How do you make two Cash Explosion appearances when your name isn't on the ticket? Ask Melvin Hosey of Dayton. Melvin will make is second appearance on Cash Explosion tomorrow night! You see, Melvin played on the show many years ago as a stand in for his grandfather. He did so well that his mom, Alice Hosey, wanted him to play for her when she was selected.  Melvin won a total of $33,700 which includes a $25,000 Cash Bonus Square for his mom.  He also won the $25,000 Cash Bonus Square for his grandfather!  With luck like that, Melvin has won a spot as the family’s stand in! April Pinkerman’s run of good luck ended on October 1st as she was defeated in the championship game by Lee Delehanty of Germantown, Ohio.  April left the show with winnings totaling $200,000! Click the link below to learn more about Cash Explosion and how you can be a part of the show! http://www.cashexplosionshow.com/home/

It's football season, on the field and at the Ohio Lottery! I know you've been playing our newest EZ Play game $2 Touchdown Dollars, and now you can play it more when you play Keno. The Ohio Lottery's Keno Game Day promotion runs Saturdays, Sundays and Mondays October 1 through October 31! That gives you 15 days in October to win! Here's how it works. For every $10 Keno purchase, players get a $2 Touchdown Dollars game free! Please, play responsibly.

[slideshow] I grew up on the Ohio River. It was such a fun natural resource! You get on a boat, cruise up and down the river and you felt like you were in another world! Even driving down Route 7 was fun because you could watch the river, the pleasure boats, the barges and the sternwheelers that cruised North and South. Last weekend, the sternwheelers took over Marietta, Ohio for the city's annual Ohio River Sternwheel Festival. The riverboats were the main attraction, of course, but the big wheels on the boats weren't the only thing turning! Players got to spin the Ohio Lottery's Spin n' Win wheel a total of 940 times! The entire Ohio Lottery staff from Region 6 spent the weekend at the festival manning the Spin n' Win wheel. Region 6 Executive Secretary Mary Gilmore says the weather was perfect and everyone had a great time giving away prizes to Lottery players. It was Mary's first time to work the Spin n' Win, and she really enjoyed it. The Cash Explosion crew took the mini game show on the road too! Co-host Sharon Bicknell and David McCreary were there talking to fans of the show, signing autographs and helping players through the mini game show process.  The Sternwheel Festival is a mark of the end of summer for folks in Marietta. In a way, it means a busy summer for the Ohio Lottery is winding down too! Our next stop is the Woolly Bear Festival in Vermilion on October 9th. Stop by and see us at our Winner's Video and Photo Booth!

[slideshow]Ever been to a pep rally? You know, cheerleaders, a marching band, the team, and students  proudly wearing their school colors! Friday I went to a pep rally like no other, because it was hosted by the Ohio Lottery's Partners in Education! The 885 students at Hamilton Township High School in Columbus were already pumped up for the night's game against rival Bexley. Add some magic and entertainment by Cash Explosion host David McCreary, dancing by mascots from the Columbus Crew and Cincinnati Cyclones, and a crystal trophy to the mix and it gets even more exciting! We got to celebrate Hamilton Township High School as the School of the Year. Hamilton Township High School has made the nominations for Academic All Star and Teacher of the Month a part of their routine.  They nominated 8 teachers and 8 students last year, giving them 16 entries in the drawing for School of the Year. AP Government Teacher Robert Lanthorn was drawn as Teacher of the Month in February. He says he is so proud of his students. Lanthorn says he wouldn't be the teacher that he is without them. Did I mention what a beautiful facility Hamilton Township High School is? The 3-year-old building was built to resemble the original school building. I don't get the chance to be around high schoolers very often, and I was so excited to see students who were proud of their school and happy to be upstanding representatives of the district.  We should all be proud and always encourage Ohio's students to excel in and out of the classroom! Grab your pom poms and cheer them on! The students at Hamilton Township High School are truly a great example of the students we have in Ohio. Congratulations! Nominations are being accepted for Teacher of the Month and Academic All Stars! Visit http://www.ohiolottery.com/SupportingEducation/Academic-All-Stars for more details and send in your nominations today!

