winner from Illinois in the Friday drawing. More details to follow after the winner comes forward to claim their prize.

Also, 5 lucky players matched the first 5 numbers for a $150,000 prize: 1 in Georgia, 1 in Massachusetts, 2 in Michigan, and 1 in Virginia. For the complete rundown of winners by prize category, see the Winning Combinations page.

Friday, April 26, 2002

11:40 am – A year later, unclaimed prize in lottery is returned to state. Somebody - no one knows who - bought a Massachusetts Megabucks lottery ticket one year ago at a lonely highway pit stop near the Rhode Island border and never claimed the $4.6 million prize. At 5:00 PM yesterday, after a frantic, last-minute search by state lottery officials that included everything "short of running naked through the streets," the deadline for redeeming the ticket expired, said state Treasurer Shannon O'Brien.

8:45 am – Don't forget to check back with us tonight at 11:00 PM Eastern Time for the live $12 million Big Game drawing results!

Recent Michigan $150,000 Big Game winners:

Frederick Froehlich of Macomb
Kathleen Gamache of Chesterfield Township
Eric McClelland of Farmington Hills and Richard Necker of Westland
Jason Brindley of LaSalle, Ontario, Canada Editor: See, Canadians can play and win The Big Game!
The Huskies" Lottery Club of Midland
Judy Loofborow of Brooklyn
R&R Investments Lottery Club of Dublin, Ohio
Cash Connection Lottery Club of Newaygo
"Woodland Girls" Lottery Club of Brighton
Double Deuce Lottery Club of Canton

N.C. woman wins $150,000 Big Game prize. Susan Bragg of Durham, North Carolina was among the hordes of players who drove to Big Game states to play for the huge $331 million jackpot.

Thursday, April 25, 2002

11:25 pm – Dispute: N.J. Lottery Weighs Competing Claims to Big Prize. The mysterious New Jersey winner in last week's Big Game lottery has come forward to claim his share of the $331 million jackpot, but lottery officials said on Thursday that a pool of office workers is also surprisingly laying claim to the $59 million cash prize.

Wednesday, April 24, 2002

10:00 am – Vote brings Powerball step closer to S.C.. Tickets for the mega-jackpot Powerball lottery could be on sale in South Carolina by Labor Day.

Lottery boosts jackpot, odds, winners. The Washington State Lottery is revamping its Lotto game to boost jackpots, lengthen the odds on winning, and increase the number of smaller payoffs.

Man scrambles for tossed picks after lottery-game mistake. Spokesmen for The Associated Press and Wisconsin Lottery said Monday that many press outlets, including The Appleton Post-Crescent and Green Bay Press-Gazette, were given incorrect listings for Sunday’s drawing for City Picks.

Lottery Switch Pays Off - Big Time. After failing to win the drawing for $220 million for the Big Game lottery on April 12, Tracey Cousins switched games. She bought a Lotto South ticket on April 13 and won.

2:05 am – The were no jackpot winners and no $150,000 winners in the Tuesday drawing. For the complete rundown of winners in each of the other prize categories, see the Winning Combinations page.

Tuesday, April 23, 2002

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

Hitting the Jackpot. Here's a good four-part guide to winning the lottery jackpot:

Getting Help
Uncle Sam's Cut
The Game Plan
Estate Planning

Third $150,000 Harford County, MD Winner In 3 Weeks. A Harford County, Maryland man who won $18 the night of the Lottery’s $325 million Big Game jackpot, re-invested his money in 18 new tickets and won $150,000 in the following drawing. It was the third consecutive week that a Harford County resident had captured $150,000 in the Big Game.

Monday, April 22, 2002

6:55 am – Lottery referendum may define legacy of Memphis senator. Now that a Tennessee state lottery is on the ballot in November, it's generally expected to pass — but that won't happen until a devoted core of lottery opponents launches an aggressive bid to try to convince voters that it's bad public policy, even corrupt, according to a copy of the opponents' strategic plans leaked to the media this month.

Daydream About This: Lottery Prizes Are Taxed. Lottery players often fantasize about what they would do if they hit the jackpot, and the $331 million prize in last week's Big Game drawing fueled those fantasies. But few daydreamers stop to think about the tax ramifications of sudden wealth.

