Lottery Moments

Times are certainly tough on Wall Street and they are equally tough on Main Street, but none of this seems to be severely impacting the lottery business.

There are a lot of explanations for this. Of course, lottery is legalized gambling. And there is no doubt that some people who shouldn’t be playing (can’t afford to play), are. [Confession: I might be one of those.]

But the lure of legally putting down $1 or $2… and the possibility of making, if not millions, then thousands for that $1 bet is something people are reaching for, at a time when salaries are flat and financial demands (bills) just keep going up.

I am seeing many lotteries reporting record transfers to their state’s beneficiaries. And that means more people are playing.

I just hope, if you are one of those players, as I am… you play wisely and within your means.

The North Carolina Lottery, only a 2-year old lottery, has just made its largest transfer of money to state education programs in the game’s history.

The North Carolina Education Lottery sent $99.8 million to a dedicated state fund Wednesday morning. The money is used for class-size reduction and pre-kindergarten initiatives, public school construction and college scholarships.

The lottery began selling tickets in March 2006 and has generated to date $825 million for these programs.

Lottery executive director Tom Shaheen said the lottery is still on pace to give $385 million in profits to the state for the fiscal year ending next June 30.

The Georgia Lottery has also reported record sales.

What do you think? Let me know if your playing habits have been effected by the economy. I’ll print the best letters.

By the numbers:

There was no winner is last night’s Mega Millions jackpot, which now rises to $23 million. One ticket holder in Georgia hit five numbers and won $250,000. The winning numbers were 6,39,45,46,48 and Mega Ball 36.

Tonight’s Powerball jackpot is worth $59 million.

Good luck.