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Middletown – The Pennsylvania Lottery players PICK family of games launched today. • PICK 2, a new, twice-daily draw game, will allow players to choose any two-digit number. • After nearly 38 years, The Daily Number – the Pennsylvania Lottery’s first daily draw game – will become PICK 3. • BIG 4, launched in 1980, will become PICK 4. • Quinto, launched in 2008, will become PICK 5. The PICK games will be played exactly like the existing games and drawn twice daily, making it easy for new and existing players to immediately understand how to play and win. “The PICK games are ‘Easy to Say, Simple to Play’,” said Lottery Executive Director Sil Lutkewitte. “They will help to reinvigorate our draw games portfolio through a fresh, new look, a coordinated marketing strategy and new second-chance opportunities.” For more information on how to play Pennsylvania Lottery games, visit www.palottery.com. The news leader of the Twin Tiers ... since 1947

$2 million is a far cry from $475 million, but the person who bought the winning $2 million Powerball ticket in St. Marys probably isn’t complaining. The person bought the ticket yesterday at the Sheetz store on South Michael Street. Sheetz will get a $10,000 bonus for selling the ticket. Lottery officials can’t release the name of the winner until the prize is claimed and the ticket is validated. Winners have a year to claim their prizes. Because there wasn’t a big winner Wednesday, Saturday’s Powerball jackpot has rolled to $475 million. The news leader of the Twin Tiers ... since 1947

Harrisburg – State Senate Democrats applauded Pennsylvania Attorney General Kathleen Kane’s decision to reject the Corbett Administration’s plan to privatize the management of the Pennsylvania Lottery to a U.K.-based company Camelot Global Services. “The Attorney General made a proper decision,” Sen. Jay Costa (D-Allegheny) said. “Pennsylvania seniors all Pennsylvania residents can rest easy now that the Attorney General took this action and put a stop to the expansion of gaming without proper authorization.” “The entire plan was flawed.” Costa, the Democratic Leader said. “It is clear that there are ways for current employees of the Lottery to be given the latitude to implement changes that will produce better results and even more money being generated.” At a news conference today in Harrisburg, Kane said that she could not approve the deal negotiated between the Corbett Administration and Camelot. The Attorney General cited several reasons for her denial including ...

The Corbett Administration has awarded a contract to British company Camelot Global Services to take over management of the Pennsylvania Lottery. The deal pledges $34 billion in profits to the state over the next 20 years. Pennsylvania currently has one of the country’s largest lotteries with $3.5 billion in sales last year. But challenges to the plan are not over. State Treasurer Rob McCord and the labor union representing state lottery employees say Camelot is banking on an expansion of gambling they contend is not currently allowed by state law. McCord has threatened not to pay Camelot until he is satisfied that its plans to expand gambling are legal, and the union, Council 13 of the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees, has sued to block the contract. Senate Democratic Leader Jay Costa said in a news release, “This is extremely disappointing and disturbing. The action taken by the Corbett Administration was done without public input. (Friday's) deci...

Union officials are mounting a legal challenge to the potential deal to privatize the management of the Pennsylvania Lottery. For more on this story go to PAMatters.com .

HARRISBURG - A plan to privatize the operation of the Pennsylvania Lottery would be a good deal for the private bidder but carries significant risk for the Pennsylvania seniors who benefit from lottery proceeds, according to a new report from the Keystone Research Center. “Only one bidder has come forward, promising 30-year profits that barely match inflation despite plans to introduce new games like Keno,” said Stephen Herzenberg, author of the report and executive director of the Keystone Research Center. “The Corbett administration should slow down and thoroughly examine whether this is a good deal for Pennsylvania. “The lottery generates $1 billion a year for services that benefit seniors, including popular prescription drug and senior transportation programs,” Herzenberg added. “With the Baby Boom population aging, Pennsylvania should not rush into a 30-year multi-million dollar privatization plan.” Camelot Global Services is the sole company to bid on the privatization contrac...

A Delevan, New York, woman is accused of stealing thousands of dollars’ worth of scratch off lottery tickets. Sheriff’s deputies say 49-year-old Kim Woolston was working at the Yellow Goose Store in Delevan when, over the course of several months, she allegedly stole more than $50,000 worth of tickets. She is charged with one count of grand larceny and has been scheduled to appear in Town of Yorkshire Court. The news leader of the Twin Tiers ... since 1947

A winning Cash 5 lottery ticket was sold at the Emporium Pharmacy in Cameron County. Three other winning tickets worth $275,000 were also sold for Tuesday’s drawing. They were sold in Allegheny, Lehigh and Northampton counties. Each ticket correctly matched all five balls, 11-14-19-37-41, to split a jackpot of $1.1 million and win individual prizes of $275,000, less 25 percent federal withholding. Each retailer will receive a $500 bonus for selling a winning ticket. The news leader of the Twin Tiers ... since 1947

Man wins $1M on scratch-off using his last $10: wivb.com The news leader of the Twin Tiers ... since 1947

Harrisburg – Governor Tom Corbett today announced his administration is taking an innovative step that could increase future funding for a wide range of vital programs for older adults supported by the Pennsylvania Lottery. The commonwealth has issued a Request for Qualifications to pursue a private management agreement for the Pennsylvania Lottery. Should the state decide to move forward with accepting bids, qualified private sector firms will compete to offer new ideas to maximize the Lottery’s performance and increase revenues that support programs serving older Pennsylvanians. “The Pennsylvania Lottery is the nation’s one and only lottery that benefits older adults and that will not change,” Corbett said. “This initiative is simply part of my administration’s efforts to tap private sector innovation to make state government work more efficiently and effectively, which is precisely what taxpayers expect. “Our state’s fast-growing population of older adults means time is not on our s...

