Missouri Lottery to expand games to twice a day

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. -- The Missouri Lottery's daily games will expand from one to two drawings a day later this month, officials said.

Gary Gonder, the lottery's spokesman, said the Pick 3, Pick 4 and Show Me 5 games will have a midday drawing in addition to the evening drawing, starting July 26.

"As a customer convenience, we're adding the midday draw," he said.

Gonder said 21 other states already offer midday drawings, including neighboring Iowa and Illinois, and Missouri is catching up. Prices to play the various games will remain the same, typically $1 a ticket. Drawings will now be held at 12:57 p.m. and 6:57 p.m.

Lottery officials expect the added drawing to increase sales by 9 percent or more, generating an additional $8.6 million per year, he said.

The change means people would need two tickets to try to win at both drawings in a day, and they should specify to cashiers which drawing they are playing in. If customers do not do so, their tickets would be for the upcoming drawing.

The state Lotto and multistate Powerball drawings will not change.