$919 MILLION WIN FOR EDUCATION! Lottery announces another record
fiscal year and a hint of what’s to come Monday, July 16, 2008
Contact:Kym
Gerlock 615-324-6556 Office 615-604-2827 Mobile
NASHVILLE - The Tennessee
Lottery has had another record fiscal year, with a return of $284.2
million to education, bringing the total raised since inception to over
$919 million. Gross sales for the fiscal year, which ended June 30, were
over $1 billion—gross sales since inception are over $3.3 billion.
“We are pleased to report that we’ve continued to increase sales and the
return to education each year since we began,” said Rebecca Paul
Hargrove, President and CEO of the Tennessee Lottery. “The Lottery is
committed to continuing this success to benefit students and families in
Tennessee.”
During the past fiscal year, Lottery funds were used to assist nearly
60,000 students at higher education institutions in the state, to fund
290 Pre-K classes, and to fund grants to 126 after-school programs.
Game highlights from the Lottery’s past year include the sell-out
success of Million $ Madness, a raffle-style game that created four
millionaires; the introduction of Play it Again!, a program that gives
instant ticket players a second chance to win prizes; the launch of Hot
Trax Champions; 38 new instant ticket games, including “Deal or No Deal”
and “NASCAR”; and the first winner of a $2 million Powerball prize.
“Looking ahead, we will continue to introduce new products, operate with
the utmost integrity and provide superior customer service,” said
Hargrove.
Upcoming developments include:
•A new prize level in the popular game, Lotto 5, which will allow a
player to win by matching two of five numbers in addition to three other
prize levels in this game
•An exciting new way to hold drawings using the latest in automated
technology, joining numerous lotteries throughout the country that use
similar computerization
In addition to $3.3 billion in gross ticket sales since inception, the
Lottery reports the following details about activity since ticket sales
began on January 20, 2004:
•More than $1.9 billion in prizes won by players, including:
oMore than 675 winners of $50,000 or more.
oOf those, 17 were wins of $1 million or more
•Nearly $216.8 million paid in retailer commissions
Out of every dollar spent on tickets during fiscal year 2006-2008, about
27.5 cents is given to the Lottery for Education Fund; about 58.5 cents
is awarded in prizes; about 7 cents is paid to retailers; and about 7
cents is used for operational costs.
The Tennessee Lottery began selling its first tickets on January 20,
2004. As of June 30, 2008, the Lottery has raised more than $919 million
to fund specific education programs, including college scholarships,
pre-kindergarten and after-school programs. For more information, please
visit www.tnlottery.com. For information about Lottery-funded
scholarships, visit www.collegepaystn.com.
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