Millionaire Bonus Raffle coming in February

BATON ROUGE, La. — After being approved by voters by a seven-to-three margin in 1990 and subsequently launching its first scratch-off game in 1991, the Louisiana Lottery Corporation will celebrate its 20th anniversary in 2011 with a host of player promotions and games. 

"For 20 years, we have been generating winning numbers that give Louisianans plenty of reasons to smile, including over $2.3 billion contributed to our state, more than $3 billion paid to winners and upwards of $351.8 million issued to retail partners since our inception," said Lottery President Rose Hudson. "Even considering today's economic realities, the Lottery continues to exceed revenue projections while transferring 35 percent of sales to help fund K-12 public education. That's the highest transfer percentage of any state lottery." 

Louisiana Lottery games continue to be a popular pastime among adults. Fiscal year-to-date Lottery sales of $191.3 million are up 1.5 percent compared to 2010. 

"We take our players' trust in our products seriously. Toward that end, the Louisiana Lottery was the first lottery in the country to receive verification that our quality assurance procedures meet industry best practices, and we continue to receive an unqualified opinion from the legislative auditor," Hudson added. "This focus on integrity is something for which Louisiana can be proud." 

Hudson credits much of the Lottery's success to creating new and exciting products that provide added value for players' entertainment dollar. 

"Looking back, so much has changed over the past 20 years," said Hudson. "The Lottery now offers an online players club with exclusive second-chance promotions, partners regularly with other Louisiana brands, features state-of-the-art 24/7 touch-screen retailer equipment and interacts with thousands of players in the social media sphere. But one thing that hasn't changed is you can still play for only a buck." 

To celebrate its 20th anniversary, the Lottery plans to launch special promotions all year long. Currently, social media fans and followers of the Lottery can register to win a parade ride giveaway by sharing their favorite Mardi Gras traditions on Facebook. Members of the Lottery's online players club, Club Lotteaux, also have a similar opportunity. The Lottery will utilize social media to showcase carnival nostalgia, including sample artwork from its 20 years of past Mardi Gras-themed tickets. 

In February, the Lottery plans to bring back its popular raffle game with a new twist. Not only will Millionaire Bonus Raffle offer the Lottery's best odds to win $1 million, but players will also have the chance to win $20,000 in five preliminary bonus drawings. The previous two raffles conducted by the Lottery sold out. The Lottery is expecting the same success with Millionaire Bonus Raffle because the earlier players purchase their tickets, the more chances they'll have to win. 

In the spring, the corporation will sponsor a t-shirt design contest around the theme of its anniversary, "Twenty Years of Winning Numbers," and launch a series of anniversary scratch-offs in the fall. Anniversary celebrations will also be held at various retail establishments throughout the state that have sold Lottery games since the corporation's inception in 1991. 

"It's a wonderful time to look back on how much the Louisiana Lottery has contributed to our state monetarily and culturally," Hudson noted, "as well as thank those business partners, employees and Louisianans who helped make it happen." 

More information on the Louisiana Lottery's anniversary activities and its 20-year history can be found on its Web site (link below).