Illinois

Illinois Lost $4M by Halting Powerball, Mega Millions Sales

Illinois Lottery officials say the state lost about $4 million by halting sales of Powerball and Mega Millions tickets due to the state budget stalemate.

The lottery announced late last month it was shutting down sales of the popular games because without a state budget the lottery wouldn't be able to make payments to the prize pool. [[432983263, C]]

The Chicago Tribune reports lottery Chief of Staff Jayme Odom says Illinois lost about $2.4 million in revenue from Powerball and about $1.5 million from Mega Millions during the hiatus.

Sales resumed Thursday night, after lawmakers voted to override Gov. Bruce Rauner's veto of a $36 billion budget package to end the years-long impasse.

Copyright AP - Associated Press
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