first-run episodes of the latter series from its premiere in 1999 to the station's NBC disaffiliation in 2016. Special events On July 4, 2018, WHDH began to simulcast the Boston Pops Fireworks Spectacular yearly with Bloomberg Television, returning the event to local television after a one-year absence. It also broadcast A Boston Pops Salute to Our Heroes, which was produced in lieu of the 2020 edition of the event due to its cancellation as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. Lottery WNEV/WHDH had exclusive rights to Lottery Live, broadcasting the Massachusetts State Lottery games six nights a week from August 31, 1987, to March 6, 1994. Motivated to cultivate an identity to the station that would indirectly help its last-place news ratings, WNEV acquired the lottery from WBZ-TV, which had announced late in 1986 that it would no longer show the games. The arrival of the lottery games was promoted heavily, and went hand-in-hand with the station's on-air image change that fall; the new dotted-7 logo that was adopted during that time had a dual meaning, in that the dots were to represent lottery balls. A contest was held by WNEV in August 1987, just under a month before the games moved to the station, to scout for their own lottery host (Tom Bergeron, who hosted Lottery Live on WBZ-TV, did not continue in the role because he remained at that station in other capacities). The auditions were held in front of an audience of 200 at Boston's Westin Hotel at Copley Place, in which the finalists were narrowed down to 16. The winner was Lynn-Andrea Waugh, familiarly known as "Andi", a 29-year-old red-haired model who had no prior on-air experience. Despite being well received by viewers due to her effervescent personality and striking good looks, Ms. Waugh never completely overcame her noticeable nervousness after taking to the air. Waugh abandoned her hosting spot upon the expiration of her contract in August 1988. She was replaced with Dawn Hayes, who had been the runner-up in the lottery host competition. Hayes, who was equally as appealing but with a polished, confident on-air presence, began her long run as host during this era. During Lottery Lives entire run on channel 7, the daily Numbers Game drawing aired at 7:52 p.m. (following the conclusion of the "Double Jeopardy!" round of Jeopardy!), while the specialty game of the evening (e.g., Mass Ca$h) originally aired