A big ‘so what’: Lottery jackpot seemed to generate little excitement

If somebody told you that all you had to do to get a chance to win $300 million was to buy a ticket, wouldn’t you scurry off to the nearest sales outlet?

Well, this past weekend, there was more than $300 million in the Powerball jackpot. And while it might not have been true elsewhere, here in North Carolina the news seemed to generate little more than passing excitement.

No long lines of ticketbuyers dreaming of new cars and fancy houses. No pools of eager players collecting money to get a better chance at winning.

Just kind of a big “so what.”

That could mean the N.C. Education Lottery officials might need to think a bit harder about how to make the drawings more appealing if they are going to bring in big bucks for the state’s schools.

Or maybe, just maybe, $300 million jackpots aren’t enough to pique interest anymore. That’s kind of scary if it is true. The lottery officials might just have to come up with a new gimmick if they want to see lines of ticketbuyers.

Published in Editorials on August 30, 2007 12:05 PM