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'Robot' To Replace Michigan Lottery Readers

DETROIT (WWJ) - It's the end of the line for the three people who read the lottery numbers on Detroit TV.

WWJ Newsradio 950's Sandra McNeil reports Aggy Usedly, Beth McCleod and Darryl Wood will no longer announce the winning numbers on TV.

Usedly said she and the two others who read the numbers got the word a couple of weeks ago -- and it came as a surprise.

"Our contract was up September 29th and our union rep had been contacting this gentleman in Lansing about getting together to renew the contract and then he called and said that they were not going to do that," Usedly said.

She said it's simply a sign of the times. "They're just going automated now. (We're) being replaced by a robot."

The Lottery Commission's Andi Brancato said state  lotteries across the country are moving to "a more streamlined process" and Michigan is just following along with that trend.

For Usedly it's an end to a 35-year career.

She jokes that she's one of the last of the breed -- local TV celebrities who aren't on the news.  She said she gets recognized everywhere. "Oh, you're the lottery lady or, you know ... (they say) you're Aggie Usedly, and that's not an easy name pronounce sometimes and they remember that."

Usedly said she's loved the job.

"I enjoy it. I really do. I guess I'm a ham at heart," she said, adding that she does look forward to spending more time in Florida and traveling.

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