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Law firm cuts lottery bill by 15% after scrutinyNews Story
A Nashville law firm has agreed to reduce its $892,000 bill for legal services to the Tennessee lottery by 15 percent, or more than $100,000 legislators said Monday.Sen. Jerry Cooper, D-Morrison, co-chairman of the Fiscal Review Committee, said the reduction came after negotiations between the state attorney general's office, legislators and the law firm of Waller Landsen Dortch Davis, which teams with other law firms under a contract with the Tennessee Education Lottery Corp.Legislators had b
Apr 20, 2004, 7:16 am - Lottery News

Michigan authorities break up private lottery, seize $2.2 millionNews Story
Authorities have seized $2.2 million and broken up a private lottery that they say mimicked the Michigan State Lottery but paid off significantly more money for matching winning numbers.Operating from modest homes in Detroit and nearby Oak Park, the family business appears to have roots going back 30 years, the Wayne County sheriff's department and prosecutor's office announced Friday. Numbers operations have been around for several decades before the lottery, but this is the largest we have ser
Apr 9, 2004, 9:53 am - Lottery News

Ohio Woman Guilty in Mega Millions CaseNews Story
A woman who claimed that she bought and lost a $162 million lottery ticket was found guilty Tuesday of filing a false police report. She was fined $1,000 and ordered to perform 50 hours of community service.Elecia Battle, 40, of Cleveland, reached an agreement with prosecutors that called her to plead no contest to the misdemeanor charge with the understanding that she would be found guilty. She could have gotten six months in jail.Shortly after a Dec. 30 lottery drawing, Battle filed a police
Apr 6, 2004, 12:29 pm - Lottery News

Iowa woman pleads innocent in Powerball lottery theftNews Story
A Fonda, Iowa, woman has pleaded innocent to theft for allegedly claiming a $100,000 lottery prize after several people had pooled money to buy tickets.Mary Farrell, 54, is charged in Buena Vista County District Court with one count of first-degree theft. She entered her plea Monday.Farrell had presented a Powerball ticket matching five numbers from the Dec. 31 to claim a $100,000 prize. A group of Albert City, Iowa, residents contacted the Buena Vista Sheriff's Office in January, asking the she
Mar 30, 2004, 4:27 am - Lottery News

Store owner to appeal jury's lottery decisionNews Story
A store owner plans to appeal a jury's decision that he pay $1.3 million to a lottery winner who said the owner failed to warn him about a jackpot cap.John Struna regularly bought multiple tickets with the same numbers for the Buckeye 5 game at Convenient Food Mart in Cleveland. In October 2001, he chose the winning combination, which he had played on 52 tickets.The game's prize is $100,000, so Struna thought that amount would be multiplied by 52 for each of his winning tickets, giving him $5.2
Mar 26, 2004, 8:54 am - Lottery News

Lottery player wins case against deceptive store ownerNews Story
John Struna and his attorney Wednesday beat a legal demon that has vexed consumers for years: The fine print.The result means Struna could be more than $1 million richer, and a convenience store owner who sells Ohio Lottery tickets could be forced out of business.Four nights a week between 1997 and October 2001, Struna stopped at the Convenient Food Mart on East 200th Street in Cleveland, where he purchased between 40 and 55 Buckeye Five tickets from the store's owner, Harry Singh.Singh welcomed
Mar 25, 2004, 6:22 am - Lottery News

2 charged in theft from Powerball lottery winnerNews Story
Two men were charged Tuesday with stealing $100,000 from the winner of the biggest undivided lottery jackpot in U.S. history.Brian Christopher Hillabold and David Michael Fewell, both 20, were jailed on charges of breaking into Jack Whittaker's sport utility vehicle Jan. 17. The vehicle was parked outside Whittaker's home.Authorities began investigating the pair after learning they spent $7,000 to $8,000 on clothing in a department store.The men told police that a third person took the money and
Mar 24, 2004, 4:31 am - Lottery News

Lottery millionaire admits laundering money for drug dealersNews Story
A man who won $6.7 million in the lottery a decade ago was ordered to stay in his house for six months for laundering money for drug dealers.That was the penalty imposed Tuesday on 73-year-old Carlos Rivera, who will be electronically monitored during that time. U.S. District Judge Norman Mordue also fined Rivera $30,000 and placed him on probation for three years after his home confinement is completed.Rivera admitted concealing cash payments he received from convicted drug dealers Victor and H
Mar 17, 2004, 11:05 am - Lottery News

Whittaker Robbed Again and AgainNews Story
The man who won the largest single lottery jackpot in U.S. history has had a run of bad luck this week: He's been robbed twice and sued.Police said the business office of Jack Whittaker (search), who hit the $314.9 million Powerball jackpot on Christmas 2002, was broken into Tuesday and $2,000 was taken.On Thursday, Whittaker's vehicle at his home was broken into and property was stolen. State Police spokesman Sgt. Jay Powers said he could not release details.No arrests have been made.Earlier in
Mar 12, 2004, 7:37 am - Lottery News

Record Powerball Winner Sued for Sex-Related AssaultNews Story
A female worker at Tri-State Racetrack Gaming has accused Jack Whittaker, the winner of the largest single lottery jackpot in history, of assault and battery.Charity D. Fortner, a floor attendant at the Nitro track, filed a lawsuit Tuesday against Whittaker, alleging he forced her head toward his pants while he gambled at the track in March 2003.Fortner alleged Whittaker, who hit the $314.9 million Powerball jackpot on Christmas 2002, was gambling at the track with a female friend when the inc
Mar 11, 2004, 5:29 am - Lottery News