S.C. lottery sales pull in $213 million in 14 weeks. The original estimate for lottery sales was $192 million - in 25 weeks.

Winner Catches Bargain Flight to Collect $150,000 Big Game Prize. The fourth of Maryland's seven second-tier Big Game winners caught a bargain Southwest Airlines flight from New York to pick up his prize money Friday.

"Just The Right Amount" for $150,000 Winner. The third of Tuesday night's seven Big Game $150,000 winners in Maryland broke the news of his victory to his wife this way: "Hon, you almost didn’t have to go to work today."

"Best Buy" Employee Wins $150,000 In Big Game. When Kelly Moler spent $10 on Big Game tickets prior to Tuesday night's dramatic drawing, the last thing in the world she expected was to win $150,000.

Northern Virginians claim $150,000 Big Game prizes. Three winning tickets each worth $150,000 all were sold in Northern Virginia. Two separate groups of co-workers purchased two of the tickets and will share their prizes.

In the Big Game, Virginia is for losers. So far, The Big Game hasn't treated Virginia players very kindly. Last week, Virginia got shut out. Again. The best plan to win The Big Game might be to hop in your car, drive to Illinois and buy a ticket.

Lottery Player Claims £1.9M Just Before Deadline. National Lottery organiser Camelot was today due to validate the ticket of a potential jackpot winner who came forward to claim a prize of almost £2 million just two days before the deadline expired.

Saturday, April 20, 2002

2:05 am – There was no jackpot winner in the Friday drawing, but 4 lucky players matched the first 5 numbers for a $150,000 prize: 1 in Georgia, 1 in Illinois, 1 in Maryland, and 1 in Virginia. For the complete rundown of winners by prize category, see the Winning Combinations page.

Friday, April 19, 2002

1:35 pm – NJ Big Game winner validates ticket. The owner of the second of three winning Big Game tickets returned Wednesday night to the modest highway convenience store in Hillside where the ticket was bought on Saturday and began the process of claiming the jackpot, the largest single payoff in the 32-year history of the New Jersey Lottery Commission. The winner, thought to be a man, had the ticket validated at the store, the 1-2-3 Food Mart, in the same computer that produced the ticket, lottery officials said. The winner then left with a lottery claim form, apparently without saying anything to anyone. The store owners said they had no idea who bought the winning ticket.

9:50 am – Don't forget to check back with us tonight at 11:00 PM Eastern Time for the live $5 million Big Game drawing results!

NJ Lottery reveals where winning ticket was sold. According to Carole Hedinger, Acting Executive Director of the New Jersey Lottery, the retailer location is the Gulf Gas/123 Food Market at 440 Route 22 East in Hillside, NJ. The ticket was purchased on April 13, and was a Quick Pick selection. The winner selected the cash value of the jackpot, which is $58,938,742, less the 27% federal withholding tax. There is no New Jersey state tax on Big Game winnings. Had the winner opted for annuity, the winner would have received $110,333,333, payable in 26 annual installments.

'I'd be happy with a million'. By the end of an hourlong session, the air in the conference room where Big Game winner Erika Greene met with Georgia Lottery Corp. officials Wednesday morning had taken on the bluish hue of a pool hall. Greene smoked cigarettes, another woman smoked cigarettes, and the boyfriend Greene met a year ago at a motorcycle rally smoked cigarettes. No one else was smoking, but nobody seemed to care.

What to do with $58.9 million. Here's some financial advice -- as if she needed it -- for Big Game winner Erika Greene.

Lottery envy. Quick: What did you think when Erika Greene, age 20, won $58.9 million in the Big Game lottery? The reaction will say a lot about who you are.

Lottery official sends a strong warning to those who aim to defraud elderly. The top official for the Texas Lottery was in town Wednesday with stern words for those who use the lottery fraudulently to dupe elderly Texans.

Arizona Senate backs public vote on gambling. The Senate voted 18-11 Wednesday to ask voters to decide whether to continue the 21-year-old Arizona Lottery past its scheduled termination on Jan. 1, 2004.

