Arkansas Lottery now a reality

Employees of Jordan Kwik Stop in Piggott show-off some of the scratch-off tickets redeemed in the first few hours of the new Arkansas Scholarship Lottery. Pictured are, from left--manager Kelly Banning, Darris Burns, Sarah Fannin, Raelei Bradley and Michele Diepenhorst.
(Times photo/Tim Blair)

[Click to enlarge]

Jordan's Kwik Stop #24, at 360 East Main Street in Piggott, is one of five locations listed on the lottery website as participating while other outlets will be added in the near future.

"We didn't start selling tickets until around 4:30 this morning," Kwik Stop manager Kelly Banning noted, "and the man who bought the first tickets had a dollar winner."

Banning noted that the store had sold $172 in lottery tickets in the first six-and-a-half hours, adding there had been a variety of winners.

Currently there are four scratch-off tickets available -- one sells for a dollar, two are for two dollars each and one is a five dollar ticket.

The local store also will be offering the Arkansas Powerball Powerplay game, which is set to begin Oct. 31. The Powerball terminal already has been installed, but won't be utilized until the state begins that portion of the new lottery program in about a month.

The ceremonial first Arkansas Scholarship Lottery ticket was purchased by Dr. Jim Purcell, Director of the Arkansas Department of Higher Education, at 12:00:01 a.m. that morning a full 95 days earlier than the Jan. 1, 2010, launch anticipated when the Lottery legislation passed earlier this year. The early launch is expected to generate tens of millions extra in 2010 to fund college scholarships for Arkansas students.

The sale took place at Murphy USA, 23800 Chenal Parkway, Little Rock. Also present to mark the launch were Lt. Governor Bill Halter, members of the legislature, lottery executive director Ernie Passailaigue, Arkansas Lottery Commissioners, staff members, officials of major lottery vendors Intralot and Scientific Games International and Murphy employees.

"Today we mark the beginning of the Arkansas Lottery Scholarship. At the Department of Higher Education we will use lottery proceeds to fund scholarships for thousands of deserving Arkansans," Dr. Purcell said. "The late economist and journalist Sylvia Porter said there is no better investment than investing in education. In our view this is what we are doing here, investing in education. Arkansas ranks next to last among the states in the percentage of citizens who have a college degree. It is not coincidental we rank 49th in the nation in the median income level of our citizens. The proceeds from the lottery will help us fund scholarships so that more and more Arkansans can obtain a college degree. We are taking a good first step towards investing more money in education in Arkansas.''

The scratch-off effort, which began long before many thought it would, has required some adjustments for the time being.

On a short-term basis, until the claim centers in Jonesboro, Camden and Springdale open, winning lottery tickets of more than $500 can be mailed to the Arkansas Scholarship Lottery at P.O. Box 3838, Little Rock, Ark. 72203. Claims over $500 also can be redeemed at the Little Rock Claim Center in Union Plaza at 124 West Capitol Avenue in Little Rock. Claims may be made from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. except on state holidays.

Temporarily, claimants with a winning ticket of an amount greater than $500 may receive mileage if they travel to Little Rock from within the state but beyond a 50-mile radius of the city. The plan calls for winners to be reimbursed for travel mileage at 42 cents per mile. The plan only applies to those who have a valid winning ticket for more than $500 and travel to Little Rock from more than 50 miles. Mileage reimbursement will be based on the address listed on the claim form, and the claimant must provide an acceptable form of identification verifying the claimant's address. Claims for less than $500 can be redeemed at any lottery retailer and will not be subject to the temporary mileage reimbursement previously described. Those wanting more information on the reimbursement program may call 501-683-2060.

Along with Jordan's Kwik Stop in Piggott, other lottery sales outlets in the area listed on the official website included Flash Market #171, 816 South Main Street, Rector; Now and Then, 113 Front Street, Rector; Flash Market #175, 105 North Missouri, Corning, along with both the EZ-Mart and Quik-Stop convenience stores in Marmaduke.