Tough Economy Has Lottery Tickets Sales Soaring

Feeling the pinch these days?  Does payday seem like a million years away?  Lots of Americans are hoping a little luck with a lottery ticket will change their economic picture.

In a recent USA Today article, lottery ticket sales are up from a year ago in twenty eight states,  as more and more Americans are trying their luck at winning money.  Seventeen of those states have also set all-time lottery sales records.  Tickets sales in Arizona have topped $583 million and Missouri reached one billion for the first time.  Which state has experienced the biggest jump in lottery sales?  Sunny California, with $3.44 billion.  According to the article, a 2004 Cornell study found that when the economy gets bad, lottery ticket sales increase.  Kind of makes sense.  Have you been buying lottery tickets recently?