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Powerball Jackpot Hits in Oregon, $1.326B Prize Fourth-Largest in Game History

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The Powerball jackpot finally hit. After 40 drawings without a single ticket matching the six drawn numbers, a lucky $2 play sold in Oregon early this morning won the life-changing sum.

Powerball jackpot lottery odds
A Powerball player in Oregon won the weekend jackpot drawing worth $1.326 billion. The historic win ranks fourth all-time in Powerball history. (Image: Fox29)

The scheduled 10:59 pm EST drawing was delayed several hours after a participating lottery needed additional time to complete its pre-draw procedures, which are designed to protect the security and integrity of the Powerball game. The April 6 drawing was eventually drawn at 2:29 am EST on April 7. [Read more…] about Powerball Jackpot Hits in Oregon, $1.326B Prize Fourth-Largest in Game History

Jackpot Round Up: Caesars Palace Player Hits $1.6M From Six Separate Slot Wins

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An extremely lucky mystery player won over $1.6M on slot machines at Caesars Palace Las Vegas from six separate payouts over two weeks.

Caesars Palace Las Vegas
Caesars Palace Las Vegas, pictured above. A repeat visitor to the gaming property won $1.6M over two weeks. (Image: Caesars Entertainment)

It began with three wins over just three hours starting on March 26. At about 9:27 p.m., the person won $125K on the slot. Then, at 10:58 p.m., they won $383.5K. Early the following morning, at 12:27 a.m., the player hit $159,250. [Read more…] about Jackpot Round Up: Caesars Palace Player Hits $1.6M From Six Separate Slot Wins

Pragmatic Play Supplies Slot Games and Live Casino to Hommerson Casino

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Pragmatic Play, a leading supplier of iGaming content, has agreed to provide games to Hommerson Casino, one of the newest actors in the Netherlands’ online gaming market. As agreed, the former company will supply the newly launched casino brand with its portfolio of cutting-edge slots.

The addition of Pragmatic Play’s content will provide Hommerson with a strong initial boost, allowing it to engage gamblers with iconic fan favorites such as Sugar Rush and Sweet Bonanza. In addition to beloved hits, Hommerson players will also get to play new releases, such as the recently released Big Bass Amazon Xtreme and Gates of Olympus 1000.

Pragmatic Play also agreed to inject additional content into the operator’s content offering, including its full portfolio of live casino titles. Thanks to that, Hommerson players will be able to enjoy classic table games such as roulette and baccarat or immerse themselves in exciting game shows like Treasure Island and Sweet Bonanza CandyLand.

Hommerson is a well-established land-based brand that will foray into the thrilling world of online gambling for the first time in its 125-year history. The company is best known for its high standards and robust player protection tools.

For Pragmatic Play, this launch is yet another opportunity to expand its European presence and launch more content in the Netherlands.

Pragmatic Play Is Excited to Support Hommerson’s Foray into iGaming

Hommerson Casino’s chief executive officer, Remco van den Berg, commented on the partnership, saying that the deal will provide his company’s players with access to “some of the most popular and entertaining slot titles on the market.” Van den Berg added that Hommerson Casino boasts 125 years of experience and knows the Dutch players “inside out.”

We are confident Pragmatic Play’s diverse slots portfolio will resonate strongly with our players’ preferences and drive significant engagement. This is an important step for us as we make our mark in Dutch iGaming, and we look forward to a successful partnership with Pragmatic Play.

Remco van den Berg, CEO, Hommerson Casino

Pragmatic Play’s chief operating officer Irina Cornides also commented on the matter, expressing her excitement about Hommerson Casino’s foray into iGaming. She said that her team is thrilled that the experienced operator selected Pragmatic Play’s award-winning content for its launch.

The operator has a long-standing history in the Netherlands, which is a key regulated market for us.

Irina Cornides, COO, Pragmatic Play

In February, Pragmatic Play also expanded its deal with Playbook Engineering, agreeing to add bingo to the arrangement.

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Man Who Claimed £2.5M Jackpot with Fake Ticket Freed

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A 58-year-old man who was convicted of raping a 17-year-old girl more than three decades ago and was recently serving a sentence for fraud after claiming a multi-million lottery jackpot was recently released. The case involves a person with the initials E.P., who used to be a builder before co-conspiring to claim £2.5 million ($3.2 million) jackpot from the UK National Lottery. Back in 2019, the person was sentenced to nine years in prison, after it was uncovered that he was involved in the fraudulent activity that enabled him to claim the jackpot.

Now, a new report reveals that after serving only half of his nine-year sentence, the lotto fraudster was recently released from prison. The 58-year-old served four and half years of his sentence and was released last week, the Mirror reports.

Besides nine years in prison, the man was also ordered to pay back nearly £940,000 ($1.2 million). Contesting to that order, he only paid back close to £100,000 ($125,100). However, the fraudster’s house was ultimately seized by prosecutors and was subsequently sold.

The Fraud Was Uncovered after the Death of Co-conspirator

The early release of the convicted rapist and lottery fraudster did not resonate well with friends of his former accomplice. To complete the lottery fraud, the 58-year-old co-conspired with a person with the initials G.K., who took his own life back in 2015. One of the friends of the fraudster’s accomplice was enraged. They asked how it was possible for E.T. to be released early while his accomplice had been dead for years. Moreover, they said the fraudster “has been freed and has the rest of his life ahead of him.”

