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 Greetings!
For the past year, the Virginia Lottery has celebrated a very important milestone – our 20th Birthday. It was September 20, 1988, that we sold our very first ticket. You may remember that day. We had just one game: Match 3. There were no drawings, no lottery terminals and no $100 million jackpots. What we did have was amazing potential as a source of excitement for players and a great benefit for the Commonwealth.
I remember that day well. I was part of a small team of people embarking on an adventure that was entirely new for Virginia. The voters of Virginia had approved the creation of a Lottery and we were there to make it happen.
Today, that adventure has benefitted the Commonwealth with more than $7 billion in Lottery profits. Since 1999 those profits have gone exclusively to K-12 public education in Virginia. In that time, the Lottery has raised more than $4 billion in profits – something in which all Virginians can take pride, whether or not they play the Lottery.
In those first days of the Virginia Lottery, we were determined to earn a reputation for integrity, honesty and efficiency. I am proud that we succeeded. Now, as Executive Director of the Virginia Lottery, I intend to work to keep that hard-earned reputation.
To mark our 20th birthday, we introduced a wide variety of games and activities. The most notable was a return of that first game – Match 3, but with an exciting twist. We held a Birthday Celebration Sweepstakes, in which players entered non-winning tickets and 20 were drawn to win scholarships from the Virginia College Savings Plan, each valued at $50,000.
As you look around our Web site, I hope you keep in mind that when you play the Virginia Lottery, you are helping Virginia’s K-12 public schools. All Lottery employees work to achieve our mission. That mission is "contributing to Virginia's future, one play at a time."
Sincerely,
Paula I. Otto
Executive Director
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