Arizona towns expand as Las Vegas lotto players bet big
LAS VEGAS (KLAS) — The bad news is you did not win the $800 million Powerball jackpot, but the good news is small Arizona towns are seeing a boost to their local economy every time players pay a visit.
White Hills and Dolan Springs, Arizona amount to a little over 2,000 residents and some say they are thankful for the lotto’s effect on their community and say some change is long overdue.
As all Nevada residents invade independent interstate towns this time of year, due to no lottery allowed in the Silver State, business owners are thankful and are also noting a bump in inhabitants.
Rachel Sockwell, Last Stop Travel Center manager, said the energy lotto players bring is like no other.
“People come out to purchase their ticket and I love it,” she said. “There’s definitely an energy about it.”
Travelers took quick U-turns in the snack-filled aisles at the travel center, ultimately buying a ticket and waving it in front of the 8 News Now camera swearing the winner just appeared on television.
“When I win,” Ian Palate said. “I will be happy to share my winning with my family and friends.”
In the past year the demand of visitors has spurred the new Port of Subs inside the Last Stop Travel Center where Sockwell pointed out the town is slowly changing.
“We are a wide-open space out here so there is room people,” she said. “There is definitely a lot of growth out here and people purchasing and moving out here.”
A new Dollar Store and several recent fast-food additions in the Dolan Springs community were top of mind for Sockwell who said the culture of the area still has remained the same.
“[We] definitely don’t want to have a big city where everyone is living on top of each other,” she said. “But whoever wants to live out here, that’s their choice.”
The sun setting near the two Mojave towns cast a brilliant auburn color on the nearby wind farm, highlighting the beauty of the valley but also the serene atmosphere Sockwell described.
“It’s nice to have it quiet,” she said.
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