With North Carolina's lottery hopes dashed until at least next year, some of South Carolina's top retailers say they're pleased to maintain the region's lottery monopoly.
But despite relying heavily on Tar Heel residents for sales, retailers here say they were never really worried to begin with.
Some stores along the state line in northern York County estimate that around 80 percent of their lottery sales come from North Carolina, though workers said Wednesday they weren't fretting over the potential competition.
"It'll help us maintain the customer base of the North Carolina residents, being right on the border," said Ken Shoultes, manager of Red Rocket Fireworks on Carowinds Boulevard, referring to North Carolina's latest failed lottery attempt. "We'll continue on until North Carolina passes it. I'm sure it's just a matter of time."
North Carolina legislators ended their session early Wednesday without a decision on a state lottery, meaning the issue is dead until next year and the state will remain the only one on the East Coast without a lottery.
That situation leads to big lottery sales in York County, which borders Charlotte, the Tar Heel State's biggest city. York County has the highest lottery sales in South Carolina, and many of the state's top retailers are in the Fort Mill area.
"We concentrate on things we can control. We can't control the North Carolina legislature," said Ernie Passailaigue, executive director of the S.C. Education Lottery.
Had North Carolina approved its own games, there would certainly be an effect on South Carolina's games, Passailaigue said.
"That being said, we don't think at least in the near term it would be that detrimental," he said.
Passailaigue didn't offer a dollar amount for the effects of a North Carolina lottery, though he did say North Carolina residents account for 12 percent of lottery customers here.
The S.C. Education Lottery grossed more than $956 million last fiscal year, an increase of $6 million over the previous year.
Passailaigue said his organization was prepared with a contingency plan if North Carolina approved the games, including marketing efforts and finding ways to take advantage of flaws in North Carolina's bill.
"We feel like with the plan with had in place, we would be able to minimize" the negative effects, he said.
Jason Parker, an employee at Lottery Supercenter in Fort Mill, where around half the lottery customers are from north of the border, said North Carolina customers don't talk much about their state's lottery plans.
As a retailer, it's something to think about but not worry about.
Still, there is some relief in North Carolina's latest lottery struggle.
"It was kind of on our mind," Parker said. "It can only help us. It can't hurt us."
What happen to the North Carolina border stops looking for gambling paraphenalia in cars in North Carolina.
Their was a story on Lottery Post news about someone being arrested for having lottery tickets on them in North Carolina.
I'm certain I saw a story earlier this year that said it was illegal to simply posess lottery or raffle tickets in North Carolina although it was an old law which seldom gets enforced.
I was disappointed to see NC still as the only east coast state doesn't have a lottery until next year. South Carolina is very happy that NC won't have a lottery ready by 2005 and have to wait until 2006 to get one. Why was illegal to possess lottery tickets in NC if I was buying a ticket in VA and then live in NC to get results?
I live in NC and go to SC for lottery tickets often. The law doesn't care since one guy from NC won a huge multi-million dollar powerball. NC received millions of dollars in cut from it. They don't want a lottery but they don't mine getting a cut. We have to pay NC and SC taxes for hits over $500.
They do care if you bring back a bunch of scratch offs. People were bringing them back to sell.
They pretty much leave us alone. But we better knock on wood.
Tenaj
I live in NC and go to SC for lottery tickets often. The law doesn't care since one guy from NC won a huge multi-million dollar powerball. NC received millions of dollars in cut from it. They don't want a lottery but they don't mine getting a cut. We have to pay NC and SC taxes for hits over $500.
They do care if you bring back a bunch of scratch offs. People were bringing them back to sell.
They pretty much leave us alone. But we better knock on wood.
Tenaj
Part of what you mentioned troubles me, and is very illegal.
You CANNOT buy lottery tickets in one state, transport them to another state, and sell them. Anyone caught doing that would be arrested.
That's a totally different thing than buying lottery tickets in another state for your own use. As soon as you start selling them, that's what will get you in hot water.
If you know of someone doing that, you may want to let them know before they find out the hard way.
