state lotteries

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Lottery Ticket Sales Fall
Coronavirus Hits the Lottery 
Apr 5, 2020 8:47 AM CDT

Coronavirus Hits the Lottery

Stay-at-home orders cut into lottery ticket sales

(Newser) - With fewer people out and about during the pandemic, lottery ticket sales are decreasing. It only follows that jackpots would be next. Powerball and Mega Millions jackpots now will be based on ticket sales and interest rates, Quartz reports, with previously guaranteed minimum jackpots on their way out. Until now,...

For the First Time, This State Sells Lottery Tickets

With Mississippi going into the lottery business, now only five states don't play

(Newser) - Mississippi residents had their first chance Monday to turn $5 into $100,000 legally. Convenience stores in the state began selling lottery tickets, ABC reports, under a law passed last year. Business was booming. A gas station manager said employees came in about 4am to prepare and sold the first...

Toddler Picks Lotto Ticket, NYC Mom Wins $1M

Lesson? Listen to your 2-year-old

(Newser) - A New York City toddler with the Midas touch has made her family $1 million richer. Afsheen Ahsan, of Queens, credits her 2-year-old daughter, Anaya Hussain, for picking her New York Poker instant scratch-off ticket. Ahsan says the toddler reached out and touched the ticket on Jan. 30 while they...

$1M Lotto Winner on Welfare: Well I Was Unemployed...

Amanda Clayton just recently cut off after exposé

(Newser) - Amanda Clayton won the lottery in September, but despite her $1 million prize, she was still collecting $200 per month in food stamps until recently. Last night, the Michigan Department of Human Services confirmed that she has been removed from the welfare program, the Detroit News reports. "State assistance,...

In Pennsylvania Lottery, 7s Are Really Wild

3,107 winning tickets force lottery to pay $7.2M above drawing revenue

(Newser) - Lucky sevens abounded in Pennsylvania Wednesday night as 3,107 tickets won a total of $7.77 million in the state lottery’s Big 4 drawing when the winning numbers came up 7-7-7-7. Quadruple-number hits are rare, as evidenced by the fact the lottery will lose about $7.2 million...

As Economy Sinks, Lottery Sales Soar
As Economy Sinks,
Lottery Sales Soar
Sep 13, 2008 10:50 AM CDT

As Economy Sinks, Lottery Sales Soar

Consumers tightening belts don't scratch their lottery spending

(Newser) - As the economy falters, one thing people aren’t cutting back on is lottery tickets, the New York Times reports. In fact, higher unemployment rates usually mean higher lottery sales, says one study, and sales are hitting record highs in at least 22 states. “With companies tightening and not...

Betting on Schools Doesn't Pay
Betting on Schools Doesn't Pay
Oct 7, 2007 6:52 AM CDT

Betting on Schools Doesn't Pay

Lotteries don't provide as much school funding as thought

(Newser) - For decades state lotteries have been sold to voters as tax-free ways to funnel funds into cash-starved schools. Of the 42 states with lotteries, 23 of them earmark money for education. But an investigation by the New York Times found that very little of the billions raised finds its way...

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