UPDATE: Three lucky ticket holders in Maryland, Illinois and Kansas will share a $640 million prize, the largest lottery jackpot in U.S. history. The Pennsylvania Lottery website crashed shortly after the winning Mega Millions numbers were drawn Friday night. Ticket-holders who checked www.palottery.com late Friday night to see if they won the record-setting $640 million jackpot were out of luck, and were greeted by a message saying the site was temporarily unavailable "due to all the excitement" around the drawing. The winning Mega Millions numbers are 2-4-23-38-46, with Mega Ball 23. Maryland lottery officials say a ticket purchased in Baltimore County hit the $640 million Mega Millions jackpot. Mega Millions is played in 42 states, the District of Columbia and the US Virgin Islands. The Maryland ticket is believed to be the only winner. The news leader of the Twin Tiers ... since 1947

A Cash 5 lottery ticket worth more than $327,000 was sold at Jubilee in Port Allegany. The ticket for Tuesday’s drawing correctly matched all five balls, which were 3-13-22-25-36. Jubilee will receive a $500 bonus for selling the winning ticket. The news leader of the Twin Tiers ... since 1947

HARRISBURG – The Legislative Budget and Finance Committee has released its comprehensive assessment of the Pennsylvania Lottery Fund. The study was conducted under the direction of House Resolution 106, sponsored by Rep. Martin Causer (R-Turtlepoint). “Senior citizens in our area and across the state rely on a number of programs funded by the Pennsylvania Lottery, including the Property Tax/Rent Rebate program,” Causer said. “With the legalization of slots and table games in Pennsylvania, it is important to know the status of the lottery fund both now and in the future to ensure the sustainability of these vital programs.” According to the report, officials are projecting little annual growth over the next five years in lottery sales. In fact, sales have been stagnating since fiscal year 2005-06, likely due to the weak economy and slower growth in the lottery’s retail sales network. However, the study shows that the lottery-funded senior citizen benefit programs will remain solvent for...

Middletown –Douglas Giles of Reynoldsville, Jefferson County, today claimed the 2012 Ford Mustang GT he won by playing the Pennsylvania Lottery’s Mustang instant game. Thomas Miller, area manager of Lottery’s Clearfield Office, today presented the Mustang to Giles at Murrays Ford-Lincoln-Mercury, 3007 Blinker Parkway, DuBois, Clearfield County. “I’ve always wanted a Mustang,” said Giles, explaining it was an easy decision to choose the car instead of the $60,000 cash prize option. Giles, who works at a local powder metal plant, said he was very pleased with the assistance the dealership provided in helping him pick out the car, including its color, Kona Blue. Giles bought the Mustang Lottery ticket at Backstreet Distributor in Reynoldsville. Mustang, $5 per ticket, offers 10 top prizes of $100,000 and 10 Ford Mustang GT prize packages valued at $60,000 each. As of Jan. 9, one top cash prize and three Ford Mustang GT prize packages remained to be claimed. The odds of winning a top prize...

Someone stole six rolls of lottery tickets from the Duke Center Superette between 8:30 and 9:30 this morning. The tickets are valued at $4,200. Anyone with information about the theft is asked to contact Kane-based state police.

A Cash 5 lottery ticket worth $225,000 was sold at the St. Marys Pharmacy in Elk County. The ticket matched all five winning numbers in Saturday’s drawing, and was the only jackpot winner. Lottery officials cannot confirm the identity of the winner until the prize is claimed and the ticket is validated. http://state.pa.us/portal/server.pt?open=18&objID=1093226&mode=2

A resolution sponsored by Rep. Martin Causer (R-Turtlepoint) calling for a comprehensive assessment of the state’s lottery fund and the senior citizen programs it supports has been unanimously approved by the state House. “The Pennsylvania Lottery pays for some very important programs to help senior citizens with housing, transportation and health care,” Causer said. “My goal with this study is to make sure we have sustainable revenue in place to continue supporting these services.” Causer noted there has been no comprehensive study of the lottery fund since expanded gaming was legalized in Pennsylvania in 2004. In fact, no such study has been done since 1994. “We need to know how expanded gaming is affecting the purchase of lottery tickets today and how that is impacting the fund,” Causer said. “We also need to know what to expect in the future as far as lottery fund proceeds and demand for the programs the fund supports.” House Resolution 106 directs the nonpartisan Legislative Budge...

Nobody won last night's Powerball lottery jackpot, but somebody who bought a ticket in McKean County got a pretty decent runner up prize. A ticket purchased in a Sheetz store in Port Allegany was worth $500,000 for matching the first five numbers - 14, 16, 18, 19 and 29 - while having the Megaplier option. Since that multiplier was 2, it doubled the regular $250,000 second-tier prize. The player missed only the Mega Ball, which was 16.