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Virginia Lottery wasn't quite ready for Mega Millions game changesNews Story
Lottery says 182 tickets have no chance of winning but may be as high as 628 UPDATE: Now includes exact number of invalid plays and possible invalid plays, corrects claim period for refunds By Todd Northrop If you buy a Mega Millions ticket, you normally have a 0.00000033 percent chance of winning the big jackpot. But at least 182 tickets were sold in Virginia on Friday that have a 0 percent chance of winning and there may be up to 628 plays with no chance, depending on the numbers draw
Oct 31, 2017, 9:20 am - Lottery News

Louisiana ticket wins $191 million Powerball lottery jackpotNews Story
Updated with store that sold the winning ticket and additional details By Todd Northrop A single ticket sold in Louisiana has won the $191.1 million Powerball jackpot in Wednesday's drawing, lottery officials announced early Thursday. The winning ticket in Wednesday's drawing was sold at Brownie's, located at 150 West Maple in Eunice, a small town in Cajun country that straddles Acadia and St. Landry parishes. The store will receive a bonus of $25,000 or 1 percent of Louisiana's con
Oct 26, 2017, 8:41 am - Lottery News

Multi-state Mega Millions lottery game changing this weekNews Story
Later this week, the multi-state Mega Millions lottery game will undergo changes including a price hike designed to increase jackpots and make them grow faster. The cost of a Mega Millions ticket will climb from $1 to $2 starting with the Oct. 31 drawing. Tickets for that drawing go on sale Saturday, Oct. 28. Starting jackpots will increase from $15 million to $40 million. Both changes will put Mega Millions on equal footing with Powerball, which usually offers more lucrative jackpots.
Oct 24, 2017, 8:46 am - Lottery News

Lottery winner accused of child sex assault freed from jailNews Story
A New Jersey man who won a $338 million Powerball lottery jackpot will be freed from jail while he awaits trial on charges he sexually assaulted a child. A judge issued the ruling Monday during a detention hearing for 49-year-old Pedro Quezada. Quezada will be electronically monitored and confined to his home except when traveling to see his lawyer and his financial adviser. He was charged last week with sexual assault and child endangerment. His lawyer has said he's being targeted.
Sep 25, 2017, 7:26 pm - Lottery News

$133.2 million Powerball lottery winner played same numbers for 30 yearsNews Story
By Todd Northrop Sometimes persistence does pay off. Colorado's biggest lottery jackpot winner in state history says she has played the same five numbers in the lottery every week, without fail, for the past 30 years. On Wednesday, Grand Junction area resident Judy Finchum claimed a $133.2 million Powerball jackpot, won in the Saturday, Sept. 16 drawing, making her the biggest jackpot winner ever in the state, and only the third Colorado player to win a Powerball jackpot. Judy has pl
Sep 21, 2017, 10:21 am - Lottery News

N.J. Powerball lottery winner charged in child sex assaultsNews Story
By Todd Northrop A Wayne, New Jersey, man who won $338 million in one of the largest Powerball lottery jackpots in New Jersey history has been charged with repeatedly sexually assaulting a child over a three-year period, prosecutors said Wednesday. Pedro Quezada, 49, is charged with two counts of first-degree aggravated sexual assault, two counts of second-degree sexual assault and one count of second-degree endangering the welfare of a child, according to Passaic County Prosecutor Camelia
Sep 20, 2017, 7:09 pm - Lottery News

Scammers using social media accounts claiming to be lottery winner Mavis WanczykNews Story
Police are again warning people about multiple fake social media accounts created by scammers pretending to be the city's Powerball winner. Don't fall for this scam. Don't give personal information, Michael Wilk, Chicopee Police public information officer, posted on the department's social media accounts. In a brief search Wilk said he found more than 30 fake Instagram accounts as well as a handful of Twitter accounts and Facebook accounts. Nearly all of the accounts are using some versio
Aug 31, 2017, 8:33 am - Lottery News

Illinois couple claims $393 million Mega Millions lottery jackpotNews Story
Largest lottery jackpot ever claimed in Illinois By Todd Northrop At the same time the latest Powerball jackpot run was stealing headlines, an Illinois couple was at Illinois Lottery headquarters, claiming the largest lottery jackpot ever won in the state. Palos Heights resident Patricia Busking became the winner of the largest prize in Illinois Lottery history when the second line of numbers on her $5 Quick Pick ticket matched all six numbers in the Friday, August 11, Mega Millions dra
Aug 28, 2017, 7:29 am - Lottery News

Massachusetts woman wastes no time claiming $758.7 million Powerball lottery jackpotNews Story
Includes video report By Todd Northrop Some lottery winners spend months hiring financial experts and planning how to best claim their lottery jackpot, but not so with the winner of the largest lottery jackpot ever claimed by a single ticket. Upon learning that she held the winning ticket, 53-year-old Mavis Wanczyk just walked into Massachusetts Lottery headquarters the morning after the drawing and handed over the ticket for validation of her prize. Her half-billion-dollar lump-sum cas
Aug 24, 2017, 2:21 pm - Lottery News

One Massachusetts lottery ticket wins $758.7 million Powerball jackpotNews Story
Largest lottery jackpot ever awarded to a single winner By Todd Northrop A single winning Powerball lottery ticket matching all six numbers was sold in Massachusetts and will claim a $758.7 million jackpot the largest ever awarded to a single winning ticket. If the winner chooses the lump-sum cash value, they will receive a one-time cash payment of $480.5 million. That's nearly a half-billion dollars in cash, minus taxes of course. The Jackpot Analysis page at USA Mega shows the init
Aug 24, 2017, 1:09 am - Lottery News