Governor Christie Quietly Takes On New Jersey Lottery

English: , U.S. Attorney, Governor-elect of New Jersey (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

TRENTON – Gov. Christie hasn’t held a news conference about it, and his treasurer has refused to testify on it.  But the Republican governor is close to privatizing the bulk of a $2.8 billion New Jersey institution.

Following a national trend already under way in Pennsylvania, Christie is negotiating a 15-year contract with a company to operate the state lottery in an effort to increase sales, thereby building more revenue for schools and state institutions.

Like Pennsylvania’s Republican Gov. Corbett, Christie bypassed the Legislature, much to its chagrin, in bidding out the system.  And like Pennsylvania, New Jersey got just one bid in response to its request for proposals.

Unlike in Pennsylvania, where the pending contract was ultimately posted online and must be submitted for approval to the Democratic attorney general, New Jersey’s lottery bid is not public.  Christie could just sign a contract in the next two months.

Read more:  http://www.philly.com/philly/news/politics/nj/20130128_Christie_quietly_takes_on_lottery.html

The No. 1 State For Lottery Suckers

English: Great Seal of the State of Georgia (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Georgia‘s lottery players are the biggest suckers in the nation, according to Bloomberg Rankings, buying nearly $5 billion of the $50 billion a year in tickets for U.S. state-run games that have the worst odds of any form of legal gambling.

Players in Georgia, whose per capita income is about 10% below the U.S. average, are doing the most damage to their personal finances. According to the Sucker Index created by Bloomberg Rankings, Georgia residents spent the second-highest chunk of their income on the lottery, which funds college scholarships and prekindergarten.

Read more: http://money.msn.com/personal-finance/the-no-1-state-for-lottery-suckers-bloomberg.aspx

81-Year-Old Woman Wins Record Lottery Jackpot

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(Reuters) – An 81-year-old Rhode Island woman came forward on Tuesday to claim a $336.4 million PowerBall prize, the third biggest jackpot in the game’s history, lottery officials said.

Louise White kept her identity secret for weeks after buying the lucky ticket at a Stop & Shop grocery store in Newport, Rhode Island. Her lucky picks won the jackpot by matching all five numbers plus the PowerBall number in a February 11 drawing.

White will take the prize home in one lump sum payment of $210 million, the highest cash jackpot ever, lottery officials said.

Read more: http://www.mcall.com/news/breaking/sns-rt-us-lottery-winnertre82515w-20120306,0,7976915.story