Pennsylvania Lottery Sales Set Record

YORK, Pa. -- More Pennsylvanians are purchasing lottery tickets, as state lottery officials announced that sales during the 2010-11 fiscal year set an all-time record, The York Dispatch reported.

Sales for the year, ended June 30, were $3.2 billion, up $142.2 million from last fiscal year and $118.7 million higher than the previous all-time record set four years ago. Instant games accounted for nearly 60 percent of the sales, compared to 57 percent in 2009-10.

The Pennsylvania Lottery expanded its retailer base by more than 500 locations this past year, ending the year with more than 9,000 retailers, Drew Svitko, interim executive director for the Pennsylvania Lottery, told the newspaper. In York County alone, 269 locations sell Pennsylvania Lottery games, including Rutter's Farm Stores, Tom's and Sheetz convenience stores.

As CSNews Online previously reported, York-based Rutter's has sold 25 lottery tickets worth $100,000 or more since Jan. 1, 2006, for a total of $8.6 million in winnings.

Pennsylvania ranked sixth among the 44 U.S. lotteries in annual sales, and fifth in annual profits for 2010-11, Svitko said in the report. Profits raised from the lottery go to senior centers, rent rebates and other programs for Pennsylvania's senior citizens.

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