Hotly-tipped crypto lottery Lucky Block raced to a $140 million valuation within days of its launch, and is now targeting a Binance listing in February.
The blockchain-based lottery platform, which gives players better odds and more transparency than traditional lottery games, also oversubscribed its presale and hit its hard cap 11 days earlier than predicted.
The crypto-powered ‘People’s Lottery’ raised $5.7 million from investors in its presale.
Lucky Block’s completed CoinGecko and Coinmarketcap listings saw it valued at $140 million within two days of its trading debut – and it’s since grown to $200 million.
Further upward price pressure is expected on its total supply of 100 billion tokens.
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Just over 24 hours from being listed on decentralised exchange PancakeSwap, the price reached $0.001238 – a gain of 854% for investors who bought in the presale at a price of $0.00015.
Buyers who took advantage of the second presale price of $0.00019 are sitting on a 653% gain, Lucky Block says.
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Lucky Block completed its presale with 8,611 holders – a figure that has since topped 17,000 – as it looks to start trading on centralised exchanges FTX and Crypto.com.
The lottery platform is promising to disrupt the $300 billion global lottery industry – giving 10% of ticket sale revenues to charities and offering players better odds and more chances to win.
All holders of the LBlock token are eligible for dividend payments whether or not they buy lottery tickets.
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Lucky Block has given $5,000 to the British Red Cross as part of its ongoing commitment to good causes – a first for a crypto project.
Credit: Unsplash
It also boosts its environmental, social and governance (ESG) credentials by running on the energy-efficient Binance Smart Chain, and gives every holder of its token a stake in the lottery.
Commenting on the launch, Lucky Block’s chief executive officer Scott Ryder said: “Achieving a market cap valuation of more than $140 million after raising $5.7 in our presale is an achievement that sets us on a path to hit all our roadmap milestones as we set out to challenge the traditional lottery operators around the world.
“We are now looking to roll out our – up until now – largely UK-focused outdoor advertising campaign to other global cities, as we pursue listings on major crypto exchanges.
“We should be on FTX and Crypto.com fairly soon, with Binance to follow, although we can’t say too much about that just now. Our social media channels will keep everyone up to date.”
James Fennell, chief strategy officer of Lucky Block, commented: “We think that it is time to turn the promise of blockchain and so called ‘Web 3.0’ decentralised networks into a reality at the level of consumer mass adoption.
“At the moment we are working hard to deliver on our vision for a global lottery open to all and owned by its players.
“Key to realising that strategy is our app launch in March. The app will make playing the lottery and tracking winnings easy, as well as being the place where token holders can see their dividend payments compound and track the passive income they are earning.
“As we continue to build out our offering, which at a later date will include gaming, NFT and metaverse products, we will work towards achieving one of our other strategic goals – advancing our mission to transform philanthropy, in part through setting up our global not-for-profit Lucky Block Foundation.”
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Full information about Lucky Block can be found on the official website: luckyblock.com
Featured image: Unsplash
Business
Three million UK workers will be getting a ‘significant’ pay rise in April
Emily Sergeant
More than three million workers across the UK are set to receive a ‘significant pay boost’ from April, the Government has announced.
Announced as part of last year’s Budget, and in a bid to “put thousands of pounds back in the pockets of working people every year”, the Government has now laid legislation this week that confirms a new National Living Wage of £12.21 per hour, and a new National Minimum Wage of £10 per hour from April onwards.
Ministers say the 6.7% increase to the National Living Wage – which will be worth £1,400 a year for an eligible full-time worker – is a “significant step” towards delivering the manifesto commitment to deliver a “genuine” living wage.
On top of this, the National Minimum Wage for 18-20-year-olds is also set to go up by a record increase of £1.40 an hour, which means full-time younger workers eligible for the rate will see their pay boosted by £2,500 a year.
This is the first time the National Living Wage has taken into account the cost of living and inflation.
