Tuesday, July 18, 2006

As reported by the Arizona Republic: "It was created in 1981, backed by
businessmen looking for a tax break. "Twenty-five years later, the Arizona
Lottery has made hundreds of people millionaires while awarding $2.9 billion
in prizes. It has contributed more than $1.8 billion to state and local
projects and programs, far surpassing the annual revenue hopes of that
original group of businessmen. From new roads and bus shelters to programs
for neglected children and funding for state parks, lottery dollars have
touched the lives of nearly all Arizonans. ".Unclaimed prizes fund the
entire budget for the state's Court Appointed Special Advocates, or CASA,
program, which provides volunteers to work with abused and neglected
children in state custody. The state's General Fund gets a big chunk, more
than $37 million a year. "And the Heritage Fund, which supports the Arizona
Game and Fish and State Parks departments, gets $20 million each year. With
deep cuts in parks funding in recent years, the Heritage Fund has played a
critical role in supporting the department, said public information officer
Ellen Bilbrey. For example, lottery money paid for about one-fourth of the
cost to develop Kartchner Caverns State Park near Benson."