A Californian woman thought that she had won Saturday’s $360 million Powerball jackpot over the weekend, only to realise that she purchased her ticket an hour too late.

Margit Arrobio bought five tickets from her local Shell gas station in Pasadena on Wednesday evening. On Thursday morning she then noticed that the Powerball draw matched all six numbers on her card, but didn’t understand why the news was reporting that no one had bought the winning ticket.

Arrobio told ABC7, “I called my gas station where I bought the ticket and I said, ‘I don’t get it. I have every number and yet they say there’s no winner.”

The attendant on the other end of the phone then informed Arrobio that he had purchased the ticket an hour after Wednesday’s draw had been announced, meaning that her numbers were only eligible for the next draw.

Arrobio stated that she was at first shocked and then disappointed by the news, which could be regarded as an understatement.

The Powerball was eventually won by a person who purchased it in Zephyrhills, Florida Publix, but this individual has yet to emerge.

Whoever did get the ticket has won $590.5million, but this will only come to the paltry sum of $370million after taxes take their toll.

A spokeswoman for Publix, the supermarket,  stated, “We’re excited for the winner or winners … We don’t promote or endorse the lottery. We offer it as a convenience.”

If the winner is based in Florida there are no state taxes on lottery winnings, which means that the player will inherit more than money than residents of other states in the country.

Cindy O’Connell, the Florida Lottery executive, added on Sunday that they winner still hadn’t come forward, remarking, “This would be the sixth Florida Powerball winner and right now, it’s the sole winner of the largest ever Powerball jackpot … We’re delighted right now that we have the sole winner.”

She then added, “There is just the chance that you will have the opportunity and Florida is a huge Powerball state. We have had more winners than any other state that participates in Powerball.”

How do you feel for Margit Arrobio?

Woman Picks All 6 Powerball Numbers, Buys Ticket An Hour Too Late Though is a post from: The Inquisitr

The Michigan Lottery is set to add the Internet as their next sales frontier and the new “iLottery” could be in place as early as 2014.  The idea will be introduced as a way of bringing in more money for public schools in the state by allowing customers to buy tickets and play games online.

The new program by Governor Rick Snyder will be discussed shortly as the state legislature is currently preparing to set its spending for the next budget year. The Snyder administration will request upwards of $3 million to put the “iLottery” internet program in place.

According to the Associated Press, the United States Justice Department issued an opinion 16 months ago that allows internet gambling as long as sports betting is not involved. Gov. Snyder has taken the departments opinion to heart and he is expected to put a program in place that will also include applications for mobile phones and tablets.

Potential growth based on Michigan Lottery estimates figure the state will bring in an extra $8 million in funding in the first year, and an estimated $471 million over the next seven years, according to the report by the Associated Press.

“This is part of the overall goal of having the Lottery continually evolving its product to meet the demands of its players, and continually adapting to the current technology to meet those needs,” Kurt Weiss told WWJ newsradio back in February.

Weiss, a spokesman for Gov. Snyder, believes the new program will provide customers with a brand new experience outside of running up to your local gas station to get your tickets.

Though the Michigan Lottery’s new internet program looks to be an improvement, some state legislators believe otherwise. The internet plan was approved for the budget by the state’s House Appropriations Committee but the state Senate’s committee has served as a road block for “iLottery.”

They voted to pull the funding from the state budget due to concerns with young people and addictions to internet gambling. Only time will tell if the plan becomes a reality as funding for the 2014 state budget is currently being discussed.

Do you believe the Michigan Lottery’s internet program will not only bring in more funding, but give customers a better experience?

[Image via Creative Commons]

Michigan Lottery Eyeing Internet Sales Launch in 2014 is a post from: The Inquisitr

The Powerball jackpot has climbed to $222 million for Wednesday’s drawing, bringing new attention to the record number of $200-plus million Powerball payouts that have hit in recent months. Tickets are sold in 43 states, Washington D.C. and the US Virgin Islands for the lottery which is held on Wednesdays and Saturdays.

If that isn’t enough action, the Mega Millions tickets are sold in 42 states, Washington D.C. and the US Virgin Islands, with drawings on Tuesdays and Fridays. There was no jackpot winner on Tueday night, so that lottery too will continue to grow from the current approximately $139 million jackpot.

Wowsers.

In the interests of full disclosure, as a former professional gambler, I don’t play the lottery. It has become a matter of pride. I don’t play games where I can’t figure out a way to increase my chances of winning.

And, as far as I can figure, the lottery looks completely random. You pay your money and you take your chances like everybody else.

But I’ll freely admit that it looks tempting. The Powerball jackpots seem to keep on coming. According to reporter Peter Mucha, there have been a startling seven Powerball jackpots that paid out over $200 million since last May.

A few tweaks to the game helped fuel the bigger jackpots and create player interest. Tickets now cost $2 instead of the traditional buck, allowing the jackpots to grow bigger much faster.

A March 30 winner took home $50 million, yet the jackpot has already swelled to over $200 million less than two months later.

The last “big” winner was New Jersey’s Pedro Quezada who took down a $338 Powerball jackpot on March 23. The generous winner, who took a $211 million cash option instead of the full payout over 30 years, helped out his neighbors by paying their rent in celebration of his big payday.

And that’s one reason why people play Powerball, even though they know the odds aren’t in their favor.

“No one I ever care about will worry about money again if I win Powerball,” a New Orleans player explained when I asked him why he played.

However, he did have one tip about managing your gambling money wisely.

“I only buy one ticket,” he said. “If God wants me to win, that’s all He needs.”

Good luck to all players tonight. And if you do win the $222 million Powerball jackpot, remember to tip out the reporter who reminded you to play. Heh.

[stacks of money photo by puchan via Shutterstock]

Powerball Jackpot Soars With $200 Million Jackpots Hitting At Record Pace is a post from: The Inquisitr

The Powerball jackpot in Wednesday’s lottery drawing has rolled over to a mighty $222m, sparking a ticket-buying frenzy. Almost as impressively, the Mega Millions jackpot has hit $139 million.

When the Wednesday, May 8 drawing is done, the winner of the Powerball jackpot will be permitted to take a $144.5 million cash prize.

The Mega Millions jackpot will be decided on Tuesday, May 7 with an instant $104.8 million cash prize up for grabs. The top prize has grown since March 15 and has now rolled 15 times.

Should the winners take the annuity option, the Powerball jackpot can be paid over 29 years in 30 graduated payments, while the Mega Millions jackpot can be paid out at a rate of $5.3 million a year for 26 years.

Both hauls are amongst the largest jackpots in 2013, though are dwarfed by the $640m bonanza that appeared in March 2012.

The Powerball has seen its share of huge jackpots recently, many aided by last year’s decision to raise ticket prices to $2. Jackpots are growing bigger faster.

As Andi Brancato of the Michigan State Lottery told MLive at the time of the rise: “Before everyone thinks we’re ripping them off, (players) are getting a huge exchange for this.”

Powerball tickets are sold in 43 states, as well as Washington, D.C. and the U.S. Virgin Islands. Drawings are held on Wednesdays and Saturdays.

Mega Millions tickets are sold in 42 states, Washington, D.C., and the U.S. Virgin Islands, with drawings held on Tuesdays and Fridays.

Do you usually play the lottery? If not, will Wednesday night’s colossal Powerball jackpot lure you in? Sound off in the comments!

[Image via Shutterstock]

Powerball Jackpot Rolls Over To $222m, Mega Millions At $139m is a post from: The Inquisitr

A couple’s second lottery win has arrived nearly 18 years after they claimed their first $2.5 million jackpot. Diane Carmichael and her husband, Kerry, claimed $1 million this week. The couple won the prize courtesy of a quick pick ticket.

The win couldn’t have come at a better time; the couple were receiving $125,000 annuity payments ever since winning the lottery in 1995. However, those payments were set to end in December 2014. Now the couple will continue to receive annuity payments.

The couple’s second lottery win will pay $665,000 after taxes, enough for the couple to still hope for one more win.

Talking about her good fortune, Diane Carmichel told AZFamily.com, “two down, one to go.”

According to Diane, “good things come in threes,” which might explain why she expects another win despite her astronomical good fortune.

Some multiple-lottery winners have went to extreme lengths for their winnings, developing number choosing systems and monitoring the industry for help. The Carmichaels, on the other hand, just bought a quick pick ticket, which chose the numbers for them.

Diane’s husband purchased the first winning ticket in 1995, and she chose the couple’s second lottery winning ticket this year.

