Twenty-eight years ago Tuesday (April 4, 1989), lottery tickets first went on sale in Kentucky. Nearly three decades later, the Kentucky Lottery Corporation (KLC) announced today a sales week and month eclipsed only by efforts at start-up back in April 1989 and a record-shattering jackpot.
Fueled by the launch of one of the most successful Scratch-off tickets in their history, Kentucky Lottery sales for March 2017 were $95.7 million. In the 28 year history of the organization, only January 2016 (the timeframe of the world record-breaking $1.6 billion Powerball jackpot) was higher.
Scratch-off ticket sales for the final week of March 2017 – as well as the whole month – were surpassed only by the first week and month of lottery sales in the state. March 2017 scratch-off sales were $60.2 million, while the final week of the month (March 26 thru April 1) were $15.2 million. These are second only to April 1989 when lottery sales first began, when monthly sales were $68.1 million and first week sales were $27 million.
Sales began on March 27 for the innovative scratch-off game Big Money. The oversized ticket, 8 inches by 8 inches, was so much larger than regular tickets that new dispensers had to be added at retail. The $10 game has a top prize of $100,000, has a larger-than-usual amount of $50 and $100 winners included, and has proved to be a huge success with players.
“On the day the ticket launched, we started receiving reports of players waiting at retailers for UPS shipments of the tickets to arrive that day. That’s when we knew we had a home run,” said the KLC’s Acting President and CEO Marty Gibbs. “We have a standard number of tickets we order at this price point, and expected the ticket to be on sale for around 210 days.”
“By day three, a third of all the tickets had been sold,” said Gibbs.
Keno also saw its best month since inception, finishing March with $7.4 million in sales. Gibbs said March always sees a surge in Keno sales as social environment patrons watch basketball tournaments and play the game.
Gibbs said the KLC plans to launch another oversized ticket later this Spring. Also on the horizon is the launch of the Willy Wonka Golden Ticket at the end of April. This multi-state $5 game has an instant top prize of $50,000, along with a chance for a trip to Las Vegas where contestants will have a chance to win $1 billion.
