Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: THURSDAY, January 26, 1995                   TAG: 9501260138
SECTION: VIRGINIA                    PAGE: C-3   EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: Associated Press
DATELINE: RICHMOND                                LENGTH: Medium

VA. LOTTERY ADDS PICK 3, PICK 4 IN AFTERNOON

Lottery officials this week announced that they have created an afternoon drawing as a companion to the nightly games.

The new drawing, set to begin Monday, will be held at 1:50 p.m. each day except Sunday. The regular Pick 3 and Pick 4 drawing is held at 10:58 p.m. on those nights.

Lottery spokeswoman Paula Otto said the addition has been in the works for several years and will offer an alternative for the thousands of people who play the two games every day.

``This is an opportunity for people to play much earlier in the day,'' Otto said. ``We're hoping to have regular players play both games, and we're also hoping to attract some new buyers who may be interested in knowing about an earlier drawing.''

Play slips for the new drawing will look the same, except they will read ``Day'' or ``Night,'' Otto said. Players who choose to play in both drawings will be given two separate tickets.

Otto said several other states that began offering the two drawings - including Delaware and Illinois - have seen an increase of about $500,000 a week in Pick 3 and Pick 4 sales.

The Virginia Lottery takes in about $1 million in combined revenue a day from the two games, Otto said. Pick 3, the more popular of the two, brings in up to $850,000 a day.

Starting up the new games, on the other hand, cost the lottery less than $50,000, Otto said.

``It was really nominal,'' she said. ``It mostly involved making up new play slips and some computer programming by staff.''

The lottery also has paid a small amount to some of the approximately 50 radio stations that have agreed to broadcast the winning numbers - many of them on their 2 p.m. news programs. In the Roanoke area, WJLM (93.5 FM), Lynchburg station WYYD (107.9 FM) and Rocky Mount station WZBB (99.9 FM) will carry the broadcasts. In the New River Valley, the drawings will be on WNRV (990 AM), WRAD (1460 AM), WFNR (710 AM) and WBNK (100.7 FM).

The lottery also will work to expand its player information lines to handle more callers, Otto said.

The nightly drawing will continue to be televised by WDBJ (Channel 7) in Roanoke.

The lottery will continue to offer Cash 5 drawings four days a week and Lotto on Wednesday and Saturday.