Arkansas launches lottery ticket sales (UALR Public Radio) - Click above to hear a full report from FM 89's Kelly MacNeil.

Arkansas has started selling its first scratch-off lottery tickets.

The ceremonial first ticket was sold at midnight at a Murphy USA gas station in Little Rock. The $2 ticket was sold to Jim Purcell, director of the state Department of Higher Education.

More than 60 people were lined up to buy tickets at the gas station.

Lottery Director Ernie Passailaigue says the site was chosen to remind the public of a $50 million scholarship program from Murphy Oil that pays the college tuition for the graduates of El Dorado High School.

Arkansas is the 43rd state to sell lottery tickets. Voters approved a constitutional amendment in November authorizing the games to raise money for college scholarships.

On the Net
Arkansas Lottery: www.myarkansaslottery.com

(Copyright 2009 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)

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