Latest news with #Bracken
Boston Globe
25-06-2025
- Business
- Boston Globe
With sales down, lower Lotto prizes boost May profit
Bracken said the Lottery turned an estimated profit of $117.5 million in May, a $3.2 million increase over last May that the executive director attributed to a $7.9 million decrease in the value of scratch ticket grand prizes claimed last month compared to May 2024. Get Starting Point A guide through the most important stories of the morning, delivered Monday through Friday. Enter Email Sign Up Through 11 months of fiscal year 2025, the Lottery's year-to-date sales are down $182.4 million or 3.2 percent compared to the same time period in fiscal 2024. Jackpot-dependent multi-state draw games are posting some the most severe declines this year — Powerball sales are down $119.5 million or 58.5 percent and Mega Millions sales are down $37.4 million or 26.9 percent. Scratch tickets sales so far this year are down $52.4 million or 1.42 percent. Advertisement Bracken told the commission Tuesday that the Lottery's prize payout percentage, which affects how much revenue is converted to profit to be returned as local aid to cities and towns, remains elevated as the end of the year approaches. That figure has been on the commission's radar for most of fiscal 2025. Advertisement 'Our estimated year-to-date prize payout for the first 11 months is 74.24 percent compared to 73.46 percent for the first 11 months of last fiscal year. And ... you'll see, as we've been watching the trend, the overall prize payout is tapering down, but it is still our highest prize payout that we've had in the last five fiscal years,' he said Tuesday. With just one month's results left to count towards fiscal 2025, Bracken said the Lottery has so far generated an estimated profit of $990.1 million, which he said trails last year's pace by $88.8 million. The Lottery produced $1.159 billion in net profit during fiscal year 2024. Treasurer Deborah Goldberg
Yahoo
06-06-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Despite unlucky 'mistake' by lottery, two players still win $100K Mass Cash prizes
Two lottery players in Massachusetts won $100,000 playing 'Mass Cash' on Thursday night despite a delay in the daily game drawing. The 'Mass Cash' drawing, scheduled for 9 p.m. on Thursday, was postponed after several numbered balls fell out of the game machine, according to Massachusetts State Lottery officials. A door had been left open on the 'Mass Cash' machine's mixing chamber, and the balls fell out prior to the first number being drawn. This made the entire 9 p.m. drawing invalid, lottery officials said. The 'Mass Cash' drawing instead happened at 11:59 p.m. on Thursday. The winning numbers for the June 5 drawing were 6, 15, 22, 28 and 30. Two winning tickets matched all five numbers drawn to win $100,000. They were sold at a Gulf gas station in Framingham and at a shop called One Stop Mart in West Springfield. 'Mass Cash' drawings usually happen at 9 p.m. every day, and tickets to play cost $1 each. Five numbers are drawn and if all five are matched on a ticket, the player wins $100,000. Four matched numbers are worth a $250 prize, and three matched numbers are worth a $10 prize. 'The Lottery is committed to ensuring the integrity of our games,' said Mark William Bracken, Executive Director of the Mass Lottery. ' ... while we strive for perfection, we're all human and mistakes can happen. We apologize to our players for the inconvenience and appreciated their patience as we worked diligently to resolve the situation,' Bracken said. Mass. State Lottery winner: $1M ticket sold at Springfield gas station Mass. lottery drawing postponed after numerous balls fell out of machine Mass. State Lottery winner: Mobil gas station sells $100,000 ticket Mass. State Lottery winner: Irish pub sells winning $120,000 ticket Read the original article on MassLive.
