NEW BRITAIN, Conn., Feb. 14, 2006 (PRIMEZONE) -- Around the state, Lottery players are discussing what they would do with Powerball's $300 million jackpot if luck goes their way at Wednesday night's drawing. But, for Connecticut's citizens, profits raised so far from the current jackpot run have already made the state an $8 million winner.
That's because 100% of profits from the sale of Lottery tickets are returned to the General Fund each week, where they are in turn distributed to the various programs and services the fund supports. Included in that allocation are services that touch us all -- healthcare, education, public safety, and more.
"Lottery profits touch the lives of each of our state's 3.5 million residents," notes Dennis Chapman, Vice President, Sales & Marketing for the CT Lottery. "In addition to funding education and public health services, lottery profits provide much needed monies for conservation, judicial services, property tax reimbursements to towns, hospitals, and more."
The current Powerball run began on December 15, 2005 and has continued rising steadily, reaching the amount of $300 million for tomorrow's drawing. Ticket sales nationwide are strong for this run, and in Connecticut, they are expected to top $24.0 million by Wednesday's drawing.
Powerball run generates $8.0 million for General Fund
Fifty cents from every dollar spent on Powerball tickets goes toward prizes, while forty-one cents is transferred to the General Fund. Retailers receive about five cents, and the lottery operates on the remaining four cents. The CT Lottery is the only state agency that receives no money from the state's budget to finance its operational needs.
Since the lottery began in 1972, more than $5.5 billion dollars has been returned to the General Fund, and $8.7 billion in prize money has been won. In fiscal year 2005, the Lottery transferred $268.5 million to the state's General Fund.
The previous largest prize awarded by the CT Lottery was $59.5 million in June 2005, to a Seymour resident who won Powerball's jackpot. The overall odds of winning a Powerball prize are 1 in 36.61. The odds of winning the jackpot are 1 in 146,107,962. Consumers must be 18 or older to purchase Lottery tickets.