{"id":7246,"date":"2012-03-30T15:27:37","date_gmt":"2012-03-30T19:27:37","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/new-hampshire\/?p=7246"},"modified":"2012-03-30T15:27:37","modified_gmt":"2012-03-30T19:27:37","slug":"mega-big-mega-millions-jackpot-aside-when-it-comes-to-the-lotto-a-lot-of-suckers-live-in-new-england","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/new-hampshire\/2012\/03\/30\/mega-big-mega-millions-jackpot-aside-when-it-comes-to-the-lotto-a-lot-of-suckers-live-in-new-england\/","title":{"rendered":"(Mega-Big Mega Millions Jackpot Aside) When It Comes To The Lotto, A Lot Of &#8220;Suckers&#8221; Live In New England"},"content":{"rendered":"<div id=\"attachment_7258\"  class=\"wp-caption module image right\" style=\"max-width: 620px;\"><a class=\"fancybox\" title=\"The frenzy for Mega Millions tickets have increased the jackpot by $100 million today...and created long lines for tickets all over the country\" href=\"http:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/new-hampshire\/files\/2012\/03\/142072323.jpg\" rel=\"\"><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"size-large wp-image-7258\" title=\"Mega Millions Jackpot Reaches Record High Of $540 Million\" src=\"http:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/new-hampshire\/files\/2012\/03\/142072323-620x429.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"620\" height=\"429\" srcset=\"https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/new-hampshire\/files\/2012\/03\/142072323-620x429.jpg 620w, https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/new-hampshire\/files\/2012\/03\/142072323-300x207.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 620px) 100vw, 620px\" \/><\/a><p class=\"wp-media-credit\">Kevork Djansezian \/ Getty Images<\/p><p class=\"wp-caption-text\">The frenzy for Mega Millions tickets have increased the jackpot by $100 million today...and created long lines for tickets all over the country<\/p><\/div>\n<p>Earlier today, we <a title=\"Why The Mega Millions Jackpot Is Extra-Important For New Hampshire\" href=\"http:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/new-hampshire\/2012\/03\/30\/why-the-mega-millions-jackpot-is-extra-important-for-new-hampshire\/\" target=\"_blank\">reposted our Losing The Lotto series<\/a> to give you a bit of context about why the Mega Millions frenzy is particularly important to New Hampshire&#8217;s struggling lottery.\u00a0 Since we posted, the jackpot&#8217;s increased yet again&#8211;from $540 million to $640 million.<\/p>\n<p>Not surprising given <a title=\" NH lottery sales at 27,000 transactions\/hour \" href=\"http:\/\/hosted.ap.org\/dynamic\/stories\/N\/NH_MEGAMILLIONS_MANIA_NHOL-?SITE=NHCON&amp;SECTION=HOME&amp;TEMPLATE=DEFAULT&amp;__utma=1.1098939758.1326800849.1333025022.1333112456.46&amp;__utmb=1.4.8.1333112505419&amp;__utmc=1&amp;__utmx=-&amp;__utmz=1.1328241821.19.3.utmcsr=google|utmccn=%28organic%29|utmcmd=organic|utmctr=comedy%20central%2C%20nh%20wife%20beating&amp;__utmv=-&amp;__utmk=68589713\" target=\"_blank\">AP&#8217;s report of 27,000 transactions an hour<\/a> in New Hampshire <em>alone.<!--more--><\/em><\/p>\n<p><div class=\"related-content alignright\"><h4 class=\"related-header\">Related<\/h4><div class=\"links\"><h5>Posts<\/h5><ul><li class=\"link\"><a href=\"http:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/new-hampshire\/2011\/11\/16\/losing-the-lotto-how-a-massachusetts-gas-station-is-eating-into-nhs-education-funding\/\">Losing The Lotto: How A Massachusetts Gas Station Is Eating Into NH\u2019s Education Funding<\/a><\/li><li class=\"link\"><a href=\"http:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/new-hampshire\/2011\/12\/06\/losing-the-lotto-comparing-nhs-lotto-prizes-to-massachusetts\/\">Losing The Lotto: Comparing NH\u2019s Lotto Prizes To Massachusetts<\/a><\/li><li class=\"link\"><a href=\"http:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/new-hampshire\/2011\/10\/24\/what-the-new-hampshire-lottery-funds\/\">Losing The Lotto: What The New Hampshire Lottery Pays\u00a0For<\/a><\/li><li class=\"link\"><a href=\"http:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/new-hampshire\/2011\/10\/25\/losing-the-lotto-where-the-revenue-comes-from\/\">Losing The Lotto:  Where The Revenue Comes\u00a0From<\/a><\/li><li class=\"link\"><a href=\"http:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/new-hampshire\/2011\/12\/07\/losing-the-lotto-how-much-would-having-keno-really-help-nhs-revenues\/\">Losing The Lotto:  How Much Would Having Keno Help NH\u2019s Revenues?<\/a><\/li><\/ul><\/div><div class=\"topics\"><h5>Topics<\/h5><p class=\"topic\"><img class=\"alignleft\" src=\"http:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/new-hampshire\/files\/2011\/10\/NH-Powerball-60x60.jpg\" height=\"60\" width=\"60\" \/><a href=\"http:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/new-hampshire\/topic\/lottery\/\">What You Need To Know About The NH State Lottery<\/a><\/p><\/div><\/div>Keeping all of this in mind, we thought there&#8217;s no better time to take a closer look at <a title=\"Bloomberg Rankings: State Lotteries\" href=\"http:\/\/media.bloomberg.com\/bb\/avfile\/r3nbpFLrUooE\" target=\"_blank\">Bloomberg&#8217;s recently released &#8220;Sucker Index&#8221; for state lotteries<\/a>. After all, even with a relatively small jackpot, your odds of winning the lottery are all-but-non-existent.