• Lottery Awards Scholarships with Student Scratch Ticket Design Contest!! Full Story.
• Pick 3 Players Win Big! "9-9-9" Drawn for the 13th Time in Virginia Lottery History. Full Story.
• Lottery “Ups The Ante” With Release Of $10,000,000 Hold’Em Poker® Instant Ticket Game. Full Story.
• Downey Named CEO of Owner Revolution. Full Story.
• Kentucky Lottery's Year-to-date Sales Well Above Projections. Full Story.
• North Dakota Players are Winning. Full Story.
• Georgia Lottery Relaunches $100 Million Cash Spectacular. Full Story.
• Scientific Games Awarded $12 Million Online Lottery Equipment and Services Contract. Full Story.
• Ethical Council Part of Veikkaus' Social Responsibility. Full Story.

Lottery Awards Scholarships with Student Scratch Ticket Design Contest!!

BOISE, Idaho, USA (March 30, 2005) -- You scratch our back, we’ll scratch yours! Here’s the deal: Graphic design students at colleges across the state had the chance to win big with the first annual Idaho Lottery’s Student Scratch Ticket Design Contest.

Advertisement

The Lottery developed this scholarship contest in an effort to continue the mission to benefit Idaho’s schools and students.

In conjunction with a course curriculum, students had to create a scratch ticket that plays just like a real Idaho Lottery ticket. Scholarships were awarded to the three best designs. Tickets were judged on creativity, visual appeal, play style and overall marketability.

There were 130 entries from 6 schools: Boise State University, University of Idaho, College of Southern Idaho, Lewis-Clark State College, North Idaho College, and Idaho State University. Judging took place on March 25. And the winners are:

• 1st Place – $1,000, Tara Goetz, University of Idaho for "Cow Tips"
• 2nd Place – $500, Dawn Abbott, University of Idaho for "Lucky in Love"
• 3rd Place – $200, Devin Taylor, Idaho State University for "Idaho Hold’Em"

The winning tickets may be printed and used in the Lottery’s scratch game lineup. In addition to the top awards, one $100 scholarship was given to one student from each of the 6 schools for the best design from that school.

The Idaho Lottery benefiting Idaho public schools and buildings. Please play responsibly. Must be 18 to buy, sell and redeem lottery tickets.

SOURCE: Idaho Lottery media release.
CONTACT: Jennifer Gelband, (208) 334-2600.

Pick 3 Players Win Big! "9-9-9" Drawn for the 13th Time in Virginia Lottery History

RICHMOND, VA (March 29, 2005) -- The old saying: "Good things come in 3’s" certainly was true at the Virginia Lottery today. The combination "9-9-9" was drawn in the March 29, 2005 Pick 3 "day" drawing. This is the 13th time in Virginia Lottery history that this combination has been drawn. The last time players saw "9-9-9" pay out was almost a year ago on June 10, 2004.

Every player who wagered $1.00 on the Exact Order combination in Tuesday’s drawing won the top prize of $500. All together, Virginia Lottery players wagered a total of $359,074, and they won a total of $2,167,475 in prizes!

Advertisement

"Triple numbers in the Pick 3 game are always the most popular played," said Virginia Lottery Executive Director Penelope W. Kyle. "So, it’s certainly exciting for our players to see a triple combination drawn."

Pick 3 drawings are held Monday through Saturday at 1:59 p.m. and 11:00 p.m. The odds of matching all three numbers in exact order are 1 in 1,000.

All Virginia Lottery profits go to K-12 public school education in the Commonwealth of Virginia. In fiscal year 2004, the Virginia Lottery turned over more than $408 million for education. For more information on the Virginia Lottery visit www.valottery.com.

SOURCE: Virginia Lottery media release.
CONTACT: Jill Vaughan, Director of Communications, Phone: (804) 692-7778.

Lottery “Ups The Ante” With Release Of $10,000,000 Hold’Em Poker® Instant Ticket Game

BOSTON, Massachusetts, USA (March 30, 2005)On Tuesday, March 29th, the Massachusetts Lottery launched its newest $10 instant ticket, $10,000,000 HOLD’EM POKER® which features a play style similar to the wildly popular card game. With more than $645 million in prizes, the new game offers a grand prize of $10 million - the largest single instant ticket prize in U.S. lottery history.

