Washington DC Lottery chief dead at 65

The respected director of the Washington DC Lottery, 65-year-old Buddy Roogow was rushed to the Johns Hopkins hospital in Baltimore early Saturday morning but died soon after arrival.

The usually fit, energetic and active director had been out with family and friends on Friday night and had been in good form.

“He was the picture of health,” Tracey Cohen, the D.C. Lottery’s chief operating officer told local press reporters. “There were no signs or symptoms.”

Roogow was appointed head of the Washington DC Lottery in 2009 after a long and distinguished management career with the Maryland Lottery, where he presided over 12 consecutive years of record-breaking sales and shepherded land casinos into the state.

A committed family man and former president of the North American Association of State and Provincial Lotteries, Roogow was renowned for his strong sense of humour and was interested in his work, astronomy, baseball and model railways, colleagues said.

In addition to his wife and daughter, Roogow is survived by a son, David; another daughter, Robyn; his brother, Alan Roogow, of Baltimore; and five grandchildren.

Related and similar