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Florida Lottery chief comes under hostile fire in House committeeNews Story
The Florida Lottery's top executive got a dressing-down today from House Republicans for failing to bid out a lucrative contract produce its TV ads, despite a state law requiring the department to start doing so last summer. The Lottery hired its New York-based ad agency on a month-to-month arrangement on June 30 one day before language in the state budget took effect requiring the department to put the $3.5 million contract out for competitive bids. The monthly arrangement allowed the Lotter
Mar 31, 2009, 9:27 pm - Lottery News

Hitting the jackpot: Rebecca Hargrove's winning strategyNews Story
Tenn. Lottery CEO says tickets seem recession-proof, help fund college educations Includes video report You may not have heard of Rebecca Paul Hargrove, but in the lottery world, she's a celebrity. The brash, hard-charging CEO of the Tennessee lottery has accomplished what nobody else has in the state-run gaming business. She ran the lottery in Illinois where sales topped $1.3 billion. Next, Hargrove moved to Florida, where she set a new record: $95 million in sales the first week.
Mar 29, 2009, 11:37 am - Lottery News

Lottery winner buys Fort Myers businessNews Story
Joining the ranks of the idle rich is often step No. 1 for the lucky few who win the lottery. But Jason Fry, 35, has chosen a different path after splitting a roughly $47 million Florida Lottery jackpot in December 2007 with a Bonita Springs man. First, he spent several months traveling and relaxing after leaving his bartending job. Then he had a plan: rejoin the workforce by becoming a business owner. That decision became reality last week when he finalized the purchase of the Batterie
Mar 13, 2009, 9:45 am - Lottery News

Woman claims Publix cashier threw away winning lotto ticketNews Story
Annie Collier loves to play the lottery. She has a ritual of buying tickets each week and playing certain numbers. Occasionally, she'll hit. Last Thursday, Annie's lotto tickets were piled in her purse. She bought them earlier in the week and didn't even pay attention to what the numbers were. Talk about lucky! On Valentine's Day, Annie love for lotto paid off big. She won $800. Annie's son called to share the good news. My son had called me and told me, 'Mom, you know that 3131 c
Feb 19, 2009, 12:35 pm - Lottery News

Florida Lottery Raffle drawing crowns 9 new millionairesNews Story
One million Florida Lottery tickets had a shot at winning $1 million, and nine of those are officially chosen as the big winners. Lottery players anxiously waiting to see if they are now among the wealthy can check their tickets at Lottery Post's Florida Lottery Results page (www.lotterypost.com/results/fl). With only 1 million tickets available for the raffle, Florida lottery ticket buyers had a better chance of winning a million dollars than with any other game offered in the state. The
Dec 31, 2008, 5:29 pm - Lottery News

Powerball lottery to have larger jackpot, but harder to winNews Story
The Powerball lottery game will be going through some changes beginning in January, including having a larger starting jackpot that is more difficult to win. Starting on Jan. 4, Florida will join the 30 United States lotteries that now offer Powerball, adding a population of 18.8 million to those who have the chance to play the game. The starting jackpot will jump from $15 million to $20 million, the world's largest starting jackpot for a lotto-style game. In addition, the average jackpot
Dec 29, 2008, 11:21 am - Lottery News

Powerball lottery drawings will move to FloridaNews Story
After 16 years in the Heartland, Powerball is moving south. The lottery game is moving its televised drawings from Iowa to Florida. Florida decided to join the Multi-State Lottery Association last summer and offer the game in January. It's also getting a new look, new odds and a bigger jackpot. Executive Director Chuck Strutt says details, including the location of a new studio, are still being worked out, but the first drawing from Florida is set for Jan. 7. A new face is also comin
Dec 10, 2008, 10:24 am - Lottery News

Florida woman loses $40,000 in lottery ticket scamNews Story
A South Florida elderly woman was scammed out of thousands of dollars in an alleged lottery ticket scam, police said. Pembroke Pines police said that on Oct. 24 Aydee Suarez-Ospina, 72, was approached by the a Hispanic man and woman at the Bravo Supermarket at 12141 Pembroke Road. Police said the man told Suarez-Ospina that he was in possession of a winning lottery ticket and needed assistance in claiming the prize because he was not a U.S. citizen. The female suspect, pretending to overhe
Dec 5, 2008, 4:42 pm - Lottery News

Florida men charged with lottery ticket theftNews Story
Two Jacksonville men are facing felony charges over a stolen lottery ticket that was redeemed for $20,000, according to a police report. Kenneth R. Hayes, 55, and James C. Picray, 47, were charged Friday with dealing in stolen property, according to police records. Picray was also charged with grand theft, according to the records. An arrest report said several books of lottery tickets were stolen since last month from the Kangaroo Express store at 5700 Philips Highway. The report said
Nov 24, 2008, 9:28 am - Lottery News

Florida Lottery draws same Play 4 numbersNews Story
Coincidence, not a mistake, officials say The Play 4 Florida lottery number Tuesday night: 1-9-5-8. The Play 4 Florida lottery number Wednesday afternoon: 1-9-5-8. Same game. Same number. Two consecutive drawings. It is a little bit unusual, but all of our drawings are independent of each other, said Shelly Safford, Lottery spokeswoman. It's completely random. Still, the department fielded calls from curious players. There was not an error, Safford said. But there was another
Aug 23, 2008, 10:52 am - Lottery News