The $10,000,000 HOLD’EM POKER® instant ticket also features a unique “Bonus Tournament” event to be held at a later scheduled date, where 560 lucky players will win entry into a drawing with over $15 million in prize money.

Four players will win $1 million and one lucky player will take home the $10 million Grand Prize. “$10,000,000 HOLD’EM POKER® continues the Massachusetts Lottery’s proud tradition of offering players the most exciting and entertaining games in the nation,” said State Treasurer Timothy P. Cahill, whose office oversees the Lottery. “With a record-breaking prize structure, this game is certain to attract players and generate new revenue for the Lottery. And the more successful we are at the Lottery, the more money that can be returned to the Commonwealth’s 351 cities and towns.” Hold'Em Poker has gained worldwide appeal due largely to televised tournaments like the World Poker Tour™.

The Massachusetts Lottery teamed with Scientific Games to produce its instant ticket version of the game which features the patented Hold'Em Poker® play style, yet does not require any poker skill or knowledge to participate. “As the national leader in instant ticket sales, we know that our players expect games with innovative prize structures,” said Lottery Executive Director Joseph C. Sullivan. “That’s what we are offering with the $10,000,000 HOLD’EM POKER® instant ticket When this game is finished, one lucky player will win $10 million, and make Lottery history.”

Players can learn more about the tournament by reading the back of the $10,000,000 HOLD’EM POKER® instant ticket, by picking up a brochure at any Lottery sales agent location or by logging on to the website at www.masslottery

SOURCE: Massachusetts Lottery Press Release

Downey Named CEO of Owner Revolution
ADAIR, Iowa (March 25, 2005) -- J. Michael Downey has been named the new CEO of Owner Revolution Inc. and its subsidiaries Schafer Systems Inc., Connect-A-Dock Inc. and Plastic Professionals Inc. He replaces former CEO Victor Aspengren who resigned to pursue other interests.

Advertisement

Downey has been closely associated with Owner Revolution Inc. for the past five years as a member of its Board of Directors.

"Owner Revolution has built a tremendous foundation for its future, and now we intend to seize these opportunities by a renewed focus on customer service, product quality and turnaround, and new product development" Downey stated.

Downey holds a degree in Industrial Engineering from Iowa State University and a law degree from the University of Iowa. He also serves as chairman and CEO of HandEra, Inc., an Iowa based engineering company that specializing in contract engineering services and handheld computer solutions for industrial applications.
SOURCE: Owner Revolution Inc. media release.
CONTACT: John Krogman, Ph: 641-742-5123.

Kentucky Lottery's Year-to-date Sales Well Above Projections, But Bottom Line Impacted by Lucky Players
Extraordinary Good Luck by Players Means dividends to the State Will be Lower than Projected

LOUISVILLE, Kentucky (March 25, 2005) -- The Kentucky Lottery Corporation (KLC) Board of Directors today learned sales for Fiscal Year 2005 through February 28th are $17.5 million or 3.9% ahead of budget. However, strong winnings by KLC players of daily online games have negatively impacted the Corporation’s bottom line.

Advertisement

The game, which has experienced the biggest uptick in winning activity has been Pick 3. During the month of February, triple digits were drawn as the winning Pick 3 numbers on three occasions. Winning triple digits have already been drawn eight times for the game this fiscal year, when statistically this should only happen about every other month. On those three drawings alone, $7.6 million in prizes were awarded for drawings where just $670,339 in tickets were sold. For the year-to-date, prize payouts for the online games Pick 3, Pick 4, KY Cash Ball and Lotto South are running approximately $12.4 million above the expected statistical payout.

"We’re in the luck business – sometimes it’s on our side, and other times it’s on the player’s side," said KLC President and CEO Arch Gleason. "While our players are certainly enjoying this unprecedented run of good luck, the increased prize payments are affecting our ability to meet projections for what we will turn over to the Commonwealth this year. Our games will return to their statistical norm at some point, so now we just have to ride out this unexpected run of high prize payments."

This increased winning has led to an increase in sales. Pick 3 saw its second-highest sales week in the game’s history last month, and the Pick 4 game also set a new sales record. Scratch-off tickets – which enjoyed record-breaking sales during the last fiscal year – are seeing a sales increase 5.2% ahead of last year’s mark. The lack of a significant Powerball jackpot in recent months and competition from Tennessee however have caused that game to be down $38.5 million from where it was at this point in the last fiscal year.

