JUNEAU, Alaska — Former Anchorage Mayor Dan Sullivan is in Juneau, Alaska, this week hoping to hit the jackpot: He's trying to convince lawmakers to authorize a state lottery.
Sullivan, who finished his second three-year term as mayor last year, said in an interview that a lottery could take a small bite out of the state's $3.8 billion budget deficit. And he's talked with more than a dozen lawmakers this week about approving legislation to set up a state lottery corporation, which would allow Alaska to participate in multistate games like Powerball.
"Bless the lotteries — they're the only voluntary form of taxation, so it's not government forcibly extracting from your wallet," he said, noting that he was quoting the writings of Thomas Jefferson. "If you want to play, you do, and if you don't, you don't. Does it solve the budget crisis? Nope. Does it help? Yes."
Sullivan is acting as the volunteer director of the Alaska Lottery Coalition — a group that he said claims other members, though he wouldn't identify any of them.
Alaska is one of six states that doesn't participate in Powerball, which this month saw its jackpot hit $1.5 billion. There's no state lottery in Alaska now, though gambling games like bingo, pull-tabs and the Nenana Ice Classic are allowed. Bingo and pull-tabs operate under charitable gaming licenses.
In 2014, gaming operators reported about $340 million in gross receipts to the state, which collected $2.5 million in taxes. A paper produced by Gov. Bill Walker's administration last year said the state could potentially produce $15 million in revenue by creating a lottery.
The last proposal to do so was in 2003, from a Republican senator who wanted to use the proceeds for education, but his legislation never made it to the floor for a vote.
Sullivan said he was involved in an effort to create a lottery 28 years ago that passed the state House and made it through Senate committees before being held off the floor by leadership — "or we would have had a state lottery," he said.
One of the lawmakers who met with Sullivan this week, Rep. Lynn Gattis, R-Wasilla, said she has a fundamental problem with gambling.
"People work hard for their money, and I don't want to see it frittered away," she said in an interview. "It seems like folks that can least afford it participate."
On the other hand, she added: "Who am I to be telling someone they can't?"
Gattis said she would consider legislation authorizing a state lottery, and Sullivan, she added, would likely "get many of us to think about it in a different way." Before she'd approve it, though, she said: "I'd have to look at the data."
Sullivan maintained that lotteries target a different, more affluent market than pull-tabs.
Lotteries, he said, "base their income on a lot of people playing a little."
"It's disposable income," he said.
Currently, Sullivan said, there's no money being spent on his effort, and he hasn't registered as a lobbyist.
"It's just a labor of love," he said.
Backers of a lottery may also consider pushing for a citizens initiative if lawmakers don't get behind their idea, he said.
Beyond his lottery campaign, Sullivan said he's been getting to the gym every day. But he said he has no plans to seek public office anytime soon.
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Exactly what I was thinking Rep Gattis.
Who are you or anyone else in government to tell anyone how to spend their money?
Really tempted to throw Sara Palin into this, but will be nice. Don't think this would fly due to the scarcity of the residents--too spread out IMHO.
I hope Alaska gets their Lottery.
They could just join Washington.
Years ago before Luxemburg hat their own lottery they had a contract with the German lottery and sold tickets for that. A lotto revenue split between AK and WA shouldn't be too complicated, given it's all traceable.
Lol! I was gonna quip that no one lives in Alaska except Sarah Palin.
I wish Hawaii would start a state lottery, other than PB/MM, then I would seriously consider relocating to Hawaii, b/c I prefer to live in a "paradise" state that has a lottery.
Move to Puerto Rico.
Yes, I do too.
Why they didn't have one already is unthinkable.
Of course, many people here know how I feel about adding people to our lottery, but hey Alaska is now part of the USA, since we bought from Russia, for . . . . I forget what it was. . . . $5000?
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To the people of Alaska:
I hope you get your lotto, once the politics are sorted out.
Why you haven't had it already just seems ridiculous.
I mean, what are you expected do all day, sitting in your igloos?
(just kidding, I know you have houses like other folks)
You don't want to know where I live. I live where we got about
2 feet of snow!
I'll be stuck here for a while. About a week, by my estimates.
2 weeks by the county's estimates.
7.2M$
Alaskans can play a state lottery, just not an Alaskan state lottery. The Massachusetts lottery has a subscription service, which is available across the US, by phone. You don’t have to reside in Massachusetts to participate.
Perhaps, one could say, "the penny has finally dropped"!
Yes they do, but I'll reiterate it for the umteenth time. You can only order on the phone MegaBucks Doubler. I bought my MM and L4L subscription while on vacation back home. Brother finally got my Powerball ticket. If you get them while they are on sale, you get SEVEN weeks free which is a great bonus. Powerplay and Megaplier are naturally not available since it changes all the time.
Who is the government of Alaska to tell the residents of Alaska how to spend their money. Anyone could spend their money on cigarettes,alcohol or whatever, and Alaska's doesn't have a law against that. On or before that January 13th, Powerball drawing of that $1.5 billion,many people who were residing in Alaska, went across the border of Alaska to purchase Powerball lottery tickets. The government of Alaska were the big losers on that day.
