FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE 

July 21, 2004 
CONTACT: Jennifer Gelband
(208) 334-2600 

LOTTERY DECLARES RECORD $25 MILLION DIVIDEND! 

(BOISE) – Preliminary sales figures for fiscal year 2004, ended June 30, reveal estimated sales of more than $109 million! That’s $11 million more than last fiscal year. As a result, the Idaho Lottery Commission has declared a dividend of $25 million to benefit Idaho public schools and buildings. The Lottery has surpassed the previous record dividend of $20.6 million set in 1999. 

The Idaho Lottery Commission presented a giant-size dividend check to Governor Dirk Kempthorne on July 21, 2004, at 10 a.m. at the Governor’s Office in Boise. 

This dividend is particularly special, as it marks the Idaho Lottery’s 15th anniversary. It was 15 years ago on July 19, 1989, that the Idaho Lottery sold the first Lottery ticket to JR Simplot. Since then, the Idaho Lottery has come a long way. Total sales have far exceeded $1 billion and the Lottery has given back over $275 million to Idaho public schools and buildings. 

These funds are distributed based on population to the Public School Building Fund, which is all K-12 public schools throughout the state, and the Permanent Building Fund, in which colleges and universities use the state money to fund expansion projects and build new buildings. 

This past year, high Powerball jackpots and the implementation of 150 Grand, the $15 anniversary scratch game, drove Lottery sales. And with an improved instant scratch ticket lineup, weekly sales averaged an increase as well. 

Idaho Lottery benefiting Idaho public schools and buildings. Must be 18 to buy, sell, redeem Lottery tickets. Please play responsibly.