The state of Arizona, where the couple lives, has handed out 19 $1 million winning quick pick tickets since January 2012. Perhaps living in the state of Arizona is the real trick for winning the lottery.

The increase in $1 million lottery tickets in Arizona has been witnessed ever since the state introduced a new $2 dollar lottery.

So what do Diane and Kerry Carmichael plan to do with their new winnings? If we had to guess, we would say the couple’s second lottery win will allow them to live the same lifestyle they have lived since 1995.

Are you amazed by the couple’s second lottery win given the astronomically low probability of winning the lottery once, let alone twice?

Couple’s Second Lottery Win, $1 Million Pot Claimed is a post from: The Inquisitr

Wichita, KS – Following the discovery of a $75,000 winning lottery ticket, the lottery winners, two brothers, purchased enough marijuana and meth to “raise the roof” and accidentally, well, blew up their house.

One brother attempted to refill a butane torch with several large cans of lighter fluid and inadvertently released gas that was ignited by a local pilot light. Sgt. Bruce Watts of the Wichita Police Department had this to say, “The butane vapor reached the pilot light in the furnace, and as you might expect, ka-boom.”

The explosion sent the younger brother, a 27-year-old, to the hospital with severe second-degree burns on his hands, arms, and chest. According to the Kansas City Star, the hospitalized brother remains in stable but serious condition.

He was brought to the Via Christa Hospital emergency room by his girlfriend, who promptly dropped him off and left.

The older brother was arrested and sent to jail after having run out of the home admitting he was in possession of the illegal substances. No word yet as to whether or not the man was clothed when he exited the domicile. Nor has there been any mention of pink yard flamingos.

As of this moment, officials haven’t released the names of the individuals involved in the incident.

Looks like the lottery winners won’t be celebrating again anytime soon, but at least their winnings will help them pay for the residential repairs, medical expenses, and legal fees accrued in their fiasco. Bummer.

Lottery Winners Celebrate By Blowing Up House is a post from: The Inquisitr

COMMENTARY | The proposed welfare lottery ban in North Carolina has sparked a controversy all over the Internet. As previously reported by The Inquisitr, the proposed welfare lottery ban would keep welfare recipients and people in bankruptcy from playing the lottery. But other states are trying to limit what types of things welfare recipients can purchase with their EBT cards.

According to CreditCards.com, state Representative Shaunna O’Connell of Massachusetts is a leader of that state’s effort to reduce EBT-related scams:

“The fraud and abuse is obscene. Taxpayers are willing to help people who are in need. With people getting into the system fraudulently, money is not being used for its intended purpose.”

Lawmakers contend that about $30 billion in cash assistance was distributed to 4.4 million people by the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) program in fiscal 2011 and they estimate that several billion dollars every year is diverted to a variety of illicit purposes. The going rate for exchanging cash for food is 50 cents on the dollar. This government money is then used to go to strip clubs, casinos, and purchase items like tobacco, alcohol, and tattoos. But one major difference is that these other states are cracking down on the gambling done in privately owned casinos, but not necessarily lotteries run by the states. So what makes the North Carolina welfare lottery ban so different?

There seems to be two sides to the welfare lottery ban debate. One side says the government should not be overly intrusive by investigating a person’s financial well-being and the welfare lottery van is another example of how America hates the poor. Of course, one issue with that statement is that, in order to receive food stamps in the first place, individuals must truthfully disclose their current financial condition in total. Otherwise, those people are committing fraud and thus any argument over privacy is rendered moot.

The other side of the debate points out that food stamps and lottery tickets are privileges in this country, not rights. Food stamps are given under the assumption that an individual is so destitute that they have no other option in order to survive. In effect, any frivolous spending is being subsidized by other taxpayers. A problem with this argument is that it assumes the right to discretionary spending is waived when one is receiving welfare.

The argument over discretionary spending gets more complicated when the welfare lottery ban is compared to the current ban against those on food stamps using their publicly provided money to purchase alcohol, cigarettes, and porn. So this comparison could be used as justification for how the welfare lottery ban promotes the public good. Yet, at the same time,I would find this slightly hypocritical since the alcohol, cigarettes, and porn ban was enacted because these items are considered “bad” by the government. Yet, in the case of the lottery, the government itself is providing the gambling opportunity.

One might also ask, if the welfare lottery ban is enacted, where does it end? Should welfare recipients be banned from all forms of gambling? Should they be banned from purchasing other items considered frivolous or unnecessary for their survival? What about  government public servants whose income relies on taxpayers…should their daily lives also be micromanaged? Where does the government intrusion into our lives end?

Still, despite these qualms, I do not doubt that the intentions by lawmakers were well-meaning.  The lottery is often called a tax on the poor for a reason. As previously reported by The Inquisitr, states involved in the Powerball lottery have been changing the rules in order to generate more sales. Lottery tickets tend to be bought by people who are poor and/or jobless. As a result, the Powerball lottery really tends to act more like a voluntary tax than a game.

There needs to be some sort of grace when considering this issue. After all, it’s said “there will always be poor people in the land. Therefore I command you to be openhanded toward your brothers and toward the poor and needy in your land.” But this statement is also balanced by the fact that we’re not called to subsidize the laziness of others, who should be attempting to work to feed themselves if capable.

So far, the best middle ground solution I’ve seen is the idea that if a welfare recipient wins the lottery they would be required to refund the government for any monies received during that time frame based upon the assumption that the government subsidized the lottery winner’s ability to purchase the tickets in the first place. What do you think about the welfare lottery ban proposal in North Carolina?

Welfare Lottery Ban Proposals Includes Alcohol, Tobacco, And Porn is a post from: The Inquisitr

A welfare lottery ban proposed in North Carolina has become a viral internet debate (with most coming down in favor of the strangely invasive and paternalistic measure) and remains a sad example of how Americans have taken to blaming and demonizing the poor for enduring economic frailty.

The welfare lottery ban seems to be one of a continual stream of GOP proposals to stigmatize, humiliate or otherwise micromanage the lives of those who rely on public assistance to get by. (It should be noted for the record that when it’s counter-proposed that lawmakers who also rely on public money for salary be similarly sanctioned, they balk.)

An earlier post on The Inquisitr about the welfare lottery ban has attracted a decent amount of attention — with nearly all comments in favor of such a measure, despite the relative small amount we spend on public assistance as a country. Similar posts about food stamps and other forms of poverty help draw the same reaction, with a strongly voiced desire to see suffering and restriction heaped upon the impoverished, many of whom are the working poor.

Here’s how the inevitable support goes — if you have the money for lottery tickets, you shouldn’t be on welfare, right? Well, wrong. Lottery tickets are a fairly cheap thrill for the impoverished, and even the very, very financially strapped usually set a few dollars aside each week for entertainment. Moreover, the level of intrusiveness required — the lawmaker who proposed the initiative has stated “poor people” may not understand the unlikely chance of a lottery win — is both foolhardy and stereotypical in its assumption.

Rep. Paul Stam, the Republican congressman responsible, has introduced a proposal that sounds entirely ideological in both theory and execution. Of the welfare lottery ban, it would involve a clerk intuiting at the point of purchase whether an individual is likely on welfare — we’re sure that won’t be applied in any racist ways — and humiliatingly asking whether or not they receive public assistance before selling a lotto ticket to them.

As far as we can tell, no sanction will be applied should a clerk sell a lottery ticket to a welfare recipient — it’s merely a proposed bit of legislation to remind poor people that they are far less entitled to privacy than their fellows, one more unnecessary humiliation heaped upon a population consisting of many (children of suspected food stamp recipients, the disabled, the elderly) with no domain over whether or not they remain poor.

The Guardian Express expresses similar reservations, noting that the completely toothless and spiteful welfare lottery ban proposal will yield no difference save for stigma, writing:

“When Stam himself states the law would only be enforced when it is obvious that a person is on welfare, it seems the point would be moot, as people would become crafty and make their purchases at a separate store or a different day.  Moreover, what of the individual in bankruptcy?  How would a clerk know about their status?  Perhaps, they would have a henna tattoo on their forehead that would wear out as soon as their bankruptcy was final and they were once again allowed to purchase the forbidden tickets.”

Notably absent, of course, are recipients of corporate welfare — but we suppose they’ve become so rich off the public teat, it’s like a lottery of its own. Who needs Powerball when you’ve got oil and agriculture subsidies, right?

