Arizonans Break the State's All-Time Record for Money Spent on Lottery Tickets

Nothing reeks of desperation like Arizona residents breaking the state record for buying lottery tickets.Arizonans forked over $692.9 million for their 1-in-a-zillion chance at getting rich in fiscal year 2013, which is the most spent in the 31-year history of the Arizona Lottery...

By Matthew Hendley

September 4, 2013

[
        {
          "name": "Air - MediumRectangle - Inline Content - Mobile Display Size",
          "component": "18478561",
          "insertPoint": "2",
          "requiredCountToDisplay": "2"
        },{
          "name": "Editor Picks",
          "component": "16759093",
          "insertPoint": "4",
          "requiredCountToDisplay": "1"
        },{
          "name": "Inline Links",
          "component": "17980324",
          "insertPoint": "8th",
          "startingPoint": 8,
          "requiredCountToDisplay": "7",
          "maxInsertions": 25
        },{
          "name": "Air - MediumRectangle - Combo - Inline Content",
          "component": "16759092",
          "insertPoint": "8th",
          "startingPoint": 8,
          "requiredCountToDisplay": "7",
          "maxInsertions": 25
        },{
          "name": "Inline Links",
          "component": "17980324",
          "insertPoint": "8th",
          "startingPoint": 12,
          "requiredCountToDisplay": "11",
          "maxInsertions": 24
        },{
          "name": "Air - Leaderboard Tower - Combo - Inline Content",
          "component": "16759094",
          "insertPoint": "8th",
          "startingPoint": 12,
          "requiredCountToDisplay": "11",
          "maxInsertions": 24
        }
      ]

Nothing reeks of desperation like Arizona residents breaking the state record for buying lottery tickets.

Arizonans forked over $692.9 million for their 1-in-a-zillion chance at getting rich in fiscal year 2013, which is the most spent in the 31-year history of the Arizona Lottery.

See also:
-Powerball Winner ID'd

Now, this is the sixth year in a row that the state record for lotto sales has been broken, but it's not really a small increase -- the sales in 2013 were more than 7 percent higher than in 2012.

Except for a very small number of people, like the dude from Fountain Hills who won the gigantic Powerball jackpot, everybody basically paid a voluntary tax to the state.

The state gets $176.5 million from state lotto sales in 2013, which is nearly $12 million more than last year. The total generated for the state since 1981 is approaching $3 billion.

However, the catch is, according to the slogan, that you can't win if you don't play -- which is debatable.

Send feedback and tips to the author.
Follow Matthew Hendley on Twitter at @MatthewHendley.

KEEP NEW TIMES FREE... Since we started New Times, it has been defined as the free, independent voice of Phoenix, and we'd like to keep it that way. Your membership allows us to continue offering readers access to our incisive coverage of local news, food, and culture with no paywalls. You can support us by joining as a member for as little as $1.