These factors today led the KLC’s management to revise budget projections for the remainder of FY ’05. The Corporation was initially projected to sell $665.8 million in tickets. However, the new projection shows the Corporation anticipates FY ’05 sales of $698 million. The Commonwealth is expecting dividend transfers of $180 million for the fiscal year, yet it is now projected $171.7 will be turned over. During FY ’04 – when the Tennessee Lottery was in operation the last half of the fiscal year - the KLC saw sales of $725.3 million with proceeds of $193.5 million.

"Even though we are looking to be below our projection for proceeds to the state this year, I think it’s very important to keep all this in context," said KLC Board Member and State Treasurer Jonathan Miller. "Yes, we may be down in the neighborhood of $8 million in dividend payments this year, but last year we exceeded our expected payments by $10 million, and we’ve exceeded projections in many other years as well. This is just the nature of the business."

Gross profits (which are comprised of sales less profits, retailer commissions and ticket costs) for the eight months of FY’05 came in at $201.6 million, versus an anticipated $217.7 million. Operating expenses for the full fiscal year are projected to be $39.2 million, which is 3% less than FY ‘04’s total of $40.4 million.

Advertisement

OTHER BOARD ACTION

In other action, the board:

• Re-elected George Demaree Jr. as board chairman, and elected Keith Griffee as vice chair. Demaree has served on the board since 1999 and works in management with Radio One in Louisville. Griffee, a board member since 2003, is a banker with Porter Bancorp, Inc. and a resident of Mt. Washington;
• Approved purchases and contracts with Elysum Consulting, GLI International, Schafer Systems and Take-A Ticket, Smartplay International, and Affiliated Forensic; and
• Approved concepts for 18 new scratch-off games and 13 new pull-tab games.

SOURCE: Kentucky Lottery Corporation media release.

North Dakota Players are Winning

NORTH DAKOTA, USA (March 24, 2005) -- As of March 21, 2005, a total of 724,088 lottery prizes have been won. "People are surprised when I tell them how many winning tickets we’ve had," said Chuck Keller, director of the North Dakota Lottery.

Winners like Shannon and John Besselman from Minot. They won $25,000 when, while waiting for a pizza, John stepped next door and bought a Powerball ticket with the Power Play option.

Their daughter is the true big winner since they plan to put most of the money in an account for her education.

Sheryll Ford from Bowman won $10,000 playing Hot Lotto for some remodeling to her home.

Dale Viken stopped at his favorite store in Grand Forks to get a bottle of pop and to, "See if I’m a millionaire," he said. Viken won $5,000 playing Wild Card 2. And, Rebecca Bjerke from Kathyrn, who won a $5,000 Powerball prize at the I-94 Tesoro in Valley City is hoping to take a trip to Las Vegas this year.

Terry and Tom Haluzak, brothers from Mandan, won $5,000 playing Wild Card 2 and split it

50/50. "We always said that if either of us won we’d share it. I hope he wins more when his turn comes!" said Terry Haluzak. Wayne Gorder, Wahpeton, Ken Gustafson, West Fargo, John Holmgren, Fargo, and more have won $5,000.

"We’ve been close to winning big jackpots several times. In the Powerball game alone we’ve had three $100,000 winners," said Keller. Five members of a local birthday club near Valley City shared a $100,000 prize plus there were $100,000 winners in Grand Forks and Minot.

North Dakota Retailers are Benefiting Lottery games are a new revenue source for the 400 licensed retailers in North Dakota.

Leading the Lottery’s retailers in sales is the M & H convenience store in Mandan. "It’s pretty neat to be number one. I’m so glad we have a lottery and so are a lot of people," said Mary Junker, manager.

The Sooper Stop in West Fargo and the Farmers Union Oil in Velva rank on the Lottery’s Top 20 Retailer list. "Our business took off last January. Then the lottery started in March -- that nailed it for us," said Todd Jacobson who owns the Sooper Stop with his wife Denise." But we promote it!" he added.

Cory Schmaltz, manager of the Farmers Union Oil in Velva, said, "We have nothing but positive thoughts about the lottery. We’re seeing people we’ve never seen before! Schmaltz said local residents are very faithful. "One guy here has won three times playing Wild Card 2 – all for $500 each," he said.

