Thursday, August 10, 2006

As reported by the Oregonian: "Twenty-one years ago, Oregonians spent $33
million for the novelty of scratching latex off cardboard tickets to see
whether they had won a prize from the newly created state lottery. "Now,
that seemingly quaint enterprise has morphed into a business and marketing
behemoth that on Tuesday announced that it had just chalked up more than $1
billion in annual sales for the first time in its history. "Fueled by the
popularity of its new electronic slot games, the Oregon Lottery now appears
to be one of the top 10 states in per capita lottery sales -- and it's at
least seventh in per capita profits. ".In addition, Oregon politicians
turned again and again to the lottery to help fill budgets that always
seemed to be strapped. The big jump came in 1991 when the Legislature
allowed the lottery to set up thousands of video poker terminals in bars and
restaurants around the state. Lottery sales tripled in two years as Oregon
barrooms began to take on the sights and sounds of a mini-casino."