Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: THURSDAY, March 29, 1990 TAG: 9003290787
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: A/1 EDITION: EVENING
SOURCE: JEAN McNAIR ASSOCIATED PRESS WRITER
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
Residents who are black and earn less than $25,000 a year prefer the daily Pick 3 game, which pays $80 to $500.
Those are among the findings of a random telephone survey of 700 Virginians conducted by Southeastern Institute of Research Inc. for the state Lottery Department.
The survey presented to the state Lottery Board Wednesday showed that 22 percent of those surveyed have played the weekly Lotto since it began in January, 27 percent have played Pick 3 and 63 percent have played the instant games.
Forty-five percent of Lotto players earn $35,000 or more a year compared with 26 percent of the Pick 3 players. Seventeen percent of Lotto players earned less than $15,000 a year compared with 27 percent for all lottery games. The survey's margin of error was 3.7 percent.
"The typical Lotto player is a middle-class person. It's not a low-income person," lottery Director Kenneth Thorson told the board. "Those whose incomes are $25,000 or below are not playing the dream of getting rich in Lotto."
Lottery critics have contended that poor people would spend more than they can afford on Lotto in hopes of becoming millionaires.
Thorson said gross income from the lottery has reached $305 million for the fiscal year that ends June 30. He said the state could get $449 million or more by July 1, exceeding the estimate of $420 million.
Since Lotto began, weekly lottery sales have increased from $7 million to $10 million, he said.
Lottery officials said the most popular game in urban areas remains Pick 3, in which players select three numbers daily. The survey showed that 51 percent of the players are black, compared with 20 percent in Lotto and 22 percent in the instant games.
Illegal numbers games, which were similar to the Pick 3 game, were popular in urban areas in the depression days, Larry Gray, deputy lottery director, said, and apparently the popularity has continued.
"You will always find that game popular in urban areas," he said.
Although the profile of the average Lotto player matches that of a typical Northern Virginia resident, lottery officials conceded the game has yet to catch on in that populous area.
"I don't think the people in Northern Virginia know the size of the Lotto jackpot," said Stuart Knight, a board member from Falls Church. "Maybe we're missing a bet."
Northern Virginia is a tough market to crack because advertising is expensive, the news media ignore the game and Virginia must compete with lotteries in neighboring Washington, D.C., and Maryland, lottery officials said.
by CNB