Mega Millions Falls Short of Expectations

As reported by the Monterey County Herald: "One year after California joined the multistate Mega Millions lottery game, sales have fallen short of expectations, and the new game has hurt sales of the existing Super Lotto program.

"Combined sales of Super Lotto Plus and Mega Millions tickets are likely to reach about $1.2 billion this year, short of the $1.4 billion projected when California joined the 11-state game in June 2005, said California Lottery acting Director Joan Borucki.

"…The previous year, sales of Super Lotto alone were almost $1.1 billion. This year, Super Lotto is down to about $720 million, while Mega Millions is expected to come in around $460 million.

"That means Mega Millions cannibalized some sales of the existing Super Lotto program as expected, but brought in enough of its own sales to add at least $80 million to overall lottery revenue.

"But lottery officials remain convinced that joining the game was a good move that is paying off for education…"

2006-06-20