BENTONVILLE — A Bentonville Fastrip clerk sold a single Powerball ticket during a four-hour period Sunday.

J.D. Wilson said he expects sales to increase once people get used to the game. Scratch-off tickets sell like hot cakes and have since their Sept. 28 debut, he said.

“I guess people aren’t as excited about (Powerball) because they go to Missouri to buy them anyway when they want them,” he said.

Sales for Wednesday night’s Powerball draw kicked o◊at 10:15 p.m. Saturday, and Northwest Arkansas lottery retailers saw mixed results.

A Rogers E-Z Mart clerk called Powerball’s kickoff regrettable. Customers hold up the line to fi ll out their tickets instead of courteously stepping aside, clerk Anthony Krug and assistant manager Kyle Moore said.

“On this side of the counter, it’s just extra paperwork,” Moore said from behind the cash register of the convenience store on North Second Street. A basket on a table by the front door held a stack of the magenta and white tickets.

Moore’s store had sold nine tickets by Sunday afternoon.

Another Rogers E-Z Mart on Walnut Street had sold three or four. Customerstold clerks they were waiting to buy tickets until the payoff builds up, assistantmanager Regina Rachal said. Powerball jackpots start at $20 million and increase after draws until someone wins, according to the Arkansas Scholarship Lottery Web site.

King’s Korner at West Huntsville Avenue and Gutensohn Road in Springdale saw more success. They had sold 150 Powerball tickets by 4 p.m. Sunday, manager Joshua Derryberry said.

An area Arkansas Scholarship Lottery representative told the store they led Washington County in scratch-o◊ticket sales last week, he said. Derryberry said he’s not sure why the store is so popular among lottery players.

“We’re a busy store anyway,” he said. “We have friendly cashiers and we’ve been here for a long time.”

A handful of people waited outside a Fayetteville White Oak Station on Gregg Avenue for Powerball ticket sales to start Saturday, clerk Amanda Cummings said. They had sold 35 by late Sunday afternoon.

Cummings, like Wilson, predicted sales will pick up once customers figure out Powerball. Those who purchased tickets had many questions for clerks, Cummings said.

News, Pages 2 on 11/02/2009

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