?>=> esc_html__( 'Footer Widget Area - Left', 'neel' ), 'id' => 'neel-footer-widget-area-left', 'description' => esc_html__( 'Add widgets here.', 'neel' ), 'before_widget' => '', 'before_title' => '
'. wp_kses_post( wp_trim_words( get_the_excerpt(), $limit) ) .'
'; } } /** * Custom template tags for this theme. */ require get_template_directory() . '/inc/template-tags.php'; /** * Custom functions that act independently of the theme templates. */ require get_template_directory() . '/inc/extras.php'; /** * Default valudes for customizer options. */ require get_template_directory() . '/inc/defaults.php'; /** * Custom Header Addition. */ require get_template_directory() . '/inc/custom-header.php'; require get_template_directory() . '/inc/sanitize-functions.php'; require get_template_directory() . '/inc/customizer-functions.php'; /** * Customizer additions. */ require get_template_directory() . '/inc/customizer.php'; /** * Customizer Upgrade to Pro Section. */ require get_template_directory() . '/inc/upsell/class-customize.php'; ?>{"id":1172,"date":"2024-03-10T19:18:00","date_gmt":"2024-03-10T19:18:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/woomibbq.com\/?p=1172"},"modified":"2024-03-10T19:18:01","modified_gmt":"2024-03-10T19:18:01","slug":"what-is-a-lottery-15","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/woomibbq.com\/what-is-a-lottery-15\/","title":{"rendered":"What is a Lottery?"},"content":{"rendered":"A lottery is a process by which money or other prizes are awarded in a competition that relies entirely on chance. In the United States, state governments enact laws that authorize them to run lotteries and then delegate to a special lottery division the responsibility for selecting and licensing retailers, training employees of those retail outlets to use lottery terminals, selling tickets, and redeeming winning tickets, paying high-tier prizes to winners, and ensuring that both retailers and players comply with the lottery law and rules. A state may also authorize lotteries to be conducted by charitable, non-profit or church organizations.<\/p>\n
The first recorded lotteries were held in the Low Countries in the 15th century, but the idea goes back much further. Town records from Bruges, Ghent and Utrecht reference raising funds for wall construction and for the poor. Financial lotteries are the most common kind of lottery, but some involve other goods or services such as units in a subsidized housing block or kindergarten placements at a reputable school.<\/p>\n
In the early American colonies, colonists raised money by a variety of means including lotteries to fund roads, canals, libraries, churches and colleges. In 1760, George Washington ran a lottery to pay for cannons during the Revolutionary War and Benjamin Franklin promoted the idea that \u201ceverybody will be willing to hazard a trifling sum for the opportunity of gaining a considerable sum.\u201d<\/p>\n
Modern lotteries generally involve purchasing a ticket or multiple tickets that offer the chance to win cash or other prizes in a random drawing. The tickets are usually sold by a state government, which owns the monopoly on the activity and uses the proceeds solely to fund public programs. In some cases, private businesses partner with a lottery to increase sales and awareness of their product or service.<\/p>\n
Most lottery games in the United States can be played for a dollar or less per entry. The players select a group of numbers or have machines randomly spit them out, and the winner(s) receive the top prize (usually a cash jackpot) when enough of their selections match those selected in the random drawing. Several newer games are available for even smaller stakes, such as those that let players buy a single number for pocket change.<\/p>\n
Throughout the world, lottery profits are used to finance a wide range of public and private projects. Some of these are community initiatives, such as beautification projects, while others support higher education, medical research and sports programs. Lotteries have long been seen as a way for states to raise money without imposing heavy taxes on their residents. The post-World War II period in the United States saw a rise in such lottery funds, which enabled states to expand social safety nets while keeping taxes down. However, the economy has slowed and states are now cutting back on such programs. Some are also seeking to reduce the dependence on lottery profits to fund their operations.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
A lottery is a process by which money or other prizes are awarded in a competition that relies entirely on chance. In the United States, state governments enact laws that authorize them to run lotteries and then delegate to a special lottery division the responsibility for selecting and licensing retailers, training employees of those retail […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1172","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-gambling"],"yoast_head":"\n
'; for($i=1; $i<=4; $i++ ){ $social_media_icon[$i] = get_theme_mod( 'neel_social_media_icon_'.$i, 'facebook-f' ); $social_media_url[$i] = get_theme_mod( 'neel_social_media_url_'.$i, '' ); //find the fontawesome icon class if( in_array( $social_media_icon[$i], $fas_elements ) ){ $icon_class[$i] = 'fas'; } else { $icon_class[$i] = 'fab'; } if ( '' !== $social_media_url[$i] ) : $social_media_icons_html .= '-
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