Lottery sales up in West Virginia

Lottery sales up in West Virginia

West Virginia Lottery sales for the 2003-2004 fiscal year jumped by more than 20 percent over the previous year,  exceededing $1.3 billion and breaking the previous record of $1.8 billion set the previous fiscal year, wtrf.com reported. Lottery director John Musgrave says the state's net profit of $512 million also was a record, and was 24 percent higher than the previous year.At the same time, sales of instant scratch-off ticket games reached an unprecedented level of more than $109 million. According to Musgrave, it was the 15th consecutive year that overall lottery sales hit double-digit increases. The lottery players enjoyed about $123 million in prizes during this period.

Among counties, Kanawha County led the state with $23.6 million in sales, twice as much as second-place Raleigh County, which had $11.3 million.Sales from slots at the state's four racetracks also set a record, increasing 19 percent to $855 million. Another $242 million in sales was recorded by limited video lottery games.