Florida Man Waits Two Months to Claim Estimated $23 Million Lotto Jackpot. After nearly two months of gathering financial advice, a Hallandale man claimed the estimated $23 million jackpot today from the February 27, 2002 Florida Lotto drawing.

Thursday, April 18, 2002

6:40 am – Rundown of stories about the Big Game drawing and winners:

Big Game Drawing Yields Three Winners. WRAL
Ga. Woman Claims Piece of Big Game. Associated Press
First-time player is Big Game winner. CNN
Jackpot seekers rich in theories. Boston Globe
Big Game players feed jackpot dreams. SunSpot News
3 tickets share $331 million jackpot. USA Today
20-year-old first timer nets £76m lottery win. Ananova
Lottery winner planning an early, early retirement. KATU
Lawrenceville Woman Wins Share of $331 Million Big Game Jackpot. Georgia Lottery Corporation

Two lottery winners in the same street. A Lothian street has been dubbed the luckiest in Scotland after two residents won a fortune on the National Lottery.

N.C. legislators face tough choices in lottery debate. North Carolina House Speaker Jim Black says legislators will have to create a lottery game this year or face a choice between further tax hikes and deep cuts in education.

Woman wins $52,000 in S.C. lottery. Erica Sherald of Georgetown, South Carolina became the first winner in the S.C. Education Lottery's new instant ticket game, Weekly Bonus.

Charges in lottery theft case dismissed; probe to continue. Charges against three people accused of taking more than $140,000 in Ohio Lottery tickets from a Sidney gas station have been dismissed in Shelby County Common Pleas Court.

Lottery's big winner beats odds -- twice. If you were playing the odds, former lottery winners are the last people you'd ply for advice about managing your Big Game windfall. But in the two years since he and another winner from Illinois split a $363 million jackpot -- still the record at press time -- Larry Ross has avoided the mistakes that lead so many lottery winners to bankruptcy, substance abuse and even suicide.

Wednesday, April 17, 2002

5:45 am – Three Jackpot Winners! There were 3 jackpot winners in the Tuesday drawing: 1 in New Jersey, 1 in Georgia, and 1 in Illinois. The winners will equally share the $325 million jackpot prize. More details to follow after the winners come forward to claim their prizes.

Also, 77 lucky players won the second-tier prize of $150,000 by matching the first 5 numbers, for a total of $11.5 million. For the complete rundown of winners by prize category, see the Winning Combinations page.

The second-tier ($150,000) prizes by state: 26 in New Jersey, 13 in Georgia, 12 in Illinois, 3 in Massachusetts, 7 in Maryland, 12 in Michigan, and 4 in Virginia.

Tuesday, April 16, 2002

6:40 pm – BigGameLottery.com is fourth-most requested site on Lycos. BigGameLottery.com became the fourth-most requested site on the Lycos search engine this week, jumping from #45 last week. You can see the Lycos Top 50 Sites here, and you can see our #1 ranked position for all Big Game searches.

8:10 am – Don't forget, the $325 million Big Game drawing is tonight at 11:00 PM Eastern Time, and this is the only web site that will bring you the results live as they're drawn!

Lotto players snap up tickets in anticipation of $325 million Big Game drawing. The long odds didn't deter Glenn Gosselin in his quest for a $325 million lottery jackpot that is the second largest in U.S. history. "If you don't have a ticket, your odds drop to zero," reasoned Gosselin, who bought a ticket at Neighborhood Food Store in Springfield, Massachusetts, where the Big Game line wound from the cash register to the door.

Hopes and dreams. The promise of a huge lottery payoff made thousands of people reach into their pockets in the past few days for a chance to get rich really rich.

Big Game draws 'em in all over. They were flying in from as far as Japan for a shot at the $325 million up for grabs tonight in the Big Game lottery. "All it takes is a yen and a dream."

Lottery Winners Pick Up Prize Money. A group of 45 co-workers will have something in common for the rest of their lives. They all struck it rich, winning Ohio's Super Lotto Plus jackpot of $75 million on Saturday.

Pennsylvania Group Crosses the Maryland Line for $150,000 Big Game Prize. Twelve workers from Food Lion Distribution Center and General Electric in Greencastle, Pennsylvania made their way from their home state to the Lottery Claims Center in Maryland to cash in their winning $150,000 Big Game ticket from the April 5th drawing.

