New Jersey Lottery

Hela Young, the New Jersey Lottery's popular television host for the last 25 years, died yesterday leaving coworkers and players alike feeling as if they had lost a friend. Her family would not release her age. Ms. Young, who had been on a leave of absence from her nightly live lottery drawings since December, died in St. Barnabas Hospital in Livingston of an undisclosed illness that her husband, Peter Hochman, said she had been battling for 2 1/2 years. "She was a very integral part of the lottery," said Linda Melone, deputy director of marketing and sales who described Ms. Young as "a very dear friend.

Here's a roundup of the latest lottery news. Camden County ticket wins $872,215. A Jersey Cash 5 ticket sold at Liquor Ranch, 4950 Marlton Pike, in Pennsauken matched all the numbers drawn Monday: 8, 18, 22, 26 and 36. Delco ticket just misses Mega Millions jackpot. The $25 million top prize was won Tuesday night by single ticket purchased at a Mobil station on Santa Monica Boulevard in Los Angeles. It matched all the numbers: 10, 11, 12, 14 and 24, and the Mega Ball of 6. Winning $250,000, though, was a ticket at a Rite Aid on West Lancaster Avenue in Ardmore.

CHOOSING HER NUMBERS, Sharon Slickis, 22, of Hatboro, uses the chest of Gary Bolis Jr., 24, of Fort Washington, for support as she fills out a ticket for the New Jersey lottery. More than seven million people played the Pick 6 Lotto yesterday in hopes of winning the $14.9 million top prize. Winners, if any, were expected to be announced today.

Carole Hedinger of Toms River has been selected as the new executive director of the New Jersey Lottery, state Treasurer Andrew Sidamon-Eristoff announced Friday. Hedinger previously worked for the lottery from 1994 to 2003. She most recently was chief clerk of the Ocean County Surrogate Court. Hedinger is expected to begin her tenure as acting director next week, pending final approval by the state Senate. Last year the state lottery generated $2.5 billion in sales. - AP

Whoever won the New Jersey half of last week's record $390 million Mega Millions lottery jackpot is becoming a bigger loser by the minute. The mystery millionaire has already lost as much as $140,625 - interest that the giant jackpot could have earned in a bank for a week. That's nearly three times what the typical New Jersey resident makes in a year. "It would seem like it's a big financial hit not to be earning that interest, but in terms of what they have won, the amount is a drop in the bucket," said Don Taylor, an associate finance professor at the American College in Bryn Mawr, who writes a personal finance column for the Web site www.bankrate.

The Eagles have announced a program for fans who cannot use their game tickets and want to donate them to local nonprofit organizations and children in the region. To donate tickets, season ticketholders should go to the team Web site, log into their personal account and click "Manage My Tickets. " Select the option, "Donate Tickets to Charity. " There is no delivery fee for donations and fans who participate will receive a charitable donation tax receipt.   The New Jersey Lottery has launched an Eagles instant ticket game, with prizes ranging from $5 to $100,000, and 10 "Bonus Zone Second Chance Drawings" that include such prizes as 2011 season tickets, VIP road trips, Lunch with an Eagles player and merchandise prize packs.

In a decision sought by New Jersey Lottery officials, a Superior Court appellate panel ruled yesterday that out-of-state lottery tickets may not be sold in New Jersey. Overturning a lower court's decision that denied an injunction against a Jersey City firm, the Appellate Division ruled that selling the out-of-state tickets violates New Jersey's constitutional prohibition against gambling. Judge Stephen Skillman, who wrote the opinion, said the New Jersey Constitution prohibits the legislature from authorizing gambling "unless the specific kind, restrictions and control" are approved by public referendum.

Stella Hajdamacha let the computer pick. Oscar Cordoba devised his own method, involving two plastic cups and marbles numbered 1 to 46. And yesterday they and their spouses split the biggest jackpot in New Jersey Lottery history - $17.9 million. Oscar and Sylvia Cordoba of Atlantic City - who are expecting a baby - and Manville tavern owners Walter and Stella Hajdamacha and their three sons were presented with their first checks yesterday at a Statehouse ceremony. The lucky numbers of the Pick 6 Lotto announced Thursday night were: 5-8-10-11-33-41.

At least somebody knows who New Jersey's newest nouveau riche lottery winner is. State lottery officials said the Jersey winner in last week's $330 million Mega Millions jackpot has come forward and will be introduced at a news conference today. "An individual" has claimed the prize, said Dominick DeMarco, spokesman for the New Jersey Lottery. He declined to elaborate. The Jersey winner will split the giant jackpot with three other winners from Maryland, Texas and Virginia.

The allure of instant winnings has helped keep the New Jersey Lottery in the money, pushing it past the $2 billion mark in revenue for the second year in a row. The state hit the jackpot in fiscal 2003 with scratch-off tickets, which accounted for more than $900 million in sales - up 16.5 percent from fiscal 2002. Overall lottery revenue was up less than 1 percent over the previous year, according to figures released yesterday. Games such as Slingo, Blackjack and Crossword spurred record sales in the typically lower-stakes scratch-off category.

