2 Arrested For Pair Of Thefts From Pottstown Citgo

POTTSTOWN, PA — Police arrested two men who each allegedly stole from a borough Citgo gas station in two different incidents earlier this month.

Scott T. Sinclair, 48, and Marzel D. Brickhouse, 46, were arrested over the weekend on charges related to stealing cash and lottery tickets, respectively, from the Citgo convenience store on the first block of West High Street.

Pottstown Police Capt. Robert Thomas said the first incident at the Citgo occurred Jan. 14 and involved “no confrontation.”

A cash box was placed somewhere inside the convenience store toward closing time and went missing, Thomas said. Pottstown Police responded around 9:23 p.m.

Read more: http://www.pottsmerc.com/general-news/20140127/2-arrested-for-pair-of-thefts-from-pottstown-citgo

Mega Millions Jackpot Soars To $550M, And Beyond?

There was no winner in the “Mega Millions” game on Friday night. The jackpot has been boosted to $550 million, according to lottery officials. The next drawing is Tuesday at 11 p.m.

The winning numbers in Friday night’s drawing were: 19-24-26-27-70, Mega Ball: 12

With the Friday the 13th drawing failing to produce any winner lucky enough to claim the fifth-biggest jackpot ever, officials raised the jackpot amount by $125 million. That now ranks as the fourth-biggest.

Paula Otto, the Virginia Lottery’s executive director and Mega Millions’ lead director, told The Associated Press early Saturday that she expects the amount to rise even higher before the drawing. It could approach or surpass the largest Mega Millions jackpot ever claimed, $656 million in March 2012.

Read more at http://www.philly.com/philly/news/nation_world/Mega_Millions_jackpot_hiked_to_425_million.html#RRVWeTLFeyyqs8AZ.99

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