The State : Lottery Such a Hit That It’s Expanding

The California lottery, which set a world gambling record in its first hours, in a few weeks will quintuple the $5,000 maximum prize on its scratch-off tickets and raise the current $2-million grand prize to $3 million. “It exceeded our expectations in a big way,” lottery spokesman Bob Taylor said of the game that started Thursday. But, after the 400 million tickets in the first lottery game are sold, prizes will increase to keep Californians interested. The current maximum of $5,000 in scratch-off ticket prizes will double in the second game and swell to $25,000 in the third game. The $2-million grand prize will grow to $3 million for the second game, expected to begin within two months. Sales of an estimated 30 million tickets in the first two days of the lottery made gambling history--surpassing the entire first week of sales for any other lottery on record.