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S.C. Education Lottery to launch beneficiary campa

1/1/2003 11:00:00 PM

Columbia, SC (December 30, 2002) -- January 7, 2003 will mark the first anniversary of the South Carolina Education Lottery (SCEL). To commemorate what the lottery industry has described as a record-breaking year, the SCEL will launch an informational campaign about where the proceeds go and how they benefit South Carolina. The television and radio spots will premiere at a series of news conferences across the state on Jan. 7.

The news conferences will take place simultaneously at 11 a.m. on Tuesday, Jan. 7 at the following locations:

• Columbia: 1333 Main Street, SCEL Draw Studios
• Mt. Pleasant: 537 Long Point Road, Suite 106
• Greenville: 18 Augusta Road

The general public is invited to attend.

Since the SCEL began selling instant lottery tickets a year ago, more than $151 million dollars have been applied to education. In its first six months of operation, the SCEL turned more than $80 million over to the Education Lottery Account.

“More than 64,000 students in South Carolina are attending college with funds supported by the lottery,” said SCEL Executive Director Ernie Passailaigue. “This is what the Education Lottery is all about.”

In its first year:

• The SCEL has launched 34 instant games and three on-line games: Pick 3, Carolina 5 and the multi-state lottery game Powerball®.

• Lottery players have won nearly $400 million dollars in cash prizes.

• The time between the SCEL’s first day of operations and the first day of ticket sales was the shortest in lottery history.

• The SCEL was the first to launch its on-line games using a Virtual Private Network (VPN), a technological achievement.

• The SCEL’s per capita sales -- an average $1.87 -- are the best in lottery start-ups. The average per capita for other states during start-up is $.073.

“The lottery staff is dedicated to making this lottery the best in the world,” said Passailaigue. “I commend them on surpassing everyone’s goal.”

To help celebrate the one-year anniversary, the SCEL is introducing a new instant ticket, Carolina Riches. This is a revision of one of four inaugural instant tickets, $100,000 Carolina Riches. In the newer version, if players find a birthday cake in the bonus box, the player wins $1,000. This game offers a considerable prize structure, with odds of winning at 1 in 2.6.

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