TimesLIVE
05-06-2025
- Health
- TimesLIVE
Case of foot and mouth disease detected at SA's largest cattle feedlot
A case of foot and mouth disease (FMD) has been confirmed at Karan Beef's feedlot facility in Heidelberg, the largest such facility in the country. Karan Beef spokesperson Anso Bracken said the FMD case was confirmed on Monday after the facility was, as a precautionary measure, placed under pre-emptive quarantine on May 30 when an infection was suspected. 'This development highlights the ongoing risks faced by the livestock industry, even under rigorous control systems. Karan Beef is working closely with state veterinary services to ensure swift containment and to minimise any further risk to the industry,' Bracken said. The agriculture department recently expressed concern about the spread of FMD, with outbreaks detected in KwaZulu-Natal, Mpumalanga and Gauteng in May. China has suspended imports of beef from South Africa as a result of the disease. The department advised livestock owners to abide by the incubation period of FMD, adding: 'Newly bought animals should be separated from the resident herd for at least 28 days, even if a health attestation was issued for the animals.' The department asked auctioneers and livestock owners to be vigilant when buying cloven hoofed animals from provinces where there are active outbreaks. 'No cloven-hoofed animals should be accepted from areas under restriction for FMD in KwaZulu-Natal, Eastern Cape, Limpopo and Mpumalanga.' Owners or managers must take all reasonable steps to prevent their animals becoming infected with any disease and to prevent the spread of any disease from their animals or land to other animals or other properties. 'Essential biosecurity measures include limiting and/or postponing the introduction of new animals if at all possible and, if absolutely necessary, only introducing animals from known clean farms with a health declaration, preventing nose-to-nose contact of farm animals with animals outside the farm, maintaining secure farm boundaries, restricting access for people and vehicles as much as possible. 'Any suspicious clinical symptoms (salivation, blisters in the mouth, limping or hoof lesions) must be reported to the local state veterinarian immediately and such animals must not be moved under any circumstances.'
IOL News
03-06-2025
- Business
- IOL News
SA's largest beef producer Karan Beef confirms a case of foot-and-mouth disease in Heidelberg
Karan Beef confirms a case of Foot-and-Mouth Disease at its feedlot Image: Ayanda Ndamane Independent Newspapers One of the major feedlot groups in South Africa, Karan Beef, has confirmed a case of Foot-and-Mouth Disease (FMD) at its feedlot in Heidelberg, Gauteng. Karan Beef has imposed a temporary pause on purchases after detecting the disease at its feedlot. The Marketing Manager at Karan Beef, Anso Bracken, revealed that the facility was placed under pre-emptive quarantine on May 30 following the identification of a suspected infection. 'This unfortunate development highlights the ongoing risks faced by the livestock industry, even under rigorous control systems, and Karan Beef is working closely with State Veterinary Services to ensure swift containment and to minimise any further risk to the broader industry,' said Bracken. Karan Beef has not disclosed further details on the implications of the situation for its beef delivery operations across South Africa. However, the company stated that additional updates will be provided as more information becomes available. Bracken said Karan Beef will remain committed to transparency, compliance, and maintaining the highest standards of animal health and welfare. Further updates will be provided as more information becomes available. Video Player is loading. Play Video Play Unmute Current Time 0:00 / Duration -:- Loaded : 0% Stream Type LIVE Seek to live, currently behind live LIVE Remaining Time - 0:00 This is a modal window. Beginning of dialog window. Escape will cancel and close the window. Text Color White Black Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Opaque Semi-Transparent Background Color Black White Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Opaque Semi-Transparent Transparent Window Color Black White Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Transparent Semi-Transparent Opaque Font Size 50% 75% 100% 125% 150% 175% 200% 300% 400% Text Edge Style None Raised Depressed Uniform Dropshadow Font Family Proportional Sans-Serif Monospace Sans-Serif Proportional Serif Monospace Serif Casual Script Small Caps Reset restore all settings to the default values Done Close Modal Dialog End of dialog window. Advertisement Next Stay Close ✕ Ad Loading South