Seventy-six-year-old Leon Lineburg said it seems like yesterday his Triple L Restaurant and Lounge in Arbutus began selling Maryland Lottery tickets.
“I was one of the original 300 retailers that sold lottery tickets,” said Lineburg, whose restaurant has been in business for 49 years. “It?s been good to me and a lot of other businesses.”
The Maryland State Lottery became the seventh state to institute a lottery on this date in 1973, selling 50-cent “Twin Win” tickets with weekly drawings for prizes from $25 to $50,000 and periodic “Millionaire Drawings.”
The lottery has also grown tremendously over the years, from 300 retailers and $41 million in sales in 1973 to more than 3,800 retailers and $1.577 billion in sales in 2007.
Since debuting 35 years ago, state lottery sales have totaled more than $28.6 billion, returning more than $10.5 billion to the state to support education, public health, public safety, human resources and environmental programs, according to lottery data.
“I think, over 35 years, we?ve become a really accepted part of the community,” said Buddy Roogow, director of the Maryland Lottery. “The public has responded well to the lottery over the years and have seen it, I hope, for the entertainment value that it offers and its part in the economic engine in the state of Maryland.”
The lottery has enjoyed 10 straight years of record sales, raising hundreds of millions in revenue each year for the state, Roogow said.
“We?re an important part of that equation, especially at times that we?re in now when revenue dollars are so important,” Roogow said. “Our performance is a key factor in the state?s ability to support itself and its needs.”
The lottery has also changed lives and made several Marylanders famous, most recently Dundalk resident Bunky Bartlett, a 40-year-old accountant who won $82.5 million as part of the “Mega Millions” game last fall.
Coming Friday: An extended question-and-answer feature with Maryland Lottery Director Buddy Roogow.
Where does the money go?
The Maryland Lottery totaled $1.577 billion in sales in fiscal 2007. The following is the breakdown of how those sales are divided:
$919.2 million in prizes to players (58.3 percent)
$494.1 million to state-funded programs (31.3 percent)
$112.2 million to retailers for selling, cashing tickets (7.1 percent)
$51.8 million in operational expenses (3.3 percent)
Source: Maryland Lottery