We are putting more money in your pocket.
From April, millions of working people will get a pay rise.
With the Government’s end goal being to create a single adult wage rate, this increase to both the National Living Wage and National Minimum Wage will put an end to age-based wage discrimination, meaning employers can no longer be justified in paying younger workers less for doing the same job as their older colleagues.
The minimum hourly wage for an apprentice is also set to be boosted this year, with an 18-year-old apprentice seeing their minimum hourly pay increase by 18% to £7.55 an hour.
As a result of all of these changes, a further four million workers also could benefit from the positive spill-over impacts of the rate increases.
Three million UK workers will be getting a ‘significant’ pay rise in April / Credit: Pexels
An impact assessment published earlier this week shows that these changes will put around £1.8 billion into the pockets of workers over the next six years, according to the Government.
“The increased income is set to boost financial stability for millions of families and improve spending power which will drive economic growth,” the Government claims.
Chancellor Rachel Reeves commented: “This Government promised a genuine living wage for working people that will support people with the cost of living, creating a workforce that is fit and ready to help us deliver number one mission to growth the economy.
“This pay boost for millions of workers is a significant step towards delivering on that promise.”
Featured Image – Pexels
Business
Manchester’s Pixel Bar has received a seriously next-gen upgrade
Danny Jones
In case you somehow missed it, even in all of its beaming neon and futuristic glory, Pixel Bar Manchester has recently undergone some serious renovations and we’re not just talking a lick of paint – this is a proper next-gen upgrade if we’ve ever seen one.
One of the city centre’s best activity spots and go-to hubs for gamers, specifically, Pixel Bar has been impressing Manc players since 2021, when it took over the old Bar 21 site – one we were sad to say goodbye to at first.
But in the few short years that we’ve had the pleasure of picking up pads at this place, we’ve slowly managed to get over it and now we’re just as madly in love with the gaming gaff as we were its predecessor.
The bar itself was already pretty engaging to begin with but after more than a few tweaks to the overall hardware and a major refitting downstairs, its videogame offerings are bigger and better than ever.
Let’s start with the first thing that hits you as you come in: those brilliant booths, complete with large LED screens, access to various different kinds of consoles and all manner of titles, all from the comfort of the plush padded seating.
Not only are these ideal for group bookings and parties, as they’re roomy enough to seat plenty of you, but you can also order a wide array of gaming-themed food and drink – still displayed within a cute little disc (cute) directly to your table.
You essentially never need to get up and take a break from playing beyond nipping to the loo.
There are, of course, your classic arcade machines dotted around the main floor as well as downstairs if you prefer old-school.
Credit: The Manc Group
Speaking of downstairs…
Now, this is where the levelling up gets seriously silly as not only have they transformed Bar 21’s old basement room into a shiny new large seating area, perfect for private hires, large groups or just a quieter room out back away from the bustle upstairs.
However, wander even further into the belly of this brilliant gaming venue’s lair and you’ll find there more than a few beasts waiting for you – in a good way.
Part of the former club room has now been turned into a hardcore gamer’s arena with a fully decked-out PC den and some extremely impressive rigs lining the walls.
Credit: The Manc
Boasting Razer keyboards, headsets and mice to boot, this has everything you need to host a proper old-school LAN party or for the esports hopefuls amongst you (and Manchester’s scene is growing fast, believe us), host competitive online tournaments.
Honestly, these guys are taking this stuff as seriously as you’d like them to; pull back a curtain plastered with UltaGear and Riot Games Play Club branding and you’ll even find a dedicated casting booth should you want some to commentate a live event or run a properly presented livestream.
We don’t need to go into the exact specs of what you’ll find down here as we could be here forever but let’s just say you won’t go wanting for much.
God knows how much Pixel Bar pumped into this major refurb of their Manchester site, all we know is we’re impressed and we’ll be coming back here very soon.
The Manc -
1st February 2022 
