Brant James

Brant is a St. Petersburg, Fla.-based journalist with three decades of experience covering professional sports and the American gambling industry.

As a motorsports, hockey, and baseball writer at the Tampa Bay Times, he had champagne jetted into his eyes in Victory Lane at Indianapolis Motor Speedway, and jubilant locker rooms and clubhouses after Stanley Cups and World Series. It burned every single time. But being that close to the people making and celebrating these moments was crucial to also bringing readers along for the details that made them readers in the first place.

During his tenure at ESPN.com, SI.com, and USA Today, whether he was riding to the top of Mt. Washington in a rally car with Travis Pastrana, landing on an aircraft carrier with Dale Earnhardt Jr., or walking to the paddock with the Kentucky Derby field at Churchill Downs, Brant has tried to find the human in the story.

That's remained his goal since he began covering a gambling industry that will always be about numbers, specifically dollars. There are crucial details inside the revenue figures and winning numbers, but there's a person with a story behind them. That's where you'll find him. Wearing goggles. In case there's champagne.

In Brant's own words...

What I like about working for Lottery USA:

It's interesting and invigorating to cover a topic that people enjoy, bringing them entertaining or informative new aspects of their pastime.

What most excites and intrigues you about the lottery?

The rush of having those numbers line up for you in that instance. It's a bitten-by-a-shark-while-being-hit-by-lightning-as-the-aliens-land moment in time, and you're just there for the ride.

Best run US state lottery?

Florida.

What’s your most memorable lottery moment?

I was standing in line at a quickie mart when someone won a huge scratch-off prize and went screaming out the front door.

What would you do if you won the Powerball jackpot?

Half to charity, secure my kid's future, pay off everything, squirrel some to travel comfortably, often, bank a couple of fistfuls for emergencies, and give the rest to charity.

Can you share an interesting fact about yourself?

I once turned down an opportunity to interview Taylor Swift.