Poor people take their chances.

• Position: Statewide - North Carolina Education Lottery

A lot of people on whom fortune has not been smiling apparently are feeling lucky. Despite the sluggish economy, North Carolina Education Lottery sales increased 9.2% in the 2011-12 fiscal year, topping the $1.5 billion mark for the first time. Through June 30, games had garnered nearly $8 billion since the first Tar Heel ticket was scratched in 2006. Playing is particularly popular in the poorer Eastern region, which includes nine of the 10 counties with highest sales per adult resident. And though the odds don't favor the players, there is always one big winner: Last fiscal year, the lottery transferred $456.7 million to the state--$31.7 million more than projected--also setting a new high. "Our track record shows the lottery has become a reliable source of revenue for education in our state," says Alice Garland, the lottery's executive director.

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STATEWIDE SALES 2007 $889,325,332 2008 $1,078,179,082 2009 $1,293,111,226 2010 $1,421,329,299 2011 $1,461,106,386 2012 $1,596,693,058 Note: Table made from bar graph. SALES PER ADULT RESIDENT HIGHEST LOVEST Nash $560.37 Graham $51.11 Halifax $535.99 Madison $60.71 Vance $499.82 Clay $64.11 Wilson $458.58 Watauga $65.77 Edgecombe $436.12 Swain $80.78 Lenoir $430.21 Cherokee $93.14 Hyde $416.49 Yancey $93.53 Washington $402.59 Polk $64.52 Bertie $391.37 Macon $98.59 Beaufort $375.52 Alexander $99.83 TOP-SELLING STORES STORE COUNTY 1 Reilly Road BP Amoco Cumberland 2 Rose Mart No. 14 Wilson 3 Carlton's Tanglewood Forsyth 4 Winners Food Mart Person 5 Raceway Tarboro Edgecombe 6 Bobby Taylor Oil No. 2 Cumberland 7 Eagles Express Knightdale Wake 8 Church Street Convenience Mart Edgecombe 9 Catamount Travel Center Whittier Swain 10 C Mini Mart No. 3 Wake Source: North Carolina Education Lottery COUNTY INDEX

1. Alamance

2. Alexander

3. Alleghany

4. Anson

5. Ashe

6. Avery

7. Beaufort

8. Bertie

9. Bladen

10. Brunswick

11. Buncombe

12. Burke

13. Cabarrus

14. Caldwell

15. Camden

16. Carteret

17. Caswell

18. Catawba

19. Chatham

20. Cherokee

21. Chowan

22. Clay

23. Cleveland

24. Columbus

25. Craven

26. Cumberland

27. Currituck

28. Dare

29. Davidson

30. Davie

31. Duplin

32. Durham

33. Edgecombe

34. Forsyth

35. Franklin

36. Gaston

37. Gates

38. Graham

39. Granville

40. Greene

41. Guilford

42. Halifax

43. Harnett

44. Haywood

45. Henderson

46. Hertford

47. Hoke

48. Hyde

49. Iredell

50. Jackson

51. Johnston

52. Jones

53. Lee

54. Lenoir

55. Lincoln

56. Macon

57. Madison

58. Martin

59. McDowell

60. Mecklenburg

61. Mitchell

62. Montgomery

63. Moore

64. Nash

65. New Hanover

66. Northampton

67. On...