The Lotto Matrix: Alabama Senate Mulling Lottery Bill, When 50/50 Is Worth Zero, More

Last updated: March 1, 2024

4 min

Welcome to this week’s “Lotto Matrix,” a weekly Friday compilation of the lottery industry’s most significant, interesting, or absurd happenings.

First on the docket is the latest on Alabama’s grind to legalize gambling in the state.

Alabama Senate wants to bring gambling bills to committee

Via @JK_Stephenson: A gambling package that passed the Alabama House of Representatives last month appears stalled in the Alabama Senate amid strong opposition from some senators. https://t.co/Jixt7lqeJ0 #alpolitics

— Alabama Reflector (@ALReflector) March 1, 2024

A comprehensive gambling proposal has already made it through the House, and now the Alabama Senate sponsor is taking his turn with it. According to several local news sources, the hold-up is that many Senate Republicans have mixed feelings about the bills and would like to rework them.

“There is a lot of interest in trying to find a path (to passage),” Sen. Greg Albritton (R-Atmore) told the Alabama Daily News. “The concern is, what can we put together that is palatable and passable, and also passable in the House and acceptable by the governor. And that’s going to be for my friends to figure out because I’ve already got the solution in hand.”

As they sit, the bills would ask the voting public to decide in November about a constitutional amendment to allow the establishment of a state lottery, and further, whether to legalize sports betting plus up to 10 casinos with table games and slot machines. It’s unclear what exactly Republicans would like to see reworked, but the general sense is that the proposed legislation is too expansive at present.

Some lawmakers, including Sen. Chris Elliott (R-Josephine), want the vote to be on one thing.

“There are a whole lot more members focused on allowing the people of Alabama to vote on a lottery” said Elliott.

The bills are assigned to the Senate Tourism Committee. As of this writing, the committee has yet to work out when they will meet to discuss the bills, but it is believed to happen soon after amendments are made.

There are eight Republicans on the 11-member committee, including Albritton and Elliott. Should Democrats support it as they did in the House, Albritton would still need two more Republicans to vote with him to get the bills out of committee. How many amendments are made to the bills will determine how quickly the rest of the process goes.

UK couple in fierce battle over £1million ‘joint’ scratch card win

Couple at war over £1million 'joint' Lotto scratch card as he's told he won't get a penny https://t.co/eBjApYUsSG

— Helen Gordon (@vipsweetslondon) February 20, 2024

There’s trouble at the henhouse. Charlotte Cox wanted to buy a scratch ticket, and she did. Cox scratches the thing and lands a seven-figure payday. The shock of a lifetime lands Cox and her partner, Michael Cartlidge, in an excellent financial spot for the foreseeable future. The relationship, however, was on the rocks.

According to The Mirror UK, the couple called it quits weeks later. To the displeasure of Cartlidge, Cox would be the one walking away with the big score of 2024.

Cartilage argued he should get his share of the money because it was his idea to buy the ticket, and he would wire her the money for the ticket after she bought it. Cox called bullocks and said the money was hers alone.

Lottery organizer Camelot decided to do a probe into the claims. Cartilage claimed that on the CCTV footage recorded where the ticket was bought, the two parties said that the winnings would be split. But the lottery chiefs ruled in favor of Cox.

Cartlidge is now considering legal action. In an interview with The Sun: “I am in shock. I can openly admit that we wouldn’t have got that ticket without Charlotte, but she wouldn’t have got it without me either. I know it was her bank account that paid for it, but it should go 50-50 morally.”

Massachusetts woman wins $1 million on new scratch-ticket

Massachusetts woman wins first $1 million prize on new "Lifetime Millions" ticket https://t.co/7ObinCDbpE

— WWLP-22News (@WWLP22News) February 26, 2024

A big first for the much-hyped new scratch-off game “Lifetime Millions.”

According to the Massachusetts State Lottery, Christine Wilson is the first $1 million prize winner in the Lottery’s “Lifetime Millions” instant ticket game, its second $50 ticket offering over the past few years.

Wilson chose to take the cash option of her prize, which is $650K before taxes. She plans to spend some of her dough on a shiny, new SUV. The rest? Wilson is still determining what she wants to do. Good problem to have.

$500k winner in Iowa almost lost his winning ticket

Kevin Frey from Iowa was so caught up in the moment of his $500k win that when he left the store, he forgot his ticket. Luckily, no one stole it, and he got to cash the prize.

Speaking to Iowa lottery officials, Frey said he bought a $500,000 Ca$h scratch-off lottery ticket from the Casey’s store on North Linn Avenue in New Hampton and scratched it off inside the shop, revealing the $500,000 prize. He was in shock and disbelief.

Frey asked the store clerk to scan the ticket to ensure he was not getting worked up over nothing. It was almost like the world stopped for Frey when she confirmed the win. He was shaking and eager to tell those close to him about the big score.

“I was so excited and flustered that I left the ticket inside of the Casey’s store and went out to the car and started calling everybody, calling my wife at first and everybody else,” he said.

When Frey’s son asked him to send a picture of the ticket, that is when he realized he left the ticket in the store.

“And then I realized, ‘I don’t have it! It’s in the store,'” Frey said. “Fortunately, I was still in the parking lot of the Casey’s store, and I ran back inside and asked the employee for the ticket. She was so flustered she forgot to give it to me the first time. So, we finally got it on the right page.”

Frey’s son wanted a picture of the ticket because his dad is known as someone who likes to tell tall tales.

“My kids know that I tell some pretty good tales sometimes,” Frey said. “So the oldest son who lives down in Des Moines here said that it’s not true until he sees a picture of the ticket. And so we took care of that, and he was pretty excited, too.”

Frey said he wants to use his winnings to contribute to his retirement funds, donate to some charities he has supported, and treat his family to the finer things in life.