TRENTON, N.J. — The New Jersey Lottery has set a new sales record.
Officials say the agency pulled in about $2.6 billion in the last fiscal year. That's $31.5 million more than the previous year, and marks the fourth straight year with sales over $2.5 billion.
"It's been on the rise consistently for 40 years," lottery spokeswoman Judith Drucker said. "Of course, having record-breaking, historic Mega Millions jackpots doesn't ever hurt."
Prize winners get most of that money, but the lottery generated $930 million for the state, or about $6 million more than the previous year. That provides aid for education, funding for psychiatric hospitals and centers for the developmentally disabled, and to homes for disabled veterans, officials said.
New Jerseyans have a lucky streak going, Drucker said. After the state entered the Powerball lottery in January 2010, joining 41 states and two territories, a Morris County resident won a $211 million jackpot two months later.
"It was a good omen, and it was a big one as well," Drucker said.
Lottery ticket sales are the fourth-largest revenue source for the state.
The state's most popular game was Pick 3, which brought in $435 million, the same as the previous year.
Powerball ticket sales were up 87 percent, from $71 million in fiscal year 2010 to $133 million in fiscal year 2011, according to the state's new report. Mega Millions revenue slipped from $307 million to $231 million.
Lottery ticket sales are the fourth-largest revenue source for the state.
Trends are holding up in the current year, especially because of larger-than-life jackpots such as the $656 million prize that was split among three Mega Millions winners last month.
This March, a $70 million Powerball jackpot ticket was sold in Little Silver.
They can thank big dreams, desperate times, and quickly rising jackpots. I remember when it took months to get to 10mill. Never thought i would see 20-30$ scratch-offs.
Way to go NJ! so it seems that SOME states who haven't privatized are doing a bang up job of their lottery sales and projection of sales... or is NJ already in the hands of a private firm for lottery???
Jersey lottery is still run by the state, one of very few things done right here.
The last Gov. Jon Corzine, wanted to privitize it, but ,
we ran him outta town on rail before he got a chance.
WTG NJ, see what happens when you get the right Govenor in place
I'm sure Corzine(D) means well, he's just got a bad memory.
He just can't remember where he put that one and a half billion dollars of his clients' money right now.
Although he did just give the President(D) half a million.
In case he needs a pardon.
hahahaha.
Corzine did a few decent things and many horrible things. Unfortunately everybody on the left saw past his political sherade in the state, and voted in Christie (in the words of most NJ Democrats I know who voted for him they wanted things to "get shaken up.") Trouble is, that lots of them will oppose Christie in 2013, so I guess we'll see what happens to him then.
Obama ran an ad in 2008 with Corzine, and most young people that saw it had at least a little distain for Obama upon seeing it. Even though it's a Blue State, Corzine is not thought highly of here anymore.
As for the NJ Lottery pulling the 2.6 billion, I would have expected about that. People in NJ seem to love Lottery, and we do good. It's one of the FEW things the state has managed to do effeciently. At least this was a voluntarily service that generated revenue, rather than taxation.
Can you imagine if services were voluntary and profitable? Oh wait, that's called a business.
Boney526
I know several ppl. that have quit playing,
I think that why our pic6 JP grows so slowly, in my memory seems like it used to grow faster.
it has'nt hit since 12/15/11 the last week of fall, now its spring, we gone over 40 draws.
now around 15 mils. i think its due for a hit, this is the point where the occasional player come out.
I've pretty much stopped playing.
I am now buying a couple tickets for Pick 6, because it's getting up there now.
Corzine: i can't remember where i put that one and a half-bil.
yea, i hate it when that happens. LOL
It rolled again, now over 16Mils.
the occasional players should be coming out now.
thats if it comes to their attention.
The last 4 times it hit it was lower,
3.5 on 12/15 /11
2.4 on 11/7/11
4.0 on 10/24/11
12.2 on 9/1/11
now over 16mils./w a lump sum of 11.9 after 45.8% taxes are taken out, still have 6.4 mils.
I can't go crazy w/ it but i certainly can give up being a wage slave.
If N.J. is making so much money in the lottery then why do they still use paramutual payouts? That doesn't seem so good for
the people that play the lottery and who are contributing their hard earned money.
Maybe that is one of the reasons that NJ is making so much money...
Not sure what you mean,
why are paramutuel payouts bad ?