Michigan celebrates 36th anniversary of state lottery
As the Michigan Lottery turns 36 this week, about 11,000 lottery machines across Michigan are being replaced with new state-of-the-art terminals.
The new Michigan Lottery terminals are smaller, faster and easier to use, with features including touchpad screens and laser printing instead of keyboards and the usual ticket paper.
About 3,420 retailers statewide already have converted to the new machines.
State's first lottery ticket sold in 1972
The technology upgrade is taking place 36 years after the first lottery ticket was sold in the state.
This week in 1972 the 50-cent green game ticket went on sale. It was the first ticket sold by the Michigan State Lottery.
On May 16, 1972, voters approved a constitutional amendment by a 2-1 margin that enabled the establishment of a state lottery. Public Act 239 was signed into law by Gov. William Milliken on Aug. 1, 1972.
Since its inception, the Michigan State Lottery has earned $37.69 billion.
Last year, the lottery reported $2.3 billion in sales.
The largest jackpot awarded in Michigan State Lottery history was $208 million, won by Port Huron couple Ralph and Mary Stebbins on April 22, 2005.
On May 12, 2000, small-business owners Larry and Nancy Ross of Shelby Township became part of U.S. gaming history when they claimed their share of the then-largest lottery jackpot in North America: the $363 million grand prize in the May 9, 2000 Big Game drawing.
The Rosses took their $181.5 million share of the jackpot winnings in a one-time, lump-sum payment for approximately $90 million, before taxes. Their winning Big Game "easy pick" ticket was purchased at Mr. K's Party Shoppe in Utica.
The new terminal looks appealing. There's a new LCD monitor on the counter wired into the new terminal that faces the customer as they purchase tickets (not sure why the cost, or the need of the monitor). I'm sure with all the new bells and whistles these macines provide, customers are only concerned with the winning ticket.
The tickets themselves are printed on a new type of paper (smoother to the touch), I do like the the text of info that's printed on the ticket, much of the same of course, the printing is crisp, well read, no confusion of printer running out of ink, (at least for now).
Interesting to see how well these new high tech machines operate at crunch time, when Mega Millions Jackpots reach well over 100m.
I haven't seen these new machines yet... I guess they haven't made it to my part of the state.
Wow. That's only 2 years younger than I am. What is the longest any state has had the lottery?
Spy, I believe it's 44 years........with New Hampshire's lottery.
All of the stores around here (In the western UP) have the new machines now. The tickets are a lot better then the old ones, like pointed out earlier a lot more crisp. We have had some of the best scratch offs (I mean by the look and feel of them) in my opinion compared to other states, and now we finally got good terminal tickets. Bought yeah that price tag must of been pretty expensive for all the new equipment at 10,000 stores.
Brad
When did you get the new machines in your area??
They look sexy. It will come in handy for those who grab and go.
The Copper Country got em a couple of weeks ago.
Marquette Area got em last week. They also have ticket checkers so you can get lazy and scan your tickets before you check them yourself. I scan my tickets then I check them by hand anyway.
The Dell Monitors on the counter show the ticket transactions. They didn't clear it and I saw that somebody won 50 bux. They also show how much the total is for the tickets you bought (look in the lower right hand corner). They also show the winning numbers for the games and the jackpot amounts.
If you read the back of the new tickets it says not to expose the tickets to heat.
The reason why not to expose the tickets to heat is because they are now printed on thermal paper instead of a 3,000,000 BC-esque dot matrix printer
. Additional heat could actually damage the ticket info rendering it useless (and possibly void).
Most of the machines down by here in the western Detroit area have been converted too. The ticket checkers are pretty much the same ones as the Club Keno checkers, however, CK tix can only be scanned at CK locations.
I for one like the new terminals. They seem to be MUCH LESS noisier than the old ones. They are also much faster than their predecessors (THANKFULLY).
You know Michigan is broke! Think that there was to many winners here
The machines are probaly to cut down on some that money going out.
Hopefully they will generate more winners and have the opposite effect
They just got some kind of new terminals in Penna., also. Last time we were over there the tickets are on different paper, and not as "dotty" as before, and the game logo is printed on the ticket. They were having all sorts of problems before, where papers would either jam or not register or the play-ahead would wig out. Here in nj they prefer to live in the past with dull dot-matrix on dark pink paper that is difficult to read in other than direct sunlight. I kind of like the old school dot matrix, takes me back to VIC 20 days, but not the pink paper.
I'm a little confused bcuz I think that the lottery should be keeping it alive. Did you ever go to there website and see the payout it is such a joke. And I think that just about any1 will agree with me in repeat city that there hard to beat and win if your not paying attn., and there are far more people who are playing who aren't paying attn.
They are quieter because of far fewer moving parts - especially printer pins.
I think the "don't expose to heat" warnings are simply for additional piece of mind. The requirements for "new" thermal paper require vendors to submit the paper to prolonged heat and cold. I mean, I wouldn't put one on my dashboard in the middle of summer and then go in to a movie...but they should be pretty rugged.
Whoever thought of that paper was a genius. I think that it is the same paper that most store use today. Even if you keep your receipt but if you don't keep it in the right place it will fade the bar code and or date and that's like not having a receipt at all. I think it's just another conspiracy theory to keep more money in their pockets. Oh don't put it in your pop cup holder either. LOL