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Texas Lottery chief could face punishment for inflated jackpotsNews Story
The Texas Lottery Commission chairman laid blame for inflated lottery jackpots squarely on the agency's chief Wednesday, hinting to state lawmakers that executive director Reagan Greer could be punished.Chairman C. Tom Clowe was asked by members of the House Licensing and Administrative Procedures Committee who specifically had deceived lottery players by advertising phony estimated jackpots four times since last fall.Mr. Clowe answered: The person who made the decision [to sign off on the esti
Jul 1, 2005, 9:42 am - Lottery News

Texas Lottery officials testify that public was deceivedNews Story
Texas Lottery Commission Chairman C. Thomas Clowe told lawmakers Wednesday that the public was deceived by recently inflated jackpot estimates and vowed the agency would take action to keep it from happening again.Clowe said lottery Executive Director Reagan Greer was responsible for the deception but declined to say if he should be fired. This was a deception, and it was wrong, said Clowe, who opened nearly four hours of testimony on the inflated jackpots before the House Licensing and Adminis
Jun 30, 2005, 12:30 pm - Lottery News

Texas Lottery Whistleblower FiredNews Story
The scandal embroiling the Texas Lottery Commission over inflated jackpot estimates intensified Wednesday when top agency officials acknowledged firing a colleague who only days earlier warned ticket sales would fall short of advertised amounts.Mike Fernandez, the commission's administrator, called horrendous the timing of the dismissal of Lee Deviney, the agency's chief financial officer.But he denied there was any connection between Deviney's firing and an e-mail Deviney sent his superiors l
Jun 30, 2005, 11:54 am - Lottery News

Calif. Lottery Sales Reach Record HighNews Story
People bought more than $3 billion in California Lottery tickets this fiscal year, a record for the nearly 20-year-old games.Officials attributed much of the rise not to the flashy 12-state Mega Millions game that debuted last week, but to a burst in the popularity of Scratchers, in which players scrape a coating from tickets to reveal potential winning numbers.After some of Scratchers' dozens of themed games were tweaked last year to include interactive elements and more-lucrative prizes, their
Jun 30, 2005, 10:06 am - Lottery News

Texas lawmakers to grill lottery officials about inflated jackpotsNews Story
Texas lottery officials could face tough questions and some nasty wrist-slapping today when they testify before lawmakers about inflating several Texas Lotto jackpot estimates.But they would face more scrutiny under a bill filed Tuesday that forces the lottery to comply with laws against deceptive trade practices.Sen. Jane Nelson said recent revelations that lottery officials advertised bigger jackpots than they could afford to pay out jeopardize the integrity of the game and the government that
Jun 29, 2005, 5:36 pm - Lottery News

Texas Lottery chief admits jackpots were inflatedNews Story
[Editor: After reading the story, be sure to watch the video report that follows, which provides interesting interviews of the key individuals in this report.]If you've been playing Texas Lotto lately, you may have been playing for less than you thought.Texas Lottery officials admitted Friday they inflated their jackpot numbers on four separate occasions. I will be studying it very closely and clearly to be sure this doesn't happen again, Texas Lottery Commission Executive Director Reagan Greer
Jun 27, 2005, 12:26 pm - Lottery News

Illinois lottery ad agency off the hookNews Story
A special audit of the Illinois Lottery's chief ad agency found the company did not keep adequate records to answer key questions about millions of dollars in payments from the state.However, Gov. Rod Blagojevich's administration said Thursday that the special $60,000 audit answered enough of those questions to vindicate the state's support of R.J. Dale Advertising Public Relations.The forensic audit, conducted by Clifton Gunderson LLP of Oak Brook, concluded that there was no evidence of mis
Jun 24, 2005, 1:36 pm - Lottery News

Mega Millions lottery goes on sale in CaliforniaNews Story
Today, 35 million Californians get their first chance to buy a ticket on what may become the biggest lottery jackpot ever offered -- but the odds of winning a fortune are the longest ever seen.California becomes the 12th state to join the Mega Millions lottery game, where a ticket that costs only a dollar could, in time, win $500 million. The odds for this happening, however, are an astronomical one in 175 million, apparently a world record for a lottery.Until today, the longest odds of winning
Jun 22, 2005, 6:15 pm - Lottery News

N.C. lottery talk building to a climaxNews Story
With passage of a $17.1 billion budget bill by the North Carolina House of Representatives last week, the lottery debate is heating up in North Carolina.Lottery provisions have been included in the budget plan if it does become law. But much negotiation remains between the Senate and the House before that comes to pass, and the lottery could be on shaky ground. We're just hoping the Senate will go along with the House version, said state Rep. Jim Crawford (D-32nd), who represents Granville and
Jun 20, 2005, 3:48 pm - Lottery News

N.C. lottery still in limbo as budget talks continueNews Story
North Carolina Governor Mike Easley kicked off budget negotiations with House and Senate leaders by pushing for an aggressively advertised lottery that he would clearly control. The governor indicated that he would like to change some of the lottery language, and that's something we'd have to speak to the members about, House Speaker Jim Black said early Thursday, just after passage of the House's $17 billion budget proposal.A lottery proposal that narrowly passed the House in April only allows
Jun 17, 2005, 1:06 pm - Lottery News