N.J. Lottery strikes it rich, setting sales record
TRENTON — Sometimes the lottery hits the jackpot.
Buoyed by huge waves of New Jersey residents trying their luck at some of the biggest prizes in history, the New Jersey Lottery set a sales record, pulling in $2.6 billion for the fiscal year ended June 30, state officials said today.
It was a $31.5 million increase from the previous year, and the fourth year in a row 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 nearly $1 billion went toward scholarships and state education expenses, 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.
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.