Nebraska Lottery: 25 years of fun!

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years of fun!

Benefiting the state with more than $700 million in funding for education, the environment, the State Fair and gambling assistance programs.

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M AT T H A N E Y / T H E W O R L D - H E R A L D

Lottery is building a better Nebraska

By Maggie O’Brien Special for Nebraska Lottery It’s been 25 years since Nebraskans began putting a dollar on a dream by purchasing state lottery tickets. A lot has changed since then.

In 1993, there was one Scratch game. Now there are more than 30.

Then, each ticket cost $1. Now Scratch tickets are $1, $2, $3, $5 $10 or $20.

The top prize in 1993 was $5,000. Now the top prizes for Scratch games range up to $200,000.

Neither Mega Millions nor Powerball existed in Nebraska. Now the multi-state lotteries (which include Nebraska) have awarded jackpots toppling $1.5 billion.

What’s more, there was no extra pot of revenue for state causes. The Nebraska Lottery

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has since raised more than $700 million in the last quarter century for educational, environmental and compulsive gambling programs as well as the State Fair.

“We have been here to support some really good causes,” Lottery Director Brian Rockey said. “It’s benefited all 93 counties. Virtually every single Nebraskan has been reached by these programs.”

Nebraska became the 37th state to operate a lottery when officials kicked off the program in 1993.

Then-Gov. Ben Nelson had pushed for the gambling initiative to help fund educational programs. The Legislature in turn decided to divvy up the state’s lottery profits among education, the environment and gambling addiction treatment. In 2004, Nebraska voters approved a constitutional amendment that revised lottery allocations to include the Nebraska State Fair.

In true ceremonial fashion, Nelson was the first person in the state to buy a lottery ticket, said Neil Watson, Nebraska Lottery spokesman.

The lottery buzz caught on immediately among Nebraskans, and the first top prize was

awarded only a few weeks after the lottery began, Watson said.

“Game number one sold, and when it sold out, we came out with game number two,” Watson said.

Scratch tickets in 2018 have catchy names like “Multitude of Money,” “Flawless Fortune,” “Winter Takes It All” and “Lucky Ladybug Crossword.”

Powerball launched in 1994; since then, Nebraskans have won 10 jackpots worth more than $600 million. The Powerball jackpot starts at $40 million and continues to grow by at least $10 million each drawing until it is won.

About $1.50 out of every $2 lottery ticket is plowed back into prize money or covers the administrative costs of operating the lottery.

The remainder is dedicated to specific needs as is set out in state statutes. The breakdown among the four beneficiaries: » 44.5 percent to the Nebraska Education Improvement Fund » 44.5 percent to the Nebraska Environmental Trust » 10 percent to the Nebraska State Fair » 1 percent to the Compulsive Gamblers

Assistance Fund Every three months, each of the groups gets money from the lottery. In recent years, those quarterly distributions have totaled $8 million to $12 million — except for the first quarter of 2016, when a record Powerball jackpot pushed the total to $14 million, the highest amount in the Nebraska Lottery’s 25-year history.

Over the past 25 years, more than $700 million in lottery money has paid for programs that protect wildlife and improve water quality; boost the state’s educational fund; provide grant programs at the state’s public universities, private colleges and community colleges; cover state fair facilities costs; and support treatment programs for people who are addicted to gambling.

Record Mega Millions and Powerball jackpots in the fourth quarter of 2018 are likely to translate to more than $900,000 in “extra” profits to Nebraska beneficiaries, according to Lottery officials.

“Every time you buy a lottery ticket,” Watson said, “You build a better Nebraska.”

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The more than $700 million raised in the past 25 years has benefited people and programs across the state

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PHOTO COURTESY RAEANNA HARTSGROVE

RaeAnna Hartsgrove graduated from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln in August 2018. She received a Nebraska Opportunity Grant for college, which is partially funded with Nebraska Lottery proceeds.

Grants give students a chance to attend college

By Maggie O’Brien Special for Nebraska Lottery Nearly 200,000 students have attended college with the help of the Nebraska Lottery.

Lottery profits help fund the Nebraska Opportunity Grant, which awards need-based scholarships for students to attend colleges, universities and community colleges within the state.