One of the reasons why G.K. has taken his life is likely a dispute between him and E.T. about the money share for each of them. “They’ve never got to the bottom of what he did with the money. It’s horrific,” said the friend of the deceased man.

The unelaborate fraud dates back to 2009, when the two men conspired to collect the jackpot from the UK Lottery which was then operated by Camelot. The 58-year-old man came forward near the end of August of the same year to collect an unclaimed £2.5 million ($3.2 million) jackpot from March. The man told a story that he found the lottery ticket under the seat in his van. However, the fake winning ticket was torn in half and was missing the bottom which usually contains unique numbers.

This bold move ultimately granted the fraudster the jackpot. But he did not get along with his co-conspirator who took his own life in 2015. Before doing so, the second person involved in the fraud admitted to friends that he conspired with E.T. to defraud the lottery and collect the jackpot. After his death, it wasn’t long before the fraud was uncovered which led to the sentencing of the 58-year-old.

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Powerball Jackpot Reaches $1B a Week After Mega Millions Hits for $1.13B

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The Powerball jackpot for Monday night’s drawing is an estimated $1 billion, the game’s fifth-richest prize of all time. The one-time cash option is roughly $483.8 million. Both prizes are before federal and, possibly, state taxes.

Powerball jackpot lottery Mega Millions odds
The Powerball jackpot has climbed to an estimated $1 billion for the game’s drawing on April 1, 2024. It’s just the fifth time in the game’s history that the jackpot has gone upwards of 10 digits. (Image: Fox Philadelphia)

Less than a week after a lucky player in New Jersey hit a $1.13 billion Mega Millions jackpot — the eighth-largest lottery prize in the history of the United States and the fifth-richest Mega Millions win — Powerball stands to make someone else wildly wealthy.

Being that it’s April 1st, aka “April Fools’ Day,” officials with the Multi-State Lottery Association, which operates the thrice weekly game on behalf of its 48 participating member jurisdictions, reassured players on Monday morning that the $1 billion advertised Powerball prize isn’t a hoax.  

This is no April Fools’ Day joke. We have an advertised Powerball jackpot that’s hit $1 billion to kick off the month of April,” said Drew Svitko, Powerball chair and executive director of the Pennsylvania Lottery.

“This is an exciting time to play Powerball. Whether you’re a frequent or new player, please remember to keep the game fun by playing responsibly. It only takes one ticket to win,” Svitko reminded players.

Monday night’s drawing goes down at 10:59 pm EST from the Florida Lottery studio in Tallahassee.  

Jackpot Run 

The Powerball jackpot hasn’t been won since New Year’s Day when a single ticket sold in Michigan claimed an annuitized jackpot worth $842.4 million. Since then, there have been 38 consecutive drawings without a single ticket matching the five white balls and red Powerball.

The odds of a ticket matching the six drawn numbers remain constant at one in more than 292.2 million. However, the likelihood of a Powerball jackpot hitting improves slightly as the treasure chest grows, as more players participate and, presumably, more of the 292,201,338 possible number combinations are covered.

During the Saturday drawing, four tickets narrowly missed the top prize by matching the five white numbers of 12, 13, 33, 50, and 52. Each ticket won the game’s second-tier prize of $1 million.

None of the players opted for the $1 add-on Power Play that would have doubled the prize to $2 million. The Power Play landed on 3x but the $1 million second-tier prize can only be doubled. The $1 million wins hit in Illinois, Louisiana, Michigan, and Pennsylvania.

Saturday’s drawing also included 55 tickets that won $50K and 11 tickets that won $150K. Those tickets matched four white balls and the red Powerball. The 11 that won $150K had the Power Play option that tripled the prize.

What’s a Billion Worth?

Mega Millions and Powerball base their advertised jackpots on a 30-year annuity. A winner, should they opt for the full value, receives an immediate payment and then 29 annual distributions that increase by about 5% a year.

The annuities are secured through investments in a portfolio of bonds. A bond is a debt security that generates cash flow through maturity and interest.

Because the federal interest remains elevated compared with only a few years ago, the advertised Mega Millions and Powerball jackpots based on the 30-year annuity payout are considerably higher than they would have been in 2021.    

Before the feds increased interest rates in 2022 in an effort to offset rising inflation, most Mega Millions and Powerball jackpot winners chose the cash option, as many believed sound investing would outpace the 5% fixed annuity. Today, the choice is a bit more complex.

For a clearer picture, a 2021 Mega Millions $1 billion jackpot came with a cash option of $776 million — $292.2 million more than tonight’s cash jackpot option. For someone older who doesn’t want to pass along the fortune or doesn’t have heirs, the one-time cash option still might make sense.

The post Powerball Jackpot Reaches $1B a Week After Mega Millions Hits for $1.13B appeared first on Casino.org.

Rephrased by The Mystic Gambler

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Michigan Woman Spends Winnings on More Tickets, Hits Jackpot

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Woman Hits Jackpot

Lottery players who win small sums would often face a dilemma whether to use the money they won to buy more tickets or not. Usually, the sensible thing is to keep the winnings and return another day. However, a 55-year-old woman from Montcalm County proved that this is not always the case. [Read more…] about Michigan Woman Spends Winnings on More Tickets, Hits Jackpot