WHITE HILLS, Ariz. — For those heading toward Nevada on this lonely stretch of U.S. Highway 93, Rosie's at the Boulder Inn Cafe is the last chance to gamble in Arizona.
For those in Las Vegas, meanwhile, this 77-year-old former truck stop is the closest place to play the Arizona Lottery.
When the Powerball jackpot spikes, people flood to Rosie's over Hoover Dam, 35 miles to the north, said general manager Brad Larsen, whose mother is the cafe's namesake.
"It doesn't even get busy until $100 million," he said. "$200 million it's double-row parking; $300 million the news crews are in here."
According to figures for fiscal 2009, the two highest-grossing Arizona Lottery outlets were isolated businesses close to Nevada, which has no lottery.
Rosie's, operated by Larsen and his wife, Sheila, sold $1,416,908 worth of Arizona Lottery products in that year, almost all for Powerball, The Pick and other games based on drawings.
But that's a distant second to Beaver Dam Station, situated along Interstate 15 in the Arizona Strip community of Littlefield.
Bill Evans' convenience store, which sold $2,185,304 worth of lottery products in fiscal 2009, is a seven-plus-hour drive from Phoenix but convenient to Mesquite, Nev., and to communities in Utah, which has no Powerball.
"We're the only game in town," Evans said in a telephone interview.
Maricopa County outlets make up the rest of the top 10.
Rosie's beckons with a lot full of photo opportunities, including a Marilyn Monroe cutout and giant toy train, as well a smoking patio, a bar touting ice cold beer and a peeling, hand-painted sign offering breakfast anytime. But it's lottery tickets, especially Powerball, that have Ed Gallo driving here from Las Vegas every couple of weeks.
It's safer to play games of chance here than in his neighborhood, Gallo said.
"You can't live there and gamble," he said. "You won't live there long."
Brad Larsen said most of his lottery business comes from Nevadans such as Gallo.
"For the last 15 years, everyone knows to come to Rosie's for Powerball tickets," he said.
Recent years have been tough on Rosie's, though, as sales plunged 60 percent after truckers were forbidden to pass over Hoover Dam and were routed through Laughlin, Nev., and Bullhead City, Ariz., to the south.
That makes sales to Las Vegas-area residents essential, at least until a Hoover Dam bypass on U.S. 93 opens later this year, Larsen said.
"People come down for the hopes of winning millions," he said.
The next four highest-grossing Arizona Lottery outlets are a 200-plus-mile drive southeast on U.S. 93 and U.S. 60 in and around Sun City. About half of lottery sales in the retiree-rich area were Scratchers games in fiscal 2009, according to Arizona Lottery data.
At the Fry's Food Store at 10660 NW Grand Ave., which ranked third with $532,796 in lottery sales, people like getting tickets at Arizona Lottery machines offering Scratchers after buying their groceries, said Joellen Lynn, Fry's community and public affairs director.
"People will purchase something on their way out," Lynn said in a telephone interview.
When we visit Arizona we'll be sure to buy some lottery tickets.
I am not surprised, since Nevada does not have a state lottery.
On the other hand, with Vegas and all the casinos, I am surprised Nevada does not have a state lottery. New Jersey has a big casino and one of the oldest state lotteries in the country - as far as I know they were the first state to have a daily numbers game (started 5/22/75). Why can't Nevada?
Great story. Brings back memories of when I lived out there for 4 years. We used to go to a little town called Oatman in that general area of the state. It's in the middle of nowhere in the desert and maintains a lot of the old west feel to it.
It's claim to fame is the mules. They are the descendants of the old prospectors' mules that were turned loose when the gold mines petered out back in the wild west days. They roam freely through the town and are fed by the locals and tourists alike. Everybody loves them there. They walk down the sidewalks and lay down in the middle of the only road through town like they own the place.
I miss Arizona a lot sometimes especially now that they're taking a stand on enforcing the law in spite of the feds refusal to do so. I hope to take a vacation there this year to show support and maybe I'll get a few tickets at one of those places too.
They are scared that the lottery would hurt the casino sales.
Notice that there is no mention of a jackpot ever being hit on those two stores. One can argue that the article is not about jackpots but about stateline border stores selling lottery but I'm positive if somebody had ever hit a jp they would have more than mentioned it. I'm really beginning to question this lottery thing. We'll see
Sorry, they have too had a jackpot hit there at Rose's! It was back in 1996 (I think) for around 15 million dollars (yeah I said million, not millions). I used to go to that place when I lived in Las Vegas (lived there from 94 to 2001) to play the Powerball. The people who worked there complained about the person who won. Because they used to come in and spend around $50.00 dollars on PB tickets weekly (before there win) and then when they hit the big one and they came in to purchase PB tickets they didn't give anyone a tip!
That's what I figured. I don't know if the lottery sales hurt casino sales in Jersey, or if the casinos care that much.
"One can argue that the article is not about jackpots but about stateline border stores selling lottery"
That's very clearly what the story is about. It's not available at home so when people want it they head to the nearest place where it is available. This is no different than being on a back road in the middle of nowhere, northern Tennessee and coming around the bend to see a huge store that does great business because the far end of the bend in the road is the state line where you cross into one of Kentucky's dry counties.
They should make the whole state dry.
People in Kentucky are goofy enough without lettin em get all likkered up.
Who drives in Tn??..That is the state for losers..tiggs ever sees anybody from Tn driving in Ky they are H I S T O R Y!!!..Dig?..
Grovel, You have it, in short in Nevada the casinos control the whole kit & kabuddle!
The biggest grossing lotto store for the entire State of California is in Jean, a border store which is owned by Teribbles Casino which is opposed to any Nevada Sate Lottery.
EddessaKnight
Most people go all the way around Kentucky and go north through Virginia or Missouri so they don't have to deal with that whole mess up there, too much of a hassle. Nobody can understand what you mutants are saying anyway. What do you call that mush-mouth gibberish?
The ACNJ casinos care about lost sales....not to the lottery but to the casinos popping up in surrounding states.
That was an interesting story. For a while, one of the most successful stores in the Louisiana lottery was in Vinton, Louisiana, which is a small town less than 10 miles from the Texas border. Texas has a lottery now so I'm sure that is no longer the case since Texas has a lottery that offers both MegaMillions and Powerball. It wouldn't surprise me if people from Louisiana now cross over to Texas to play MegaMillions when it gets to the level Powerball is at now.
I also remember how when South Carolina had a lottery, most of it's Powerball winners were from North Carolina. Because of all this, I'm not surprised at people crossing over from Nevada to play in Arizona. With Texas and Arkansas starting lotteries, people crossing the border from those places have pretty much stopped doing so, but we still have Mississippi.