Kinston a-buzz over first-day lottery sales

Well, did they or didn’t they? Buy lottery tickets, that is.

Depends on whom you ask. At least half the people who spoke with this reporter Thursday said they hadn’t bought lottery tickets and never will. But retailers selling the tickets say business was brisk on the first day of the North Carolina Educational Lottery and if any more people had come in, they’d have been standing in a long line.

“I’ve never bought a lottery ticket in my life and I’m not going to buy one now,” Johnnie Aycock said. “It’s gambling, plain and simple. I don’t know what else you could call it.”

“You can dress up a pig any way you want to and it’s still a pig,” said MaryEllen Ellis, Aycock’s friend.

Jocylyn Winters won’t buy a ticket because she doesn’t trust the state. Winters said Gov. Mike Easley proved that to her before the first ticket even went on sale.

“Easley is already looting the proceeds,” she said. “It’ll just get worse. They’ll use it for anything they want to except what they promised to do with it.”

Winters was referring to the $200 million Easley last month said he would take from this year’s $400 million-plus expected lottery revenue. The governor plans to use the money to reimburse the General Fund for money already spent on school projects instead of using the entire amount on school building projects.

However, employees at Spinx gas station on North Queen Street said their business was rockin’ and rollin’ on the first day of sales. A cashier, who declined to give her name, said the store had “plenty of winners” Thursday, with $50 being the store’s biggest jackpot.

“I’ve stopped at four gas stations between Raleigh and here,” John Pollard said. “I’m on my way to Morehead City and I’ll probably stop at a few more.”

Pollard didn’t need gas. He just wanted lottery tickets. None of the ones he bought today was a winner, but Pollard remained optimistic. “Somebody’s going to win and you can bet it won’t be me if I don’t play,” he said.

Janice Davis agreed. “I bought five of every kind,” she said, waving a fistful of lottery tickets. “I’m going to take these home and let my kids help me scratch off the numbers. You never know – one of these could be a big winner!”

The most realistic assessment probably came from Robbie Martin.

“I’m probably not going to win anything,” Martin said. “If even half the people won they wouldn’t have enough money to pay out the prizes. But I waste a lot of money on other stuff, so I’ll throw away some money on these too. I’m sure not quitting my job or buying a new car and depending on my lottery winnings to pay for it, though.”