Jackson Free Press

JACKSON, Miss. (AP) — In 1992, 53 percent of Mississippi voters chose to overturn the state's constitutional ban on lotteries. But the state appears no closer today to getting a lottery than it was then, even as residents stream across the borders of the Magnolia State to buy lottery tickets elsewhere.

State Rep. Alyce Clarke, a Jackson Democrat who has long introduced unsuccessful bills to create a lottery, says she hopes the huge Powerball jackpot could reopen the conversation, saying the state could use the money for things like college tuition or roads.

Other lawmakers, though, say they oppose lotteries for religious reasons, even though Mississippi has 31 casinos.

Clarke says she believes the prospects of Mississippi getting a lottery remain unlikely unless the lieutenant governor or House speaker advocate for it.