She Bought her Lucky Ticket from the Luck Store

This story is nice because this nice couple won a $50,000 lottery prize on a $5 scratch ticket and got to go on their first real vacation. What I think is crazy is the same store has sold winning lottery tickets 11 times. If I'm ever in Farmington, NM that's where I'm picking up my tickets. I may even buy one of those awesome Kiss scratch tickets they have. Here's the story as reported by the Farmington, New Mexico Daily Times.

Farmington lottery winner goes on first 'real' vacation

FARMINGTON — The best five dollar bill is one that turns into a $50,000 bill.

Farmington's April Lopez found Monday evening that her $5 "Crossword Doubler" scratcher was a winning lottery ticket. She bought the ticket at Giant Station No. 4 at 531 E. Broadway, where 11 other winning tickets previously have been sold. She was picking up barbecue goods for her family's dinner that night when she picked up the winning ticket.

"I told her not to get ahead of herself. I didn't want her to get too excited," said her husband Jose Lopez. April said she was jumping and screaming at the news of her winnings and hopped in the car that same night to catch her prize.

"They broke into a big smile, and they were as sweet as can be," said New Mexico Lottery Spokeswoman Linda Hamlin. "I meet winners every single day, and it's amazing that they all have a different story."

The couple's first splurge was on their family's first "real" vacation. They took their three children to Albuquerque this week to tour amusement parks and the city's zoo.

"They were definitely thinking of their children first," Hamlin said.

Afterward, the couple will fly, just the two of them, to Las Vegas. They recently celebrated a wedding anniversary and would like to spend some extra time together. And then they plan on paying off the bills.

Granted, the Lopez family, and other winners, are not the only benefactors of this program. Read the whole story...

Lucky Poweball Winner Comes into Bad Luck with his Audi R8

The poor guy had just purchased one of the most fantastic cars in the world, an Audi R8. He purchased it just under a year after he won a $25,000,000 Powerball jackpot last year. The Audi R8 cost $140,000 and went up in flames while he was driving it a week after he made the purchase. It was thought to be just 1 or 2 in the USA. Luckily, no one was hurt. Here's the story from SeattlePi:

Good luck, bad luck: Lottery winner's rare car goes up in flames

DANBURY, Conn. -- Fire officials are investigating the cause of a car fire on the Merritt Parkway that destroyed a rare Audi R8 belonging to a Connecticut Powerball winner.

According to reports, Rahul Patel, of Newington, was driving the car, only a week old, northbound on the parkway around 9 a.m., when he looked up in the rearview mirror and saw smoke.

As the car's engine is in the rear, Patel pulled over to see if there was something wrong with the vehicle. After stepping out of the car, he reportedly saw flames coming out of the engine.

No one was hurt in the incident, but the car was a complete loss. Fire officials said the car is only one of two of its kind in the United States and that the car was valued at $140,000, with options. The list price for the vehicle on the Audi website is $114,000.

Losing such a rare car might be considered bad luck but, almost exactly a year ago, Patel had luck of a different sort when he won a $25 million Powerball jackpot. He won the money on June 29, 2009, from a $1 ticket. Read the whole story...

Georgia State Lottery Profits are up in 2010

The Georgia State Lottery revenues are up about $11.7m. The state provides a portion of each dollar spent to the state pre-kindergarten and HOPE, a state college scholarship, programs. Here's the article reported by The Lottery Post.

Georgia Lottery profits up in 2010

Another good year for the Georgia Lottery meant more money for the state's pre-kindergarten and HOPE college scholarship programs, but it isn't enough to keep state officials from worrying about HOPE's future.

The Georgia Lottery Corp. announced Wednesday that profits increased again during the 2010 fiscal year — providing a dozen consecutive years of growth.

As a result, the lottery increased its payments to the popular pre-k and HOPE programs. During the 2010 fiscal year, which ended June 30, the lottery transferred about $883.9 million — an increase of about $11.7 million, or 1.4 percent, over the previous year.

"In spite of this gray, darkish economy, we are very grateful that Georgians continue to respond to what we put out there," Georgia Lottery President and CEO Margaret DeFrancisco said in an interview. "We feel very fortunate that we are able to do what we've done."

While the Georgia Lottery is considered one of the most successful in the country, it is unable to keep pace with the rapid growth and cost of the education programs it was created to support.

Lottery revenue didn't generate enough money for HOPE during the 2010 fiscal year, and state officials for the first time in nearly a decade tapped into a $1 billion reserve fund. The reserves are projected to drop to about $373 million by the end of the 2012 fiscal year, according to the Georgia Student Finance Commission, which oversees HOPE.

The commission is scheduled to meet with members from the state House and Senate education committees Aug. 2 to discuss the program's finances and possible changes. Commission leaders have recommended lawmakers amend the program during the next legislative session, warning the program could run out of money if long-term changes aren't made. Read the whole story...

First Mega Millions Jackpot Winning Ticket Sold in North Carolina

A retired couple from North Carolina hit a $12,000,000 Mega Millions lottery jackpot on May 28th. The plan to keep playing! Cheers to kind elderly couple! Keep on keepin' on! Here's the story from MyFox8.

Retired Greensboro Couple Wins $12 Million Mega-Millions Jackpot

RALEIGH, N.C. - A retired Greensboro man and his wife won $12 million in the May 28 drawing of the Mega Millions lottery, making them the first winners from North Carolina.

Mike and Faye Manheim officially claimed the jackpot Wednesday afternoon in Raleigh. Read the whole story...

Lottery Pool Winners Give Millions to Employer

A UK lottery pool gives their £3.9 million lottery jackpot prize to employer. Talk about job security! Here's the story from Casino Affiliate Program.

Winners Invest Lottery Cash in Employer

Lotto winners give £3.9 million to keep company going through recession

March 6, 2009 (InfoPowa News) -- Recessionary climates can produce extraordinary events, and the U.K. media are currently carrying an interesting report of a 13-member lottery syndicate that struck it lucky ... and decided to use their winnings to ensure their employer's survival, along with their jobs.

The syndicate won £3.9 million on the lottery, but instead of dividing up the prize they decided unanimously to present the cash to company owner Andy Whitaker (44), who has managed to keep the family-run motor repair firm going despite a terrible time for the car industry.

The employees will pledge most of their winnings into the firm ASK Rewinds in Accrington, Lancashire, becoming investors in their own future in the process.

Whitaker, his wife and a fellow director are members of the winning syndicate, and have already pledged to plough their share of the lottery windfall back into the firm to help safeguard the jobs of their 18 workers.

Whitaker told local reporters: "Everybody is obviously really delighted to scoop such a big win but it's also great feeling that a lot of the lads have got the firm so close to their hearts and want to be a part of it. Read the whole story...