Africa is grappling with significant challenges in its fight against foot-and-mouth disease (FMD), which has persisted for several months. This ongoing crisis has led key trading partners, including Zimbabwe, Namibia, Botswana, and China, to suspend imports of meat and related animal products from the country. In response, Minister of Agriculture John Steenhuisen has announced an urgent order for R72 million worth of FMD vaccines to combat the outbreak effectively. "Funds for the procurement of the vaccine have been transferred to Onderstepoort Biological Products (OBP). The procurement process has started, and the next batch of vaccines is estimated to be delivered by mid-June,' said Steenhuisen. The Freedom Front Plus (FF Plus) has also raised concerns about the disease. The party has called on the Department of Agriculture to intervene and approach this crisis with the necessary urgency. 'This development is creating a crisis for the entire red meat industry in South Africa, even the whole of southern Africa,' said the party. The FF Plus has highlighted that a crisis in northern KwaZulu-Natal and the Eastern Cape has escalated into a national emergency. If a major buyer like Karan Beef halts its livestock purchases, it could disrupt the entire industry. This situation is likely to drive meat prices down, forcing farmers to retain cattle on their farms at a time when grazing conditions deteriorate during the winter months. IOL NEWS
Yahoo
28-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Lottery skid extends through April
BOSTON (SHNS) – All but one Massachusetts Lottery offering saw its sales dip in April, though agency overseers approved changes to one game Tuesday that the Lottery expects will lead to increased sales and profits. The Lottery's $454 million in sales last month fell $29.3 million or 6.1% below sales in April 2024, according to Executive Director Mark William Bracken's report to the Lottery Commission on Tuesday. It was the fourth consecutive month featuring a year-over-year drop in sales. The only product to post an increase in April was Keno, which saw its sales climb by $5.9 million or 5.9% to $105.7 million for the month. On top of the sales slump, the Lottery's monthly profit was affected by a prize payout percentage higher than last April's. The Lottery estimated that it paid out the equivalent of 76.2% of April revenue in prizes last month, compared to 74.64% a year prior. The Lottery's estimated profit for April was $74.1 million, compared to $82.6 million in April 2024, according to Bracken's report. Through 10 months of fiscal year 2025, the Lottery has sold more than $4.89 billion worth of its scratch tickets, draw game numbers and more this year. That trails fiscal 2024 by $178.9 million or 3.5% through the same 10-month period. Keno and Lucky For Life are the only two Mass. Lottery games that have sold more in fiscal 2025 than they did to the same point in fiscal 2024. The Lottery said Tuesday it is currently estimating a net profit of $876.5 million so far in fiscal 2025. After adjusting for differences in the calendar, the Lottery said that represents a $88.3 million drop compared to the same checkpoint a year ago. Treasurer Deborah Goldberg has told lawmakers she expects the Lottery to generate $1.05 billion in profit for fiscal 2025, and has also projected 'flat' retail sales and profit for fiscal 2026. The Lottery Commission on Tuesday voted to give Bracken the authority to amend the Lottery's regulations to facilitate a change to the drawing schedule for Mass Cash, a game first introduced in 1991, essentially expanding it by double. Drawings for that game happen daily at 9 p.m., but the Lottery is looking to begin holding two Mass Cash drawings a day starting July 20, one at midday and one in the evening. 'The Lottery anticipates this change will be welcomed by our players and will lead to increased sales and profits,' General Counsel Gregory Polin wrote in a memo about the change. To play Mass Cash, a bettor pays $1 to select five numbers between 1 and 35. Matching three of the numbers drawn wins $10, matching four wins $250 and matching all five wins the player $100,000. The Lottery says the overall odds of winning are 1 in 72, or 1 in 324,632 to win the grand prize. The Lottery had sold $67 million worth of Mass Cash tickets through April, according to Bracken's report Tuesday. That's down $1.9 million or 2.8% through the same 10 months of fiscal 2024. WWLP-22News, an NBC affiliate, began broadcasting in March 1953 to provide local news, network, syndicated, and local programming to western Massachusetts. Watch the 22News Digital Edition weekdays at 4 p.m. on Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
