

Opponents say legalized gambling would disproportionately harm Hawaii’s low-income communities and encourage gambling addictions. Measures to establish a Hawaii state lottery or allow casinos are periodically introduced in the Legislature but routinely fail in committee. Hawaii joins Utah as the two states prohibiting all forms of gambling. But it was so long ago, he said, that he doesn’t remember what he did with the windfall other than “paid taxes.” Taking a break from shoveling snow off his sidewalk, the Anchorage man said he once won $10,000 in a Canadian lottery.

“It’s a waste of money,” said Endsley, also finding fault with the taxes that have to be paid on winnings and the increasing jackpots. He says Alaskans shouldn’t have the opportunity to buy tickets. “There’s a little bit of everybody here, and so when you bring things like that, it doesn’t just speak to our culture, it speaks to all cultures because everybody wants money, everybody wants to win, everybody wants to be part of the scene,” Gibbons said.īob Endsley is no fan of Powerball. He believes even though Alaska is extremely diverse - Anchorage School District students speak more than 100 languages besides English in their homes - offering Powerball would appeal to everyone. His response when told it could be $1.5 billion: “I need a ticket.” A 2015 report suggested annual proceeds from a statewide lottery could be around $8 million but cautioned such a lottery could negatively affect charitable gaming activities such as raffles.Īnchorage podcast host Keith Gibbons was in New York earlier this week but forgot to buy a Powerball ticket, even though he didn’t know the size of the jackpot. In Alaska, when oil prices slumped in recent years, legislative proposals to generate revenue through lottery games, including possibly Powerball, faltered. KJ’s sold hundreds of Powerball tickets to Utah residents on Thursday alone, said Cassie Rupp, a Kwik Stop cashier. “Just because Utah doesn’t participate in the lottery doesn’t mean you can’t!” their website read recently. In Malad, Idaho, 13 miles (21 kilometers) from the Utah line, KJ’s Kwik Stop is taking advantage of Powerball’s absence in Utah, advertising directly to Utah residents to cross over for tickets. The faith has its headquarters in Salt Lake City and the majority of lawmakers and more than half of the state’s residents belong to the religion.

Lotteries have long been banned in Utah amid stiff opposition to gambling by leaders of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, known widely as the Mormon church. Similarly, anybody in Utah wanting a lottery ticket must drive to Idaho or Wyoming, the two nearest states to the Salt Lake City metro area, where most of the population resides. Alabama car tags outnumbered Georgia ones in the parking lot at times and a line for ticket purchases stretched across the store. In Georgia, a billboard along Interstate 85 beckons motorists to stop at a gas station billing itself as the ”#1 LOTTERY STORE” - 2 miles (3 kilometers) from the Alabama-Georgia line. Lottery proposals have since stagnated in its legislature, the issue now intertwined with debate over electronic gambling. In 1999, Alabama voted down a lottery referendum under a mix of opposition from churches and out-of-state gambling interests.
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Several times weekly, England hears from constituents asking when Alabama will approve a lottery: “Especially when people look on TV and see it’s $1.5 billion dollars.” “I’m pretty sure the people of Florida, Tennessee, Mississippi and Georgia appreciate all of our contributions to their roads, bridges, education system and many other things they spend that money on,” said Democratic legislator Chris England, from Tuscaloosa, Alabama. A mix of reasons have kept them away, including objections from conservatives, concerns about the impact on low-income families or a desire not to compete with existing gaming operations. “I think it’s ridiculous that we have to drive to get a lottery ticket,” Williams, 67, said.įive states - Utah, Nevada, Hawaii, Alaska and Alabama - do not have a lottery. But in some of the five states without a lottery, envious bystanders are crossing state lines or sending ticket money across them to friends and family, hoping to get in on the action. history has people around the country clamoring for a chance to win. She was one of many Alabama ticket-buyers flooding across state lines Thursday.
