Everybody likes the thrill of winning. The following players had exciting days last week, after playing Ohio Lottery games. *Charles and Lisa Cowser of Steubenville won $267,000 on the October 2, 2013 Rolling Cash 5 game. *Angela Barnett of Barberton won $10,000 on Holiday Lucky Times 10. *Carroll Mills of N. Ridgeville won $10,000 on Money in the Bank. *Katherine Phillips of Canton won $10,000 on Fast Cash. *Bonnie Phillips of Seville won $5,500 on Super Millions. *Belinda Duncan of Akron won$15,600 playing the Pick 4. *Shirley Miller of Fresno won $10,000 on Super Millions. *Jesse Hawkins of Ravenna won $5,054 playing KENO. *George Tabanji of Medina won $10,000 on Lucky 7's Bingo. *Arthur Petrauskis of Columbia Station won $29,038 on EZPLAY Perfect Game 300. *Sharon Dedich of Wickliffe won $10,000 on Money Mutiplier. *Johnie Burt of Bedford Heights won $25,000 on the Pick 5.

Ashok Patel, owner of Cincinnati Fountain Square News at 101 E. 5th Street, gets two great side views as an Ohio Lottery retailer: one, the happiness and excitement when his customers win, and two, seeing the results: an increase in ticket sales. Patel knows that everybody wants to buy where a winning ticket was sold in hopes of being next. Buying a winning ticket at his location is just good news that gets around and promotes in-store traffic and lottery sales. Besides this, Patel's location is on a very busy corner of the city. So, he does everything he can to promote even more selling -- that includes making sure that his employees know about all lottery tickets and using the new dual jackpot sign with other signs posted throughout the store. The store has a dedicated play area in back where customers can complete bet slips and watch KENO drawings. Patel advises retailers to have a dedicated lottery play area and make sure employees are knowledgeable about all lottery games. He says it’s important to keep up with the jackpots and always ask for the sale. Cincinnati Fountain Square News has a weekly sales average of $20,532 for on-line and instant games. They carry 49 instant games. "They are great at selling Lottery products.They have good relationships with customers and that makes them a good "go-to" spot in downtown Cincinnati," says sales rep Douglas Schoensiegel. Congratulations Cincinnati Fountain Square News!

It's mid-week and the Ohio Lottery wants you to know about winners  across the state! Scott Ashcraft is one lucky guy. He won three $1,000 prizes in a matter of minutes and on three different instant games. He won $1,000 on $5 Million Cash Blowout, $300 Million Diamond Dazzler and Super Millions Spectacular. Scott bought the three tickets from two different agents. The next day he bought a Lucky 7's Playbook and won $500. One day later he won another $500! Scott says he'll use his winnings to build a patio on his home. He calls this lottery experience a once in a lifetime thing!

Maybe Scott needs to hear Dwight Bowen's story. Dwight won a million dollar prize four years ago playing $200 Million Extreme Cash. He took the cash option back then, and he got to make the choice again this week when he won another $1 million prize on the same instant ticket! He's one lucky guy!

Jason Haught  of Wheeling won $10,000 on Double Doubler after  his brother took him to dinner for his birthday and bought him $20 worth of Lottery tickets.

Other winners include: Kay Fluke of Akron, she won $10,000 on Holiday Spectacular.

*Darlene Pine of Akron won $10,000 on Holiday Gift.

*William DeMario of Canton won $10,000 on the Pick 4.

*David Werntz of Norton won $10,000 on Holiday Gift.

*Allen Blaine of Clarkville won $10,000 on the Lucky 7's Playbook.

He's calling the win, extraordinary and unimaginable, saying lightning can strike twice! In his case, it was a very lucky strike. Dwight Bowen won another $1 million top prize after scratching the same ticket four years later. Bowen, of Defiance, might just be a creature of habit. He bought the $200 Million Extreme Cash ticket in the same city but at a different retailer this time. He purchased this winner from Defiance Party Mart. Located at 1841 East 2nd Street, Defiance Party Mart receives a $10,000 selling bonus. Four years ago, Bowen chose the cash option, this year he chose it again. He'll use the win to take what he calls an extraordinary vacation, do some home repair and help the grandchildren. Will he buy another one of these tickets? "Absolutely!" he said. Bowen knows that there are still top prizes remaining in this instant game. He faithfully checks the Ohio Lottery website to see what instant prizes remain. Bowen is proof that lightning can strike twice and a third time would be even more of an extraordinary charm! Congratulations to Dwight Bowen for winning and to Defiance Party Mart for selling a top prize winning ticket!

