NIPTON, Calif. (AP) – Waiting in the longest line ever outside what officials call the busiest lottery store in the nation, 74-year-old William Burke had three hours to think about what he’ll do if he wins a multi-state Powerball jackpot estimated at $1.5 billion.
“I’d certainly take care of my family,” the Nevada resident said as he emerged from the store in Nipton, California, just over the state line, 40 miles south of Las Vegas. “But I would also set up a charity to help as many kids go to college as I could.”
The Primm Valley Lotto Store where Burke bought tickets Monday swarmed with hundreds of dreamers – many of them refugees from the lottery-less Nevada. The state that features slots in almost every grocery store, airport and bar is one of six that shuns the lottery, fearing it would undercut the dominant casino industry.
“We have a lot of problems in this state. We’re high on a lot of the bad lists,” said Democratic Assemblyman James Ohrenschall, who co-sponsored the latest failed attempt to repeal Nevada’s constitutional lottery ban. “We can’t afford to be exporting money that could be used to address these issues.”
But Nevada’s political climate makes a lottery a tough sell. The state’s casino-based tourism industry accounts for 28 percent of Nevada’s total workforce, pays taxes that make up 45 percent of state general fund revenues, and is a major contributor to political campaigns.