Bruins fans have been itching for a shiny Stanley Cup for almost four full decades. This winter, they could be scratching feverishly for a shiny stack of money.
The Bruins and the Massachusetts State Lottery are discussing the launch of a $5 scratch ticket that would debut later this year according to lottery director Mark J. Cavanaugh.
“Boston is a sports town,” Anthony Amico told the Boston Herald from Ted’s Stateline Mobil in Methuen, one of the state’s biggest lottery agents. “Players could care less about a Diamond Doubler — the $2 ticket where you can win up to $20,000. They prefer a Red Sox, Patriots or Celtics ticket, depending on the season.”
The Red Sox started the scratch-ticket craze in 2006 when they released the Red Sox Instant Ticket and became the first Major League Baseball team to have its logo appear on a scratch ticket. The gamble paid off as the ticket earned the Sox $2.9 million in profits. In August, the Patriots joined the the scratch scene by launching a $5 ticket, becoming the first NFL team to do so. Should the Pats sell the tickets out, it will profit the franchise $2.5 million.
“Sales depend on how a team is playing,” added Amico. “Sox lottery ticket sales started off slow because the team had a slow start, but sales improved as the season progressed. The Pats tickets took off on Day One.”