“Each year, the Nebraska Opportunity Grant reduces financial obstacles for •

thousands of Nebraska college students with ambition but modest means to pursue their educational goals without over-relying on student loans,” said Michael Baumgartner, executive director of Nebraska’s Coordinating Commission for Postsecondary Education. “Degrees and credentials in hand, they help meet Nebraska’s current and future workforce needs and advance our families, communities and businesses.”

Lottery profits “are critical to the (grant) program’s growth and success,” Baumgartner said.

Nebraska students benefit every time someone plays the Nebraska Lottery.

That’s because 44.5 percent of lottery profits each year are directed to the Nebraska Education Improvement Fund, which

is allocated by the Nebraska Legislature based on varying needs of schools across the state. The centerpiece of the fund, however, is the Opportunity Grant program.

It is the state’s only need-based financial aid program for postsecondary students.

The program began in 2003, a decade after Nebraskans started playing the lottery.

Between 2003 and 2017, 193,713 grants were awarded, totaling $187.7 million. Of that, $92 million was funded by the Nebraska Lottery; the rest from the state’s general fund.

The grant is being funded this school year with $11.3 million in lottery profits. The average award is $1,354.

RaeAnna Hartsgrove, a summer 2018 graduate of the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, attended college with the help of a

$2,500 Nebraska Opportunity Grant.

The grant helped pay for books, tuition, car insurance and other college-related expenses, Hartsgrove said in an interview posted on the lottery’s website.

Hartsgrove made UNL’s Dean’s List and graduated with distinction. She is studying for her master’s degree in community and regional planning at UNL and is a graduate research assistant at the National Drought Mitigation Center in Lincoln.

She wishes more people were aware that proceeds from the Nebraska Lottery benefit good causes throughout the state.

“A lot of people are into education. ... If they knew the lottery had something to do with it, they’d probably want to play more or pitch in some way, because they’d know it’s going to something useful.”

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The need-based financial-aid program reduces obstacles for Nebraska high school grads.

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Wildlife, water, land are all better off thanks to lottery Proceeds of $299 million have allowed the Nebraska Environmental Trust to do a wide variety of projects

The Nebraska Environmental Trust has helped stop the extinction of the salt creek tiger beetle in eastern Nebraska and improved quality of life for the rare swift fox and bighorn sheep out west.

It’s helped install solar panels, restored prairies and wetlands, brought back original stream channels in the Sand Hills, controlled invasive species and reduced landfill trash through recycling.

And none of it reportedly would have happened without the Nebraska Lottery.

Since 1993, the state lottery has provided $299 million for the trust, which awards competitive matching grants to applicants from across the state for projects involving air, soil, water and habitat conservation, or municipal waste and recycling.

The breakdown: » $122 million for wildlife habitat » $68 million to improve water quality » $28 million for lakes » $24 million for recycling » $16 million for environmental education » $9 million for urban greening » $8 million for carbon management » $24 million for sub-grants in each category “We have projects going in all 93 counties,” said Mark Brohman, the trust’s executive director. “Our dollars are very precious, and many states are envious that we have state lottery money available.

We are very fortunate here in Nebraska.”

The list of 2018 grants included $150,000 to Keep Omaha Beautiful for tree-planting, $427,900 to Fontenelle Forest for habitat restoration, and $99,234 to Angels on Wheels of Omaha for electronics recycling.

The Nebraska Lottery has been the trust’s key funding source since the state kicked off the lottery 25 years ago.

Environmental groups had been pushing then-Gov. Ben Nelson to find ways to pay for conservation efforts from Omaha to the Panhandle. A bottle tax of 1 cent or 5 cents was discussed, as was an increase in the tobacco tax. Both ideas flopped.

Ultimately, revenue from Scratch and other lottery ticket sales was proposed •

to fund programs that help the environment. The trust today remains one of the Nebraska Lottery’s four beneficiaries.

The money is matched 2-to-1 by federal funding and other funding sources, which has given the trust about $900 million of impact across the state since its inception.

The Nebraska Environmental Trust receives 44.5 percent of lottery money every quarter, as does educational programs. Ten percent goes to the State Fair.

Compulsive gambling programs receive $500,000 every September and 1 percent of lottery proceeds every quarter.

Many states use lottery money to target a purpose. Some states funnel most of the funds to their general fund. Nebraska is unusual in that it supports the environment with lottery funds, Brohman said.

