by Hunter Dawkins & Calvin Ishee
At the crack of dawn Thursday morning near the Pass Harbor, District 46 (W Pass Christian, DeLisle, Kiln) State Senator Philip Moran bought the first Powerball ticket in the state of Mississippi from the Keith’s Superstore in Pass Christian.
“Its been a long time coming, as it took years to get it passed in the state capitol,” said Moran, whose the vice-chair of the Senate Gaming Committee. “Mississippi is moving forward today, as everyone on our lottery board and commissioners have worked to get it right.”
Prizes under $600 may be claimed at any Mississippi Lottery retailer. Prizes less than $100,000 must be claimed at the Mississippi Lottery Headquarters office in Flowood or by mail. Prizes of $100,000 or more can only be claimed in person at the headquarters.
Gerard Gibert, Vice Chair of the Mississippi Lottery Corporation (MLC) recently spoke to The Gazebo Gazette about many issues, but the lottery was front and center. Gibert has been involved with the Mississippi Lottery since it’s inception and noted that it was “exceeding expectations”.
On January 17, 2020 the MLC made it’s first transfer of $7,621,232 in net proceeds to the Mississippi State Treasury. According to Gibert, gross monthly sales on just scratch off lottery tickets alone exceeds ten million dollars.
If that trend continues, the State will generate in excess of five hundred million dollars annually.
Gibert commented that if sales continue as projected, “the State will not only hit the eighty million dollar set aside for road and bridges, it will also contribute millions of dollars to the Mississippi Education Enhancement Fund (EEF).”
Lottery tickets are available along the Mississippi Gulf Coast, so if you’re “feeling lucky”, drop by one of the local lottery ticket locations and take a chance on winning some big bucks.
