Area businesses are hitting the jackpot in lottery sales
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The Mississippi Lottery Corporation lists six Columbus retailers as the top 16 vendors with the most sales from April to June.
COLUMBUS, Miss. (WCBI)- If you’re trying to hit a lottery jackpot, Columbus may be the place to be.
The city is climbing the charts with the most lottery ticket sales in Mississippi.
The Mississippi Lottery Corporation lists six Columbus retailers as the top 16 vendors with the most sales from April to June.
11 of the top 100 retailers across Mississippi are right here in Columbus.
And almost half of the top-selling stores are located in the Golden Triangle.
Chips, a soda, and a scratch-off lottery ticket.
Folks are trying their luck in the Friendly City.
45 Express Mart is one of the top ten retailers in Mississippi with the highest number of lottery ticket sales.
” It brings in-store revenue,” said Manager Abbie White.
White says lines aren’t slowing down anytime soon.
“They’ve gone up a lot since we started selling the lottery because once they win something big, they’re going to spend some more money in the store getting beer and candies, all kinds of stuff,” said White.
45 Express Mart ranks number 9 in the top 100 retailers across the state. It’s ranked number 6 from January to March for the total sales of scratch-off tickets.
“We also sell a lot of books here too. It’s not just single tickets. We sell at least five books to one customer,” said White.
Ryaan’s Food and Fuel LLC in Macon ranks 71 on the list.
” I pay probably $300 a week in lottery tickets,” said customer Joseph Anthony.
Yep, you heard it correctly.
” When I first started playing, I got 25-thousand. I quit my job. Maybe if I get another one, I can start my own business barbecuing. I’ll keep my fingers crossed and keep playing,” said Joseph Anthony.
General Manager Barbara Hairston says since there aren’t many casinos near the Golden Triangle, folks are taking a chance on a ticket or a few of them.
And some are winning up to $30,000 on a few of the games.
” We have local customers coming in. We have travelers coming in. People going as far as the coast of Florida. Everyone decided to make these their stop. And along the way, we’ve sold a lot of lottery tickets,” said Hairston.
The Mississippi Lottery Corporation completed its August transfer of a little over 13 million dollars to the Lottery Proceeds fund in the Mississippi State Treasury.
It brings the 2022 Fiscal Year net proceeds close to 22 million dollars.