The Environmental Trust has, as a result, been able to successfully launch and complete projects that it otherwise wouldn’t be able to even consider, especially during times of economic recession and state budget crunching, Brohman said.

For example, the trust uses lottery money to support the Nebraska Master Naturalist Program, which trains volunteers across the state to work in habit and wildlife conservation, environmental education and citizen science. More than 300 volunteers ranging in age from college students to retirees work at nature centers, teach classes, participate in conservation projects and more.

The volunteers have connected with 21,746 Nebraskans through their volunteer service and have directly impacted 5,034 acres of land, according to Brohman. That means lottery money has provided the labor and resources for crucial environmental projects.

Since the program began in 2010, Nebraska Master Naturalists have contributed 63,141 hours of volunteer service worth $1.5 million. This year alone, volunteers have contributed 2,782 hours of volunteer time worth $67,197.

“The trust strives to conserve, enhance and restore Nebraska’s natural environment now and into the future,” Brohman said. “Our wildlife, land, air, water and people benefit tremendously from the lottery proceeds.”

WORLD-HERALD NEWS SERVICE

C O U RT E S Y O F N E B R A S K A G A M E & PA R K S C O M M I S S I O N

MICHAEL FORSBERG •

By Maggie O’Brien Special for Nebraska Lottery

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GIVEN BACK TO NEBRASKA SINCE 1993

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The Nebraska Lottery

November 1992 63 percent of Nebraska voters approve a constitutional amendment authorizing the creation of a state lottery.

December 1993 The Nebraska Lottery distributes $3.4 million in its first transfer to lottery beneficiary funds.

June 15, 1994 At a press conference broadcast live from the State Capitol, Nelson announces Donald Kollen of Leigh as the $10,000 winner, Elvin Motacek of Niobrara as the $20,000 winner and Mary Vaughn of Hooper as the $50,000 grand-prize winner in the second Nebraska Lottery second-chance giveaway.

March 2006 The Nebraska Lottery marks $1 billion in total sales since 1993.

March 20, 2010 Nebraska joins the multi-state Mega Millions Lotto game.

May 2012 Ticket sales in January, February and March 2012 set a new quarterly record of $44.7 million.

Sept. 2013 The Nebraska Lottery marks $2 billion in total sales since 1993.

Jan. 2014 Total transfers to Nebraska Lottery beneficiaries exceeds half a billion dollars since 1993.

April 1, 2016 A total of $14.4 million is transferred to Nebraska Lottery beneficiary funds, the largest quarterly transfer since 1993.

Nov. 6, 2016 Daily drawings for Nebraska-exclusive Lotto games begin.

April 2017 Due to high interest in the Truck$ & Buck$ Scratch game, additional tickets are printed, and two additional trucks are added for a total of seven trucks to win instantly in the game.

Aug. 20, 2017 The Nebraska Lottery becomes the 25th lottery to join the multi-state Lucky for Life Lotto game.

Jan. 2018 The Nebraska Lottery celebrates 25 years with anniversary Scratch games, promotions and merchandise.

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Jan. 12, 1994 The Nebraska Lottery makes history by awarding the state’s largest lottery prizes to date via the Nebraska Doubler second-chance contest.

An estimated 120,000 entries were received.

Suspense is high as then-Gov. Ben Nelson reads the names of Shirley Gamble of McCook for the $10,000 prize, Pat Sacco of Plattsmouth for the $20,000 prize and Bernice Koenig of South Sioux City for the top prize of $50,000.

July 27, 1994 Michael Douty of North Platte is the first Nebraskan to win $5,000 playing Powerball.

Feb. 22, 2008 Changes made to the 2by2 game increase the top prize to $22,000 and adds a 2by2 Tuesday feature, where all prizes won on Tuesday are doubled with the purchase of a qualifying ticket.

Feb. 8, 2012 A group of 16 players from the Omaha area split a $1 million Nebraska Powerball prize. This is the first automatic million-dollar winning ticket sold in Nebraska since Powerball was upgraded in January 2012.

Aug. 2013 A total of $150,000 in cash prizes is awarded to 20 finalists in the Lucky Summer ‘13 Giveaway at the Nebraska State Fair.

Nov. 2013 Ticket sales for the fiscal year set a record of $160.8 million.

July 2014 The Nebraska Lottery Facebook page passes 50,000 likes.