The problem with the support for likely unconstitutional and certainly unkind stigmatizing legislation like the welfare lottery ban is not so much it’s a poor way to treat your fellow humans committing no crime other than poor arithmetic skills, it’s that when you point fingers, as movie Mike Brady says, four fingers are pointing back at you.

Few intend to rely on public assistance, and many of you reading this post will undoubtedly find yourself unexpectedly requiring this sort of help — or watching a friend or child who encounter rough times.

When we suggest things like a welfare lottery ban, it not only erodes search and seizure protections for our poorer fellow citizens, but for us. It doesn’t just stigmatize poverty for others, it similarly sanctions us should we ever be in for unforeseen income drops.

A welfare lottery ban is not just a bad and unnecessary law, it’s a poor showing of American decency, and those who would advocate it should remember many of us live a paycheck away from financial ruin ourselves. Better we spend our time and resources on making a welfare lottery ban less necessary by making more jobs for welfare recipients, right?

Welfare Lottery Ban Another Example Of How America Hates Its Poor is a post from: The Inquisitr

A welfare lottery ban has been proposed by several North Carolina lawmakers.

The proposed ban would keep welfare recipients and people in bankruptcy from playing the lottery.

According to ABC, the ban would effect more than 1.7 million people in North Carolina who currently use food stamps.

Rep. Paul Stam told the News Record:

“We’re giving them welfare to help them live, and yet by selling them a ticket, we’re taking away their money that is there to provide them the barest of necessities.”

The idea behind the law has gathered support but some are worried about how the welfare lottery ban would be enforced. In Stam’s legislation, the merchant would be fined if they knowingly sell a ticket to a person on welfare. The NC lawmaker said that merchants wouldn’t be allowed to sell tickets to a customer who is also buying items with food stamps.

Still, some vendors are worried about getting involved with someone’s financial life.

Peace Street Market’s clerk Aref Peroz said:

“I don’t feel comfortable for somebody ask why or your financial things, so it’s not my business.”

The NAACP is also against the welfare lottery ban. Rev. William Barber said that the NAACP has always been against the lottery and that lawmakers should focus on wages instead of new lottery laws.

Barber said:

“The NAACP, we didn’t agree with the lottery to start with. Rather than Mr. Stam having a side argument, ask him to stop blocking labor rights for poor people and working people. Ask him to have a real conversation about real wage.”

Welfare Lottery Ban Proposed By NC Lawmakers is a post from: The Inquisitr

Lottery winner, Adrian Bayford and wife Gillian have been forced to close the business they owned for years after being subjected to abusive demands for money from walk-in customers.

After the couple scooped a £148 million ($240.54 million) jackpot on the Euromillions jackpot last August, Bayford, 41, and his Gillian, 40, had vowed to keep their music shop open.

But that was before they were bombarded by abusive attention, NewsHour24 reports.

The English countryside residents — the couple live in Suffolk, a county in the south-east of the UK — went back to work in the music shop just two weeks after their massive win.

According to The Telegraph, friends of the couple and other shop-owners in the high street said the Bayfords were targeted by strangers demanding money in a threatening and abusive manner.

The owner of a nearby business said:

“Adrian was getting a lot of grief from people walking in and trying to get cash off him. There are idiots in every town and some of them got nasty when he turned them away. He just does not need that kind of abuse.”

The fed-up couple held a closing sale sale just before Christmas and off-loaded their stock at minimal prices, charging just £10 ($16.25) for any 20 second hand music CDs or film DVDs.

Their shop, called the Suffolk Music Centre, finally closed its doors at the end of last month. Now nothing remains of the guitars and musical instruments that once hung from the shelves.

Bayford, a father of two, and a former postal worker, started selling second-hand CDs from a market stall about 17 years ago before he and his wife made the move to a shop premises.

The couple have been fairly modest since winning the lottery. On the night they won the jackpot, they celebrated with a round of Domino pizza for the family. This was followed by a short holiday to Scotland to see Gillian’s family. They flew with easyJet.

However, now that they are free of the shop — and the abuse that came with it — that could all change.

The couple recently splashed out on a £6 million ( $9.75 million) on a mansion and country estate in East Anglia, also in the south-east of England, said The Telegraph.

Unlike the advice on this “What To Do After You Win The Lottery” website, which places ‘Don’t Quit Your Job Just Yet’ as second on their list, the site owners probably didn’t factor in abusive customers.

If you won the lottery would you give up your day job straight away, or would you attempt to remain ‘normal’ for as long as possible like this couple?

Lottery Winners Forced To Close Shop Business After Abuse From Customers is a post from: The Inquisitr

“Joey, who’re you texting?”

“I’m TWEETIN’ this shit!”

Lets Go, I Won The Lottery [Video] is a post from: The Inquisitr

Hillsborough, NH – Lottery winner Scott Bennett scooped a $2.1 Megabucks jackpot, despite buying the wrong ticket by mistake.

48-year-old NH lottery winner Bennett headed to his local Circle K convenience store on December 19 and requested one Tri-State Megabucks ticket and one Lucky for Life ticket. However, the clerk on duty at the time accidentally sold him two Megabucks tickets.

Scott never did get his Lucky for Life ticket, but I doubt he cares too much right now, because one of his two Megabucks tickets came up trumps.

Due to work commitments, the NH lottery winner was unable to make a press conference on Friday, but the rest of the Bennett family accepted the prize on his behalf. Scott’s wife, Cathy Bennett, described the entire experience as “surreal,” and said the family could expect “a few extra presents under the tree” for Christmas. She added:

“It’s very overwhelming but I think once everything settles we’ll enjoy and take the time to enjoy it and decide what the future’s going to hold.”

The Bennetts may never have discovered their good fortune without 20-year-old son Travis, who told his parents a winning ticket had been sold in their neighborhood, prompting his father to check the numbers on his tickets. Cathy Bennett recalled:

“I went downstairs, and he was sitting there with the ticket in one hand and the New Hampshire Lottery website on the computer, just staring at both of them. We must have checked them about 15 times. We really truly didn’t believe it.”

After finding out about their serendipitous win, the family called a meeting over trays of Chinese food to discuss their next move. After deciding to take the lump sum payment of $1.3 million, the family settled on using the money to pay off debt, renovate the kitchen in their recently purchased Victorian home and fund college education for their kids.

It wasn’t just the Bennetts who would end up celebrating their win: the Circle K store that mistakenly sold the ticket is to receive $21,500. That money will be partly shared by the owner with his workers, including 24-year-old Nicki Gee, the clerk who sold Scott Bennett his ticket. Gee says:

“He (Bennett) came in yesterday to thank me and said I had made a very good mistake.”

Here’s a WMUR video report on the latest NH lottery winner:

NH Lottery Winner Hits Jackpot With Ticket He Bought By Mistake is a post from: The Inquisitr

One of the two ticket winners that will be sharing the record $587.5 million Powerball jackpot has been named.

According to SkyNews, 52-year-old Mark Hill announced over Facebook that he had bought one of the winning tickets at a Trex Mart near his hometown Dearborn in Missouri, which is about 35 miles north of Kansas City. Mark Hill posted:

“We are truly blessed … we were lucky winners of the powerball!”

Dearborn residents told 41 Action News that the Hills are a family of farmers. It is believed that the Hills have a young adopted daughter who still lives with them as well as several adult children.

The Missouri Lottery has yet to confirm the winner, but they will unveil them at a news conference at a Dearborn high school on Friday.

The Trex Mart store will be receiving $50,000 for being the store that sold the winning ticket.

The second winning ticket was sold in Arizona at a 4 Sons Food Store in Fountain Hills.

The second winner lives in Tucson and has told lottery organizers they want to remain anonymous.

The two winners could split a cash payout of $384.7 million before taxes, or about $192 million per ticket. They will have six months to claim their prize money.

It is still not clear whether the tickets belonged to individuals alone or if they had been purchased by groups.

The odds of winning Wednesday night’s draw were estimated to be one in 175 million.

Americans went on a ticket-buying spree. Tickets were being sold at a rate of 130,000-a-minute nationwide, about six times the volume from a week earlier, which pushed the jackpot even higher.

The jackpot had rolled over 16 consecutive times without a winner.

Powerball’s website crashed shortly after the winning numbers ( 5, 16, 22, 23, 29 and Powerball of 6) were announced, as did that of the Multi-State Lottery Association, which oversees Powerball.

Powerball players can win as much as $1 million if they have tickets with most but not all the drawn numbers. Many people are not aware of these prizes, so they can end up going unclaimed.

