I work in a cubicle next to my friend, JC. He has one of those voices that make men pay attention and women a little starry-eyed. What I like best about working next to JC is that some days around 4:47 p.m., I can convince him to sing. It takes roughly eight-and-a-half hours to wear him down… he has two little girls at home, and he’s fairly resistant to begging. When I can persuade JC to sing, it is one of the true highlights in my day. I am typically not the only person whose day is made by listening to JC. He works for Cash Explosion, and one of his assignments is to call contestants to let them know they’re going to be on the game show. He estimates he’s talked to roughly 2,000 winners since he started four years ago. He gets to call people and tell them they won AND get to be on TV! Most people are genuinely happy to hear JC’s voice, which, as I mentioned, is pretty great. Some are happier than most. When JC called to tell Chris Markus that she was going to be on the show, she couldn’t stop saying, “I still don’t believe it’s true!” When Chris saw her name on the Cash Explosion show, she screamed so loud she terrified her pet birds, and feathers went flying. Yelling and picking up feathers, she realized what she wanted to do with the money. First, I should tell you a few things about Chris Markus. Chris is a single mom from the west side of Cleveland. She loves her son very much, and she purchased her Cash Explosion ticket with him in mind. “You could see they were just regular folks and probably could really use the money. I just remember her tears of joy and the proud look on her son’s face when she won. You could tell they were really close,” JC says. So, when Chris won her spot on the Cash Explosion show, she also won the opportunity to give her son two gifts she knew he could use; a car and tuition for automotive school. As JC said, “It warmed my heart to see the joy and love on both of their faces.” That truly is a lasting and beautiful image; something to sing about… Now let me see if I can convince JC. Have you had an Ohio Lottery experience worth singing about? Maybe you got a call from JC? Tell us about your song-worthy wins here on the blog! We love those kinds of stories.

My Mother used to say things like, “If you have something, you have something to share.” With eight kids to feed, my Mom often made magic stretching our food to fit the family. But if a neighbor was sick or someone in the family had troubles, she always found a way to bring them a little something; a casserole, a pie, or just a kid with a rake.   A little something can make a big difference. We saw that happen back in November on a pretty big scale – one that measured  1,100 pounds of food donated in one day. It happened in Marietta. We went to the taping of the Lottery’s Cash Explosion Road to Riches show, held at the Marietta High School auditorium. (You can go to a show, too. There are live audiences at every taping.) We went because this show had a purpose beyond contestants winning cash prizes – we were collecting food for the Ohio Association of Second Harvest Food Banks. Turned out to be a great idea. Audience members were encouraged to bring non-perishable food items to the show. Every person who showed up with a can or bag or box received an extra chance at audience prizes. The Second Harvest people helped out with the food collection. A lot of local Marietta residents helped, too. And the audience brought the goods. We heard all kinds of stories as we collected canned veggies and soup and mac-and-cheese and cereal: “I was leaving for the show, remembered, ran back into the house and ransacked my cupboards.” “We collected a whole bagful from the neighborhood and had it on the counter ready to grab on our way out the door.” The point is you came through. Ohioans always come through. In addition to the 1,100 pounds of food donated on that one day in Marietta, Ohioans have donated nearly a thousand pounds at the Cash Explosion tapings in Columbus. Every morsel has been distributed to food banks in Ohio. Cash Explosion will keep up the Facing Hunger campaign through May. We just wanted to say how proud we are of everyone who helped and continues to donate food to the Facing Hunger campaign. If you want to learn more, go to http://www.oashf.org/ for a list of the Ohio Association of Second Harvest Food banks food banks we’re working with. Please consider visiting a food bank near you and helping to fight hunger in your community. You can be sure that you’ll make a difference.

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=InSK95vx7a0]

I actually have some memories of the seventies. The NINETEEN-seventies. I know, I’m so last century… (insert your own comic comments here)… now let’s get on with this blog while I can still remember. AROUND 1979, coincidentally the same year our Pick 3 numbers game was introduced in Ohio (ok, that was no coincidence); a soda cost about 35 cents. You could take a date to a movie for under ten bucks. You could fill your gas tank (or put in the couple crumpled dollars you had in your pockets while you drove your Dad’s rusty Vista Cruiser wagon, like me) for around $1.00 per gallon. And plates for the car were what, $10-12.50? SIDEBAR: Just so you know; that Vista Cruiser wagon? Fast. Very fast. And it had that split-level window in the roof so your back seat passengers could see the sky (ours had holes in the floor so we could see the street, too) and you could turn off the ignition and coast silently down the street… wshhhhhhhh…. sorry… got distracted. As I was saying, pretty much all of the day-to-day things we buy cost a lot more today than in 1979. Except Pick 3, still 50 cents and a dollar per wager. IN FACT, all our Lottery game prices have remained stable through the years, even as the costs of doing business have gone up. We just don’t raise prices. Yes, we introduce more expensive products, like some of our scratch-offs, but that’s so we can give you better odds and bigger payouts. We have become very good at being efficient as an organization. For as much business as we do in the state of Ohio, nearly $2.5 billion in sales last year, our overhead remains under a nickel out of every dollar. That might not agree with what you hear on the street, but you can check the facts. They’re public record. THE POINT IS, we still work to find ways to help you win more. With promotions like Pick 3’s Red Ball (happening now), all kinds of second chance drawings, soon-to-be-announced online promotions (watch, they’re going to be fun) and popular add-on options like Keno’s Booster, Powerball’s PowerPlay and Mega Millions’ Megaplier, Lottery players now get more opportunities to win - for the same buck they spent in 1979. I just wanted to remind everyone that we really do think about our constituents as we keep prices stable and provide more ways to win more. Plus, it takes me back to younger days, “…fever night, fever night, fever…” analog vinyl… bell bottoms… Buddy Bell… Frank Robinson… Bingo Smith… Fantasy Island… the Chrysler Cordoba with rich Corinthian leather… Luther… I could go on. But I’d rather you go on. PLEASE, PICK THREE of your favorite seventies memories, pics, styles, bands, teams, or share your parents’ seventies stories or jokes or photos you might want to share with the rest of Ohio. We’ll post them if we can. Thanks for listening.

Bettielu Frew is one lucky lady. In one day; she found out she's going to be a great-grandmother again; attended a live taping of Cash Explosion; and won a spot on an upcoming Cash Explosion show! Bettielu plays Cash Explosion and other Ohio Lottery games with her daughter Wendy all the time. So when Wendy sent in a Cash Explosion ticket and won a spot on the show, her mom was sure to be in the audience cheering her on. What Wendy didn't know was that Bettielu's name was in the drawing to be a contestant on an upcoming Cash Explosion Show as well. And that Bettielu might be selected that night! Bettielu kept it a secret. Even at a party to celebrate her daughter's spot on the show, Bettielu didn't tell anyone that her name might be picked as well. Wendy and Bettielu were in the Cash Explosion studios for the taping of Wendy's show, aired December 25. As luck would have it, as the hosts were reading off the names of our upcoming contestants, Bettielu and our live studio audience, found out she was a future contestant on Cash Explosion!  As David said, in the 22 years we've done Cash Explosion, this is the first time a future contestant present in the studio audience! We certainly hope it isn't the last. [youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LGQ8t4MnqTw] Bettielu tries her luck on Cash Explosion next week, February 12. She tells us that if she wins big, "I just hope I don't faint!" If she does we're pretty certain her daughter Wendy will be there to support her. We're keeping an eye on Bettielu Frew, and can only imagine what's going to happen to this lucky lady on her second trip to our Cash Explosion studios!