Aug. 24, 2016 $10 Precious Metals Super Ticket is launched.

Around the size of a sheet of paper, the Super Ticket is the largest Scratch ticket ever offered by the Nebraska Lottery.

Jan. 2017 The 22nd edition of the $2 Truck$ & Buck$ Scratch game is launched with a total of five F-150 trucks to win instantly in the game.

The recurring Truck$ & Buck$ Second-Chance Contest is ended.

July 2017 Nebraska Lottery headquarters moves to 137 NW 17th St. in Lincoln.

Oct. 28, 2017 Changes to the multistate Mega Millions are made to generate larger jackpots and offer new ways to play the game.

The price of a play is increased to $2.

TIMELINE KEY Nebraska Lottery general history. See page 3 for a rundown by the numbers of the Nebraska Lottery’s 25 years.

Payments to beneficiary funds. See pages 4-5 and 8-9 for more about who benefits from lottery funds.

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Feb. 24, 1993 The Nebraska Lottery is created by Legislative Bill 138, making it the 37th lottery in the United States.

Nebraska Lottery games history. See page 11 for more about the state’s most popular lottery games.

Winners! See page 10 to read about a Grand Island convenience store that is the top seller of Scratch tickets in the state.

Source: Nebraska Lottery

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MORE $ THAN

GIVEN BACK TO NEBRASKA SINCE 1993

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The Nebraska Lottery

November 1992 63 percent of Nebraska voters approve a constitutional amendment authorizing the creation of a state lottery.

December 1993 The Nebraska Lottery distributes $3.4 million in its first transfer to lottery beneficiary funds.

June 15, 1994 At a press conference broadcast live from the State Capitol, Nelson announces Donald Kollen of Leigh as the $10,000 winner, Elvin Motacek of Niobrara as the $20,000 winner and Mary Vaughn of Hooper as the $50,000 grand-prize winner in the second Nebraska Lottery second-chance giveaway.

March 2006 The Nebraska Lottery marks $1 billion in total sales since 1993.

March 20, 2010 Nebraska joins the multi-state Mega Millions Lotto game.

May 2012 Ticket sales in January, February and March 2012 set a new quarterly record of $44.7 million.

Sept. 2013 The Nebraska Lottery marks $2 billion in total sales since 1993.

Jan. 2014 Total transfers to Nebraska Lottery beneficiaries exceeds half a billion dollars since 1993.

April 1, 2016 A total of $14.4 million is transferred to Nebraska Lottery beneficiary funds, the largest quarterly transfer since 1993.

Nov. 6, 2016 Daily drawings for Nebraska-exclusive Lotto games begin.

April 2017 Due to high interest in the Truck$ & Buck$ Scratch game, additional tickets are printed, and two additional trucks are added for a total of seven trucks to win instantly in the game.

Aug. 20, 2017 The Nebraska Lottery becomes the 25th lottery to join the multi-state Lucky for Life Lotto game.

Jan. 2018 The Nebraska Lottery celebrates 25 years with anniversary Scratch games, promotions and merchandise.

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2018

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Jan. 12, 1994 The Nebraska Lottery makes history by awarding the state’s largest lottery prizes to date via the Nebraska Doubler second-chance contest.

An estimated 120,000 entries were received.

Suspense is high as then-Gov. Ben Nelson reads the names of Shirley Gamble of McCook for the $10,000 prize, Pat Sacco of Plattsmouth for the $20,000 prize and Bernice Koenig of South Sioux City for the top prize of $50,000.

July 27, 1994 Michael Douty of North Platte is the first Nebraskan to win $5,000 playing Powerball.

Feb. 22, 2008 Changes made to the 2by2 game increase the top prize to $22,000 and adds a 2by2 Tuesday feature, where all prizes won on Tuesday are doubled with the purchase of a qualifying ticket.

Feb. 8, 2012 A group of 16 players from the Omaha area split a $1 million Nebraska Powerball prize. This is the first automatic million-dollar winning ticket sold in Nebraska since Powerball was upgraded in January 2012.

Aug. 2013 A total of $150,000 in cash prizes is awarded to 20 finalists in the Lucky Summer ‘13 Giveaway at the Nebraska State Fair.

Nov. 2013 Ticket sales for the fiscal year set a record of $160.8 million.

