ST. LOUIS—Mega Millions has upped the ante by another $100 million. The lack of a jackpot winner in the lottery game’s latest drawing on Friday night sent the top prize soaring to an estimated $820 million. The numbers drawn late Friday were: 29, 40, 47, 50, 57 and gold Mega Ball 25. No tickets were…

DES MOINES, Iowa—The Powerball jackpot soared to an estimated $875 million after no winning ticket was sold for the latest drawing. No ticket for Wednesday’s $750 million jackpot matched the white balls 23, 35, 45, 66, 67 and red Powerball 20. The new jackpot for Saturday’s drawing is the third highest in the history of…

BOSTON—A father and son from Massachusetts have both been sent to prison for running an elaborate lottery fraud scheme designed to enrich themselves and help prize winners avoid paying taxes on their windfall, prosecutors said. Ali Jaafar, 63, and Yousef Jaafar, 29, both of Watertown, cashed in 14,000 winning lottery tickets over a roughly 10-year…

COLUMBUS, Ohio—The sudden resignation last month of Ohio’s lottery director came after he inappropriately touched two employees and sent texts “expressing inappropriate fondness and innuendo” to members of his staff, according to an independent investigation released Friday. The review by Zashin & Rich law firm determined that Pat McDonald’s behavior violated Ohio Lottery Commission policy…

PARIS—Four million applications were received for an online lottery where winners get to buy tickets for next year’s Paris Olympics, the local organizing committee said Friday. They hope to sell 1.3 million tickets for the 2024 Games as a result of the latest draw. Applications ended Thursday evening and winners will know early next month…

CHICAGO—At one point, Chicago Blackhawks general manager Kyle Davidson downplayed the importance of the NHL draft lottery on his team’s offseason plans. Moments later, Davidson allowed himself a wide grin as he pondered the possibilities. “The top of the draft’s good,” he said with a smile. “Yeah, it’s a special top of the draft. There’s…

CLIVE, Iowa—At first, the recent winner of a $40 million jackpot says he couldn’t believe he won the lottery—after all, he bought the ticket on April Fools’ Day. “I thought it was a joke,” said Earl Lape, a 61-year-old retired mechanic from Dubuque, Iowa. Only after confirming his Lotto America ticket with a convenience store…

Australia will establish a Pacific visa lottery scheme to boost the number of permanent migrant workers and strengthen relations with the region. From July, 3000 places a year will become available for eligible participants from Pacific nations and East Timor to be randomly selected and given the opportunity to apply for a permanent Australian visa….

A winning $31 million Mega Millions jackpot ticket for Tuesday night’s drawing was sold at a grocery store in Belchertown, Massachusetts. The cash option on the prize is $16.3 million if the winner wants to take the money in a lump sum. According to the Massachusetts State Lottery Commission, the multi-million dollar jackpot winner came…

DES MOINES, Iowa—The numbers for an estimated $1.35 billion Mega Millions jackpot were drawn and now all hopeful players can do is wait until word of a possible winner. The numbers drawn late Friday night were: 30, 43, 45, 46, 61, and gold Mega Ball 14. It usually takes hours after the drawing for Mega…