I live in NC too. Yes, it's a misdemeanor I think if you take lottery tickets across the state line, (which I do all the time!),.... but it's not enforced. Everyone I know from NC goes to the VA stateline and buys them. Stupid NORTH CAROLINA! So stupid in so many ways to have some of the best schools, universities and colleges of any where in the US!! But, backwards in so many other ways .... and can you say ... "bible belt" ...... that's the main reason we STILL don't have a lottery!
LuckyFox -- sittin' here with "illegal" tickets as I write!
I have to say that NC has to be the stupidest state for not having a lottery. I graduated not too long ago and the school I attended couldn't even afford paper or new books. Someone tried to open the window in the bathroom and it fell completely out, now if that doesn't call for a lottery then I'd like to know what does. The person who mentioned the bible belt is right thats exactly why we don't have one. If they'd base their decisions on what their supposed to, we'd already have a lottery. Everyone is so stuck on morals instead of what it should be...common sense.
Tn, was the same way for years,until some of the religeous fanatics was voted out of office,Busch wanted to put in a Plant and all the trimmings and Hamilton County voted it down a few yrs back due to the making of Beer,Maybe the voters in NC will put a few out of office and help to vote a lottery in,this goes for Alabama and Arkansas,Vote these people out of office and vote some officials in who can get with reality.
Well, I'm from Virginia originially even though I live in STupid North Carolina right now ... so I'm plenty happy giving my lottery dollars to Virginia instead! Serves them right for being so stupid!! WhatEVER!
Yeah, sadly thats why Bush got voted in for second term is for religious purposes. The bad thing is I don't know who to vote for as far as people in office, because I don't know anything about them. Most of them are pretty much lying about what they'll do to get a vote. I guess I'll have to do some research next time voting comes around. It would be great to get the religious fanatics out of office, they have no place in office if all their decisions are based soley on their religion. It should simply be about being able to give out more scholarships for people who want a continued education and helping out schools. What was their reason for voting against a lottery? Wasn't it because they don't want people spending their whole paychecks on it? If that being the reason, then stupidity has bestowed upon them. It may of been something they used to keep from using a christian reason, because if someone wants to gamble, they will go to another state to do so, like SC said alot of their profits come from NC, so pretty much that means NC is being stubborn and losing money. I mean seriously if somebody doesn't like a lottery then don't participate, nobody is making anybody do anything, but don't let it effect everyone else because this seriously would help this state out.
Of course they'd never admit it was for "christian" reasons that they voted against the lottery. I know they were against advertising on bill boards to sell more tickets if they got a lottery. And they worry supposedly about gambling problems getting out of hand ..... of course they never worried about smoking becoming an addiction when they built RJ Reynolds here in Tobaccoville, NC ..... and for those of you not familiar with NC .... YES, it really is in a town called TOBACCOVILLE! ha! Land of the cigarette .... land of nasty nascar wannabe drivers........ high air pollution equaling L.A. many days ....... AND yet .... .we're not allowed to have a lottery! Go figure. .......
Lucky Fox
Your right, they never cared about smoking for a long time, but now they are trying to ban cigarettes in certain places, this state was built on the cash crop tobacco lol, thats what makes it kind of strange. I mean there are things illegal that would be better off being legal than cigarettes.
Anyway, what angers everyone is they try to act as if they cared when everyone knows they don't. Yeah, I mean seriously we had people calling on the phone, talking about how the lottery was wrong and to sign a petition or something to keep the lottery out? Are these retired old people, who have nothing better to do with their time, than to keep away something that would really help out this state? Oh the schools might of actually had doors on the bathroom stalls, toilet paper and soap to wash your hands when they went to the school. They didn't when I went. I wouldn't of minded getting a scholarship either, to go to college, but I'm not suprised since just this city alone has I would guess way over 3,000 churches, I mean theres 3 on one block. I guess that would prove why we lack a lottery.
I am in nc and they had on the 11:00 news friday night that they will have a vote on the lottery by wed night the 31st wish us luck we need it . that some of them dont think it was right to close with only 1 vote away from getting the lottery here
I am in nc and they had on the 11:00 news friday night that they will have a vote on the lottery by wed night the 31st wish us luck we need it . that some of them dont think it was right to close with only 1 vote away from getting the lottery here
This news is very encouraging. I was disappointed when they adjourned for the year without even attempting a vote.