This year is the 50th anniversary of the Pennsylvania Lottery. A lot has happened in the lottery’s first half-century.

Many do not recall the fierce battle that went on for years between gambling proponents and opponents before the General Assembly approved creation of the pari-mutuel horse racing betting in 1959, then the lottery, which was the door-opener to other forms of gambling, including the biggest of them all - casino gambling, which was approved in 2004.

Opponents feared that state-sanctioned gambling would open the floodgates to gambling addiction and other unsavory behavior, but, in the end, with enormous dollar signs flashing in their eyes, legislators could not resist the siren allure of Ms. Gambling, especially since states around Pennsylvania were getting in on the action, and Pennsylvanians, especially those in towns close to New Jersey and New York, were spending their gambling bucks there.

From its modest beginnings, when a 50-cent ticket lured players with a $50,000 prize and periodic jackpots of $1 million, the lottery piggybacked with other states to offer players super jackpots worth eye-popping amounts in the Mega Millions and Powerball games.

Pennsylvania joined in the Powerball game in 2002 and added participation to Mega Millions in 2010.

In May, a group of five players who bought a ticket in Levittown won the Mega Millions prize of $516 million ($349 million if the prize is taken in cash rather than as an annuity). It is the state’s third Mega Millions jackpot win since the state joined the game 11 years ago.

The members of the Peace of Mind Trust, which was established to handle the winnings, were not identified. They chose the lump sum, which means that after taxes they will split about $254 million.

The other big money game is Powerball. In 2018, lottery officials announced that a Powerball jackpot with a cash value of $273.9 million was claimed by the Emerald Legacy Trust. The winning ticket was sold in Manheim, Lancaster County.

Admittedly, I do not play any of the lottery games often. Sometimes when the Powerball or Mega Millions goes weeks without a winner, and the jackpot reaches some ridiculously high amount, I will wager $2 or $3. Hey, you never know.

(Actually, “Hey, you never know” and “A Dollar and A Dream” are slogans of the New York State Lottery, much more alluring than Pennsylvania’s slogan of “Benefits older Pennsylvanians.”

I also am aware that the odds are beyond astronomical. The odds of winning the Powerball jackpot are 292 million to 1, while the odds of hitting the big one in the Mega Millions game are 302.6 million to 1. To claim the top prize, a player must match the five regular balls AND the Mega ball. If he or she gets the five but without the Mega ball, the prize falls off to $1 million with odds of 12.6 million to 1.

After that the prizes drop off significantly to $10,000 (931,000 to 1 odds) for four numbers plus the Mega ball, all the way down to $2 (37 to 1 odds) for getting just the Mega ball.

The state Lottery Commission, which oversees operations in Pennsylvania, has introduced innovations and new games almost annually over the last 50 years, but perhaps none has been as popular as the instant game, which was introduced in 1975. The first tickets cost 50 cents.

These days, instant tickets are most usually accessible through a self-purchase kiosk inside grocery or other type stores. I checked out side-by-side kiosks at a Weis store. Of the 48 possible purchases, just three were $1 each, nine were $2, six were $3, 11 were $5, 9 were $10, 6 were $20, and four were a whopping $30 each.

State law requires that at least 40% of lottery proceeds are paid out in prizes, with another 27% going toward funding programs. The Pennsylvania Lottery exceeds these requirements as about 61% is paid as prizes and about 30% goes toward funding programs.

Another 6.7% is paid to retailers and vendor commissions, while 2.5% is spent for operating expenses.

The Pennsylvania Lottery is the only one in the United States that uses its proceeds for programs for the elderly. Since its beginning 50 years ago, more than $20 billion has been contributed to programs benefiting senior citizens, such as property tax and rent rebates, free and reduced-fare transit rides, low-cost prescription drug programs (PACE and PACENET), long-term living services, and the 52 Area Agencies on Aging, including full- and part-time senior centers across Pennsylvania.

By Bruce Frassinelli | tneditor@tnonline.com

The foregoing opinions do not necessarily reflect the views of the Editorial Board or Times News LLC.