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Figure in 1980 Lottery Fix Dies24 April 2003PITTSBURGH, Pennsylvania -- As reported by the Associated Press: "Nick Perry, a longtime broadcaster who became infamous for his role in fixing the Pennsylvania Lottery's Daily Number drawing nearly 23 years ago, has died. He was in his 80s. "...Perry's broadcasting career began on WPIT radio in 1949, but -- until his infamous stint hosting the Daily Number telecasts -- Perry was best known as the host of `Bowling for Dollars' on WTAE-TV, having joined that station when it went on the air in 1958. "Pennsylvania's Daily Number drawing is now broadcast on KDKA-TV in the Pittsburgh area. But Perry was the host while the drawing was on WTAE, and when, on April 24, 1980, the number `666' came up. "That drawing had a then-record payout of more than $3.5 million, including $1.18 million that went to eight people in on the scam. "Illegal bookmakers, who take numbers bets based on the lottery and lost large sums, suggested the drawing was fixed; a state grand jury later charged Perry as the mastermind of a scheme to fix the drawing by injecting paint into some of the pingpong balls. "The paint made all but the `4' and `6' balls too heavy for them to be pushed up the lottery machine tubes and into the winning slots..." |