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Virginia Border Stores Take Hit From N.C. LotteryNews Story
Now that North Carolina has a lottery, residents with hopes of striking it rich don't have to head north to Virginia to buy tickets, and retail stores just across the line are feeling the effects. Virginia lottery director Sheila Hill-Christian said the overall decline of 8 to 10 percent was expected. But she said her state's lottery will make changes in games and install state-of-the-art technology that should enable it to make up the loss within two years. We'll overcome this, she said
Aug 11, 2006, 1:39 pm - Lottery News

Oregon Lottery sales hit record $1 billionNews Story
It's official: the Oregon Lottery surpassed $1 billion in sales this past year. It's the first time since the Oregon Lottery started in April 1985 that sales for the year that ended June 30 surpassed the mark. For the previous year, sales were a record $937 million. Record sales also meant a record transfer of $483.6 million to the state economic-development fund. About one-third of that money is earmarked by voters for an education reserve fund, parks, watershed enhancements and salmon
Aug 9, 2006, 10:19 am - Lottery News

N.C. Lottery lagging behind revenue estimatesNews Story
Even with the big Powerball game, North Carolina lottery sales are still lagging behind state estimates. Willie Scott is the state lottery's latest success story. I was praying for a financial blessing, and it came, he said. Scott, a Roxboro father of six who just took a job as a prison guard, won an $800,000 jackpot Wednesday night. He says he does not throw much money in the lottery. In fact, Scott rarely plays. I've played the Powerball three times before that, he said.
Aug 7, 2006, 12:11 pm - Lottery News

Lottery sales in Pa. hit record $3 billionNews Story
Pennsylvania Lottery sales for the 2005-06 fiscal year reached a record $3.07 billion, Gov. Rendell said yesterday. Sales grew by $425 million, the largest dollar increase in the lottery's 34-year history, leaving the agency with a $400 million surplus. The state will use half that money to expand property-tax and rent-rebate programs for senior citizens, said Stephanie Weyant, a spokeswoman for the state Revenue Department. The expanded rebates will go out in 2007 to pay for the 2006 tax
Aug 1, 2006, 8:39 am - Lottery News

Kansas Lottery's 'Pocket slots' a hit with playersNews Story
Battery-powered game has nearly sold out after little more than a month, so Kansas Lottery plans more. The Kansas Lottery's pocket slots game is approaching sellout after just five weeks of retail sales. The battery-powered Super 7's instant-winner game is flying off the shelves, said lottery director Ed Van Petten, and two more batches, including a poker-themed version, were ordered this week for sales through the end of the year. Kansas last month became the second state to offe
Jul 28, 2006, 8:57 am - Lottery News

Five N.C. stores stop selling lottery ticketsNews Story
Across North Carolina, a total of 132 stores have discontinued lottery ticket sales because they say it's just not worth the effort. In Johnston County, five businesses two Smithfield stores, as well as stores in Selma, Clayton, and Benson have stopped selling the tickets. The owners say it is simply a matter of customer service and not enough profit for retailers. Unlike some other states, North Carolina's lottery does not pay a bonus to stores that sell winning tickets. Even wit
Jul 28, 2006, 7:33 am - Lottery News

Iowa Lottery sales jump 60% in last 12 monthsNews Story
Iowa Lottery sales more than doubled in the last 12 months according to a report released today, fueled in large part by those now-silent TouchPlay machines. The Iowa Lottery recorded a 60 percent increase in sales of its products over the 12-month state fiscal year that began July 1st, 2005 and ended on June 30th of this year. TouchPlay machines were shut down on May 4th. But during their last 11 months of operation, those TouchPlay machines yielded $121.4 million in revenue for the state-ru
Jul 26, 2006, 3:59 pm - Lottery News

Ohio Lottery rides record-setting sales growthNews Story
Instant tickets continue to drive the highest sales growth in the history of the Ohio Lottery. Successful marketing and an increasing number of players have pushed sales up $55 million, a 4.6-percent increase, in 2006. Patty Vasil, Ohio Lottery deputy director of product development, said $10 and $20 instant games, and games tied to name brand merchandise prizes, may account for the rise in instant game popularity. They attract a player who may not purchase lottery tickets, but likes the
Jul 19, 2006, 12:09 pm - Lottery News

Maryland Lottery sales top $1.5 billion for first timeNews Story
5% increase means more than $501 million for state Maryland Lottery sales topped $1.5 billion for the first time in the fiscal year that ended in June, a jump of more than 5 percent from the year before, lottery director Buddy Roogow said yesterday. More than $501 million in revenue is headed to the state's coffers, exceeding budget estimates by $10 million, Roogow said. Most is earmarked for the general fund, but more than $20 million will go toward the stadium fund. The lottery is the s
Jul 18, 2006, 11:51 am - Lottery News

In 25 years, Arizona Lottery raised $5.5BNews Story
It was created in 1981, backed by businessmen looking for a tax break. Twenty-five years later, the Arizona Lottery has made hundreds of people millionaires while awarding $2.9 billion in prizes. It has contributed more than $1.8 billion to state and local projects and programs, far surpassing the annual revenue hopes of that original group of businessmen. From new roads and bus shelters to programs for neglected children and funding for state parks, lottery dollars have touched the liv
Jul 18, 2006, 11:06 am - Lottery News