\u00a0 (The implication of the Bloomberg index being, of course, those who pump lots of money into the lottery, historically huge jackpot or no, are, well&#8230;suckers.)<\/p>\n<p>To figure out their rankings on the Sucker Index, reporters subtracted the amount of money given out on prizes from total ticket sales for FY 2010.\u00a0 Then, they divided that number &#8220;by the total personal income of the state&#8217;s residents.&#8221;\u00a0 A higher score, as Bloomberg puts it, &#8220;indicates a greater propensity for &#8216;suckerdom.&#8217;\u00a0 Lower prize payout and\/or higher per-capita spending on lottery tickets lead to a higher Sucker Score.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>So how do the New England states compare?\u00a0 Not surprisingly, Massachusetts, with its massively successful lottery system, topped the list for the region.\u00a0 In fact, the Bay State ranks #2 in the country for suckerdom propensity, with Georgia in the #1 slot.<\/p>\n<p>Here&#8217;s how the region stacked up in the rankings:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Massachusetts: #2<\/li>\n<li>Rhode Island: #12<\/li>\n<li>Connecticut: #13<\/li>\n<li>Maine: #17<\/li>\n<li>New Hampshire: #18<\/li>\n<li>Vermont: #23<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>So despite our previous coverage that found New Hampshire&#8217;s lottery is struggling with declining revenues <em><\/em>thanks to competition with Massachusetts, relatively low prize payouts, and a culture of frugality, when it comes to suckerdom, we&#8217;re on the upper-end of the middle-of-the-pack, nationally.<\/p>\n<p>But here&#8217;s where things get more interesting.\u00a0 The Sucker Index is <em>not <\/em>in itself, a measure of lottery spending in the face of astronomical odds.\u00a0 Prize payout plays a big factor in Bloomberg&#8217;s rankings.\u00a0 When you look at average individual lottery <em>spending <\/em>state-to-state, slightly different results emerge.\u00a0 For one thing, Massachusetts zooms to the top of the list nationally (thus explaining its high rankings on the Sucker Index despite good prizes <em>and <\/em>the overwhelming success of that state&#8217;s lottery).\u00a0 In terms of raw dollars, it appears that Granite Staters are more willing to pony up for the chance at millions than their neighbors in Vermont or Maine.\u00a0 But when you look at it by percentage of income that goes to lottery tickets, only Vermonters out-frugal New Hampshire residents.<\/p>\n<p>[spreadsheet key=&#8221;0Atb_8tUjelW6dDkwMGozUjdsd1FLWjJNVVRfTjhCaWc&#8221; source=&#8221;Bloomberg Rankings&#8221; sheet=0 filter=0 paginate=0 sortable=0]<\/p>\n<p>As for the current Mega Millions mania sweeping the state, <a title=\"'It's fun to dream, that's all'\" href=\"http:\/\/www.unionleader.com\/article\/20120330\/NEWS\/703309963\" target=\"_blank\">Tim Buckland and Mark Hayward report for the <em>Union-Leader<\/em><\/a>:<\/p>\n<blockquote><p>&#8220;New Hampshire has never had a jackpot winner in Mega Millions. It&#8217;s relatively new in the Granite State, debuting in January 2010&#8230;<\/p>\n<p>Last Friday, however, two state residents hit five of the six numbers, earning $250,000 each.<\/p>\n<p>New Hampshire Lottery spokesman Maura McCann said Mega Millions customers were spending about $50,000 an hour on tickets Thursday.<\/p>\n<p>&#8216;We&#8217;re seeing spikes in sales,&#8217; she said.&#8221;<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p>How much of a spike remains to be seen, but it will certainly merit some following-up.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Earlier today, we reposted our Losing The Lotto series to give you a bit of context about why the Mega Millions frenzy is particularly important to New Hampshire&#8217;s struggling lottery.\u00a0 Since we posted, the jackpot&#8217;s increased yet again&#8211;from $540 million to $640 million. Not surprising given AP&#8217;s report of 27,000 transactions an hour in New [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":28,"featured_media":7258,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[51],"tags":[120,192,525,85,526,117,118],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/new-hampshire\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7246"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/new-hampshire\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/new-hampshire\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/new-hampshire\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/28"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/new-hampshire\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=7246"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/new-hampshire\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7246\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/new-hampshire\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/7258"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/new-hampshire\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=7246"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/new-hampshire\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=7246"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/new-hampshire\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=7246"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}