spacetoday.net: Florida lottery nixes plan to give away ISS ride

Posted: Sat, Dec 13, 2003, 3:39 PM ET (2039 GMT)
The Florida Lottery has killed a proposal to give away a trip to the International Space Station. The proposal, pitched by space tourism company Space Adventures, would have given the winner of a lottery a trip on a Soyuz spacecraft to the ISS, valued at between $10-20 million. Lottery officials said that tests in focus groups showed little interest in the competition from likely lottery players, who are more interested in cash awards. The lottery had considered a similar contest last year and rejected it, but the idea got new life earlier this year by a new head of the lottery. Florida Governor Jeb Bush was also cool to the idea, calling it "out of the core mission" of the lottery. Space Adventures CEO Eric Anderson said that he was still "confident that a space lottery is viable and would generate much needed revenue for the state."