Tag Archives: says
Canadian Lotteries to Offer Online Poker
Canadian Lotteries to Offer Online Poker
Canadian lottery players will now be able to play one of the most popular online games-poker. Some Canadian lottery corporations are starting to offer players safe and regulated online poker. Once confined to the shadowy world of online gaming online poker has gained some measure of respectability in recent years. Loto-Quebec is the latest lottery to announce the addition of an online poker website that will launch in the fall. Loto-Quebec says the new website will counter the many illegal gambling websites and expects to make about $50 million by 2012.
The new website will be launched by Loto-Quebec and Atlantic and B.C. lottery corporations. The Atlantic and B.C. lottery corporations already have their own online poker operations. The Atlantic Lottery Corporation has operated an online gambling website since 2004 and allows players to purchase online lottery tickets in addition to poker. The B.C. lottery website offers online poker allowing players to bet as much as $9,999.per week. The B.C. lottery website also sells online lottery tickets. The industry expects big bets to translate into big profits for the lottery corporations
Some Canadian provinces are taking a wait and see approach to online poker and gaming. Kevin Van Egdom, with the Western Canada Lottery Corp stated, “Nothing has been written off forever, but we have no plans to do that.” The Western Canada Lottery Corp provides lottery services for Alberta, Saskatchewan, Manitoba, the Yukon, the Northwest Territories and Nunavut. Van Egdom further stated, “We’re responsible for offering lottery games and selling lottery products through authorized retailers, where you buy them in person. Each region makes its own decision and Quebec’s doesn’t play into ours.”
Ontario Gaming and Lottery Corp. is also taking a wait and see approach. The company says it has spent a ‘considerable amount of time’ investigating the possibility on online gaming and online lottery tickets. Ontario Lottery spokesman Rui Brum said that “No decision has been made,” and that it would be up to the new board of directors whether the lottery will offer online gaming.
John Kennedy FitzGerald, the CEO of the Vancouver-based Interactive Gaming Council says he hopes that government sanctioned lotteries offering gaming is a step towards regulation of the online gaming industry and not a step towards a government monopoly of the online gaming sector. FitzGerald stated, “It’s a natural progression for governments to be more involved. At least we have the government saying they recognize the industry and know it’s here to stay.”
LaGrangeville Named the Jackpot Capital of New York
LaGrangeville Named the Jackpot Capital of New York
LaGrangeville, New York has been named the Jackpot Capital of Pennsylvania. LuckyLotto, an online lottery website, found in its study that LaGrangeville has more Jackpot winners per capita than any other city in New York. Located in the southeast part of LaGrange, New York, LaGrangeville has now been dubbed the Jackpot Capital of New York.
This comes as a surprise to Christopher James Bell, a filmmaker from LaGrangeville. “I didn’t know that LaGrangeville was the lottery capital of the world”, says Bell. According to Bell, LaGrangeville is a really nice play to grow up, but there isn’t much to do. “Maybe there’s something supernatural going on,” he says, “or maybe there’s so much nothing to do that people just scratch cards and pencil in numbers all day out of boredom.”
LuckyLotto, an online lottery website specializing in lottery news and information conducted a study of the lottery in New York that yielded some interesting results. LuckyLotto reported that LaGrangeville, in Dutchess County New York, has had more Jackpot winners per capita than any other city in New York.
According to the official New York lottery website, LaGrangeville, a hamlet of the Town of LaGrange with a population of under 9,000, is home to 3 Lottery Jackpot winners since 2001. LaGrangeville just might be the luckiest town in the US.
LaGrangeville is home to two recent Lottery Millionaires. In 2001, Gertrude Scaccia and her sister Nancy, of Hopewell Junction, split an $18,000,000 Lotto Jackpot. In February of 2008, Anna Marie and Steven Cuomo claimed their $1,000,000 Jackpot. Anna Marie and Steven won the top prize on the Lottery’s Liberty’s Millions scratch-off game.
More recently, in May of 2008 sixty-five year-old William Rao of Hopewell Junction won $1,000,000. Rao, who stopped in for a cup of coffee decided to buy a scratch ticket. Rao left the gas station with a cup of coffee and a $500,000,000 Extravaganza scratch-off lottery ticket worth $1,000,000.
Rao, who initially thought he had won $1,000 was elated when he saw the extra zeros and realized that he had actually won $1 million. Rao purchased his winning ticket on May 15, 2008 and claimed it at the Lottery’s Fishkill Customer Service Center on May 21, 2008. It is unlikely for a town as small as LaGrangeville to have even one jackpot winner, but to have three in less than 10 years, and 2 in the same year is unheard of! LaGrangeville must have four-leaf clovers growing up like weeds.
Anthony Galioto, who works in LaGrangeville, says he still tries to buy lottery tickets when he can but says, “I doubt I would hit until I turn about 85!” Anthony is evidence that there are still people in LaGrangeville who have not yet won the lottery, but it seems to me that there is no better place to try.
Even though there are still people in LaGrangeville who have not yet won the jackpot, their lottery success certainly warrants an award. Because of this amazing streak of luck, Lucky Lotto is pleased to name LaGrangeville the “Jackpot Capital of New York.”
Recent reports indicate that LaGrangeville lottery players may soon have another lottery option-the sale of online lottery tickets. New York recently allowed the cross sales of both Powerball and Mega Millions in an attempt to bolster flagging ticket sales and state lottery officials believe the ability of players to buy online lottery tickets could boost sales considerably.