We just got Powerball recently in Illinois, we had MegaMillions before and now have both.
Anyway I went into 7-11 and asked for a Powerball ticket. The clerk said, “They don’t have it.” I said, “It’s new to Illinois,” but she said, “Sorry we don’t sell tickets for that.” They sell MegaMillions and all Illinois State Lottery games.
So I went a block down to the “Mom & Pop” type liquor store and bought an obviously fixed ticket 'cause I didn’t win.
Anyway, it got me to thinking, can a store pick and choose lottery games? Or was this clerk confused, or maybe that 7-11 hadn’t gotten the Powerball ticket machine in yet?
Sounds strange. In New York we had Mega-Millions but no Powerball. But last month they introduced Powerball. They use the same machine to print the tickets; I would presume it was a software upgrade. Maybe the store you dealt with hadn’t gotten the upgrade yet.
Can’t say for sure about Powerball vs. MegaMillions, but I live in Missouri, and there are a bunch of places that only sell scratch-off tickets. They don’t have a terminal at all for the daily drawings,
It depends on the contract between the state gambling authority and the individual selling agent.
Most states offer only 2 options to agents: sell paper scratch-off tickets only, or sell all the games via an electronic machine. I presume this is just for convenience to the state; less variations to keep track of. They could easily program the machines to customize the games offered at each selling site. But that would be extra work, for no extra benefit. It could also be an inconvenience to customers; it’s easier for them if all the games are offered at any selling site.
Depends on the contract. Its a pretty messed up business, imho. These stores dont have many rights and only get paid for this service if winning ticket is bought at their store. So all these man hours selling tickets and what not are a waste if no one ever wins. But I guess that brings in people to buy soda and snacks.
I imagine there’s just a roll-out delay before everyone gets access to the new system.
'cause I didn’t win.