By Andrew Dys The Herald
(Published January 4‚ 2004)
FORT MILL -- After the Times Turnaround convenience store at the intersection of U.S. 21 and S.C. 21 Business burned earlier this year, the company had to rebuild not only its building, but its signs.
The decision to put "Lotto Jackpot" in big, bold letters on the roadside sign was easy, said Bill Massey, sales manager for the company. Other stores near the state line also use lottery signs to bring in customers that buttress sales of convenience and snack items that are the other moneymakers for small businesses.
"I made the decision myself, knowing how important the lottery is to our business," Massey said. The rebuilt store reopened a couple of months ago and has experienced a surge in lottery sales, Massey said, plus a spike to snack items that players buy. "The sign has clearly been a plus for us."
Signs that advertise the lottery are acceptable under county regulations, said Mike Scott of the York County Planning Department, provided the size of the sign and its placement on business property meet codes.
While many places that sell tickets have small S.C. Education Lottery signs, many of the border stores along Carowinds Boulevard and S.C. 51 -- home to most of the state's top lottery retailers since the lottery's inception almost two years ago -- sport large signs advertising the lottery.
Both Massey and Joe McKerracher, manager of Lotto World on S.C. 51 just a few yards from the state line, say that 70 to 75 percent of their customers are from North Carolina, and the signs provide the magnet to stop.
"Sure the sign helps," McKerracher said. "There's a bunch coming across the state line."
The state's top lottery retailer almost since day one, Red Rocket Fireworks on U.S 21 near the Carowinds Boulevard exit of Interstate 77, even has a neon red lottery sign. Lottery customers leaving the interstate or U.S. 21 often buy something else while at the store, store manager Sharon Jamison said.
"I can't tell you how many people get calls from the wife saying, 'Get this' or 'Get that' while they are here," said Jamison, adding that the store's owners built the lottery sign specifically so it can be seen from the highway. "It has really helped out a lot."
Lottery retailers are against a proposal by Gov. Mark Sanford, broached to raise money for state coffers, that would both cut the percentage of profit for lottery retailers from 7 percent to 5 percent on tickets sold, and would also add sales tax to the price of tickets. Signs or no signs, the change would hurt lottery business and lessen traffic in the convenience business, Massey said.
Officials from all three stores said regular players make up the bulk of their lottery sales, but as Powerball jackpots grow, the number of new customers increases dramatically. That's when the signs really do their magic, Massey said.
"Anytime the jackpot gets over 100 million, our traffic doubles at least," Massey said. "People see the sign and know where to go."
Contact Andrew Dys at 329-4065 or mailto:adys@heraldonline.com
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