That total is 9.2 percent more than the 2007 sales amount, the Minnesota State Lottery said.

Scratch tickets accounted for nearly two-thirds of the sales ($298 million), while all other games (Powerball, Hot Lotto, Gopher 5, etc.) pulled in the rest, the State Lottery said.

Prizes to players in the fiscal year ending June 30 totaled $279.6 million, or slightly more than 60 percent of what gamblers paid to play.

Various state funds collected millions from lottery proceeds: The general fund ($63.9 million), the Environmental and Natural Resources Fund ($30.6 million), the Game and Fish Fund and the Natural Resources Fund ($10.9 million each).

The remainder was for administrative, vendor and retailer expenses.

“Obviously, we’re very pleased with these results,” said lottery Executive Director Clint Harris. “We have been designing games that our customers want to play and developing popular promotions with unique prizes. Players have responded enthusiastically to these efforts.”

Burnsville psychologist John Gessner, who specializes in treating gambling addiction, said he’s surprised by the surge in ticket sales.

“We don’t see a lot of addiction to lottery tickets,” Gessner said. “We get it, but it’s a small percentage.”

He characterizes gambling on the lottery as “kind of worthless.”

“If you buy them over time, you’ll lose 40 percent. … If it’s fun for you to support the government, that’s nice. But you might as well send them a check.”

Source: http://www.startribune.com/local/27456894.html?elr=KArksLckD8EQDUoaEyqyP4O:DW3ckUiD3aPc:_Yyc:aULPQL7PQLanchO7DiUsA

For employees of auto dealership Bray Motors in Sundridge near Huntsville, the answer is planning to return to work.

The decision may seem especially unusual when you find out how much each worker took home.

“Almost $903,000!” cheered one lucky recipient. Actually, each share is worth $902,914.24.

That’s 1/25th of one half of the second biggest jackpot in Canadian history.

The total prize was a whopping $45 million and there were only two winning tickets. The second was sold in Quebec, and so far, the holder has not come forward.

But the other 22.25 million big ones were split amongst the owners and staff. They’d been buying tickets for at least 14 years before the big payoff.

The day the big win was announced, fifty-six year old salesman Clarence Hummel remained calm long enough to deliver a Chevy Malibu to a waiting customer.

“I remember my customer talking to me. I could see his lips moving but I couldn’t hear anything. I had to call him later to apologize, but he laughed and said he understood,” Hummel jokes.

The entire company took the day off Tuesday to party at the CNE (top left) and even brought along the most junior staff member, 23-year-old Taylor Armstrong.

“It hasn’t still sunk in yet but I guess it has … I’ve been there a whole three months,” he beamed.

A cheque presentation took place at the Ex, leading to huge applause from the crowd while the winners danced to the sweet sound of cash.

Afterward, each of the winners took a ride on the Ferris wheel before heading to the bank.

While a spin on an amusement park ride may not be the smartest spot for a nearly million dollar cheque, the employees have shown they’re not ones for conventional decisions.

After all, come Wednesday it’s back to work – with a few extra holidays. The average Bray Motors employee makes roughly $30,000 each year, making each person’s take almost 30 years pay.

But the win isn’t the only big one being celebrated in Ontario. On Friday, 11 employees at a London pub split a $15 million windfall. It was their second victory in as many plays: the first time, they won a free ticket.

And when they played that freebie they took home over a million dollars each.

Source: http://www.citynews.ca/news/news_26165.aspx