A jackpot $656 million is the biggest jackpot in United States lottery history. That jackpot was claimed in March 2012 by MegaMillions players in Kansas, Illinois, and Maryland, who all held tickets bearing the same winning numbers.

Facebook Revealed The Missouri Powerball Winnner is a post from: The Inquisitr

Powerball Winners oftentimes wait days, even months to come forward, however a group of Columbus, Ohio police officers wasted no time in announcing their $1 million win.

The officers were part of a police department group that pooled their resources together to buy lottery tickets.

Approximately 20 officers will share in the good fortune, equaling approximately $50,000 each before taxes.

The majority of officers work in the forgery and auto theft deparments.

Sergeant Rich Weiner tells CNN:

“It’s nothing anyone can really retire from, but a lot of people are going to have a nice holiday season.”

Unfortunately Sergeant Weiner chose not to participate in the pool.

With a lottery prize worth $587.5 million the group could have walked away with more than $25 million each had they chosen the Powerball number of 6 instead of 5.

The group said they would come forward on Thursday night to confirm their prize. The money will be divided up and handed out by the lottery commission in order to avoid double gift taxation.

Wednesday night’s record setting drawing provided 58 winners with $1 million tickets while eight people won $2 million.

The Powerball lottery is run by the Multi-State Lottery Association.

With lottery’s continuing to provide massive returns from $1 and $2 tickets this is likely not the last we’ll hear of a big group sharing in the wealth.

In the meantime a lot of money is being generated for public education thanks to the massive lottery purchases for which part of each prize pays for state funding.

Do you play the lottery when it reached over half a billion dollars?

Powerball Winners Come Forward: Police Department To Share $1 Million is a post from: The Inquisitr

Seven-time lottery winner Richard Lustig was featured on Good Morning America Tuesday and offered his unscientific tips for increasing your shot at winning the $500 million Powerball jackpot. Yes, that is half a billion. According to Atlanta Business Chronicle, the odds of winning the Powerball jackpot are 1 in 175 million but millions of Americans are chasing the “easy” money. In their search for secrets to winning big they turn to the seven-time lottery winner.

Seven-time lottery winner Richard Lustig has won more than $7 million in grand prizes. He has written a book called Learn How to Increase Your Chances of Winning the Lottery. Probably the best tip for frequent lotto players is that they should never play quick picks, but rather always play the same set of numbers to maximize the chance of winning. He said that for frequent players, odds are always at their worst with quick picks.

The seven-time lottery winner’s website, winninglotterymethod.com, has more information about his strategies, but here are a few he shared on TV:

- For a large jacket pot such as this week’s $500 million Powerball jackpot, pool money with a large group of people to increase your chances (don’t forget to get a legal contract in writing!)

- Pick your own numbers instead of having the machine do it for you

- Research and see if your numbers have won before

- Select your ten sets of numbers and keep those if you continue buying tickets

- Buy as many tickets as you can afford. Lottery officials say that the more tickets that are purchased, the greater the odds there will be a winner.

Most importantly, while it may sound odd coming from Lustig, the seven-time lottery winner says to not get lottery fever. He highly recommends setting a budget for how many tickets can be purchased…then stick with it, which is the hard part when there’s the allure of a $500 million Powerball jackpot. Don’t spend more than you can afford, and certainly do not spend money necessary for paying bills like the grocery money.

At the same time personal finance author Zac Bissonnette thinks the seven-time lottery winner is full of hot air. According to Business Insider, Bissonnette launched a Twitter tirade against Lustig following his interview on CNN Money earlier this month.

“I hesitate to even say this,” Bissonette said, “but if you do buy lottery tickets, picking random numbers is the way to do it. (Picking your own numbers) means you’re more likely to pick numbers someone else has, and then you’ll be more likely to split.”

Bissonnette feels the seven-time lottery winner’s advice is “dangerous—it encouraged a lot of people to buy the book and spend money on lottery tickets that they shouldn’t buy.”

Do you think the seven-time lottery winner is giving good advice or just wasting people’s time and money?

Seven-Time Lottery Winner Gives Secrets For Winning Powerball Jackpot is a post from: The Inquisitr

The Powerball jackpot is already the biggest in the history of the game but officials expect it to grow even bigger before Wednesday’s drawing.

Chuck Strutt, director of the Multi-State Lottery Association, said that several people may be persuaded to buy extra tickets now that the jackpot is at $425 million. The jackpot has already increased $100 million since Saturday’s drawing and several states have reported a huge increase in sales.

Strutt told USA Today:

“Sunday sales were phenomenal … When you get to these levels, our ability to predict goes out the window.”

Colorado State Lottery director Abel Tapia said that ticket sales have jumped more than 90% since last week. Tapia said that the lottery has a loyal following every week but when the jackpot gets big more and more people start to buy tickets.

Tapia said:

 ”We have a loyal following that plays all the time, but the magic number for us is $200 million. That’s when a lot of new people start thinking about it, talking about and playing it. At $425 million, it will go into overdrive Wednesday.”

The Powerball has rolled over 16 times so far and the jackpot is currently the largest in the history of the game.

The Powerball jackpot will most likely be increased before Wednesday’s drawing but it isn’t likely for the jackpot to exceed the largest MegaMillions jackpot. In April, a $656 million jackpot was paid out to three players.

$425 Powerball Jackpot Expected To Grow Before Wednesday’s Drawing is a post from: The Inquisitr

The Powerball jackpot is soaring again, after no lottery players in any state matched all six winning numbers in Wednesday night’s drawing.

That marked the 14th consecutive drawing with no top-prize winner, so the jackpot for the next drawing — Saturday night — will climb to an estimated grand prize of of $325 million, according to thePowerball website. The cash option will be valued at $212.8 million.

There was some good news last night: One ticket sold in Texas is worth $2 million, because that ticket matched five numbers and played the power play, the Powerball website reported. In addition, one ticket sold in New York and one in Georgia are each worth $1 million, because those tickets matched five numbers last night.

Before you toss your tickets, you might want to check if you matched a few numbers or the Powerball number to win some smaller prizes. These were the numbers drawn Wednesday night: 8, 18, 24, 30 and 39. The Powerball selected was 26.

On Saturday one ticket sold in New Jersey matched four numbers plus the Powerball and was worth $10,000.

The overall odds of winning a prize are 1 in 31.85, according to the Powerball website. The odds of matching all five numbers plus the Powerball are 1 in 175,223,510.00, and the odds of matching five numbers without the Powerball for $1 million are t 1 in 5,153,632.65.

Powerball is played in New Jersey, New York and Pennsylvania, along with 40 other states, the District of Columbia and the Virgin Islands.

Powerball Jackpot Soars To $325 Million Dollars is a post from: The Inquisitr

The Powerball jackpot has surged to $250 million dollars for the drawing in Wednesday.  No one matched the drawing held this past Saturday when the jackpot was estimated at $185 million dollars.  The winning numbers for Saturday’s drawing were 3, 15, 27, 58, and 59, and the Powerball number was 20.

The next drawing for the multi-state lottery will be held on Wednesday, November 21 at 9 pm EST.

While the jackpot went untouched, there were five big winners on Saturday night.  One winner used the Power Play option to cash in on a $2 million dollar prize.  The Power Play option allows a player to add $1 dollar to the ticket price of $2 dollars and then every prize that isn’t the jackpot doubles.  There were four other winners of the million dollar prize.  Winning tickets were sold in Florida, New York, Texas, and Illinois.  If a player matches five numbers but not the powerball number, they win a prize of $1 million dollars.

According to Lottery Universe, the largest Powerball jackpot to date was $365 million, which was split between eight employees at a Nebraska meatpacking plant in 2006.

There has been a lot of controversy surrounding the lottery lately as stories of fraud outside the system has creeped in.  Two brothers earned national headlines when they waited six years to turn in a $5 million lottery scratch-off card, but it turns out they had good reason to wait: They had allegedly stolen the winning ticket from a customer at their store. The brothers had told the ticket owner that he had won five thousand dollars when he had actually won $5 million dollar.  They offered to buy the ticket from him for $4,000 and told him he woud not have to pay taxes.  When they went to turn in the winning ticket five years later lottery officials became suspicious and broadcast their identity.  The man who originally bought the ticket came forward, and the brothers were arrested.

Will you play the $250 million dollar Powerball jackpot game?