Lottery retail outlets are located in 122 cities and 53 North Dakota counties.

Eighteen 'Stop-N-Go' stores help promote the lottery in Eastern North Dakota. Sheila Carney,

CFO for Stop-n-Go stores, said, "The lottery has been a positive addition to our business. It has helped our traffic numbers and lottery promotions have given our employees something fun to talk to our customers about."

Bruce Grinsteinner, District Supervisor for Superpumper Inc. in Minot said, "The North Dakota Lottery is an added service for our customers that has generated a lot of excitement and repeat business from customers that come and play their favorite numbers every Wednesday and Saturday." Ten North Dakota Superpumper stores sell lottery tickets.

"The bulk of our sales is in central North Dakota – Burleigh, Ward and Morton counties – primarily because the lottery is new there, " Keller said. "People living on the border lines of Minnesota, South Dakota and Montana have been playing for a long time," he continued.

Gerrad Burger, controller for Simonson stores headquartered in Grand Forks, agreed. "Our stores in the Eastern part of the state haven’t done as well but none-the-less, they’re generating sales.

Overall I think it’s been good for us especially since we had a $100,000 winner at one of our stores," he said.

North Dakota Lottery: A Year in Review:

• Over $19.5 million in tickets were sold.
• Almost $6 million was raised for North Dakota program services.
• More than $4 million was paid in prizes to players.
• Over $1 million was paid to retailers in sales commissions.
• There are 400 Lottery retailers in North Dakota in 122 cities and 53 counties. These retailers include convenience stores, grocery stores, service stations, truck stops, liquor stores, bars, and drug stores.
• Powerball, North Dakota’s first lottery game, was launched on March 25, 2004, 356 days after the lottery law was passed and 116 days after the successful online gaming system vendor was selected.
• As of March 21, 2005, there have been 325,746 North Dakota Powerball winners of over $3.1 million.
• Hot Lotto ticket sales began on June 24, 2004. As of March 21, 2005, there have been 189,080 North Dakota Hot Lotto winners of over $720,095.
• Wild Card 2 ticket sales began on September 23, 2004. As of March 21, 2005, there have been 217,821 North Dakota Wild Card 2 winners of over $454,106.
• Top prize paid to date: $100,000
• Projected North Dakota Lottery sales for 2005-07 Biennium: $36.2 Million

Highest Daily Sales:

Advertisement

• Powerball $194,871 on May 8, 2004 (Jackpot was $205 Million).
• Hot Lotto: $30,325 on July 7, 2004 (Jackpot $6.07 Million).
• Wild Card 2: $20,926 on October 2, 2004 (Jackpot $315,000).
• Largest Jackpot since North Dakota joined games:
• Powerball: $215,000,000 on October 9, 2004
• Hot Lotto: $10,780,000 on September 15, 2004
• Wild Card 2: $530,000 on November 3, 2004

The North Dakota Lottery is partnering with the North Dakota Emergency Management and law enforcement to participate in our state’s Amber Alert program. The Lottery’s equipment of 400 lottery terminals and electronic signs are used for Amber Alerts.

The North Dakota Lottery transferred $400,000, as appropriated by the 2003 legislative assembly, to the Compulsive Gambling Prevention and Treatment Fund.

SOURCE: North Dakota Lottery media release.
CONTACT: Eileen Walsh (701) 328-1574.

Georgia Lottery Relaunches $100 Million Cash Spectacular

ATLANTA, Georgia (March 24, 2005) -- It’s back by popular demand! The Georgia Lottery Corporation (GLC) today announced the reprint of its instant game $100 Million Cash Spectacular. It’s the exact same game with the exact same number of winners and the exact same odds.

"We are excited to extend $100 Million Cash Spectacular due to its overwhelming popularity and success," said GLC President and CEO Margaret DeFrancisco. "This translates into additional prizes for Georgia Lottery players and more dollars for the educational programs we fund."

Advertisement

Georgia Lottery players can look forward to 10 additional $1 million top prizes and the highest payout percentage in GLC history. The $10 game offers over $118 million in new cash prizes. Tickets are now arriving at retailer locations.

