The Georgia Lottery needs a new host and decided to use an American Idol-style auditions and interviews to find that person. 4,750 online registrants hoped the be the one and in two days the Georgia Lottery’s Talent Search has been narrowed to the top 5 finalists.

The five finalists are: Eversen Bevelle, Decatur; Angela Courtney Cason, Dahlonega; John Crow, Atlanta; Brian Hooker, Atlanta; and Lee Woodriffe, Lithonia.

The next big step for the five finalists will be the week of January 21st when each will host a live broadcast of a lottery drawing and also will be posted for an online opinion poll to get viewers feedback. The winner will be announced Jan. 27 during a televised show.

After wading through the auditions, 251 registrants were called back. From those, there was a videotaped, mock Cash 3 drawing before 5 judges and the top 25 were chosen. There was another round of interviews and the top 5 were chosen from there.

The Georgia Lottery Corporation has returned over $9.7 billion to the state of Georgia for education since its beginnings. The All Georgia Lottery profits go to pay for specific educational programs including Georgia’s HOPE Scholarship Program and Georgia’s Prekindergarten Program.


- 2008-01-21