Decline and fall: ILL-inois may delay big-money lottery payouts again

The rot is settling in.

From CNN Money:

State lottery officials announced Tuesday that if Illinois doesn't reach a deal to fund the government by the start of the fiscal year on July 1, it won't be able to make payments on time to those who win more than $25,000.

The delay in payouts would take effect on Saturday.

"The General Assembly needs to approve a truly balanced budget that includes Lottery funding in order to ensure all prize payments will occur," said Greg Smith, the acting director of the Illinois Lottery, in a statement.

It's happened before. In 2015, the Illinois Lottery didn't get the funding it needed until December -- meaning the holders of 3,900 winning tickets had to postpone collecting more than $112 million in spoils.

Then why buy lottery tickets?

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