Powerball comes to Florida Jan. 1
The Florida Lottery announced Thursday that it will join the Multi-State Lottery Association and add POWERBALL.
It starts January 2009 and makes Florida the 30th state to join the multi-state lottery game (also there's the District of Columbia and the U.S. Virgin Islands).
The authority to join a multi-state game is covered in the Florida Public Education Lottery Act, according to a news release.
Powerball drawings are held twice weekly and broadcast to nationwide live at 10:59 p.m., Eastern Time, currently from West Des Moines, Iowa.
Will you play? Will it affect your gambling dollars?
Read the rest of the press release below:
According to the press release (i.e, they're not my words):
“A key to any business’ success is making a habit of being responsive to its customers. Florida Lottery players and retailers have been asking for POWERBALL for many years,” said Florida Lottery Secretary Leo DiBenigno. “While some players like to spend a dollar for a Scratch-Off ticket, others would rather take a chance on a mega jackpot -- and it doesn’t get any bigger than POWERBALL! In addition, the fact that each year millions of tourists visit Florida from states that currently have a multi-state game could give POWERBALL an extra advantage in our state. Now they’ll be able to buy their tickets here.”
Celebrating its 20th anniversary this year, the Florida Lottery has placed greater emphasis on strengthening its product offerings through enhancements to some of its core games and a comprehensive game launch schedule. This year, the Florida Lottery introduced its first $30 Scratch-Off game, offering players more than $600 million in prizes, as well as the highest payout and best odds of any Florida Lottery Scratch-Off game. Last month, the agency added a daily midday drawing to CASH 3 TM and PLAY 4 TM.
Consistent with the statutory requirement that the Florida Lottery function as much as possible as an entrepreneurial business enterprise, the agency’s success is dependent on the effective implementation of a business model that focuses on offering the best product mix to maximize profits and transfers to the Educational Enhancement Trust Fund (EETF) in a responsive and responsible manner.
Florida voters, by a two-to-one margin, approved a constitutional amendment in 1986 authorizing the state to operate a lottery for the purpose of generating significant additional moneys for education. Since the Lottery’s inception, the agency has contributed more than $18 billion to the EETF. Today, Floridians continue to show their support by purchasing in excess of $4 billion in Lottery products per year. For more information regarding the Florida Lottery, its games and its contributions to education, visit www.flalottery.com.
NICK SORTAL began playing 3-card "gut" and "Indian poker" on high school band trips, moved on to "night baseball" and "pass the trash" during a Dr. Pepper-infused midnight game in the 1980s at the St. Louis Globe-Democrat, and now play in a regular neighborhood Hold 'Em game in Plantation. I have been given the assignment of writing about the gambling life in South Florida casinos for the Sun-Sentinel...which means sitting around watching poker on TV now counts as research.
