Our state suffered not one, but two devastating blows from hurricanes this season. Hurricanes Katrina in late August and Hurricane Rita, two weeks later, caused tremendous damage to residences and businesses in Southeast and Southwest Louisiana, which included many Lottery retailers. After Katrina, nearly 800 retailers, a third of the Lottery's retailer base, were disabled due to damage, power outages and loss of telecommunications services. After Rita, another 300 retailers experienced damage or loss of power. In toll, 44 percent of Lottery retailers were affected in some way by the storms.

Immediately following the hurricanes, the Lottery's primary concern was for its employees' and retailers' safety and well-being. The Lottery's New Orleans regional office, located in Clearview Palms shopping center in Metairie, suffered major damage. New Orleans area employees were relocated to other regional offices throughout the state, with the majority in nearby  Baton Rouge to assist their retailers as they were able to come back online in the weeks that ensued. 

The New Orleans regional office is expected to be operational by the beginning of the calendar year, subject to contruction delays. Players should remember that winning tickets valued up to $600 can be claimed at Lottery retailers, while tickets valued between $500 and $510,000 must be claimed at a Lottery regional office. Winning tickets for drawing games must be claimed within 180 days of the drawing in which the prize was won. Winning scratch-offs.

A secondary concern resulting from the hurricanes was accounting for live tickets that were damaged or stolen during the storms. Roughly 180,000 tickets were marked as stolen. Some packs were reported by retailers as stolen, but others were processed as such when damage was certain and communications with retailers could not be established.

"We are definitely erring the on the side of the customer when it comes to prize payment," said Vice President of Security Bill Cox. "However, when the theft is obvious, we are denying the claims."

With a Powerball jackpot steadily climbing in September and October, customer calls came in from within and outside our state's borders inquiring about places to purchase tickets. While telecommunications services continued to be spotty in many areas, customer relations staff resorted to daily phone calls to retailers to determine their operational status in order to make player referrals.

Players also called to inquire about change of addresses on tickets already mailed in for the $1,000,000 Spectacular second-chance drawing to be held in 2006.  Rest assured the Lottery will make every attempt to locate the winner and will publicize the winner on its Web site and other media.

As of the end of October, all but 400 of hurricane-affected retailers, or about 16 percent of the Lottery retailer base, were back on-line and and conducting regular business operations to varying degrees. These hard-working Louisiana businesses demonstrate the drive and resilient spirit that Louisiana has come to be known for.

"We recognize the damage has in some cases been irreparable, but we will not let these hurricanes weaken our will or strength to pick up the pieces and go forward. Rest assured, the Lottery remains committed to helping affected retailers get back to business," said Lottery President Randy Davis.