Powerball Jackpot Hits $250 Million Dollars is a post from: The Inquisitr

SYRACUSE, NEW YORK-  Two brothers from central New York have finally claimed a $5 million lottery prize for a scratch-off ticket that they bought at their parents’ store in Syracuse six years ago, said state officials.

According to NBC News, Andy Ashkar, 34, of Camillus, and his brother Nayel Ashkar, 36, of Cicero, finally came forward to collect their winnings on March 1. They came forward just 11 days before the top prize in the “$500,000,000 Extravaganza” scratch-off game would have expired.

Unlike winning tickets for games such as Lotto and Mega Million that expire in a year, winning tickets for scratch-off games expire a year after that certain game is retired. The Extravaganza game was retired on March 12, 2011, lottery spokeswoman Carolyn Hapeman said.

The New York lottery says that the younger brother decided not to claim the winnings right away because he didn’t want the jackpot to affect his life and influence it in a negative way. He wanted to make sure he was properly prepared before being publicly introduced as the winner. Andy also told the agency that he didn’t want the jackpot to influence his engagement and subsequent marriage.

The mother of the two brothers, Was Ashkar, said that her husband, Neyef Ashkar, sold Andy the ticket at the couple’s Green Ale Market, but she could not remember specifically when.

Was Ashkar stated that the couple immigrated to the United States from Jerusalem nearly 40 years ago and have owned the store for the last 12 years.

It is routine for the agency to conduct an investigation whenever a winner is related to the owner of the store that sold the ticket. The investigation determined that Ashkar’s scratch-off ticket was bought legitimately, Hapeman said.

The Ashkar brothers will be introduced at a news conference at a later date, the lottery spokeswoman said.

Brothers Claim $5 Million Scratch-Off Jackpot, 6 Years After Buying Ticket is a post from: The Inquisitr

A lottery winner is now a robbery suspect in Daytona after police say the man became greedy after his win and tried to grab more than his share.

The lottery winner robbery suspect wasn’t a massive jackpot recipient — the man, who police are attempting to identify through the release of surveillance video from the theft, needed to borrow a nickel from the store clerk to scratch off his ticket in the convenience shop.

According to the clerk, the man had a winning lottery ticket — but not so much that he had to go somewhere to pick up the check. The clerk had sufficient money in the drawer to pay out the winning ticket, and that is when police say the lottery winner turned robbery suspect and robbed the store clerk:

Daytona Beach Police spokesman Jimmie Flynt explains:

“When the clerk got ready to cash him out, she opened the cash drawer, he struggled with her and he reached in and grabbed less than 50 dollars and ran out of the store.”

The lottery winner robbery suspect is described by police and indicated on the surveillance video as being a white man in his 40s with reddish-blond hair.

In addition to the clerk’s description, surveillance video captured a clear image of the lottery winner robbery suspect during the commission of the smash-and-grab style post-lotto alleged cash theft.

As for the amount of money the man is said to have won in the original scratch off ticket win, police have not confirmed the number.

Lottery Winner Robbery Suspect In Daytona, Suspect Caught On Video Allegedly Grabbing Cash After Win is a post from: The Inquisitr

Friday night with a $105 million jackpot on the line, none of the hopefuls with a Mega Millions ticket had all the following: 15, 32, 38, 42, 46 and the Mega number 31.

Because of that, the jackpot is now $120 million, the Christian Post reported. While no one took the big prize from Friday’s drawing, not everyone was a loser. Matching five of the Mega Millions numbers still gets you something.

Three tickets with five numbers, but missing the Mega number, were sold in California and each are worth $131,799. Today News Gazette reports that three other tickets, sold in Indiana, New York and Texas, also had five numbers, but didn’t have the Mega number and are each worth $250,000.

Like many lotteries, when no one wins the Mega Millions jackpot, the money rolls over, increasing the total amount, and public interest in the ensuing draw. The next draw for the Mega Millions jackpot will take place on Tuesday night.

A Mega Millions  ticket cost $1, and striking all the numbers makes a winner an instant millionaire with a choice. The Mega Millions webite gives the options.

The annuity option provides 26 annual payments. For every million in the jackpot, a winner will receive approximately $38,500 per year before taxes. In the cash, or lump sum option, a one-time, lump-sum payment that is equal to all the cash in the Mega Millions jackpot prize pool goes to the winner.

As they say, more money, more problems — but for all the people buying that Mega Millions lottery ticket this week, they’re thinking its a good problem to have.

What would you do if you won $120 million?

Mega Millions Up To $120 Million is a post from: The Inquisitr

Farrakh Nizzar attempted to claim a $1.57 million EuroMillions jackpot after telling Maureen Holt that her winning ticket was a losing ticket.

According to Sky News, Nizzar, 3o, knew that the EuroMillions ticket was a winner as soon as he scanned it at his cousins Best One shop in Oldham, Greater Manchester,where he worked. He knew that the ticket was a winner because the terminal in which he scanned the ticket told him that the holder of the ticket should contact Camelot.

After telling Holt that her ticket was not a winner, Nizzar then asked her if she wanted the ticket back. When she told Nizzar to trash the ticket, he kept the ticket for himself. He then attempted to claim the $1.57 million jackpot, but he aroused suspicion when he was unable to answer questions about the ticket.

The lottery company was able to confirm that Nizzar was not the rightful owner of the winning ticket, and he will be spending 30 months in jail. Camelot checked CCTV and was able to track down the true owners of the ticket, Maureen and Fred Holt, with the help of Mr. Holt’s Tesco Clubcard.

Nizzar pleaded guilty last month to committing fraud by false representation on May 31 this year.

Passing sentence, Recorder Philip Cattan told the defendant:

“This goes to the heart of public confidence in the National Lottery.”

“The courts must demonstrate to you and to others that this type of fraud will be met by significant custody,” he added.

The Euromillions winners, Maureen and Fred Holt, gave a statement about the incident saying:

“We can now look forward to enjoying our lottery win and spending some time with our family and friends. We understand the defendant has written a letter to us and we look forward to reading this.”

Newser reports that in addition to being held for 30 months in jail, Nizzar’s visa is expired and will be deported to Pakistan.

Shop Worker Jailed After Attempting To Claim Customers Jackpot is a post from: The Inquisitr

Taunton, MA – A distracted clerk may have handed you a lottery ticket for the wrong game before, but there’s no need to fuss over it. In the case of one Massachusetts man, a similar mix-up turned out to be quite lucrative, as he walked out of the shop a millionaire. He just didn’t know it yet.

Purchasers of lottery tickets all over the United States, take to heart the story of Richard Brown, a Taunton, Massachusetts man who was handed a very different kind of scratch-off lottery ticket than he asked for. The clerk seemed distracted, so Brown didn’t fuss over the minor mistake, reports Newser. In his own words, he just “rolled with it.” Well, fortune smiled on Mr. Brown for his easy-going nature. That ticket ended up being a winner.

Brown said that he walked into Gulf Taunton recently and asked for a $5 “Blue Ice 7s” ticket, but the clerk made a mistake and instead gave him a “Sizzlin 7s” ticket, reports the Associated Press.

That fortunate mistake on the part of the store clerk was worth $1,000,000. Maybe all of us should just “roll with it” more often.

He picked the cash option on his winning ticket and got the one-time lump sum payment, which the bean counters tell me comes out to about $430,ooo after taxes. So what is Brown going to do with his newly won war chest? He’s going to put a new roof on his house, for starters. After that, he’s thinking of taking a trip to San Francisco.

Oh, and thanks to the clerk’s mistake, the store gets a $10,000 commission. A happy ending for all, except for the poor guy who came in right after Brown who plays “Sizzlin 7s” every single day.

Best Day Ever: Lottery Player Handed $1M Ticket By Mistake is a post from: The Inquisitr

This Wednesday’s drawing is going to be a big one. The Powerball jackpot grew to $305 million after no one claimed the prize on Saturday night.

The winning numbers on Saturday were 4, 13, 39, 46, 51 and the Powerball was 1. No one matched all six numbers. But according to ABC, several people hit five of the six winning numbers and collected $1 million. The million dollar tickets were sold in Florida, New Jersey, North Carolina, and Pennsylvania.

At $305 million, this is one of the largest Powerball jackpot’s in history.

In 2007, a person from Indiana claimed $314.3 million. In 2002, a $314.9 million jackpot was claimed by a man in West Virginia. More recently, Louise White won $336.4 million, the largest cash payout in Powerball history, in February of this year. Of course, there was also that monster $640 Mega Millions jackpot that was won by a few people earlier this year. 

