The Iowa Lottery says sales are down compared to last year, but lottery proceeds are on track to meet projections. Lotter C.E.O. Terry Rich says May was the best month so far this fiscal year.
Rich says one of the reasons for the good May is there was a high Powerball jackpot in April and May and he says the economy has people looking for cheap entertainment and the lottery fits that need.
Rich says they were also able to get a lot of promotion from the media for their new partnership with the Iowa tourism industry.
Rich says,"Everybody’s having trouble with the automobile industry and advertising basis – they had extra inventory and so when we went to them and said let’s together as a group promote things in Iowa to do this summer they stepped forward and gave hundreds and thousands of dollars in free advertising. And that combination I think made for a winning combination."
Rich says if June sales are strong, then they will end the fiscal year with 57 to 61 million dollars in profits. He says they are excited to be able to meet or exceed their projections in these tough economic times.
Rich says June sales are already running higher than last year and that’s because there was record flooding and record high gas prices last year that hurt sales.
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