The Colorado Lottery broke a calendar year record in 2008, garnering $499.4 million in sales, officials said Thursday.
It represents the fifth straight year of gains for the lottery.
Tough economic times haven’t stopped people from testing their luck, but in some other states, including Texas, New Hampshire, Tennessee and West Virginia, sales are way down as people stick to paying for necessities.
The Colorado games Scratch and Cash 5 set sales records in 2008. Scratch garnered $332.1 million, and Cash 5 brought in $20.2 million in sales.
Lotto sales fell slightly from 2007, bringing in $42.3 million. Officials said sales were down because of the lack of larger jackpots.
In California, to combat such thinking, the state lottery is using television ads to try to convince people they can still get rich from a smaller jackpot.
“Only in America is $100 million not enough to take a chance,” said Jeanette Michael, executive director of the Washington, D.C., Lottery.
In Colorado, seven Lotto players won jackpots in 2008, up from four winners in 2007.
The lottery also reached the $2 billion mark in contributions to Colorado programs since it started in 1983. Proceeds go to Great Outdoors Colorado, the Colorado State Parks and the Conservation Trust Funds. The Lottery also supports the Public School Spillover Fund, which provides money to address health and safety issues in public schools.
National Public Radio contributed to this report.