July 2014 The Nebraska Lottery Facebook page passes 50,000 likes.

Aug. 24, 2016 $10 Precious Metals Super Ticket is launched.

Around the size of a sheet of paper, the Super Ticket is the largest Scratch ticket ever offered by the Nebraska Lottery.

Jan. 2017 The 22nd edition of the $2 Truck$ & Buck$ Scratch game is launched with a total of five F-150 trucks to win instantly in the game.

The recurring Truck$ & Buck$ Second-Chance Contest is ended.

July 2017 Nebraska Lottery headquarters moves to 137 NW 17th St. in Lincoln.

Oct. 28, 2017 Changes to the multistate Mega Millions are made to generate larger jackpots and offer new ways to play the game.

The price of a play is increased to $2.

TIMELINE KEY Nebraska Lottery general history. See page 3 for a rundown by the numbers of the Nebraska Lottery’s 25 years.

Payments to beneficiary funds. See pages 4-5 and 8-9 for more about who benefits from lottery funds.

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Feb. 24, 1993 The Nebraska Lottery is created by Legislative Bill 138, making it the 37th lottery in the United States.

Nebraska Lottery games history. See page 11 for more about the state’s most popular lottery games.

Winners! See page 10 to read about a Grand Island convenience store that is the top seller of Scratch tickets in the state.

Source: Nebraska Lottery

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WORLD-HERALD NEWS SERVICE

Fairgoers look at the sand sculpture created by Team Sandtastic in the Nebraska Building at the Nebraska State Fair in Grand Island.

Lottery funding keeps State Fair alive

By Maggie O’Brien Special for Nebraska Lottery The Nebraska Lottery saved the State Fair.

It was 2003. Extensive building repairs were needed at the state fairgrounds in Lincoln. Fair attendance, which had peaked in 1998 at 389,000, had dropped to 238,0000.

There just wasn’t enough money to keep the fair running.

“It was questionable if the State Fair could even continue,” said the fair’s executive director, Lori Cox. “Duct tape •

became a staple to hold things together.”

Then along came the Nebraska Lottery and a 2004 legislative amendment to direct 10 percent of lottery proceeds each fiscal year to the State Fair.

The decision has brought $47.6 million in lotto funding to the State Fair’s coffers to date.

In 2010, the fair moved to Grand Island. Critics believed that leaving Lincoln would negatively impact the fair, but Cox said the event has experienced steady growth in attendance ever since. In 2017, 379,000 people – just shy of the 1998 record – attended the State Fair.

Attendance is expected to spike in 2019, when the State Fair marks its 150th anniversary, Aug. 23 to Sept. 2.

“Lottery profits re-birthed the State Fair and made us capable of continuing the Nebraska tradition of family fun celebrat-

ed for 150 years,” Cox said.

Many states, Cox said, operate their fairs using a large chunk of profits from building rentals for concerts and other big events throughout the year.

The Minnesota State Fair, for example, generates revenue by leasing fairground buildings and space for weddings, corporate events, 5K races, craft fairs, music festivals, fundraising galas and sporting events.

Nebraska, though, doesn’t own its fairgrounds; the land is privately owned.

That means the fair can’t use event rentals as an income source. It makes the lottery revenue even more crucial – and more appreciated, Cox said.

Lottery ticket sales helped pay for the 2015 construction of the Nebraska Building, a 4,000-square-foot climate-controlled space that houses

Raising Nebraska, a Game and Parks exhibit, the State Fair Historical Museum, educational programs and fair administrative offices.

“There might not have been a yearround exhibit or educational space for youth education,” Cox said. “We’ve been able to grow these programs throughout the year, not just during the State Fair.

Very rarely do most kids get a chance to touch agriculture the way they can here, so we really serve as a supplemental function to the public school system.”

Lottery funding also is used for ongoing building maintenance.

“We are facing challenges with our buildings because they are almost 10 years old and need upkeep,” Cox said.

“Those reserves are crucially important to us.”

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The annual event, which marks its 150th anniversary next year, is now flourishing

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BH MEDIA

The leading cause of gambling addiction in Nebraska is slot machine gambling.

If gambling becomes a problem, help is available

By Maggie O’Brien Special for Nebraska Lottery The Nebraska Gamblers Assistance Program directs lottery funds for counseling services for Nebraskans who develop an addiction to gambling – an average of 200 to 300 people annually.

