Thursday, November 27, 2014

Megabucks for Vermont Couple

In a statement released on Tuesday the Vermont Lottery said the $2.45 million Tri-State Megabucks Plus jackpot from the November 19, drawing has been claimed.

The lottery has not revealed the lucky winners' identity, but stated the prize was claimed by couple from the Greater Rutland area.

It is also known that the winning ticket was purchased from the Middlebury Beef Supply and Grocery store on Route 7.

According to the lottery the couple discovered they had bagged the jackpot when the woman checked the ticket using a self-scanner at a convenience store and the display informed her she needed to contact the Vermont Lottery’s headquarters.

Who is the Big Wednesday Jackpot Winner?

Someone in Auckland bagged the AUD$ 9 million Big Wednesday jackpot, but the New Zealand Lottery has not revealed the identity of the person or syndicate who claimed their life-changing prize.

Although the identity of the winner may be a mystery at present, the lottery said the winning ticket was purchased from Pt Chevalier Lotto Plus. Store owner Pushpa Patel discovered she'd sold a winning ticket when her daughter checked through their emails and found a notification from the New Zealand Lottery.

According to Patel, the ticket-holder has already checked their ticket at another store.

"Apparently they were waiting outside the shop at 7.30 this morning [Thursday]. They collected it somewhere on the North Shore," Patel said. "We're hoping it's someone who needs it."

This is not the first time the Pt Chevalier Lotto Plus has sold a big-prize-winning ticket. In the last 20 years it has sold 12 first division winners along with 97 tickets that secured second division prizes.

The last time the Pt Chevalier Lotto Plus sold a first-division-winning ticket was in 2012 and history appears to be repeating itself because that prize was also claimed at another store.

Thinking back, Patel recalled the time a player discovered she'd won a car and got so excited she ran out of the store and then back in again.

"I had to give her a glass of water. That was in 2006," Patel said.

Big Wednesday is a mid-week lottery that draws every Wednesday night in New Zealand and offers cash and luxury prizes.

California Man Accused of Ticket Tampering

A store clerk from Newport Beach, California, was arrested on Tuesday because it is alleged he was checking through scratch-off lottery tickets to find the winners and reselling the losing tickets to customers at Craig Liquor in the 1200 block of West Macarthur Boulevard.

According to the Orange County District Attorney's office, Francis Bou Karam, 34, was engaged in the illegal activity between January 1, 2013, and November 13, 2014. He has been charged with one felony count of computer access fraud, one felony count of grand theft, and 23 felony counts of forgery.

Karam is accused of redeeming $50,000 in winning. If he is convicted he may face a prison sentence of up to 18 years and 4 months.

Wednesday, November 26, 2014

UK Lotto Results for Wednesday, 26 November 2014

The UK National Lottery Lotto numbers drawn on Wednesday, 26 November 2014, were 26, 28, 29, 30, 41, and 49. The bonus number was 31.

One ticket matched all six main numbers and scooped the £2.6 million jackpot.

Two tickets secured second tier prizes of £105,382 for matching five main numbers and the bonus ball.

Eighty-seven ticket-holders won third tier prizes of £2,056 for matching five numbers.

A further £ 3,566,691 was distributed in smaller prizes to lower tier winners.

UK Lotto drawings are held on Wednesdays and Saturdays. The next drawing is on Saturday, November 29, 2014. The estimated jackpot is £4.1 million.

No Jackpot After all for German Lottery Player

A lottery player from Mönchengladbach, Germany, had his hopes raised for nothing last week when a German TV station broadcast the wrong numbers and caused to believe he'd snagged a big win when he had not.

When Franz Engelen, 58, tuned into ZDF on Wednesday, November 19, the onscreen numbers were a perfect match for the six numbers chosen by his lottery syndicate so he thought they'd won the jackpot. His share of the money would have been €950,000.

Unfortunately for Engelen, ZDF had broadcast the previous week's numbers by mistake so his celebrations were all for naught.

Speaking to the German tabloid Bild, Engelen said: "I was on the go; I looked quickly at the draw, wrote down the numbers and turned off the TV. When I compared the numbers with a lottery ticket and saw that six match I could not believe my luck."

Totally fooled by the televised numbers, Engelen and his wife never thought to contact the lottery to ask for confirmation. They began making plans instead and were even considering buying their daughter a condo.

Engelen learned the unfortunate truth the following morning when fellow syndicate member Tipper Reinhard Coenen, 52, told him they'd won not a cent.

"I knew that we had not won,"  Coenen said, recalling he had seen the numbers on teletext and they were not the same as those broadcast by ZDF.

"But Franz felt until the next morning that we were victorious. When he learned it from me, he was devastated," Coenen added.

Time is Running out for New York Powerball Winner

The New York Lottery is still waiting for the holder of a winning US Powerball ticket to come forward and claim their $1 million prize.

The ticket, which matched all five of the winning numbers—but not the Powerball—on December 11, 2013, was purchased from the Quick Mart store located at 38 N. Middletown Road in Manuet.

The ticket bears the numbers 1, 10, 13, 18, and 19. Is this your ticket? If so, time is running out. If the ticket is not presented by close of business on December 11, the prize will be lost for good.

Acting director of the state Lottery's Gaming Commission,  Gardner Gurney, said: "We're eager to award this large prize to the lucky winner and hope that person is making plans to claim it before it's too late."

Tuesday, November 25, 2014

EuroMillions Results for Tuesday, November 25, 2014

The EuroMillions numbers drawn on Tuesday, November 25, 2014, were 3, 7, 25, 32, and 36. The two Lucky Stars were 1 and 6.

No tickets matched all five main numbers and both Lucky Stars so the €51.2 million (£40.7 million) jackpot has rolled over.

Five players won second tier prizes of €244,414 for matching five main numbers and one Lucky Star.

There were also five third tier winners, who failed to get any Lucky Stars, but bagged €81,471 for matching five main numbers.

Fifty players won €4,073 for matching four main numbers and two Lucky Stars.

A further 2,066,782 EuroMillions players were awarded smaller prizes from the lower tiers.

The next EuroMillions drawing is on Friday, November 28, 2014. The estimated jackpot is €63 million (£50 million).