Tag Archives: lottery retailers
Canadians Lining Up for Record Lotto Max Jackpot
Canadians Lining Up for Record Lotto Max Jackpot
A record $95 million dollars in jackpot money has Canadian lottery players lining up at lottery retailers across Canada. Canadian lottery players are trying to snap up tickets before the deadline. The Ontario Lottery and Gaming Corp is holding drawings for a $50 million dollar Lotto Max jackpot and 45 Maxmillion drawings worth $1 million dollars each. Even in the far north lottery players are lining up and the lines are long. Several television stations have shown lines extending out the doors of some lottery retailers as Canadian players wait patiently for their turn for a shot at one or more of the huge jackpots. The odds of winning the $50 million dollar jackpot are about one in 28 million and the odds of winning one of the $1 million dollar jackpots is about one in 623,000. A spokesperson for the Ontario Lottery and Gaming Corp said that sales are up more than one third from last week’s sales.
Some lottery retailers are reporting that the record jackpots have brought many new lottery players who have never played before and have no idea how to fill out the lottery slips. One Toronto convenience store owner stated, “They’ve never played before. They don’t know how to play; I have to explain to them how many numbers go in each box.” One former lottery winner has offered potential winners some good advice. Lottery winner Donald MacDonald says that lottery winners should be careful with their winnings. MacDonald stated, “Try not to change your way of life. Just live the same life, have the same friends, do the same things, don’t try to change everything.” The 78 year old winner also said, “If you change everything you’re going to miss a lot along the way, I think.” MacDonald, who is a retired Canadian Pacific Railway treasury department employee, won $10 million dollars in March 2010.
There will be millions of Canadian lottery players eagerly awaiting the results of the LottoMax drawing. There are several places players can check for the latest results. For those with an internet connection the best place to check the LottoMax drawing results is at the official Lottery Canada website. The results of the latest drawing will be posted seconds after the final results are known. Unfortunately LottoMax does not sell online lottery tickets so players are stuck with waiting in lines at lottery retailers. Friday’s drawing promises to be one of the most exciting in Canadian lottery history!
Indiana Man Cheated Out of $11.5 Million Dollar Jackpot
Indiana Man Cheated Out of $11.5 Million Dollar Jackpot
Charles Andrews, a 70 year old retired chemist, is suing a convenience store chain for over $11 million dollars claiming he was cheated out of a huge lottery jackpot after an employee at the store refused to sell him a lottery ticket. In his lawsuit Andrews claims he picked the winning numbers for a Hoosier lottery drawing in February 2008. He states that a clerk at the store refused to sell him a lottery ticket minutes before the official sales cutoff at 10:40 PM. Andrews said that the clerk told him the lottery terminal was not working and later printed out a list of winning numbers which proved the lottery terminal was actually working. The clerk told Andrews that the manager did not like to sell any lottery tickets after 10 PM and said that other store employees also refused to sell him a ticket. One of Andrew’s lawyers, Bob Burkett, stated, “They had an obligation to issue him a ticket because he was there before 10:40.”
Andrews is disabled and as a result could not get to another store on time and signed his play slip and left it at the store so he would have proof in case his numbers were winning ones. Andrews stated, “I knew if I walked out the door with the pay slip and I won any money at all with those numbers I couldn’t prove that was the pay slip I left with the employees.” Andrew’s lawyers are arguing that the store was legally obliged to sell him a ticket up to the official cutoff time. The suit was originally filed in Marion County Indiana but was transferred to federal court at the insistence of the Speedway Corporation, the owners of the store. Andrew’s suit accuses the Speedway store of breach of contract and negligence and seeks damages of $11.5 million dollars, the size of the jackpot, and punitive damages.
Speedway SuperAmerica LLC is arguing that they were under no obligation to sell the lottery ticket and are questioning Andrew’s version of events. Andrew’s attorneys are trying to access store security videos. A Hoosier lottery spokesman said that lottery retailers can set their own hours for selling tickets as long as they stop selling by the 10:40 PM cutoff time. Lottery spokeswoman Lucia Anderson stated, “It’s up to the individual retail location.” One of Andrew’s lawyers said the law is not clear and stated, “There is no statute addressing the retail hours and whether they can set it or not set it.” One of Andrew’s lawyers, Josh Brown said that the agreement between the lottery and retailers requires stores that sell lottery tickets to post game and date lists and believes that it should include hours of play.
This will be an interesting case to follow. The results of this case may force lottery retailers to clearly state their hours of operation. Hopefully Mr. Andrews will be awarded the jackpot he was cheated out of by an indolent clerk.