Midday Draws will Continue, Says Lottery, But Not on TV

TRENTON (May 11, 2009)—Acting Lottery Executive Director William T. Jourdain today announced that the midday drawings for the New Jersey Lottery’s Pick 3 and Pick 4 games will no longer be televised on the New Jersey Network (NJN), starting with the midday drawing on May 15, 2009. The midday drawings will now be conducted at Lottery headquarters. As has been the Lottery’s mandate, these drawings will continue to take place under the supervision of an independent third party auditor, and video of the drawings will be made available on the Lottery’s website as they have been for the evening and midday drawings that currently air on NJN. Viewers can still tune in to NJN at the typical midday drawing broadcast time slot of approximately 1 PM and see a summary of the results of that day’s midday drawing.
“We are aware that a number of our players look forward to watching our midday drawings each day on NJN,” said Acting Lottery Executive Director Jourdain, “For that reason, we looked at alternatives that would enable us to provide video clips of our midday drawings—as we have in the past—while still enabling us to utilize the same procedures and safeguards we have employed for many years.”
“This efficiency will save the State of New Jersey approximately $100,000 annually,” said Jourdain, “Those are saved dollars that will translate into increased support for our K-12 schools, our colleges, and our centers for the developmentally disabled. It’s not just a case of a cost savings; it’s an opportunity to augment existing efforts on behalf of our students, our veterans, and countless others throughout New Jersey’s communities.”
Jourdain also pointed out that existing integrity measures and machinery will not change. “All that has changed is where we’re holding the midday drawings, not how we hold them. Even though we will be conducting these drawings at the Lottery’s headquarters, we are still doing it with the same equipment we use at NJN, and with the same scrutiny by our independent third-party auditors—again, the same auditors who currently supervise and verify the official results for all Lottery drawings.”
“Even though you may not be able to see the midday drawings on NJN, those drawings will still be recorded and will be made available on the Lottery’s website following the drawings,” noted Director Jourdain, “The video recording of drawings has been in place for years. It is a sound process, and it is something we do not have any intention of eliminating.”
Director Jourdain concluded by also noting that the wagering times for the midday drawings will not be affected by this change, and urged those who wish to view videos of all of the Lottery’s drawings to visit the Lottery’s website at http://www.state.nj.us/lottery/live/index.html.