lottery

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He Had a Winning Scratch-Off. There Was One Problem

Police in Clearwater, Fla., say Herbert McClellan stole the lottery ticket before trying to cash it in

(Newser) - "So much for being lucky at the lottery." That's how the Clearwater Police Department in Florida is describing the unfortunate plight of 27-year-old Herbert McClellan, who's accused of swiping more than a dozen scratch-off lottery tickets from a local Speedway, then trying to cash in a...

Biggest Lottery Winner in US Was Swindled: Prosecutors

'Lottery Lawyer' Jason Kurland charged in $107M fraud

(Newser) - The "Lottery Lawyer" advertised his services while noting that many lottery winners "are not sophisticated enough" to see potential scams. "You really have to rely on the professionals," Jason Kurland told Vice in 2016. Now three winners who relied on Kurland have lost more than $80...

Clerk Gives Guy Wrong Lottery Ticket—Which Is a $2M Winner

Good thing the man decided to keep the 'wrong' one

(Newser) - A man in suburban Detroit was given the wrong lottery ticket. But there was no mistake about the result: a $2 million winner. The Michigan Lottery said the man stopped at a gas station in Eastpointe, Michigan, to put air in a tire. He needed change for the air machine...

Guy Explains How He Won a $4M Lottery, Again

Mark Clark says 'everything is pretty amazing right now'

(Newser) - How does he do it? For the second time, a southeastern Michigan man has won a $4 million lottery game, officials said this week. Mark Clark of South Rockwood scratched a ticket with a coin that was given to him by his late father about 10 years ago, the AP...

He Won $1M Twice in One Day
He Won $1M Twice in One Day

He Won $1M Twice in One Day

'Joe B.' of Colorado bought 2 Powerball tickets with his lucky numbers

(Newser) - It was a bit surprising when two convenience stores within a mile of each other reported selling winning tickets for $1 million Powerball jackpots on March 25—that is, until one man claimed both prizes. The Colorado man, identified as "Joe B.," has been playing the same numbers...

Lottery Ticket Sales Fall
Coronavirus Hits the Lottery 

Coronavirus Hits the Lottery

Stay-at-home orders cut into lottery ticket sales

(Newser) - With fewer people out and about during the pandemic, lottery ticket sales are decreasing. It only follows that jackpots would be next. Powerball and Mega Millions jackpots now will be based on ticket sales and interest rates, Quartz reports, with previously guaranteed minimum jackpots on their way out. Until now,...

Man Who Never Plays the Lottery Just Won, Thanks to His Wife

Daniel Schuman claims $1M prize in Virginia

(Newser) - They say you gotta be in it to win it, but an attorney in Arlington, Va., just took home a $1 million prize after putting in the bare minimum in the "be in it" column. A press release cited by ARLNow.com reports that Daniel Schuman never plays such...

His Family Lost Their Home. Then, Her 'Special Numbers' Delivered

A hopeful story out of Australia's devastating bushfires

(Newser) - Enormous tragedy followed by enormous good fortune: A Queensland man who lost his family home in New South Wales in Australia's devastating bushfires will be able to rebuild it with funds from the lottery he just won. The man, who doesn't want to be identified, won a million...

Alleged Lottery Scam Involves Paper and Glue

Odis Latham, 47, and Russell Sparks, 48, were arrested Monday in Mississippi

(Newser) - Authorities in Mississippi say two men attempted to scam the state lottery commission by submitting a losing ticket that had the winning numbers glued onto it, the AP reports. Odis Latham, 47, and Russell Sparks, 48, were arrested Monday and charged with conspiracy to commit a felony and uttering a...

Spain Just Gave Its People $2.43B
Spain Just Gave
Its People $2.43B 

Spain Just Gave Its People $2.43B

Via 'El Gordo' annual lottery

(Newser) - The lucky holders of ticket number 26590 struck it rich in Spain on Sunday when they won the top prize in the nation’s bumper Christmas lottery. The top-prize winning number, known as El Gordo (the Fat One), worth $436,000 fell out of the enormous metallic shuffling bins in...

