Illinois Lottery hits golden anniversary; celebrates 50 years of jackpots
The Illinois lottery, celebrating its 50th anniversary this month, has enduring appeal for one reason, if you ask longtime host of the live drawing, Linda Kollmeyer: “Dreams do come true with the Illinois lottery.”
The player holding a ticket also clings to a dream. Many lottery players have told WGN reporters over the years what they would spend the money on, if they were to win: A new house, a sports car, a dream vacation, college loans, etc.
“There’s something exciting about that exact moment they find out that everything they’ve been hoping for and wishing for has happened because of the Illinois Lottery,” Kollmeyer said in a recent interview with WGN.
More: The Lottery Lady: Linda Kollmeyer
This June an anonymous Illinois winner took home a Mega Millions jackpot of $552 million. Two years ago, a $1.3 billion Mega Millions jackpot ticket was sold in Des Plaines.
“Winner stories really drive that excitement,” said Harold Mays, the Illinois Lottery director. “People who see other people win; they know that it’s possible.”
The first Illinois Lottery drawing happened on July 1, 1974.
The first drawing on WGN was in 1975 – with Ray Rayner hosting, standing with former governor Dan Walker.
That first year, the lottery sold 100 million tickets – garnering nearly $130 million in sales.
Profits initially went to the state’s general fund. But in 1985, state lawmakers decided those profits should be specifically set aside for education.
Today the Illinois Lottery generates $3 billion a year, nearly a third of which goes to the Illinois common school fund.
“We’ve been able to generate $25 billion in revenue to help fund K-12 education,” Mays said.
Kollmeyer said the main satisfaction of working with the Lottery was the ability to help fund education.
WATCH: Linda Kollmeyer’s final televised Illinois Lottery drawing
“It’s not just the person buying the ticket,” she said. “But you’re helping others, and when you help others, karma comes back to you.”
Kollmeyer started hosting lottery drawings live on WGN in the heyday of the superstation, when Channel 9’s signal was seen across the western hemisphere.
She began hosting the Lottery’s gameshow in its three incarnations: “Illinois instant Riches” and “Illinois’ Luckiest” and “$100,000 Fortune Hunt.”
“They gave away $100,000 each week,” she said. “That is just unheard of, $100,000. It just was amazing. It was so much fun.”
More stories from winners and winning tickets here
The Illinois Lottery was the first in the nation to broadcast its drawings live on television, and heavily influenced other Lotteries around the country.
“Everybody looked to us for (inspiration), ‘That’s what we should be doing,’” Kollmeyer said. “Same with the game show. (they said), ‘That’s what we should be doing.’”
The Illinois Lottery also claims two important innovations: it was the first to privatize its operations, and the first to take ticket sales online.
“There’s definitely a lot to reflect on, playing online,” Mays said. “We were the first state to do that. So now we see upwards of 15 other states that do that, so we had a little role with bring the first.”
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