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Rising Gas Prices Not Helping Lottery Ticket SalesNews Story
People have spent more than $100 million in the past month buying lottery tickets in North Carolina. The state is pleased with the results, but officials say the take could be even bigger. So, what's holding things back? Some believe it's high gas prices. Actually, these days it seems like you have to win the lottery just to be able to afford gas. Reginald Williams drives all the time for his home improvement business. He's keeping expenses down by not buying non-necessities like lotter
May 4, 2006, 11:48 am - Lottery News

Wake County leading N.C. lottery salesNews Story
The North Carolina Education Lottery sold more than $100 million worth of lottery tickets in its first month of operation, and Wake County brought in more sales than any other county in the state. According to data released by lottery officials on Monday, Wake County sold more than $7.6 million worth of lottery tickets in the games' first month, topping second-place Guilford County by more than $1.87 million or about 32 percent. Durham County sold about $3 million worth of tickets in the
May 4, 2006, 10:48 am - Lottery News

N.C. Lottery sales follow expected decline patternNews Story
North Carolina lottery fever is fading, new numbers show. The introduction last week of two new scratch-off games did not keep the state lottery from seeing sales decline from the previous week. Average daily sales of scratch-off tickets have dropped every week since the games began March 30. A breakdown of the sales: $5.6 million per day in week 1, when tickets were sold on only three days.$4.1 million per day in week 2.$3.2 million per day in week 3.$2.7 million per day in week 4, whi
Apr 25, 2006, 8:18 am - Lottery News

N.C. Lottery sales on targetNews Story
The lucky number is $3.3 million. That's how much the North Carolina lottery needs to generate per day to hit the target $420 million sought annually to help pay for education projects around the state, said Alice Garland, deputy director of the N.C. Education Lottery. How's it doing so far? Well, through Thursday, the first 22 days of the scratch-off games, the lottery had brought in $80 million, or about $3.6 million per day. While that comes in at about $300,000 per day more than
Apr 23, 2006, 8:56 am - Lottery News

A look at hot spots for sales of N.C. lottery ticketsNews Story
A busy road helps; so do fishing worms North Carolina's leading sellers of lottery tickets sit along busy interstates, or on major thoroughfares, or they have extra ways of drawing their players in. The very top stores have all three. Dunn's Gas and Grocery in Four Oaks in Johnston County, the top seller in the Triangle so far, is along U.S. 301, about a mile from Interstate 95. And it gets plenty of locals by offering more than gas and candy bars. We have fishing worms and ice crea
Apr 11, 2006, 9:24 am - Lottery News

Despite rain, N.C. lottery has a sunny startNews Story
Receipts for 1st 5 days barely miss director's goal of $25 million A thunderstorm Monday might have stymied the N.C. Education Lottery leader's personal goal of selling $25 million worth of tickets in the games' first five days. I'm looking for any excuse, joked lottery director Tom Shaheen on Tuesday. The only one I can come up with is all that rain we got. Despite the raindrops, the state's new lottery had $24.03 million in sales through Monday, making it one of the more successfu
Apr 5, 2006, 7:36 am - Lottery News

NC lottery addiction hotline gets different callers than plannedNews Story
Many callers to the toll-free problem gambling hot line set up for North Carolina's new lottery have sought help of another kind. We've gotten a lot of calls from people who either don't understand how to play the game or why they didn't win, said Smith Worth, who oversees the help line for the state Department of Health and Human Services. Only about 15 percent to 20 percent of the 600 to 700 callers to the help line since the North Carolina Education Lottery began last Thursday sought
Apr 5, 2006, 7:22 am - Lottery News

N.C. lottery staff win hefty bonusesNews Story
The new lottery produced dozens of big-money winners Thursday, none of whom played the games. With the first ticket sold at 6 a.m., lottery employees qualified for special bonuses. The rewards are for starting the games before April 5, beating a deadline set last year by the state lottery commission. In all, 162 employees, from the director to office assistants, will be paid $624,100 in bonuses. The money comes from ticket sales, pegged at $2 million. Lottery director Tom Shaheen
Apr 3, 2006, 10:36 am - Lottery News

N.C. Lottery pays first big prizesNews Story
North Carolinians spend the equivalent of $1.50 per resident on first day and a half Lottery players maintained a brisk, and somewhat unexpected, spending pace Friday as the games' first big winners came forward to collect jackpot prizes. Officials were predicting a drop-off Friday from Thursday's steady sales as North Carolina joined 41 other states in sponsoring a lottery. But at 5:30 p.m. Friday a payday for some officials said players were spending at a clip close to the first day'
Apr 3, 2006, 7:33 am - Lottery News

N.C. lottery begins with winners, losers -- and some glitchesNews Story
North Carolina woke up scratching this morning as the state lottery began. The first tickets in the N.C. Education Lottery, the country's newest government-backed game, began selling at 6 a.m. today. There were winners, losers and a few technical glitches. As lottery buyers mixed with regular early morning patrons, ticket sales appeared brisk at gas stations, groceries and tackle shops across Wilmington. Charles Brinkley, of Wilmington, was ready with $52 at 5:30 a.m. at a Scotchman
Mar 30, 2006, 1:56 pm - Lottery News