THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Tuesday, June 11, 1996 TAG: 9606110358
SECTION: LOCAL PAGE: B4 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: ASSOCIATED PRESS
LENGTH: 47 lines
The group of states - including Virginia - that intend to form a multistate lottery to compete with Powerball are expected to announce details of their game today in Illinois.
Illinois officials announced Monday that they will join the multistate lottery group, and Illinois lottery director Desiree Rogers is expected to unveil the game today in Chicago - with lottery directors from Virginia, Maryland, Michigan and Massachusetts.
The game will start during the late summer, said Mike Lang, Illinois lottery spokesman.
The Associated Press first reported last month that the five states had talked about starting the new game and sharing administrative costs.
Officials in the five states confirmed they would participate in the announcement but were not naming each other Monday.
In May, Massachusetts lottery director Sam DePhillippo said a multistate game including Massachusetts and a handful of comparable states would generate average jackpots of $27 million, with some as large as $90 million.
Charles Strutt, executive director of the Multi-State Lottery Association, which oversees Powerball and other games, said his group has held no discussions concerning the new game to be announced today.
``We don't have any thoughts about it,'' Strutt said.
In Chicago on Monday, Gov. Jim Edgar would not confirm a multistate arrangement but acknowledged that negotiations have taken place.
Lang said Illinois is not joining Powerball, but he would not disclose details of the new multistate game.
``We have no plans to do away with our existing games,'' Lang said.
Illinois lottery officials have said that all of Illinois' neighboring states participate in Powerball and that the big jackpots attract players.
Massachusetts also had expressed interest in branching out because it is tired of Powerball states siphoning lottery ticket buyers and wants to round up some like-sized states.
Last December, a Tennessee man who drove across the border to Kentucky for his Powerball ticket won an $89.3 million prize. The biggest Powerball jackpot ever won with a single ticket went to a Wisconsin teacher who split $111 million in 1993 with his fiancee.
Twenty states and the District of Columbia play Powerball, which offers multimillion-dollar jackpots.
KEYWORDS: LOTTO by CNB