$150,000 Big Game ticket holder almost threw away ticket. Charlotte "Char" Boggs of Corunna, Michigan is glad she didn't throw away a winning Big Game ticket worth $150,000 that had been lying on her kitchen counter since February.

Monday, April 15, 2002

2:05 pm – Fifty Hoover workers share Ohio $75 million jackpot. About 50 Hoover Co. employees have the state record $75 million winning lottery ticket, a spokeswoman for the vacuum manufacturer said on Sunday. More:

50 co-workers share record lottery jackpot
Lotto fever subsides after 13 drawings
One winning ticket in record Ohio Lottery jackpot

S.C. Lottery To Award $100,000 Prize. One person will receive $100,000 from the South Carolina Education Lottery on Monday, awarded in the Carolina Riches scratch-off game.

Senator, pastor debate lottery. The debate on the Tennessee lottery referendum started a few minutes late, but it proved to be immediately lively. Sunday afternoon's Public Issues forum pitted pro-lottery state Sen. Steve Cohen against anti-lottery Rev. Bill Bouknight, Christ United Methodist Church's senior minister.

Lottery players dream big for next drawing. Three members of the Ray family walked out of a 7-Eleven in New Carrollton yesterday with two tickets and high hopes for tomorrow's Big Game drawing. Sandra Ray, her son Darnell Ray and his daughter Kieara dreamed of the opportunities $300 million would provide.

Group Splits $150,000 Big Game Win. Twenty-three people from the Random House Distribution Center in Westminster, MD formed a pool to join forces in quest of the Big Game jackpot, and won $150,000 in their second try.

11:10 am – $325 Million! The Big Game jackpot continues to climb as the result of the torrid pace of ticket sales.

Saturday, April 13, 2002

3:30 am – Big Game Jackpot Breaks Through to $300 Million It was just two years ago that the Big Game set the record for the largest jackpot ever in North America, at $363 million. Now the Big Game is on track to possibly break its own record. With no jackpot winner in last night's $220 million drawing, the jackpot grows to an amazing $300 million.

Although there was no jackpot winner in the Friday drawing, 44 lucky players matched the first 5 numbers for a $150,000 prize: 9 in New Jersey, 6 in Georgia, 11 in Illinois, 5 in Massachusetts, 3 in Maryland, 8 in Michigan, and 2 in Virginia. For the complete rundown of winners by prize category, see the Winning Combinations page.

Friday, April 12, 2002

3:10 pm – Lottery Technicians: The dream repair team. As thousands cling to dreams of millions, Hamilton Henderson hopes right along with them. But his hopes don't center around winning today's Big Game drawing and the right that goes along with it to march in Monday morning and tell the boss to take a X%##**!! leap. Instead, while you're deciding whether your numbers selection should include the atomic mass of carbon plus your pants size, Henderson will be hoping to get through the day without too much chaos.

1:10 pm – In NJ, Big Game tickets go at 3,000 a minute. New Jersey Lottery officials said Friday's Big Game jackpot has soared to $220 million with increased lottery interest and ticket sales. In New Jersey alone, retailers were selling 3,000 Big Game tickets a minute yesterday, according to New Jersey Lottery's Linda Melone, deputy director of marketing and sales.

Fame easier than Big Game fortune. The $220 million jackpot in tonight's Big Game Lottery drawing has fueled players' dreams of striking it rich, but they actually have a much better chance of making it big. With odds of winning 1 in 76 million, a player would have a much better shot at recording a platinum-selling album (1 in 480) or starring in a movie (1 in 385,000). But favorable odds aren't why people stand in line to buy tickets or meticulously pencil in their lucky numbers — it's the giddy prospect of gaudy consumerism, of walking in to work and quitting on the spot.

6:35 am – Don't forget, the $220 million Big Game drawing is tonight at 11:00 PM Eastern Time, and this is the only web site that will bring you the results live as they're drawn!

