NC lottery says ticket sales ahead of last year

RALEIGH (AP) — Scratch-off tickets with large cash prizes are helping the North Carolina Education Lottery sell more than ever before.

Lottery executive director Tom Shaheen said Wednesday that overall sales for about the first seven months of the fiscal year are nearly $18 million ahead of sales for the same period a year ago.

Most of the gains have occurred in the past few weeks.

Shaheen has said sales for a new instant-ticket game called the “$100 Million Cash Spectacular” have soared. The game has 10 top prizes of $1 million.

The results are promising for the lottery, which is in its second year. During its first full fiscal year, it failed to meet sales projections by 25 percent.

(Copyright 2008 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)