To date, Georgia Lottery players have won more than $113 million playing $100 Million Cash Spectacular with eight $1 million top prizes claimed.

Since its first year, the Georgia Lottery Corporation has returned more than $7.2 billion to the state of Georgia for education. All Georgia Lottery profits go to pay for specific educational programs. These include Georgia’s HOPE scholarship program; a statewide, voluntary pre-kindergarten program for four-year-olds; and a wide range of technological and capital upgrades for the state’s schools, technical institutes, colleges, universities and public libraries.

For more information, please visit the Media Center on our Web site at: www.galottery.com

SOURCE: Georgia Lottery Corporation.
CONTACT: Tandi Reddick, Media Relations Manager. Voice: 404-215-5062, Fax: 404-215-8983.

Scientific Games Awarded $12 Million Online Lottery Equipment and Services Contract
Pacific Online Systems Corporation to Purchase 900 EXTREMA® Terminals and AEGIS® Central System for the Philippines Charity Sweepstakes Office

NEW YORK, USA (March 31, 2005) -- Scientific Games Corporation (NASDAQ: SGMS) announced that Pacific Online Systems Corporation, the operator for the official Philippines lottery in Visayas and Mindanao, has awarded it the contract to supply 900 EXTREMA® online lottery terminals and a central system. The seven and a half year contract, which includes maintenance and support, is valued at $12 million over its initial term and commences in the second half of 2005.

"We are very pleased at this turn of events" said Lorne Weil, chairman and CEO of Scientific Games Corporation. "For some time now we have been focused on the expansion of our overseas business and winning this order proves we are on the right track. We are looking forward to working with Pacific Online to help the lottery expand its distribution, increasing sales and proceeds to lottery beneficiaries."

The Pacific Online Lottery operates the lottery in Visayas and Mindanao for the Philippines Charity Sweepstakes Office, the only company licensed to operate a lottery in the Philippines. Lottery sales totaled $50 million in 2004.

About Scientific Games

Scientific Games Corporation is the leading integrated supplier of instant tickets, systems and services to lotteries, and the leading supplier of wagering systems and services to pari-mutuel operators.
It is also a licensed pari-mutuel gaming operator in Connecticut and the Netherlands and is a leading supplier of prepaid phone cards to telephone companies.
Scientific Games’ customers are in the United States and more than 60 other countries. For more information about Scientific Games, please visit our web site at www.scientificgames.com.

SOURCE: Scientific Games Corporation.
Company Contact: Lisa D. Lettieri, Phone: 212-754-2233.

Ethical Council Part of Veikkaus' Social Responsibility

VEIKKAUS, Finland (March 29, 2005) -- Veikkaus' Ethical Council is an advisory expert organ established by Veikkaus' Board of Directors. The Council's task is to provide Veikkaus' Board of Directors and operative management with an external perspective to issues related to the ethics of gaming, especially games and their marketing, as well as to topics such as addictive gambling.

Veikkaus Ethical Council has active and insightful discussions on, e.g., problem gambling, the lottery's position in the digital environment, and factors related to the restriction of gaming.

The Ethical Council convened for the first time in November 2003. Its term of office is two years. The present term will end on 31 December 2006.

Advertisement

Members of Veikkaus' Ethical Council from January 2005:
* Kalevi Kivistö, Licentiate of Political Science (chairman)
* Ringa Junnila, Enterpriser (vice chairman)
* Olli Alho, Professor Sari Essayah, Member of Parliament
* Jukka Gustafsson, Member of Parliament
* Vesa-Pekka Koljonen, Editor in Chief, retired
* Timo Laitinen, Chairman of Finnish Sports Federation
* Sanna-Mari Myllynen, Development Manager
* Maija-Riitta Ollila, Doctor of Social Science
* Tuomo Peltonen, Professor Hannu Saha, Doctor of Philosophy
* Pekka Vähätalo, Secretary General, the Young Finland Association

SOURCE: Veikkaus Oy Communications.
For further information, please contact Director Risto Ikäheimo, Email: risto.ikaheimo@veikkaus.fi, tel. +358 (0) 20750 7217.

Interplay Multimedia Pty. Ltd. disclaims all liability for information provided within Lottery Insider -- Data supplied by named sources.
Associated Press content is Copyrighted by The Associated Press.
All other news articles are owned by their respective publishers.