The Wisconsin Lottery announced in early March its most recent quarter sales mark the second best in the lottery's history.

The second quarter — measured from Oct. 1, 2005, to Dec. 31, 2005 — experienced a dramatic 19 percent increase in sales to reach nearly $140 million. This tops last year's second quarter sales by more than $20 million.

"The sales increase can be mostly attributed to the large Powerball jackpot from October," Jessica Iverson, spokeswoman for the Wisconsin Lottery, said.

Iverson added October's $340 million jackpot had set the record for the all-time highest Powerball jackpot.

Additionally, the high earnings report translates to a positive outcome for state taxpayers, according to the Wisconsin Lottery.

"The increase in sales means there are more revenues available for property tax relief," Iverson said.

Of the nearly $250 million in sales accrued in the first half of the fiscal year, an estimated $75 million will be used for tax relief, she added.

Revenue for both scratch tickets and online games were both up from this quarter compared to the same quarter a year ago.

Scratch tickets were up from about $65 million from the second quarter of the 2005 fiscal year to more than $71 million this past quarter, an 11 percent gain. Online sales were up 33 percent from about $50 million last year to nearly $67 million this year.

While one quarter cannot necessarily make or break an entire fiscal year, the Wisconsin Lottery is optimistic about the track they are on through the remainder of the year.

"This puts us into good position going into the second half of the fiscal year," Wisconsin Lottery spokeswoman Eva Robelia said.

Iverson added that another record jackpot in February is also likely to increase earnings this quarter.

"We expect our sales to increase third quarter due to another large Powerball jackpot worth $365 million," she said.

Last month, eight co-workers from a Nebraska ham processing plant split the $365 million winnings, breaking the previous October record and setting a new all-time high Powerball jackpot.