Here's a roundup of the latest lottery news. Camden County ticket wins $872,215. A Jersey Cash 5 ticket sold at Liquor Ranch, 4950 Marlton Pike, in Pennsauken matched all the numbers drawn Monday: 8, 18, 22, 26 and 36. Delco ticket just misses Mega Millions jackpot. The $25 million top prize was won Tuesday night by single ticket purchased at a Mobil station on Santa Monica Boulevard in Los Angeles. It matched all the numbers: 10, 11, 12, 14 and 24, and the Mega Ball of 6. Winning $250,000, though, was a ticket at a Rite Aid on West Lancaster Avenue in Ardmore.

The ticket that had them all in Powerball was sold in Indiana. For matching all the numbers drawn last night - 10, 18, 41, 55 and 56, with a Powerball of 15 - someone there can claim a jackpot worth $221.7 million, the lottery's biggest prize since June. Earning $1 million, for matching the first five while having the Power Play multiplier option were two tickets, sold in Tennessee and Wisconsin. Thirteen tickets won $200,000 each for matching the first five without the Power Play.

The Eagles have announced a program for fans who cannot use their game tickets and want to donate them to local nonprofit organizations and children in the region. To donate tickets, season ticketholders should go to the team Web site, log into their personal account and click "Manage My Tickets. " Select the option, "Donate Tickets to Charity. " There is no delivery fee for donations and fans who participate will receive a charitable donation tax receipt.   The New Jersey Lottery has launched an Eagles instant ticket game, with prizes ranging from $5 to $100,000, and 10 "Bonus Zone Second Chance Drawings" that include such prizes as 2011 season tickets, VIP road trips, Lunch with an Eagles player and merchandise prize packs.

Carole Hedinger of Toms River has been selected as the new executive director of the New Jersey Lottery, state Treasurer Andrew Sidamon-Eristoff announced Friday. Hedinger previously worked for the lottery from 1994 to 2003. She most recently was chief clerk of the Ocean County Surrogate Court. Hedinger is expected to begin her tenure as acting director next week, pending final approval by the state Senate. Last year the state lottery generated $2.5 billion in sales. - AP

At least somebody knows who New Jersey's newest nouveau riche lottery winner is. State lottery officials said the Jersey winner in last week's $330 million Mega Millions jackpot has come forward and will be introduced at a news conference today. "An individual" has claimed the prize, said Dominick DeMarco, spokesman for the New Jersey Lottery. He declined to elaborate. The Jersey winner will split the giant jackpot with three other winners from Maryland, Texas and Virginia.

The Almighty created the universe, and on the seventh day he rested. So it is written. Yesterday, on the seventh day of the seventh month in a year ending in 07, some might have seen significance in the confluence of numbers. Many married. Many played the lottery. Two forms of chance, one more blessed. At least two women decided to marry their men, on that date, because of that date. A mother. And a daughter. In the same Philadelphia ceremony. "For me as a believer, it has a special meaning," said Michele DelValles, 39, sitting alongside her daughter, Shameka Henderson, 21. It was only moments after DelValles had married Wendolus Hart, 34, and Henderson had married Walter Bailey, 21, at the Church of Faith at 38th and Brown Streets in the city's Mantua section.

Whoever won the New Jersey half of last week's record $390 million Mega Millions lottery jackpot is becoming a bigger loser by the minute. The mystery millionaire has already lost as much as $140,625 - interest that the giant jackpot could have earned in a bank for a week. That's nearly three times what the typical New Jersey resident makes in a year. "It would seem like it's a big financial hit not to be earning that interest, but in terms of what they have won, the amount is a drop in the bucket," said Don Taylor, an associate finance professor at the American College in Bryn Mawr, who writes a personal finance column for the Web site www.bankrate.

The allure of instant winnings has helped keep the New Jersey Lottery in the money, pushing it past the $2 billion mark in revenue for the second year in a row. The state hit the jackpot in fiscal 2003 with scratch-off tickets, which accounted for more than $900 million in sales - up 16.5 percent from fiscal 2002. Overall lottery revenue was up less than 1 percent over the previous year, according to figures released yesterday. Games such as Slingo, Blackjack and Crossword spurred record sales in the typically lower-stakes scratch-off category.

Turns out Angelito Marquez held a winning ticket after all. By choosing losing numbers, Marquez, a New Jersey nursing-home worker, spared himself and his co-workers the horrors of winning the Big Game lottery. Granted, that's probably not precisely how they're seeing it at the moment. But the hysteria of the last few days provides a hint of just how awful life can be for anyone unlucky enough to win an obscene amount of money. For two weeks, Marquez's erstwhile buddies at the Newark Extended Care Facility were convinced he'd hit the jackpot with their pool money and was hogging the $59 million lump sum payout.

Maybe you've purchased one, 10 or even 100 Big Game lottery tickets in your quest for tonight's $325 million prize. Keep going. To ensure a win, you would need to buy 76,275,360 different tickets - all the possible combinations. And even then you wouldn't be guaranteed $325 million. Others may get lucky and share the pot with you. Yet those odds have not dissuaded millions of people from standing in long lines in seven participating states - including New Jersey - to play their numbers.