The last person to win the Powerball Jackpot was Noel Peel who bought a $60 million ticket on June 3rd.

Peel said:

“We are just so thankful that this has happened… We have an amazing family. We don’t need a million dollars to make it better, but it doesn’t hurt.”

Do you play the Powerball? What would you do with $305 million?

Powerball Jackpot Now At $305 Million is a post from: The Inquisitr

Bloomberg’s so-called ‘Sucker Index’ found Georgians spent an average of $470.73 on the lottery in 2010. In a state where the per capita income is about 10 percent below the U.S. average, that equates to 1 percent of the average Georgian’s personal income. Meanwhile, it was also discovered Georgian players received only the sixth-highest prize payouts: 63 cents for each dollar spent.

State-run games, as Bloomberg Rankings notes, have the worst odds of any form of legal gambling. Yet that hasn’t deterred Georgians, who collectively spend the second-highest chunk of their income on the lottery.

As a nation, the U.S spends more than $50 billion a year on lottery tickets and other state-run games. While much of this money is piled back into education, environmental protection and other programs, a disproportionate number of tickets are sold to lower-income socio-economic groups. Charles Clotfelter, a Duke University economics professor and co-author of Selling Hope: State Lotteries in America, told Bloomberg:

“You’re taking from those with few means and helping those with more means. To link that tax revenue to a benefit that goes largely to middle-and upper-class citizens is a little stunning. It’s a pro-rich wealth-redistribution technique in Georgia.”

While Massachusetts had higher lottery spending than Georgia ($860.70 per adult), it only came second on the ‘Sucker Index’ as it had a far greater per capita income ($51,302 to Georgia’s  $34,800) and also had the biggest lottery winners; Massachusetts players got back almost 72 cents on the dollar.

New York was third in the index, followed by Michigan and South Carolina. The lowest scores went to Oklahoma, Washington, South Dakota, Montana and North Dakota.

[Lottery image via Shutterstock]

Georgians Are ‘Biggest Suckers’ For Playing Lottery is a post from: The Inquisitr

Etta May Urquhart, 76, has accused her son, Ronnie Orender, of taking her $51 million Mega Millions lottery ticket, and then using the money to rack up expensive charges as he purchased homes and cars.

Ronnie, a truck driver prior to cashing in the multimillion dollar Mega Millions lotto ticket, is currently in a legal dispute with his mother, Etta, in regards to who owns the lottery ticket.  The mother has admitted to allowing her son to sign the ticket, as she was too overwhelmed with emotions to sign it herself.  Y! News reported that the lawsuit, filed last week in California state court, alleges:

“Lottery officials requested the winning ticket be signed. Etta May was overcome with emotions, she could barely talk and her body shaking badly. Given her condition, Etta May asked Orender to sign the ticket on her behalf.”

Turns out, instead of signing Urquhart’s name, Orender “signed the winning ticket in his own name and not on behalf of Etta May,” the lawsuit indicated.

After signing the ticket, Ronnie suggested to his mother that due to the “magnitude of the situation, and the likely attention and pressures” from strangers, friends, and family, Etta should “tell others that she bought the ticket for Orender.”

According to the lawsuit, she agreed to the plan.  Orender decided upon a lump sum cash payment of $32.2 million.  A statement from last year’s Mega Millions said that he was going to:

“Take care of his parents and other family as well.”

Bob Urquhart, Ronnie’s stepfather joked at the time:

“We’re going to spend it.”

The lawsuit alleges that Orender invested the winnings by acquiring four homes in Bakersfield, California, and now collects monthly income.  In addition to the $2.3 million he dropped on the four houses, he also bought 10 vehicles and gave “cash gifts of several hundred thousands of dollars.”

Who do you think has the rightful claim to the $51 million lottery ticket prize, Etta May Urquhart or her son Ronnie Orender?

Bakersfield Mega Millions Winners: Son Sued For Taking $51 Million Lottery Ticket From Mom is a post from: The Inquisitr

Sharon Duncan, a woman in Arkansas who discarded her winning lottery ticket, is entitled to the $1 million that her lottery ticket was good for, a Judge ruled Tuesday.

White County Judge Thomas Hughes ruled that the woman, Sharon Jones, who took the winning lotto ticket from a convenience store trash can in Beebe, A.K., will have to forfeit the prize money, which she already claimed, to Duncan.

James Simpson, an attorney representing Jones, intends on filing an appeal.  He made note of the fact that Duncan testified she threw the ticket away after the ticket scanner said:

“Sorry. Not a winner.”

Attorney Simpson argues that people should not be allowed to throw items away and then reclaim them after they realize their worth.  He was quoted by Y! News having said:

“We’d have garage-sale law all over the place. It became trash when someone threw it away.”

Regardless of Jones’ attorneys argument, Hughes conveyed his belief that Jones never met the burden of proof indicating Duncan had abandoned her right to the $1 million lottery prize.  He was quoted having said:

“The $1 million was never found money.”

Jones’ testimony indicated that she had already spent a portion of the claimed prize money on cash gifts to her children and a new truck.  She also went onto testify that she gathered a handful of discarded tickets from the Super 1 Stop store’s trash can, as she had done many times prior, and that there was no visible sign indicating that customers should not retrieve tickets from waste receptacles.

Who do you think is the rightful recipient of the $1 million lottery winnings: the woman who bought the winning lotto ticket, Sharon Duncan, or dumpster-diving Sharon Jones?

Arkansas Woman Who Lost $1 Million Lottery Ticket Entitled To Winnings is a post from: The Inquisitr

One of few people that knows what it’s like to win the lottery twice in the same day, Virginia Fike has won two $1 million lotteries in the same day after two of her tickets matched five of the six Powerball numbers from the April 7 drawing.  Fike was quoted by ABC News having stated in a news release:

“I’m in shock!”

Fike purchased her two tickets, with numbers ready, at an Olde Stone Truck Stop in Virginia earlier in the month.  In regards to her preordained numbers, she stated in the Virginia lottery news release:

“I picked numbers based on my parents’ anniversary and their ages at the time, divided by the year they were married. I just love the jackpot games and I play when I can afford it.”

While the jackpot that week was at $80 million, Fike only matched five of the six winning numbers which entitled her to $1 million for each of her winning tickets.  Her two winning tickets were the only two winners in Virginia.

Keeping her mother company in the hospital, she saw “a scroll on TV about there being two $1 million winners. I looked at my mom and said ‘Wouldn’t it be funny if it was us?’” Fike said, and it was.  She did in fact win both of Virginia’s $1 million prizes, which she later discovered after stopping by a convenience store and having the clerk check her tickets.

Fike was presented with a $2 million check on Friday at the same truck stop location where she originally purchased the two winning lotto tickets.  Even the store at which the two winning tickets were sold received a $20,000 bonus.  Once taxes are deducted, Virginia Fike will receive $1.4 million for winning the lottery.

Virginia Fike Wins $1 Million Lottery Twice In One Day is a post from: The Inquisitr

Strolling around on a golf course with your buddies is usually a great way to kick back and relax but for one foursome it has provide a $30 millin windfall, that’s because Ian McMurtrie, Tom Moryson, Wayne Miller and Joe Scully played the Max jackpot this week and in the process the golf lottery jackpot winners won $30 million, that’s $7.5 million each for those keeping score at home.

As McMurtrie held up the cheque for $30 million at the B.C. Lottery Corp. officers in Vancouver he said of the windfall:

“Friday being a holiday, I almost forgot to buy [the weekly ticket],” and “I almost forgot. I was watching the Masters on Friday and they said it was the second round I said, ‘Second round? It feels like Saturday, I better go get the lottery ticket.’”

McMurtrie realized after he arrived at the local store that another ticket he bought had won $20 so he asked the clerk to roll that $20 over into more tickets.

It turns out McMurtie hadn’t even realized his group had won, his wife discovered that someone in Abbotsford had the winning ticket and he started checking the seven number. According to McMurtrie:

“I only got to see five numbers before I collapsed because I was shaking so hard,” he said. “She had to check the last two.”

Eventually the other three men came over for a celebratory sip of champagne.

News of the windfall couldn’t come at a better time for McMurtrie who was recently laid off from his job in the golf industry.

The golf lottery jackpot winners are all avid golfers and I have a feeling they’ll be spending a lot more of their free-time on the golf course after winning $7.5 million each.

