The Wyoming Lottery has only been selling tickets since Sunday, but judging by ticket sales so far the future looks bright for WyoLotto.
According to officials, the lottery sold nearly $200,000 worth of US Powerball and US Mega Millions tickets on their first day.
WyoLotto CEO Jon Clontz said: "We're pretty happy about it . . . And the fact that it went without a hitch. We had no systems errors, no major glitches. So it was really great."
The lottery sold its first ticket at 11:55, on August 24, to Mary Ogg, a 67-year-old grandmother from Sheridan who entered a promotional contest and won the right to buy the first ticket. Then at noon tickets became available from WyoLotto retailers all over the state.
Between noon and midnight the lottery recorded Mega Millions ticket sales of over $68,000, but Powerball proved to be the most popular choice with Wyoming players and ticket sales topped $130,000.
There are currently nearly 400 WyoLotto retailers. Ogg purchased the first WyoLotto ticket at the Holiday Station in Sheridan—her chosen retailer. The Holiday Station accounted for $1,079 of Sunday's sales, but it was not the top-selling venue.
KIKS Chevron Station in Evanston and ALF's Pub and Package Liquors in Cheyenne were Wyoming's most successful retailers on Sunday. Both recorded ticket sales of $2,050.
The official first day sales figures are $198,612. Ticket sales continued to be good on Monday.
"I'm hoping to do $45,000 a day, or $315,000 a week," Clontz said.