Thursday, April 11, 2002

1:20 pm – $220 Million! The hottest ticket in town is the Big Game. In fact, so many people have been playing since Tuesday night's drawing that today Big Game forecasters updated the estimated jackpot to $220 million. The advertised jackpot amount is an estimate of how much money will be in the jackpot prize pool by Friday night's drawing. The jackpot amount is constantly changing, because it is based on the number of tickets sold. So by raising the estimated jackpot, forecasters are saying that Big Game sales are extremely strong.

7:20 am – Recent stories about the new "Mega Millions" game:

New York joins "Mega-Jackpot" lottery Democrat and Chronicle
Mega lottery rolls in May Patriot Ledger
New York joins up for 'mega jackpot lottery' game Buffalo Business Journal
New 'Mega' Lottery Game Coming in May WJLA
The Big Game Gets Bigger With Addition of Two States Michigan Lottery

S.C. Senate, House members ponder lottery funds. Local colleges are waiting to see how they will be affected by the state education lottery as South Carolina lawmakers hash out a final spending plan.

UK National Lottery splashes out £82m on rebrand. The National Lottery is to spend an unprecedented £82m on marketing this year - almost enough to renovate the Royal Festival Hall twice over - and part of the spending spree is a new logo that is barely distinguishable from the old one.

Minnesota State Lottery: New game's appeal rides on better odds and smaller pot. The first drawing for the $1 million Hot Lotto jackpot took place last night as the Minnesota State Lottery launches a new game that's essentially a low-end version of Powerball.

Big Game lottery winners come forward. The case of the missing lottery winner has been solved. For two months, rumors have flown through the village of Henry County, IL about the identity of $23 million ticket's owner. And when no one quickly claimed the ticket that was purchased Feb. 5 from the local drug store, employees and patrons of the Green Park Pharmacy, as well as the public, started guessing. They can stop guessing now.

Little Opposition To More N.Y. Casinos. If gambling isn't good medicine for economically troubled towns and states, then nobody bothered to tell the industry executives who gathered in Albany Tuesday to extol the virtues of more Indian casinos in New York state.

Maryland couple claims $150,000 Big Game prize. George Hildebrandt and his wife Emma watched the Tuesday drawing in disbelief, as their first five numbers perfectly matched the drawn white balls, and they had captured $150,000.

Wednesday, April 10, 2002

7:00 am – Mega Millions set to sweep the nation May 15, 2002. The nine member states comprising the Big Game Group today announced the launch of Mega Millions, the nation's newest and most exciting multi-state, mega-jackpot lottery game. Tickets for Mega Millions will go on sale Wednesday, May 15, 2002, with the first drawing to be held on Friday, May 17, 2002. The linked Press Release includes the new number pools, odds, and prize structure. Click here for a high-quality format of the press release (Requires Adobe Acrobat).

3:15 am – $200,000,000! There was no jackpot winner in the Tuesday Big Game drawing, sending the jackpot to a jaw-dropping $200 million! This could be your last, best chance to play for so much money under the current odds, since the Big Game will be more difficult to win starting May 17th. That is the start date of the new Big Game, which will be called Big Game MegaMillions. Official announcements of the start date and new game title will be released soon.

Although there was no jackpot winner in the Tuesday drawing, $5.25 million will be awarded to the 35 lucky players who matched the first 5 numbers for a $150,000 prize: 7 in New Jersey, 7 in Georgia, 5 in Illinois, 6 in Massachusetts, 4 in Maryland, 5 in Michigan, and 1 in Virginia. For the complete rundown of winners by prize category, see the Winning Combinations page.

Tuesday, April 9, 2002

2:55 pm – Don't forget, the big $155 million Big Game drawing is tonight at 11:00 PM Eastern Time, and this is the only web site that will bring you the results live as they're drawn!

11:35 am – $155 Million! The Big Game jackpot continues to climb as ticket sales remain stronger than expected.

Monday, April 8, 2002

12:55 pm – $153 Million! Strong Big Game sales have prompted Lottery officials to increase the jackpot for Tuesday evening's drawing to $153 million. The $153 million Big Game jackpot, which has the potential to grow even more on Tuesday, is the result of 17 consecutive rollovers.

11:45 am – ...And the new name is...."Lotto". The UK National Lottery is going to spend an astounding £72m to relaunch its lottery as "Lotto" in an attempt to boost flagging sales.

