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https://wset.com/news/local/virginia-lottery-posts-record-sales

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No Virginian had the Mega Millions numbers worth almost $1.6 billion in October. But the ticket-buying frenzy still led to a jackpot for the state.

The Virginia Lottery recently reported a record $240.3 million in sales for October. Sales were up 44.4 percent over the same month last year. High Mega Millions and Powerball jackpots drove the spike, officials said.

In a letter to Gov. Ralph Northam and other leaders, the lottery reported $75 million in October profits, a 58.9 percent increase over last year. The state uses lottery proceeds to help fund public schools.

A store in South Carolina sold the big winner, but some Virginians took home smaller amounts. The more than 800,000 winning tickets sold in Virginia led to roughly $8 million in prizes, Virginia Lottery Executive Director Kevin Hall said.

Lottery sales for the year totaled $777.8 million through October, up 13.1 percent over the same point in 2017. For the year to date, lottery profits stood at $225.7 million, up 10.5 percent.

Hall said policymakers shouldn’t count on similar numbers in the future. “It should be noted that comparisons to prior periods are not indicative of future performance, due to the volatility of sales and profits over short periods of time because of a variety of factors, including luck,” he wrote.

https://www.richmond.com/news/virginia/government-politics/big-mega-millions-jackpot-pushes-virginia-lottery-to-record-breaking/article_7a8c9b8f-a420-514e-afde-c4e310fce423.html