S.C. governor scratches first lotto ticket

Megan Scott

Friday, Dec. 14, 2001 | 10:01 a.m.

ALPHARETTA, Ga. -- Three years after being elected on a promise to bring a lottery to South Carolina, Gov. Jim Hodges scratched off the state's first ticket this week.

The tickets, produced at Scientific Games International in suburban Atlanta, will go on sale Jan. 7 at 3,700 retailers across the Palmetto state.

"It was a thrill to me to actually hold the tickets in my hand," Hodges said. "We've talked about it for so long, seeing that really makes it real."

The lottery, modeled closely after Georgia's, will raise money for the South Carolina HOPE Scholarship, which will pay $2,000 toward the first year at a four-year state college.

In addition to helping college students, the ticket sales may financially help gas stations, family-owned businesses and chain stores, some of which took a hit after video poker was banned in 2000.

"The lottery is going to be fun," said John C.B. Smith, chairman of the South Carolina Education Lottery Commission. "People in South Carolina are going to be very proud of what this will do for education."

State lottery experts estimate weekly jackpots of $1 million, or less frequent jackpots of about $10 million for in-state numbers games.

Whether South Carolina participates in multistate games, such as Powerball and The Big Game, is also up in the air. With those games, jackpots could reach $300 million.

Hodges has encouraged lawmakers to create legislation allowing the state to join multistate games. He said economic forecasts for the lottery show less revenue for scholarships and free technical college tuition without them.

Opponents have expressed concern that the state would lose control of its lottery if it entered into a contract with other states.

Lottery officials aren't sure how the economic slowdown and Sept. 11 attacks are going to affect ticket sales. Through the end of September, SGI, which prints lottery tickets for 60 countries and the majority of state lotteries, hasn't seen any change in sales.

"We're selling a dream when you buy a ticket," said Cliff Bickell, president of SG Printed Products. "It's a cheap dream -- $1 or $2."

Hodges said he's not concerned about low ticket sales.

"I do tend to think because it's new, we'll see a tremendous amount of activity," he said. "The challenge, I think, is to make sure they keep changing the product mix and keeping that excitement."

South Carolinians have spent an estimated $127 million a year on Georgia's lottery, and Smith predicted that will change once South Carolina has a game of its own.

"I hope South Carolina residents will want to play our lottery instead," he said.