6:20 am – Unclaimed lottery winnings send $57 million to hospitals. During the past two years, $57.2 million in lottery and scratch-off game winnings went unclaimed, resulting in a bonanza for hospitals across Texas.

Lottery could change name. Camelot bosses may be about to rename the National Lottery in a bid to boost flagging sales. The name change to Lotto will be included in the planned £72 million relaunch next month, according to reports in several national newspapers and the trade press.

S.C. lottery ticket sales leveling. Lottery ticket sales in South Carolina have far exceeded the expectations of state lottery officials. But according to workers at local lottery-ticket outlets, sales are beginning to drop off.

School leaders say lottery ads mislead voters. Commercials promoting big bucks that the Ohio Lottery has generated for education have riled school principals and treasurers.

California Lottery Launches Xtra Rewards Promotion. The California Lottery officials announced that Xtra Reward, a special featured promotion for the SuperLotto Plus game, will be held from March 31 - May 11, 2002. An eight-digit number will be drawn every Wednesday and Saturday giving players a chance to win $75,000.

Nun gives convent's cash to lottery ticket con-artist. A nun in Chile spent £800 of her convent's cash buying a forged lottery ticket from a stranger in the street.

Retirement recently became sweeter for $150,000 Big Game winner. John Law of Milford, Michigan and his family traveled to Lansing in style — complete with a limousine ride — to claim a $150,000 Big Game prize he won in the April 2 drawing.

Andrew N.S. Glazer: Progressive play usually loser's bet. Casinos make a lot of money off gamblers who make the progressive bet even when they know it's a horrible gamble, just because they are terrified they might hit the big hand and cost themselves the payoff.

Ray Charles launches first slot machine for the blind. Music legend Ray Charles is coming to a casino near you. The blind entertainer is lending his name to the first series of slot machines for the visually impaired. The Bally Gaming Systems machines, which include audio cues and a Braille button deck, are being shipped this month.

Saturday, April 6, 2002

9:20 am – Update: The Massachusetts Lottery has fixed their web site, which is now showing the correct Big Game drawing results.

2:20 am – Although there was no jackpot winner in the Friday drawing, 12 lucky players matched the first 5 numbers for a $150,000 prize: 2 in New Jersey, 1 in Georgia, 2 in Illinois, 3 in Massachusetts, 2 in Maryland, 1 in Michigan, and 1 in Virginia. As a rare occurrence, at least one player from each Big Game state won a $150,000 prize Friday. For the complete rundown of winners by prize category, see the Winning Combinations page.

1:50 am – $150 Million! There was no jackpot winner in the Friday drawing, elevating the Tuesday Big Game jackpot to an astronomical $150 million!

12:05 am – Important: The Massachusetts Lottery web site is currently showing incorrect Big Game results for tonight's drawing. The Mass. web site shows the first drawn number as "9". The actual first number is "8", as shown at the top of this page.

Friday, April 5, 2002

8:05 am – Don't forget to check back with us tonight at 11:00 PM Eastern Time for the live $117 million Big Game drawing results! We're the only web site to bring you the results live.

Gov. Locke signs bill bringing multi-state lottery to Washington. Gov. Gary Locke yesterday signed legislation to link the Washington State Lottery and the multi-state Big Game Lottery with ticket sales beginning this fall.

Thursday, April 4, 2002

8:25 pm – Big Game Adjusts Jackpot Upward to $117 Million; Heavy Sales Push Jackpot Higher. With the excitement growing in anticipation of Friday's Big Game drawing, forecasters today revised the estimated jackpot upward to $117 million. The adjusted jackpot shows how strong Big Game sales have been since Tuesday night's drawing did not produce a jackpot winner. That drawing did produce more than half a million winning tickets for prizes ranging from $1 to $150,000. Forecasters estimate the jackpot amount based on sales, because the actual jackpot amount is constantly changing. This jackpot has been building since February 5, 2002, when The Big Game had its most recent jackpot winner. The jackpot has now rolled 16 times without a winner.

6:45 am – Lottery lines grow longer as Big Game jackpot grows fatter. Convenience store owners are reporting big business in lottery ticket sales this week because there were no winners in Tuesday's drawing, and the estimated jackpot for Friday is now $115 million.