Golf Lottery Jackpot. Foursome Claims $30 Million Prize is a post from: The Inquisitr

Cash-strapped and just generally dreaming Americans queued up for hours and drove across state lines for a chance at the jackpot that ultimately topped $650 million- and as Mega Millions fever gripped several states, math huggers smugly trumpeted the fact that there were several occurrences more likely than winning the world’s largest-ever lottery jackpot.

In fact, we did such a piece during the frenzied buildup to the massive Mega Millions win. While you may have a list of things you’d buy if you hit the jackpot, have you also planned your outfit for your dream date with Adriana Lima? Purchased an inflatable carry-on raft for your plane trip next month? Stocked up on epi-pens in case of a fatal bee sting? Because being struck by lightning, dying in a plane crash and even dating a supermodel are all more likely occurrences statistically than being a Mega Millions winner.

In fact, one Wichita man was unlucky enough to not only buy tickets and not win, but also get struck by lightning just after buying the tickets. Bill Isles threw in a couple of bucks for a chance at the Mega Millions pot Thursday, and the same night, Isles was jolted from above during some inclement weather. Isles tells local news that the lightning strike caused some lingering issues:

“They say I will have some things with my memory that may bother me for a while. But I wasn’t burned.  I had a little bit of an irregular heart beat.”

It almost seems like a cosmic joke, like Isles would have to win at least something after invoking the commonly referred-to statistical trope. But alas, he was as unlucky as the rest of us in Friday night’s massive $656 million Mega Millions drawing.

Mega Millions Hopeful Struck By Lightning, Jackpot Clocked at Even Higher $656M is a post from: The Inquisitr

When Americo Lopes retired from his construction job in November 2009 because he needed foot surgery, his friends at work had little reason to doubt him. However, several months later, Lopes confided in one colleague his real reason for his sudden resignation: he had scooped a lottery jackpot of $38.5 million.

There was one snag: Lopes had bought the ticket as part of a six-man pool at his workplace, and the man he confessed to was in that pool. For years, Lopes and five of his workmates would combine their money, and Lopes would diligently buy the Mega Millions tickets. When their winning numbers came up in late-2009, Lopes told nobody but lottery officials.

On Wednesday, a jury in Union County ordered Mr. Lopes to divide the winnings equally between himself and his five former co-workers. After taxes, the total kept by Lopes was $17,433,966. That translates as $2,905,661 per man.

It seems Lopes would have gotten away with his treacherous act if he had simply kept quiet. Yet his March 2010 confession to one of the group set tongues wagging, and further research unearthed a website with Lopes’s name, revealing he had hit the jackpot. One of the betrayed co-workers, Candido Silva Jr., admitted, “We believed him.”

Lopes himself was clearly aggrieved, telling The Star-Ledger of Newark, “They robbed me.” The 52-year-old Portuguese-American stated repeatedly during the trial that he had bought the winning ticket on his own, separate from any tickets he had purchased for the group. He insisted that he often bought tickets for himself when he went to buy the pool’s ticket.

Jose Sousa, 46, another man of the group Lopes is said to have cheated, remarked, “We trusted him. He cheated us.” He said the the jury’s decision “proved that we’re not lying. This is the most important thing.”

61-year-old Candido Silva Sr. cried on the witness stand, while his son, Mr. Silva Jr., said the verdict was what the group had expected. While he and his co-workers enjoyed a celebratory meal, he told press, “If you have a clear conscience, you have nothing to worry about.”

The five men said they had considered Lopes a close friend for years. I’m guessing they no longer feel quite as chummy.

Americo Lopes, Lottery Winner, Must Share $38.5m Jackpot With Co-Workers is a post from: The Inquisitr

Earlier this week, a massive public outcry erupted after it was revealed that million dollar jackpot winner, Michigan resident Amanda Clayton, continued to collect assistance from the state in the form of food stamps following her lottery windfall.

Clayton was brought to the attention of a local news station after an irritated tipster wrote in to report the behavior. The station dispatched a hidden camera news crew to follow Clayton and film her using her Bridge card, which is how Michigan residents (25% of whom are currently receiving some form of nutritional assistance) redeem SNAP benefits. A news station employee confronted Clayton, who seemed to believe that there was no reason to not continue accepting the assistance so long as the state offered it.

When asked, Clayton said:

“I thought that they would cut me off, but since they didn’t I thought maybe it was OK because I’m not working. I feel that it’s OK because I have no income, and I have bills to pay. I have two houses.”

The fracas is the second time outrage has erupted in Michigan over lottery winners receiving welfare following their wins, and in 2010, a man who snagged a $2 million jackpot told press he intended on continuing to receive food stamps until the state took them away. In Clayton’s case, it would appear that after the backlash, Michigan’s officials discontinued her food stamps immediately- MSNBC notes:

“The Michigan Department of Human Services on Wednesday said Amanda Clayton, 24, no longer was getting $200 in monthly benefits. The department’s decision followed a report this week fromWDIV-TV, an NBC News station in Detroit, in which Clayton acknowledged continuing to get monthly food aid after her September win.”

Officials did not elaborate on whether the lottery winner would be forced to repay benefits collected since her jackpot win.

Lottery Winner’s Food Stamps Stopped by Michigan After National Outcry is a post from: The Inquisitr

Before Amanda Clayton won $1 million in the Michigan lottery program she was accepting various welfare programs including $200 per month in food stamps and according to the Detroit News after she won the big prize she continued to stay on governmental aid.

The Michigan Department of Human Services confirmed on Wednesday night that they removed Clayton from the program when it was realized that she made far too much money in 2011 to qualify for the program.

According to state Rep. Dale Zorn:

“State assistance, our tax dollars, is meant to go to those who are truly in need. It’s not meant to go to those who won big in the lottery.”

Clayton chose to accept her $1 million prize in one lump sum of $700,000 which provided her with approximately $500,000 after taxes. According to her ex-boyfriend she then went on “an insane shopping spree”  in which she bought a house and car with cash.

What might be most shocking is the fact that Clayton actually believed she deserved to stay on welfare because she was bogged down with two houses and other newly added expenses. As Clayton put it:

“I thought that they would cut me off, but since they didn’t I thought maybe it was OK because I’m not working. I feel that it’s OK because I have no income, and I have bills to pay. I have two houses.”

Sadly this isn’t the first time a lottery winner in the state of Michigan has remained on welfare, a $2 million winner in 2010 did the same thing which has led state officials to now think about ways they can examine and remove lottery winners from the state welfare program.

In the meantime Clayton could find herself in legal trouble for accepting food stamps after her income and assets surpassed the legal threshold.

Given her lack of spending control I’ll give Clayton twelve months before she’s broke, doesn’t own a home and is back on welfare.

Here’s a video report of the incident:

Do you think Amanda Clayton should be charged with a crime for taking advantage of taxpayers and the state welfare system?

$1 Million Lottery Winner Continues Receiving Welfare is a post from: The Inquisitr

When/If the winner of the sixth largest jackpot in U.S. history does stake his/her claim, they’ll be given two options: take the jackpot in a lump sum (with taxes of $210 million), or opt for annuity payments for the next 30 years.

The Stop and Shop retailer that sold the ticket won’t be getting a cut of the winnings, as is sometimes the case – instead, the store decided to take an 8 cent cut of each ticket sold in its outlets. Ouch. The state of Rhode Island will do well from the win, however – it is set to receive $12 million in taxes from the jackpot; assuming the winner shows, of course.

If you recently bought a PowerBall ticket in the Rhode Island area, it might be worth checking behind sofa cushions, in kitchen drawers and the dog’s kennel if you haven’t already looked over your ticket. The winning numbers were 1-10-37-52-57, PowerBall 11.

$336 Million PowerBall Jackpot Remains Unclaimed by Rhode Island Winner is a post from: The Inquisitr

A military veteran in dire need of a kidney transplant has won a cool $14.3 million in Wisconsin’s Megabucks lottery. Napolean Elvord scooped the jackpot on January 14, yet didn’t realize he was a millionaire until several days after the draw had taken place.

Indeed, the winning $1 ticket was still on Elvord’s dining table when it was announced the winning ticket had been sold at a Wisconsin Mobil station. Elvord is a regular at said station, and it wasn’t until the manager there asked him if he had bought the winning ticket that he noticed his error: he had mixed up the dates of the draw that produced the Megabucks winner.

For almost a week, an eight-figure sum had been lying on Napolean Elvord’s table, yet he didn’t realize it.