Hope someone from Alaska wins the next big Powerball JP (if they get it), that would be pretty entertaining haha.
"...many people who were residing in Alaska, went across the border of Alaska to purchase Powerball lottery tickets."
Uh, you sure about that? I'm pretty sure it's at least 500 miles from the most southern point of Alaska to Washington state...and that's "as the crow flies". I'm not sure there are many, if any, paved roads from there to a major highway. I've got Google Earth opened and don't see any routes except up a river for a hundred miles, then up about 4000' and down a mountain range then 30 miles across rough country and several other rivers for 30 miles to get to Hwy. 37...where I guess you could hitch a ride in a day or two...if the grizzlies didn't getcha first. Then again, you could always take a boat or plane from some populated place...although there's not that many of those south of Ketchikan. That's just from the southernmost part of Alaska - it's over 2200 miles from Anchorage to the Canada/US border.
I would move back in a nanosecond but it would take a lottery win to be able to afford it. And I honestly do not think they will EVER allow "gambling" or "lottery" lol.
That said, stranger things have happened and I can eat my words again just like I had to when I said we would never see a billion dollar lottery lol.
Alaska Purchase
The US $7.2 million check used to pay for Alaska ($121 million in 2015 dollars)
Russia was in a difficult financial position and feared losing Russian America without compensation in some future conflict, especially to the British, whom they had fought in the Crimean War (1853–1856). While Alaska attracted little interest at the time, the population of nearby British Columbia started to increase rapidly a few years after hostilities ended, with a large gold rush there prompting the creation of a British crown colony on the mainland in addition to the one that was already established on Vancouver Island, where the French and British fleets had retreated after the Battle of Petropavlovsk in the Russian Far East.
If London had been quicker off the mark, Alaska would be part of Canada today.
I use to live in Anchorage we were station @ Ft. Richardson I hope Alaska gets the lottery.
As I said, many people of Alaska, went across their border to purchase Powerball lottery tickets. I believe this is true. There are over 737,700 persons residing in Alaska, and with the Powerball at $1.5 billion that was being predicted for that January 13th drawing, many people who never played the lottery, went and purchased some lottery tickets. Mathematical odds would say at the least, at the bare minimum, there would be 500 persons who reside in Alaska, went out of their way, across the border and purchased Powerball lottery tickets.
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You used to live there, huh? It must have been cold.
Where in Alaska? In a place where I imagine they wear Parka coats, at times?
Seriously though, I do hope they get their lottery, and Hawaii too, if they haven't.
To not have this simple form of gambling is just difficult.
I think our govt should establish a compulsory Lotto tax, whereby everyone who draws a legal dollar from the govt. is automatically enrolled in a weeky? bi-weekly? monthly? Yearly? lottery.
Not a lottery where you have to pick numbers, but one where they use your social# to select the winner. So, you'll never know until it happens. The winner will be listed on public record, but only if you care to look it up, otherwise, it will be all transparent.
Come on Mr. O'bama, , come on Mr. Trump (whom I hope will be the next potus.).
Your thoughts on this, please.
You make a statement as a matter-of-fact, then follow that up by "I believe this is true." meaning you have no source upon which to base your statement. That's what I call Feelings, not cold hard facts.
"Mathematical odds"? I'd like to see your formula for figuring that percentage. 73.6% of all statistics are made up. /sarc off
To get to a state that sells lottery tickets (Washington state), Alaska residents would not only have to cross one border (Alaska/Canada) but two (Canada/US border - Washington state). Since the highest population densities of the state are in Anchorage, Fairbanks and Juneau, they would have to travel anywhere from 1600+ miles from Juneau (having to go north first to get on a highway) to over 2000 miles from Fairbanks or Anchorage. While I don't have any numbers to back me up, I have a feeling there weren't many Alaskans who made that trek.
I suppose you could be right on that 500 number, considering that something like 1 out of 60 Alaskans has a pilot's license. I imagine the skies were crowded, what with all the PB ticket buyers. I did read about one Alaska resident who played the PB - scroll down to the bottom of the article: Alaska among 6 states that opt out of Powerball
Yep we were station @ Ft. Richardson in anchorage loved it there. The weather actually wasn't that bad seeing that I'm from Michigan I'm use to snow lol. The summers when I was there were in the 80's I remember the reaching 90's. If you love the outdoors Alaska is the place. The only thing is you will have to get use to Moose walking up to your car/homes lol.
The border would be Canada and I didn't know they were part of the MSLA
. It took us 2 days to get to Seattle when we drove from Anchorage. We left Friday at 7:00pm and arrived in Seattle Sunday@ 10:00pm so it is possible if someone wanted to drive to get tickets for the Wednesday draw or they could also fly which is about 2/12 flight from Seattle to Anchorage.
I guess these states that didn't play Powerball, was missing out! After the biggest Powerball Jackpot ever was won. 1.6 billion! So now they wanting to join in on the action. Like California did when they was missing out on the biggest win back then in 2013 or was it 2012?