Here's a news item from the Associated Press: SALT LAKE CITY (AP) — Nearly one-fifth of Idaho's traditional lottery ticket revenues come from sales to Utah residents, who trek across the border from the state that outlaws all forms of gambling. The Salt Lake Tribune reports (http://bit.ly/HjMEmv) an analysis of Idaho Lottery Commission financial data from 2011 shows 19.4 percent of lottery ticket sales came from sites on the Utah border. The owners of those stores say the overwhelming majority of those sales come from Utahns. Alexis Daniels, manager of the Top Stop Chevron in Malad, Idaho, says 99 percent of its lottery tickets are sold to Utahns. Top Stop is the top-selling lottery store in Idaho — especially busy amid high-jackpot drawings like the $640 million Mega Millions record set last week. Utahns play scratcher and pull tab games far less often.

Here's a news item from the Associated Press:  BOISE, Idaho (AP) — Lottery officials say a 29-year-old northern Idaho woman has decided to collect her half of a $380 million Mega Millions jackpot in a lump sum payment. The Idaho Lottery announced Friday that Holly Lahti, from the small town of Rathdrum, had elected to take the $120 million lump sum instead of collecting her cash in annual payments over 25 years. The federal government would take $30 million in taxes, while the Idaho State Tax Commission would take a $9.3 million slice, leaving Lahti with about $80.6 million. Lahti, a mother of two, is splitting the second-largest lottery jackpot in history with Jim and Carolyn McCullar of Ephrata, Wash.

One of two $190 million winning tickets in the Mega Millions Lottery was sold in Post Falls, Idaho lottery officials announced today, splitting the big $380 million jackpot with a winner in Ephrata, Wash. The two big winners have not yet stepped forward - they have 180 days to do so. “With large winners like this, people don’t pop in the next day,” said Idaho Lottery Director Jeff Anderson. “They have things to take care of.”

However, one smaller winner already has been named - Kevin Anderson of Melba, Idaho matched all five numbers but but not the mega-ball, and won a $250,000 prize. “I was a little disappointed when I didn’t get the mega-ball, but then I was like, ‘But I matched five,’” the construction superintendent said. “We were dancing around.” He said, “It made going to work so much easier today. I told my boss, if it’d been one more number, you would’ve gotten my resignation.” You can read my full story here at spokesman.com.

Idaho’s state lottery has set a seventh consecutive record for the dividend it turns over to the state this year, handing over $36.5 million in lottery profits to the state’s schools and the permanent building fund.  It marked the third consecutive year that Idaho Lottery sales have increased. Asked why he thinks lottery sales have continued to increase despite the economic downturn, Gov. Butch Otter said, “It’s probably the purest form of voluntary taxation. I think people want to support the school system, but they also want to win some money.” And in tough times, winning money may seem more attractive, he said.

“We’ve been very fortunate in Idaho … maintaining the integrity and the honesty of our lottery system,” Otter said. “We’ve not seen at least a lot of the predicted gaming addictions. We’re very watchful for those.” He noted that he endorsed the concept of a state lottery back in 1986 when he was running for lieutenant governor. “I felt at the time, if people want do to it, they ought to be free to buy a lottery ticket,” Otter said. This year’s dividend is split with $17 million each going to schools and the permanent building fund, and $2.5 million going to the school bond levy equalization fund. Here, Otter and state officials hold a giant check for the permanent building fund portion.

Gov. Butch Otter today approvingly called the Idaho Lottery “probably the clearest form of self-taxation that we have in the state.” Here’s a link to the governor talking about how much the lottery has raised for schools and state buildings in Idaho in the past 20 years, how much the state needs money right now, and how “we appreciate the people taxing themselves, voluntarily, through the lottery.” When Idaho’s state lottery commission chairman, Roger Jones, made ready to present this year’s check to Otter on Tuesday, he said amid some laughter, “We’re able to give another million dollars more than last year. … Maybe it’s all spent, Butch, I don’t know.”

When Eye on Boise asked him why he thinks Idahoans are still buying lottery tickets despite the downturn, Idaho’s biggest-ever lottery winner, Brad Duke, who won $220.3 million in a Powerball drawing in 2005, said, “There’s always the chance, there’s always the hope. I suppose for some people, that goes a long ways - to invest a couple of bucks for some hope might give ‘em a little relief.” Duke, 37, said he still plays the lottery from time to time. “It’s always been a hobby of mine - I like numbers games,” he said.

Since his big win, he’s gone from manager of a local Gold’s Gym to owner of a consulting firm that travels around the country and helps people run their gyms. He’s also done some traveling to indulge his hobby of downhill mountain biking, in which he competes, and he’s set up a family foundation that’s given more than $100,000 to charities including the Children’s Home, Project Patch, Hope House, the American Diabetes Association and the LiveStrong Foundation. Duke, who still lives in the same Star, Idaho home as before his big win, said the philanthropy was the most rewarding part. He told state and lottery officials, “Thanks for making it possible for Idaho people to win big money.”

Though the economic times are grim, there’s one way Idaho’s still making money: By chance. Idaho’s state lottery announced today that its revenues for the recently concluded fiscal year set a record for the seventh time in eight years, coming in 2 percent over last year. That bucks a national trend that has many states seeing lower lottery proceeds this year, including Washington, where lottery proceeds were down 6 percent. “The principal reason is this is a low-cost form of entertainment for the people who play - I mean, it’s only a dollar,” said Idaho Lottery Director Jeff Anderson. “We know that people are cutting back on their expenditures for a lot of things.” Idaho’s state lottery also celebrated its 20-year anniversary today, with free hot dogs and birthday cake for anyone who showed up to a celebration across from the state Capitol in downtown Boise.

Anderson said the Idaho lottery sold its first ticket in 1989 to billionaire J.R. Simplot; that ticket didn’t win. Idaho’s lottery proceeds are split evenly between public schools and the state’s permanent building fund, which maintains state buildings; you can read my full story here at spokesman.com.