By Maggie Fusek

Thanks to millions of gamblers whose lucky numbers didn’t come up, California school districts, including the Benicia Unified School District, are finding a little extra money in their bank accounts. Distributions from the state lottery during the 2019 fiscal year ended in June were up almost 9 percent over the previous year, with $1.85 billion being paid to the state’s K-12 school districts, community colleges and other educational institutions.

A state lottery spokesperson told Patch the increase was in large part attributable to the $1.6-billion Mega Millions jackpot in October of last year, the largest jackpot for a numbers game in U.S. history. Four other Mega Millions and Powerball jackpots ranging from $530 million to $768 million also contributed to increased sales and ultimate school district payments.

Source: Benicia Unified Schools Cash In On Increased Lottery Sales | Benicia, CA Patch