Every week there are more winners here in Ohio! Here are the lucky players who are now part of the club! * Kenneth H. Kinder is trustee of The Huckleberry Trust. Kinder claimed a $1,000,000 prize on behalf of a winner who matched all five Mega Millions numbers and said yes to the Megaplier in the August 13, 2013 drawing. *John Lehotay of Masury won $130,000 in the October 14 Rolling Cash 5 game. *Tara Gardinier of Akron won $20,000 scratching Liquid Gold. *Robert Elioue of Canton won $20,000 on Holiday Spectacular. *Lisa Cofield of Elyria won $6,046 on EZPLAY Rock'N 777's. *Jason Bandersky of Amherst won $5,400 on the Pick 4. *Yvonne Jones of Orrville won $10,000 on Ghostbusters. *Rory Wolff of Streetsboro won $10,000 on the October 5 Powerball game. *Kimberly Dillon-Bleich of Avon Lake won $5,500 on Bingo Times 10. *William Demario of Canton won $10,000 on the Pick 4 game. Congratulations!

Because owners Vimal Patel, Parul Patel and Milesly Rodriquez are advocates of exceptional Lottery customer service, Circle convenience is this week's Retailer-of-the Week. At 11313 Euclid Avenue, this mid size grocery store caters to locals in the University Circle area. Patel says as a retailer it is important to offer exceptional customer service, maintain lottery displays accurately, have a neat and orderly presentation and a variety of instant tickets. He says customers must be able to choose their lottery product quickly therefore, the business carries 50 instants over the counter and 25 games in two win stations. "The friendliness of the person behind the counter has a great deal of influence over whether the customer will return to purchase more lottery tickets," he said. "We strive to make the lottery experience fun for our customers." Circle Convenience has a weekly sales average of $8,558 for instants and on-line games. Congratulations Circle Convenience!

Hey, Mega Millions fans! Do you want a larger starting jackpot? A chance to win up to $5 million with Megaplier? How about a $1 million second-tier prize? Get ready, because those are all changes set to happen with Mega Millions starting with the October 22 drawing! The best part, the price of a ticket will stay at $1! Starting with the October 22 drawing, the starting jackpot will increase from $12 million to $15 million, and jackpots will grow by at least $5 million after each drawing in which no one hits! The old Mega Millions game offered a $250,000 Match 5 prize, but now you'll win $1 million for matching five white balls! Plus, Megaplier is now expanded to a five factor, so for an additional $1, you could win up to $5,000,000 without matching all six numbers! Mega Millions drawings will still consist of five white balls and one gold Mega Ball, for a total of six winning numbers. Under a new matrix, the number of white balls will increase to 75 and the number of gold balls will decrease to 15. The result will be overall odds of just 1 in 15 to win any prize! The odds of winning the jackpot will be 1 in 259 million. The matrix was last changed in 2005. Sales of the game will be suspended after the drawing on October 18th, and sales of the new Mega Millions game will begin on October 20th. Check out our website for more! http://www.ohiolottery.com/Games/DrawGames/megamillions/The-New-Mega-Millions-Game.aspx Good luck everyone!

Any day is a good day when it ends on a positive note, especially when they are c-notes.  Darla Chrasniak of Sheffield Lake and Stephen Chew of Rocky River both won $100,000 top prizes. Chew won on Bingo Times 10. After getting two winning Bingo Times 10 tickets as gifts, he decided to reinvest his small wins to buy two more of the same instant game. The second Bingo Times 10 ticket scratched was a $100,000 winner! It was a great birthday for the retiree. * Chrasniak won her top prize scratching 20X The Money. * Burt Pinney of Ravenna won $150,000 on Money Multiplier. * Susette McCord of Alliance won $5,000 on 20X The Money. * Gary Liggett of Mogadore won $5,400 on the Pick 4 game. * Brian Williams of Cuyahoga Falls won $5,500 on Lucky Times 10. * Mary Zalokar of Mansfield won $7,523 on Rock 'N 777's. * Duane Beisel of Louisville, Ohio won $10,000 on the Pick 4 game. * Christopher Reffitt of Castalia won $10,000 on $5 Million Jackpot. * Scott Usternul of Wooster won $20,000 on Wild 2's. * Jeffery Morris of Akron won $25,000 on the Pick 5 game. * Michael Morgan of Jackson won $5,400 on the Pick 4 game. * Laura Parker won $10,000 on Ton of Funds. * John Haoui of Cleveland won $100,000 on Blackkout Bingo, the top prize drawing in this game. *Congratulations!

Star Beverage in Columbia Station is this week's Retailer of the Week! Customers of Star Beverage notice the dedicated area for playing Lottery when they first walk through the doors. Owner Kent Heidorf also provides a display of all instant games and online jackpots so customers an see what their options are! His friendly and knowledgeable staff is there to cash all winning tickets and help fill out the paperwork. Heidorf makes sure his staff is comfortable and knowledgeable about all of the games so no question goes unanswered. Star Beverage has already sold two KICKER winners and a Rolling Cash 5 winner. Players know it because Star Beverage proudly displays the "Winning Tickets Sold Here" signs in the front window. Star Beverage carries 46 instant games. You can find Star Beverage at 9856 West River Road in Columbia Station. Congratulations Star Beverage!