You just can't be too careful. Scams are everywhere, on the Internet, in your email, and sometimes in a phone call to your home. Now scammers are using the Ohio Lottery and Cash Explosion names in hopes of duping people out of their money. The Ohio Lottery has become aware of a new scam that preys on fans of the Ohio Lottery's top-rated Cash Explosion TV show. Three people reported receiving phone calls from someone pretending to be from the Cash Explosion production team. The caller tells the victim that they've won a Cash Explosion prize and to expect a package via courier. The scammers then call back and say that the courier is running late and ask the victim to meet them in a retail parking lot. They're also asked to bring money to pay processing fees and taxes. The calls appear to be coming from the (718) area code,  New York area code. Anyone who gets these type of calls should call police immediately.  Jack O'Donnell, Ohio Lottery Deputy Director of Security, wants to make sure people are aware. He said he's concerned not only about people losing their hard earned money, but also identity theft. In one case, the potential victim did not play any Lottery games, which was the big tipoff that this wasn't the real deal. Other tips to follow, the Ohio Lottery never asks winners for the payment of processing fees or taxes, and the player always initiates the prize claim process. FOX8 reporter Elisa Amigo spoke to one of the victims. You can see the story here. http://www.fox8.com/news/wjw-ohio-lottery-scam-txt,0,4461187.story

I always enjoyed pep rallies! It's amazing how much excitement can come from an auditorium full of high school students. Tomorrow, I get to enjoy that atmosphere again! The Ohio Lottery's Partners in Education will honor Hamilton Township High School  in Columbus as the School of the Year! I've only been with the Lottery for a few months, so this is my first School of the Year event, but everyone here looks forward to the fun and excitement of honoring the students at a great Ohio school. Cash Explosion's David McCreary will be the Master of Ceremonies. And just like a good old fashioned pep rally, the School of the Year event is chock full of cheerleaders, a band and team mascots. LouSeal and Crash of the Columbus Clippers Crew Cat from the Columbus Crew and Mr. Redlegs from the Cincinnati Reds will be there to congratulate the students.  Hamilton Township High School will receive a $500 gift card to Staples along with team merchandise from several of the Lottery's Partners in Education Sponsors and a School of the Year trophy. All of the students will get a school of the year backpack. How did HTHS make the cut? Every month the Ohio Lottery's Partners in Education accepts nominations for Academic All-Stars and Teacher of the Month. HTHS nominated eight students and eight teacher last year, so they had 16 entries in the random drawing for School of the Year. Now's your chance to nominate students and teachers! Just visit our website for the nomination forms and keep sending them in!   www.ohiolottery.com/supportingeducation

There’s nothing better than a perfect evening at the ballpark.  Balmy summer-like weather, enthusiasm for your home team – in this case the Cleveland Indians -- and then, the opportunity to meet a family beaming over a baseball experience of a lifetime.  That just scratches the surface of the experience prize won by David Plant and shared with his wife Caroline, their son Jeffrey and mother-in-law Wanda at a recent home game between the Cleveland Indians and Kansas City Royals. David, you see, was the Ohio Lottery/Cleveland Indians VIP Experience winner.  David really has his mother-in-law to thank.  She’s a huge baseball fan who’s come to watch the Cleveland Indians since she was “yay high,” she says.  She knew David was an Ohio Lottery fan, so at another game this season (in which she took her grandson Jeffrey) she dropped one of David’s $5 non-winning instant tickets into the drawing.  It was also Wanda’s 75^th birthday.  She told me she couldn’t think of a better birthday gift than winning this prize for David. The evening started well enough with four club seats and all you can eat at the Club Lounge at Progressive Field for David and his family.  It got even better.  David and his family spent an inning in the Indians radio booth and met Tribe broadcasters Tom Hamilton, Mike Hegan and Jim Rosenhaus.  Then, after watching a few innings -- including one in which Jim Thome hit his first home run as a Cleveland Indian again – David started warming up to “steal second” at the end of the fifth inning.  He told me he was looking forward to running out in the field to literally grab second base and take it home as a souvenir.  He worried that he wouldn’t be in good enough shape to trot down and back on the field.  He did a fine job. Then, David and his family spent an inning in a special suite with former Cleveland Indians coach and Indians Hall of Fame player, Mike Hargrove.  Mike Hargrove was a gracious host to David and his family.  Wouldn’t you know, he and Wanda had a great Tribe conversation and plan to talk again at a future date. Did I mention the Tribe won? If you had to work a Saturday evening like me, it just doesn’t get any better than this. Whatever you do this holiday weekend, be safe and make it special. By Marie Kilbane-Seckers

When I worked in news, often working on holidays, the only bright spot was the lack of rush hour traffic! I think some people decided to start their Labor Day weekend early, because the morning commute into downtown Cleveland was lighter than usual today. Good for them! I know I'm looking forward to the long weekend! Labor Day sales, the Cleveland National Air Show and fun with my family are sure to be a few of the highlights. I plan to enjoy the last few days of warmth, because I know we're on the downward slide to fall. Soon we will be carving pumpkins and getting ready for Thanksgiving! I hope you enjoy your holiday weekend, and don't forget to celebrate the American workforce, the people who make our country what it is. Happy Labor Day!