Lottery News for May 6, 2002

Monday, May 6, 2002

8:30 am – Special Report: Agony & Ecstasy of Lotto. With even multimillionaires unable to resist the lure of the multistate lottery, it's no wonder ordinary New Yorkers are in a frenzy over the May 15 arrival of the Big Game in the state.

Saturday, May 4, 2002

2:05 am – There was no jackpot winner in the Friday drawing, but 3 lucky players matched the first 5 numbers for a $150,000 prize: 1 in Georgia, 1 in Illinois, and 1 in Maryland. For the complete rundown of winners by prize category, see the Winning Combinations page.

Friday, May 3, 2002

8:00 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!

N.M. lottery game changed. Through June 1, the New Mexico Lottery's "Pick 3" game will feature a promotion called "Money Ball," according to a New Mexico Lottery news release.

Cohen chides lottery foes about claims of Georgia teen gambling problem. State Sen. Steve Cohen says opponents to a Tennessee lottery are so misleading about the number of teens who have gambling problems in Georgia that "the inventors of Silly Putty never envisioned a stretch that great." But with six months to go before Tennesseans vote on a state lottery, the tit-for-tat by campaigns for and against the measure probably won't affect how voters choose, one political analyst said.

Locke announces new director of Washington State Lottery. Gov. Gary Locke has appointed the director of sales for the California lottery to take over the Washington State Lottery.

CT Legislators Want To Throw Out Lottery Claim Restriction. Some Connecticut state legislators are suggesting that the one-year deadline for claiming lottery prizes be eliminated.

HOPE plan might break lottery deal. South Carolina House and Senate negotiators have agreed on how to spend most of the $172 million the S.C. lottery is expected to raise, but they remain divided over the HOPE scholarships.

Thursday, May 2, 2002

7:50 am – Richmond nurse wins $150,000 playing The Big Game. After checking Tuesday's winning Big Game numbers, Danielle Thruston of Richmond thought she might need medical attention.

Bill signed by Bush will allow Fla. Lottery to boost prizes. The Florida Lottery will be able to boost scratch-off game prizes in an effort to increase the amount of money going to education under a bill signed Wednesday by Gov. Jeb Bush.

Editorial: If You Win the Lottery, You May Be Out of Luck. The Big Game hysteria of the past few days provides a hint of just how awful life can be for anyone unlucky enough to win an obscene amount of money.

N.Y. Lottery hits the jackpot. The New York Lottery Division said it had record sales ($4.67 billion) and revenues ($1.56 billion) in the recently completed 2001-02 fiscal year, thanks mainly to a burgeoning business in scratch-off Instant tickets.

Wednesday, May 1, 2002

4:05 pm – Illinois winner expected to be announced soon. The Illinois Lottery received a call from an attorney representing the Illinois winner of the April 16, 2002 Big Game jackpot and verified the 17-digit serial number from the winning ticket. No additional information is available at this time. Per Illinois Lottery policy, the name of the attorney and winner will not be released prior to a news conference and/or formal claim. A news conference is expected to be scheduled within the next few weeks.

8:25 am – New Jersey Couple Claims Big Game Jackpot

N.J. Couple Wins $58M Big Game Pot - Las Vegas Sun
Real Lottery Winners Cash In - CBS
N.J. Couple Wins $58M Big Game Pot - Associated Press
Lottery Jackpot Mystery Ends as the Winning Ticket Emerges - New York Times
Working Couple Claims Share of Big Game Jackpot - Reuters
One NJ Lottery Player Wins the Big One - New Jersey Lottery
NJ Big Game Winner Plans to Keep Job - Associated Press
NJ couple claims share of lottery loot - CNN

The $59 Million Loser. Angelito Marquez, the Newark nursing-home nurse mistakenly accused of cheating his co-workers out of a Big Game lottery fortune, was anxious about returning to work last night, not knowing what to expect.

Legal Rights in Office Lottery Pool. A rough transscript of lottery pool analysis by CNN legal analyst Jeffrey Toobin.

Pennsylvania group claims $150,000 Big Game prize. The Big Game fury that swept through the Maryland Lottery with the April 16, $331 million top jackpot culminated yesterday at Agency headquarters with the arrival of the state's final second-tier prize winners. Nineteen co-workers and friends from Norfolk Southern Railway’s Traction Motor Shop in Altoona, Pennsylvania claimed the seventh $150,000 payout.

Michigan $150,000 Big Game ticket to expire soon. The holder of a lucky $150,000 winning Big Game ticket has until the close of business, Wednesday, May 8, 2002 to claim his or her prize.

2:10 am – There was no jackpot winner in the Tuesday drawing, but 5 lucky players matched the first 5 numbers for a $150,000 prize: 1 in Illinois, 1 in Maryland, 1 in Michigan, and 2 in Virginia. For the complete rundown of winners by prize category, see the Winning Combinations page.

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.