We're looking for more ways to keep you up to date on everything happening at the Ohio Lottery, so we're taking our new games and promotions to the video arena! Every month we'll post a little video news update about promotions, new games and winners! We're calling it "In the Know".

If you're a friend of ours on Facebook, just look for it every month in our news feed. We'll also post it to our YouTube Channel so you can easily find it and watch when you have a few minutes.

We're really busy this month, so check out all of the games you could play and prizes you could win! October's "In the Know" is up, so follow the link and check it out!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n7osQMTZ1zE

I know it's a little soon to be talking about the holidays, but here at the Ohio Lottery October marks the beginning of our holiday instant ticket sales! Our holiday instants go on sale October 10th! Aside from our fabulous selection of holiday themed tickets, this year you get a chance at a little holiday bonus! We're ready to give away a total of $500,000 in prizes during the Holiday Bonus promotion! Here's how it works! All non-winning tickets from the games Holiday Cash, Holiday Gift, Happy Holidays, Holiday Lucky Times 10 and Holiday Spectacular can be entered online for the Holiday Bonus. Just go to www.ohiolottery.com to enter the ticket barcode and validation codes from any of the eligible tickets. Any mailed entries will not be eligible. If you enter a $1 ticket you get one entry; $2 ticket is two entries; $3 ticket is three entries; $5 ticket gives you five entries and a $10 ticket gives you ten entries into the drawing! We'll conduct two drawings, the first on December 3, 2013 and the second on January 7, 2014. You must enter by November 26, 2013 to be included in the early bird drawing on December 3. We'll select 100 winners of $500, 20 winners of $1,000 and 15 winners of $10,000!! You must enter by December 31, 2013 to be included in the drawing on January 7, 2014. One hundred entrants will win $500; 30 winners will receive $1,000; 10 winners will be selected for $10,000 prizes; two winners will receive $25,000 prizes and one winner will get the grand prize $50,000! That's my kind of holiday bonus! What are you waiting for? It's not snowing, but there's no time like now to play our holiday instant tickets!

Geneva Beverage Depot owner Dave Palinkas does all he can do to promote Lottery products. Sales Rep Ryan Murray says Palinkas does all of the right things like posting lottery signage and winning tickets, asking for the sale, being very attentive to his customers, having a dedicated lottery play area and conducting weekly raffles. Ryan adds that the customers keep Palinkas busy running back and forth to the drive thru or the carryout. Palinkas and his employees are hands on and the numbers prove it. The business has a weekly sales average of $12,000 for instant and on-line games and he has sold at least three tickets worth a total of $250,000. Palinkas believes in keeping his employees updated on all new games, lottery procedures, and jackpot amounts. Geneva Beverage Depot carries 45 instant games that are located on the front counter and credits doing the right thing as key to success as an Ohio Lottery retailer. Congratulations Geneva Beverage Depot!

Nineteen Ohioans won over $250,000 in prizes playing Ohio Lottery games. A nudge from a friend got Jonathan Lloyd of Jackson more interested in playing the Ohio Lottery. Lloyd said he only purchased about six Lottery tickets in his life, but he'll probably be purchasing more after winning $10,000 on Instant Millions.

David Smith of Powhatan Point, Ohio won $10,000 on Powerball after asking the clerk to run auto lotto. Because she was a new employee and not comfortable with the terminal, she asked David to choose the numbers. He used his grandchildren's birthdates and won! He has no plans for the money but you can bet his grandchilderen do.

 

Other winners include the following:
*Andrea Latham of Akron and Brent Overy of Avon who both won $5,200 on Pick 4 drawings.
*Tammy Bechtler of Norwalk and Kenneth Petty of N. Canton won $5,500 top prize drawing entries on Money in the Bank and Millionaire Spectacular.
respectively.
*Nicola Zaboura of Strongsville won $10,000 on Tens of Thousands.
*Michael Bombei of Tallmadge won $10,000 on $200 Million Extreme Cash.
*Brandon Wheeler of Sheffield Lake won $10,000 on Mega Millions.
*Amy Ulisky of North Ridgeville won $10,000 on Money in the Bank.
*James Sturges of Jackson won $10,000 on Press Your Luck.
*Gary Miller of Stow won $10,000 on $5 Million Jackpot.
*Craig Flament of Stow won $10,000 on Hall of Fame.
*Melvin Route of Waynesburg won $20,000 on Wild 2's.
*Glenda Coleman of Akron won $20,000 on Love To Win.
*Robert Narehood of Kirtland won $20,000 on Millionaire Spectacular.
*Steven Fields of Ironton won $23,315 on Rock'n 777's.
*Deborah Deetz of Newcomerstown won $30,000 on Thrilling 3's.
*Michael Harris of Cleveland won $30,000 on Thrilling 3's.