Elvord didn’t celebrate when he checked the ticket, as he still wasn’t convinced he had won. However, a visit to the Wisconsin Lottery office confirmed his success, and he received a lump-sum payment of $10.2 million, or $6.87 million after taxes. He told the Wisconsin State Journal:

“It’s still going through my head. The first thing they asked me was, ‘Did you make up the ticket?’”

With his new-found fortune, Elvord plans to help those less fortunate than himself, especially those who have taken a hit in the shaky economy over the past few years. He told NBC15:

“I hadn’t really made any plans yet, but I do look at the economy and think about the people that have lost homes that had homes and had jobs. And I’m into construction. I like remodeling, fixing up things, and I’m looking at possibly doing something in that area to re-sell homes and bring people back into their housing area.”

However, he’ll be looking after himself as well – for the past five years Elvord has received kidney dialysis, so plans to return to his native Texas and put some of his windfall toward health insurance.

Military Vet Who Needs New Kidney Scoops $14m Lottery Jackpot is a post from: The Inquisitr

One Lucky New york man matched all  five numbers and the mega ball last night, winning $206 million dollars in the Mega Millions lottery.  the winning numbers were 23, 32, 33, 39, 43 and a mega ball number of 8.

1 New York Resident Wins $206 Million Mega Millions Lottery Jackpot is a post from: The Inquisitr

The ticket for the Georgia Lottery will expire on Monday evening at 5pm, when the lottery’s 180-day claim window closes. Georgians: now is the time to start upending sofas and checking wallets.

The winning ticket was sold at the Pilot Travel Center truck stop, along I-20 and just inside the state from Alabama. It came with the numbers 24, 30, 45, 57, and 59, with Powerball number 26. Georgia Lottery spokeswoman Tandi Reddick says:

“Unclaimed Powerball jackpot prize funds are returned proportionately to each participating state based on that state’s sales for the particular drawing.”

In Georgia, all unclaimed prize money is placed back in the prize pool for future games and special prize promotions. It’s still paid out to lottery players, but that probably won’t be much consolation if you found this ticket to a fortune on Tuesday morning.

Anybody who finds the ticket is urged to head down to the Georgia Lottery headquarters in downtown Atlanta, or one of the seven district lottery offices around the state. If you find it after Monday, it’s probably time to curl up into a very, very small ball and sob/shake uncontrollably for the next year. Reddick adds:

“The winner can claim at the Georgia Lottery kiosks at Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport, located in the baggage claim areas of the North and South terminals.”

And finally, don’t forget your old FRIENDS at the Inquisitr. Thanks.

$77m Powerball ‘Lottery’ Ticket Still Unclaimed, About to Expire is a post from: The Inquisitr

The Taiwanese city of New Taipei this week came up with a unique solution for cleaning their streets of dog feces, they launched a city wide lottery that everyone could participate in.

City officials were able to collect 14,500 bags of dog poop from more than 4,000 people, removing half of the cities dog feces from streets and sidewalks.

For each bag turned over to the government a lottery ticket was awarded and eventually a 50-something woman claimed the top prize, a gold ingot worth $2,200

Government officials also provided 85 other people with prizes ranging from smaller gold pieces to household appliances.

This may be the first time that non-dog owners in the city weren’t complaining about other people’s dogs leaving messes in the middle of the cities streets.

City officers are hoping that the clean up will continue even now that the dog poop lottery is over. Perhaps cleaner streets was just the motivation the Taiwanese people in the city needed.

Would you clean up dog poop around your city if you could potentially earn thousands of dollars from the simple task?

[Image via ShutterStock.com]

New Taipei City Officials Offer Dog Poop Lottery, Clean Up Streets In Record Time is a post from: The Inquisitr

Three rich Connecticut businessmen hit it big when they purchased a $1 lottery ticket that turned out to be a $254 million winner.

The prize is the largest in state history and because the men held onto the ticket for nearly a month without alerting lottery officials the state ended up placing billboards all over the area to hunt down the winner.

According to the New York Post the three owners of an asset-management company bought the ticket together and drove to the lottery officer in a giant limo to pick up their giant check.

In the meantime lottery winners Tim Davidson, Brandon Lacoff and Greg Skidmore have placed their winnings in a trust, which after taxes contains $103.5 million.

While it may appear that a bunch of rich businessmen are just lining their pockets further the lawyer for all three men says much of the money will go to charity while noting:

“This is going to benefit many people.”

One person already happy for the win is the stores owner who collects $100,000 for selling the winning lottery ticket. Upon hearing the good news the stores owner announced:

“Christmas comes a little early this year.”

It’s nice to see a lottery winner who knows how to manage their money, especially since they will be managing to give much of it away to groups in need.

Rich Connecticut Financiers Win $254 Million Lottery is a post from: The Inquisitr

If you win the lottery you’re already considered pretty lucky but when you win the lottery because the store clerk accidentally sold you a Powerball ticket instead of a Mega Millions ticket you’re considered super lucky and that’s what happened this week to Georgia resident Kathy Scruggs.

Kathy realized the store clerks error when purchasing her ticket but she decided to keep the $25 million winner anyways.

The 44-year-old told the Savannah Morning News that she was searching endlessly for a job before her big win, a search she has officially given up.

“I’ve been looking and looking and looking,” Scruggs says, but now “I’m going to build my mom and grandmother a home.”

Scruggs also says she plans to help struggling people cover dental bills while noting “I’m happy and grateful.”

I’m pretty sure I would be “happy and grateful” if I won $25 million as well, hopefully she doesn’t blow through her cash like many lottery winners in the past have.

Unemployed Woman Given Wrong Type Of Lottery Ticket, Wins $25 Million is a post from: The Inquisitr

An unnamed customer on a Ryanair flight from Poland to the UK has reacted to winning 10,000 Euros ($13,616 or £8,765) on a scratchcard by eating his winning card.

What could have inspired such an act? Was this a powerful and emotionally charged statement about the standard of airline food? Sadly, no. Turns out this guy was just pissed off about having to wait to claim his prize, because he wanted to cash in right then.

The impatient passenger was urged by cabin crew and some passengers not to eat the ticket, but stood up and ate it anyway, as a demonstration of … something. The winnings will now go to charity.

A Ryanair spokesman has since said that the airline crew did not have the cash “kicking around the aircraft” (NO WAI), and that the prize had to be collected directly from the scratchcard company. Ryanair went on to confirm that the eccentric passenger ate his ticket on February 26th, which means this guy is taking the most expensive dump of his life right … about … now.

[Via BBC]

Impatient man eats winning $13,600 scratchcard is a post from: The Inquisitr

Investigators said Thursday Bulgaria’s lottery agency did not commit any fraud after the winning jackpot number was drawn twice early this month.

A five-man investigation panel formed Wednesday by the sports ministry to investigate the case did not find any violations committed by the state lottery agency when the jackpot numbers 4, 15, 23, 24, 35 and 42 was drawn live on national TV on September 6 and 10. There were no winners in the first draw but 18 people, who bet using the same number, won the prize worth $7,567 in the second draw.

The investigators also said manipulation of the winning number was not possible because the numbers were drawn in different order and the winners came from different regions of the county.

Bulgarian mathematician Mihail Konstantinov said the chances of the winning numbers being drawn twice 4.2 million to one.

Bulgarian Investigators Deny Fraud In Drawing Of Winning Lottery Number Twice is a post from: The Inquisitr

Lucky South Dakotan rancher Neal Wanless has won a $232.1 million dollar Powerball jackpot after buying a ticket in nearby Winner, SD.

Wanless wasn’t having the best run of luck prior to his win, having recently lost a mobile home to repossession. The 23-year-old rancher lived with his family on 320 acres of land in what is currently the seventh poorest county in all of the United States.

The Wanless family worked very hard to make ends meet raising sheep, cattle and horses and scavenging for scrap metal. Neighbor Dave Assman said:

“They’ve been real short on finances for a long time. ”They are from real meager means, I guess you’d say.”

Wanless spoke to press briefly about his win, smiling uncontrollably, thanking God, promising not to squander his newfound riches and wearing a big black cowboy hat. He also spoke of repaying “many times over” the community that had helped his family in the past.

Since his win, Wanless has continued ranching and has no plans to stop. Wanless said to AP reporters:

…he recently told his horse, Eleanor, that “It’d be nice if we go for a longer ride than usual on a bigger ranch of our own.”

Awww…

South Dakota rancher Neal Wanless claims $232.1m Powerball Jackpot is a post from: The Inquisitr