The Region - News from Nov. 28, 1985

State lottery officials have quietly replaced the production company and emcee for the lottery’s televised grand prize spinoffs due to poor ratings. The lottery has dumped Fred Tatashore Productions Inc. and replaced it with a company called Simon & Laughlin, although Tatashore’s name remains in the credits as an executive producer. Show emcee Chuck Woolery has been replaced by Geoff Edwards, a veteran Los Angeles TV and radio personality. “There is a concern about the show,” said lottery spokesman Bob Taylor, because the ratings “ . . . have not been what some people would have liked them to be.” Also concerned are the 11 ABC TV affiliates in the state that formed a network to air the spins for big money, which are taped in a Hollywood studio. Since the broadcasts are being produced at no cost to the lottery, the stations must recover the costs through advertising. Lottery network officials say they will decide by Dec. 31 whether to keep the Monday night show on the air.