With a half-million-dollar payoff as the lure, a lottery of unprecedented scale in Alaska has proven immensely popular, with tickets selling out in shops across the state as the initially scheduled drawing time approached Wednesday evening, according to organizers.

A MUM who was too skint to buy presents for her family spent her last £5 on a Lottery scratchcard on Christmas Eve – and won £1million.

ALBANY — Even with the economy reeling, the New York Lottery continues to see growth in sales, fueled by a nearly 12 percent increase in revenue at its eight video-lottery facilities, state records show.

LITTLE ROCK — With early voting for the November general election starting next week, opponents of Lt. Gov. Bill Halter’s proposed state-run lottery urged the state Supreme Court to remove the measure from the ballot Monday, arguing it does not define lotteries and could open the door for casinos.

Due to an early holiday deadline, Wednesday’s Powerball numbers and Pennsylvania Lottery payout information was unavailable. Results will be published in Friday’s edition.

Two armed men robbed the Georgia Lottery Store, 3740 Eisenhower Parkway, about 1 p.m. Wednesday, according to Macon police.

Here are Wednesday’s winning numbers selected by the Kentucky Lottery: MIDDAY Pick 3: