Lottery News for April 12, 2002

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.

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