Alabamians hoping to hit it rich will soon be able to go to Mississippi for their lottery fix.
Starting Jan. 30, Mississippi will begin selling tickets to the multi-state Powerball and Mega Million lotteries.
“Mississippians will no longer have to cross into neighboring states to participate in these drawing-style games,” said Tom Shaheen, president of the Mississippi Lottery Corporation. “They will soon have the opportunity for a chance to play big jackpot games four times per week, as well as many secondary prizes.”
Drawings for both games will take place twice a week. Powerball drawings occur on Wednesday and Saturdays while Mega Millions drawings take place on Tuesdays and Fridays.
Sales on scratch-off tickets will start earlier – Nov. 25.
Money generated by the lottery will go to a variety of projects. The first $80 million of net lottery proceeds annually will go towards infrastructure needs. After that 10-year period, proceeds up to $80 million will go into the state’s general fund with any revenue over that amount going to education.
Alabama is one of five states that doesn’t have a lottery. The others are: Alaska, Hawaii, Nevada and Utah.