Someone Just Lost Their $14.6M Lottery Prize

Monday was the deadline to claim it in Arizona

(Newser) - If you forgot to check your ticket for the June 5 drawing of Arizona's "The Pick" lottery, don't bother. The holder of the ticket with all six correct numbers, purchased at a Circle K store in Goodyear, failed to present themselves before the 5pm Monday deadline, missing...

For the First Time, This State Sells Lottery Tickets

With Mississippi going into the lottery business, now only five states don't play

(Newser) - Mississippi residents had their first chance Monday to turn $5 into $100,000 legally. Convenience stores in the state began selling lottery tickets, ABC reports, under a law passed last year. Business was booming. A gas station manager said employees came in about 4am to prepare and sold the first...

A Bartender Got a Tip Worth $2. It Turned Into $50K

Missouri's Taylor Russey says customer's gratuity was a Powerball ticket

(Newser) - Most watering hole patrons don't offer lottery tickets as gratuities, but one regular at Missouri's Bleachers Bar does it quite often—and a bartender at the O'Fallon establishment is now a $50,000 winner because of it. CNN reports on Taylor Russey's windfall, which came about...

On His Way to Chemo, Guy Made a Very Lucky Stop

NC man wins $200K from scratch-off lottery ticket right before last round of cancer treatment

(Newser) - It was already set to be a good day for Ronnie Foster, but a last-minute pit stop was the icing on the cake. The North Carolina man, a retired Department of Transportation worker from Pink Hill who has colon cancer, was headed to his very last chemotherapy treatment on Tuesday...

He Read the Lotto Numbers. Then He Came Up With a Plan

The tale of Nick Perry and the April 24, 1980, lotto drawing

(Newser) - Pittsburgh’s No. 1 TV station in the late '70s was WTAE Channel 4—and it had a No. 1 of its own. Nick Perry was "Pittsburgh royalty," writes Zachary Crockett for the Hustle , so much so that the announcer and TV host was asked to take...

Study Flips a Theory on Lottery Winners on Its Head

Researchers say the money does make people happier

(Newser) - Regardless of life adjustments and pushy relatives demanding cash, winning the lottery really does make a person more satisfied. That's according to University of Warwick economists, who gained access "to more winners with economically substantial winning amounts than almost any other study before us." Andrew J. Oswald...

Man Who Survived Cancer Twice Wins Lottery Jackpot

'I am a very lucky guy,' Oregon man says

(Newser) - An Oregon man who beat cancer twice beat the odds and won a $4.6 million lottery jackpot, officials say. Stu MacDonald's wife usually tells him to "get the winning ticket" before he buys his weekly Megabucks ticket—but she forgot on Sept. 7, and he ended up...

'Nothing But Zeroes' Produces a Record Lottery Payout

North Carolina reports 2,000 winners

(Newser) - Turns out that zero can be a lucky number. North Carolina's state lottery Saturday said it set a record payout after the winning numbers in a Pick 4 game came back "0-0-0-0." The lottery said about 1,000 tickets at $1 were sold and will pay out...

After Divorce, Guy Gets Bad News About $80M Jackpot

Writing her that $15M check won't be easy

(Newser) - Is Richard Zelasko lucky or unlucky? In 2013, the Michigan man won a stunning $80 million Mega Millions jackpot—nearly $39 million, after fees and taxes—but is now being forced to share it with his ex-wife, CNN reports. The timing is key, because Zelasko filed for divorce from Mary...

Man's Fortune Cookie Proves Extraordinarily Lucky

Charles Jackson Jr. cleans up a $344.6M Powerball prize by playing numbers in a cookie

(Newser) - A North Carolina man has won the biggest single-ticket jackpot in the state's history, a $344.6 million Powerball prize, using numbers found in a fortune cookie. "I never expected to win. I just got lucky," says Raleigh retiree Charles W. Jackson Jr., who's played the...

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