Pa. Lottery post record sales in 2011-12

MIDDLETOWN, Pa. (AP) — The Pennsylvania Lottery has posted a record year, spurred on by scratch-offs and record jackpots in big-ticket drawings like Powerball and Mega Millions.

Lottery officials say ticket sales rose $273 million in the 2011-12 fiscal year to $3.48 billion, an 8.5 percent increase over the previous year.

Revenue to the fund used to benefit senior citizen programs was $1.06 billion, more than 10 percent better than last year and 8.7 percent more than the previous record set in 2005-06.

Officials said Monday that Powerball and Mega Millions combined for $88.5 million more in sales over the previous year, while scratch-offs rose 11 percent to $212.5 million.