While studies have shown that slot machine gambling (which is not available in Nebraska) is the biggest contributor to gambling addiction, Nebraska lawmakers have been concerned about the impact of lottery gambling since the state started selling lottery tickets in 1993.

As a result, lottery ticket profits have supported group and individual counseling and a 24-hour helpline for compulsive gamblers for the last 25 years.

“Nebraska is home to approximately 2,200 so-called mechanical amusement •

devices (MAD) that look and act like slot machines,” said David Geier, GAP director. “That’s a 50 percent increase over last year. Addicts to these MADs are showing up at our counselors’ doors, and they are younger than our traditional clients.”

When the Nebraska Legislature started looking at lottery options in the early 1990s, lawmakers worried about the impact buying lottery Scratch game tickets would have on compulsive gambling.

Nebraska does not allow riverboat or land casinos as its neighbor Iowa does. However, Iowa casinos generate a majority of Nebraska clients seeking treatment.

“Many Nebraskans who get help with our counselors do a lot of slot machine gambling on the other side of the Missouri River,” Geier said.

“If you look for gambling trouble from lottery, it’s way down the line because less gambling problems happen if a person has to wait for results,” Geier said. “That’s why we see more gambling

Need help?

Visit problemgambling.nebraska.gov, BetCareful.com or call the Gamblers Assistance helpline 24/7 at 800-522-4700. addiction from electronic gambling machines because people stay on them until they run out of money. They are not playing to win; they are playing to play.”

The Gamblers Assistance Fund receives 1 percent of total lottery profits plus the first $500,000 in proceeds each fiscal year to fund problem gambling treatment services and prevention and public education programs.

“The idea behind GAP is that the State of Nebraska needed an entire entity focused on problem gambling,” Geier said. “It’s allowed us to have counselors across the state trained and certified in problem gambling who also have licenses in mental health and behavioral health.”

Geier said officials have seen success

since 1993 for a problem that is statewide and has devastating consequences. According to statistics provided by the program: » 80 percent of Nebraskans who were counseled by a program therapist reported being helped within six sessions. » 92 percent of Nebraskans with a gambling problem reduced their gambling with the help of a program counselor. » 78 percent of Nebraskans who had a gambling problem reduced their gambling debt with the help of the Gamblers Assistance Program.

An amendment to the Nebraska Constitution in 2004 secured the allocation for the gambling addiction program from lottery proceeds.

More than 40 states have gambling addiction programs, but Nebraska is the only state whose program and funding is embedded in the state constitution.

“We’ve reached a lot of Nebraskans who got help thanks to the Nebraska Lottery,” Geier said.

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Lottery profits support counseling services and a helpline.

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Lots of lottery love found at Grand Island gas station Top 10 lottery retailers

By Jeff Barnes Special for Nebraska Lottery If there’s a “love of lottery” anywhere in Nebraska, it’s at an inauspicious neighborhood gas station northwest of downtown Grand Island.

For the past few years, Coffin’s Corner has been the top seller of the Nebraska Lottery’s Scratch tickets.

Somewhere between $1,000 and $2,500 worth of tickets are sold daily, with most purchased by regular customers.

That’s tremendous loyalty to one of Nebraska Lottery’s original retailers, says Coffin’s Corner co-owner Misty Koperski. “It’s a large, regular clientele, and some of them I’ve been helping for 30 years.”

She owns Coffin’s Corner with two sisters (who have worked there 26 and 22 years themselves) and a fourth woman.

From the daily 6 a.m. coffee crew playing their usual Scratch games to those who buy only when they stop to fill their gas tanks, the shop caters to them all.

Besides the friendly welcome, the staff at Coffin’s Corner keeps educated on the many Scratch games offered. They know about the payoffs, and they follow the individual games.

One of the most popular Scratch games is the Nebraska Lottery’s “Truck$ & Buck$,” in which players have the chance to win a pickup truck.

“There was an older gentleman whose kids could never figure out what to get him for his birthday, so

BARRETT STINSON/WORLD-HERALD NEWS SERVICE

Manager Misty Koperski shows a display of Nebraska Lottery Scratch tickets for sale at Coffin’s Corner gas and convenience store in Grand Island. Between $1,000 to $2,500 worth of tickets have been sold daily at Coffin’s Corner.

they got him Scratch tickets for the truck. And one year he won,” Koperski said. “Now they tell him they get half of whatever he wins.”

