Run for the border: what's illegal in Utah is good for Utah business owners.

• Position: Entrepreneurs William and Elaine Hobbs of Logan, Utah set up convenience store business in border town of Franklin, Idaho to cash in on sale of Idaho lottery tickets

What's Illegal in Utah is Good for Utah Business Owners

Last year thousands of Utahns spent $2.5 million to fund school districts in Idaho. Utah law prohibits lotteries and gambling activity in this state, but that hasn't deterred one northern Utah businessman from building a thriving enterprise just over the border. La Tienda, a convenience store in Franklin, Idaho, bills itself as the Home of the Utah Lottery. The store has sold three million instant lotto tickets since Idaho voters passed the lottery in 1990. And 80 percent of its customers come from Utah.

Located a-roll-of-the-dice over the Utah/Idaho border 20 miles north of Logan, Utah, La Tienda sells more lottery tickets than any of the 1,300 participating retailers in all of Idaho. Of Idaho's statewide lottery sales ($51.2 million in 1991), Utah players account for 5 percent.

Owners William and Elaine Hobbs, residents of Logan, said "Utah customers come all the way from Provo and all along the Wasatch Front" on regular outings to buy lottery tickets.

Hobbs wagers that the odds of Utah starting its own lottery aren't favorable, but that's okay with him, since his revenues have increased 20 percent with the Idaho lottery. He and his family have owned the grocery store/video shop for eight years. It had been a gas station since the 1940s and is the only mart in Franklin. The nearest town is Preston, eight miles away. "We doubled our space and our staff, and even have one room especially for people who want to scratch tickets," he said.

When asked about the theory that lotto players become obsessed, fall prey to the lure of gambling, squander pensions and paychecks, and register for welfare, Hobbs said: "In three years, I've never seen that. People allot so much money to spend for entertainment - if not for the lottery, then for shows, sporting events, or something else."

"In Idaho we have not seen that happen," responded Stephanie Hawkinson...