Arkansas Scholarship Lottery Pays Out $18-Million in Prizes

The Arkansas Scholarship Lottery (ASL) reported $28,983,223 in gross lottery sales and prizes paid to lucky winners of $18,699,375 for its first three weeks of operation. The ASL sold its first ticket just after midnight on Monday, September 28. At that time, four instant tickets were introduced as the Lottery was launched. New ticket offerings will continue regularly, with four new instant tickets coming out Tuesday, Oct. 20. Powerball®, which offers a minimum grand jackpot of $20 million, arrives in Arkansas on October 31, when the ASL will join the other 32 United States lotteries in offering the multi-state jackpot game. On December 14, the first instate draw game, Cash 3, will be introduced, with other draw games beginning in 2010. It is expected that once the Lottery is fully operational, the scratch-off games such as those currently available will make up about 60 percent of the play, with the draw games accounting for about 40 percent. Writing its first official business check, the Arkansas State Lottery repaid the state of Arkansas $2,804,582.87, the amount spent in the Lottery startup and launch process. The check was signed by Executive Director Ernie Passailaigue and Vice President of Administration Ernestine Middleton and was hand –delivered to the state. The Arkansas Scholarship Lottery legislation had allotted $6 million for the startup, with an additional $3 million available if the need arose. By careful management, the ASL was able to restrict its expenses to less than one-third of the total provided. Passailaigue noted that the three-month startup time, while setting a record for a quick startup, had a more important goal: “Our rapid startup was all about scholarships and limiting the number of days the Lottery was operating with no income. The sooner we could start selling tickets, the better for the scholarship program.”