S.C. lottery ticket sales are double forecasts. South Carolina state lottery officials expected to sell $192 million in tickets during the game's first six months. They reached that figure in half the time.

$26 million Powerball winner: No more work for me. A self-employed appliance repairman claimed a $26 million Powerball jackpot Tuesday, saying he would retire and take a long honeymoon with his fiance.

New lottery game begins Sunday. A lottery game based on the 10-year-old Powerball game will premiere this weekend when tickets go on sale for Hot Lotto. Jackpots for the new game start at $1 million, and players also have the chance to win cash prizes ranging from $2 to $10,000, said West Virginia Lottery Director John Musgrave. The game will replace the Lottery's Rolldown game.

Gaming foes drop suit against lottery. An anti-gambling group that sought to overturn the Oregon Lottery as unconstitutional has dropped its lawsuit pending before the state Supreme Court, the organization's lawyer said Monday.

Hoosier Lottery Settles Lawsuit. The Hoosier Lottery and a group of retailers have agreed to pay The Indianapolis Star $110,000 in legal fees as part of a settlement over a public access lawsuit.

Melbourne Man Waits Two Weeks to Claim Half Share of $25 Million Lotto Jackpot. After waiting for his attorney to return from vacation, a Melbourne man Tuesday claimed the remaining half of the $25 million jackpot from the March 16 Florida Lotto drawing. The other winning ticket for that drawing was claimed by Edward Kryzanekas of Palm Coast last week.

Michigan man nabs $150,000 Big Game prize. Stefan Panovski of Shelby Township, Michigan received good news from one of his restaurant patrons last Saturday, who informed Panovski that The Big Game ticket he purchased for the March 29 drawing was a $150,000 winner.

Wednesday, April 3, 2002

8:15 am – $115 million! There was no jackpot winner in the Tuesday drawing, sending the new Big Game jackpot to an incredible $115 million! Check out the Jackpot Analysis page to see what you'd actually bring home if you won.

9 lucky players matched the first 5 numbers for a $150,000 prize: 2 in New Jersey, 1 in Georgia, 3 in Illinois, 2 in Massachusetts, and 1 in Michigan. For the complete rundown of winners by prize category, see the Winning Combinations page.

Tuesday, April 2, 2002

6:55 am – Don't forget to check back with us tonight at 11:00 PM Eastern Time for the live $92 million Big Game drawing results!

Powerball turns 10 years old. Powerball marks its 10th anniversary this month, and operators of the mega-jackpot lottery game predict even bigger prizes in the future, perhaps hitting $400 million to $500 million.

Lottery Spending Debate Set For This Week. A legislative conference committee this week will take up the question of how to spend South Carolina's profits from the state's newly formed Education Lottery.

Monday, April 1, 2002

1:10 pm – Big Game Adjusts Jackpot Upward Due to Amazing Sales; $92 Million and Still Growing. It's no April Fool's Day joke. Big Game excitement is growing at such a rate that forecasters today revised the estimated jackpot upward. It now stands at an estimated $92 million. The estimated annuity jackpot is a projection based on the sales of Big Game tickets since the last jackpot winner. It is an estimate because the actual jackpot amount is constantly changing, so when large numbers of people are playing, the jackpot grows at a much faster rate.

6:15 am – Did you know that if a New Jersey resident wins The Big Game and selects the cash option, they will receive over $3 million more than if they won in Maryland? It's all in the state taxes. Check out that and more on our Jackpot Analysis page.

Woman Loses Battle for Lottery Jackpot. A Canadian woman who bought a lottery ticket worth C$11.4 million ($7.2 million) won't pocket a penny, a judge ruled on Thursday. More: Widow's aide denied share of $11M lottery win.

$150,000 VA Big Game ticket becomes worthless Wednesday night. The $150,000 Big Game winning ticket was purchased last October at the Farm Fresh on East Little Creek Road in Norfolk. It matched the first five numbers, not the Big Money Ball. The numbers to look for are 03 | 07 | 18 | 23 | 34. If you find the winning ticket, contact the Virginia Lottery by 5:00 PM Wednesday, April 3. All unclaimed Virginia Lottery prizes go to the state's Literary Fund.

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