Retailers Begin Powerball Sales
LOTTERY PATRONS WELCOME SATURDAY KICKOFF
Posted: November 2, 2009 at 6:06 a.m.
ROGERS — Lottery enthusiasts welcomed the Saturday night Powerball kickoff but a Rogers E-Z Mart clerk called it regrettable.
Customers hold up the line to fill out their tickets instead of courteously stepping aside, clerk Anthony Krug and assistant manager Kyle Moore said.
“On this side of the counter, it’s just extra paperwork,” Moore said from behind the cash register of the convenience store on North Second Street. A basket on a table by the front door held a stack of the magenta and white tickets.
Sales for the Wednesday night Powerball draw kicked off at 10:15 p.m. Saturday, and Northwest Arkansas lottery retailers saw mixed results. Moore’s store had sold nine tickets by Sunday afternoon.
Another Rogers E-Z Mart on Walnut Street had sold three or four. Customers told clerks they were waiting to buy tickets until the payo◊builds up, assistant manager Regina Rachal said. Powerball jackpots start at $20 million and increase after draws until someone wins, according to the Arkansas Scholarship Lottery Web site.
King’s Korner at West Huntsville Avenue and Gutensohn Road in Springdale saw more success. They had sold 150 Powerball tickets by 4 p.m. Sunday, manager Joshua Derryberry said.
An area Arkansas Scholarship Lottery representative told the store they led Washington County in scratch-off ticket sales last week, he said. Sales of scratch-off tickets started Sept. 28. Derryberry said he’s not sure why the store is so popular among lottery players.
“We’re a busy store anyway,” he said. “We have friendly cashiers, and we’ve been here for a long time.”
A handful of people waited outside a Fayetteville White Oak Station on Gregg Avenue for Powerball ticket sales to start Saturday, clerk Amanda Cummings said. They had sold 35 by late Sunday afternoon.
Cummings predicted sales will pick up once customers figure out Powerball. Those who purchased tickets had many questions for clerks, Cummings said.
A Bentonville Fastrip clerk also expected sales to increase once people get used to the game. J.D. Wilson said he sold a single ticket during a four-hour period Sunday.
Scratch-off tickets selllike hot cakes and have since their debut, he said.
“I guess people aren’t as excited about (Powerball) because they go to Missouri to buy them anyway when they want them,” he said.
News, Pages 1 on 11/02/2009
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