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Wyoming Lottery expected to impact Utah

Posted at 5:58 PM, Aug 24, 2014
and last updated 2014-08-25 11:08:20-04

EVANSTON, Wyo. -- The Wyoming lottery started Sunday for the first time and it is expected to draw Utahns to border towns.

In the past, people along the Wasatch Front have rushed to Idaho to buy their tickets, but now that could all change.

"I know a lot of people out of Utah who go to Idaho for the lottery, and this is a lot closer. I think it's a great thing," said Brian McClelland of Park City.

The WyoLotto sells Powerball and Mega Millions tickets at more than 400 stores statewide.

Personnel at convenience stores and liquor stores said they are feeling lucky now that the lottery is in place, but there are still a couple of kinks to work out.

"We don't know what to expect," said Evan Perkes, Manager of Cowboy Joe's Liquor Store. "We don't know how to schedule employees. We don't know if we are going to have a lot of people here or very few people. We don't know what to expect. We are hoping it will go over real well."

The retailers said they felt the need to sell tickets to stay competitive, and already there are 14 lotto locations in Evanston.

"Next week it's going to be nuts, Labor Day it's nuts up here anyway, and I think it will catch on in Utah and people will come up," said Cindy Thompson, who is the manager of Kik's Chevron.

Businesses say they don't make much off the lotto sales, but they said customers usually purchase more than just a ticket when they stop in.