Of course, that can’t compare with the time that the shop had a $100,000 winner – they just wish they knew who to congratulate. “We

Nebraska Powerball jackpot history July 30, 1994: Lyle and Dianne Fleharty of Hastings win a $50.1 million Powerball jackpot, the first jackpot won in Nebraska.

April 19, 1995: Donald and Rita Polak of Prague win an $8.1 million Powerball jackpot.

Nov. 28, 1998: Richard and Iris Johnson of Ayr win an $33 million Powerball jackpot.

Aug. 26, 2000: Shirley Brewer of Omaha wins a $14 million Powerball jackpot.

never have figured out who it was,” Koperski said. “If it was a regular, they’re not talking … but the odds are it was.”

Here are the top 10 retailers for Nebraska Lottery ticket sales for 2018. The ranking combines Scratch and Lotto ticket sales.

Addresses are Omaha unless noted.

1. Gas N Snaks, 541 Jackson Ave., Seward 2. Corner Stop Inc., 220 23rd St., Columbus 3. Coffin’s Corner, 519 N. Eddy St., Grand Island 4. Hy-Vee Food Store, 5150 Center St. 5. Baker’s, 3614 Twin Creek Drive, Bellevue 6. Russ’s Market, 1550 S. Coddington, Lincoln 7. Baker’s, 801 Galvin Road, Bellevue 8. Hy-Vee Food Store, 10808 Fort St. 9. Hy-Vee Food Store, 14591 Stony Brook Blvd.

10. Bucky’s, 13736 Q St.

Feb. 18, 2006: Eight co-workers at a ConAgra Foods plant in Lincoln claim a record $365 million Powerball jackpot. At the time, it was the largest Powerball jackpot ever won. The group included Quang Dao, David Gehle, Alain Maboussou, Chasity Rutjens, Robert Stewart, Michael Terpstra, Dung Tran and Eric Zornes. The group took the cash option valued at $177.3 million. Their respective shares were $22,162,500.

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April 24, 1996: Greg Klein of Milford wins a $2.5 million Powerball jackpot.

Nov. 3, 1999: Marilyn and Charles Anderson of North Platte win a $5 million Powerball jackpot.

Dec. 22, 2004: Steven Herber of Omaha wins a $10 million Powerball jackpot.

Dec. 11, 2013: David and Erica Harrig of Gretna win a $61.45 million Powerball jackpot.

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Nov. 30, 1994: Connie Daily of North Platte wins a $50.5 million Powerball jackpot.

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MVP Club membership makes you a winner when it comes to player perks

Members of the Nebraska Lottery MVP Club at nelottery.com receive special information on new games, contests and promotions, and have access to updates on research and surveys.

MVP Club benefits also include the chance to win free Nebraska Lottery tickets, cash, merchandise and trip prizes.

Other player perks include: » A free game coupon just for joining the MVP Club » Special “members only” contests » Tools to check your tickets and manage your favorite games online » Email alerts for games, contests and promotions You must be at least 19 or older to participate in the MVP Club. It’s free, and there’s no obligation for you to do anything except have fun ... and win! Sign up at nelottery.com.

PLAY THE GAMES Nebraska Lottery Scratch and Lotto games are available at more than 1,200 retailers across Nebraska. Visit nelottery.com for more information.

POWERBALL Jackpots start at $40 million.

Drawings Wednesday and Saturday.

MEGA MILLIONS Jackpots start at $40 million.

Drawings Tuesday and Friday.

LUCKY FOR LIFE Top prize of $1,000 a day for life.

Drawings Monday and Thursday.

NEBRASKA PICK 5 Jackpots start at $50,000.

Drawings seven days a week.

2BY2 $22,000 top prize.

Drawings seven days a week.

MYDAY $5,000 top prize.

Drawings seven days a week.

NEBRASKA PICK 3 Lots of ways to play, lots of ways to win.

Drawings seven days a week.

SCRATCH GAMES Games priced from $1 to $20 per ticket.

Find your game. Find your fun.

THIS SPONSORED SECTION WAS PRODUCED FOR THE NEBRASKA LOTTERY BY THE OMAHA WORLD-HERALD IN DECEMBER 2018.

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