VA. LOTTO TICKET CAN COST PLENTY IN TENN., N.C.

                         Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: TUESDAY, March 2, 1993                   TAG: 9303020071
SECTION: VIRGINIA                    PAGE: C1   EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: SANDRA BROWN KELLY STAFF WRITER
DATELINE:                                 LENGTH: Medium
VA. LOTTO TICKET CAN COST PLENTY IN TENN., N.C.
Tennessee and North Carolina border jumpers who come into this fair commonwealth to scarf up Virginia lottery tickets, heed this:
You'd better not get caught back home with the tickets.
It's legal to buy the ticket.
It's legal to win the lottery.
It's even legal for Tennessee and North Carolina newspapers to publish Virginia's winning numbers so you can see if you won.
But possession of a lottery ticket in the two states is a misdemeanor that can carry a $500 fine.
The Tennessee attorney general made that ruling last week. North Carolina took a similar position a long time ago, said Mike Fox, assistant attorney general in Raleigh, N.C.
But what are the odds of getting caught?
Probably about the same as winning a multimillion-dollar jackpot.
For instance, more than half the winners in the Virginia State Lottery's Abingdon district are from out of state.
Only one North Carolinian has been prosecuted. He had a Virginia lottery ticket on him when he was arrested for a traffic offense, said Howard Neumann, assistant district attorney for the 18th Judicial Circuit in Greensboro, N.C.
Neumann said it's hard to prosecute even if a North Carolina resident wins the Virginia lottery.
"By the time they win, they've turned that ticket in. How do I know they didn't leave it with a friend in Virginia the whole time," he said.
The Tennessee decision has caused some twitching near the border, however.
The regional lottery office in Abingdon answered numerous calls Monday from nervous out-of-state players, said sales manager Phil Hankey.
Sales have slowed, said Betty Harrison, manager of J&M Wholesale in Bristol, one of several Tennessee and North Carolina border businesses that sell more than $2 million each in lottery tickets annually.
"But I think the majority are still buying," Harrison said. "Most think it's unfair, and they do not think they will be prosecuted."
Certainly the odds are pretty good they won't.

by Archana Subramaniam by CNB