Oregon's lottery players are among those doing the least damage to their personal finances by participating. They get back 67 percent of what they pay for tickets in winnings, second-best among states, according to data compiled by Bloomberg Rankings.

More than $50 billion was spent on lottery tickets in the U.S. in 2010, while prizes totaled $32.8 billion, the data show. Alabama, Alaska, Hawaii, Mississippi, Nevada, Utah and Wyoming don't have lotteries.

S&P also gives lottery-backed debt from Florida and West Virginia its top grade. Moody's Investors Service assigned its Aa2 rating, third-best, to the Oregon sale and gives an A1 grade, fifth-best, to the Florida State Board of Education and West Virginia Economic Development Authority.

A Florida lottery bond maturing in July 2024 traded April 11 at an average yield of 2.06 percent, down from 3.09 percent a week earlier, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. That's the lowest since it was issued in 2007. The 103-basis-point drop compares with a seven-point decline in a 12-year AAA index over the one-week span, BVAL data show.

Governments reduced borrowing last year for the first time since 1996 as the longest downturn since the 1930s created more than $500 billion of budget deficits for states. They have increased efforts to boost lottery sales after income from the games fell for the first time in more than a decade in 2009, according to census data.

In the Mega Millions lottery, which generated $1.5 billion in revenue for participating states, three winning tickets were sold in Illinois, Maryland and Kansas.

"Most people understand the whole probability of buying a Mega Millions ticket," said Wells Fargo's Cohen. "It doesn't stop us. It's the human condition."

Following are descriptions of coming sales:

PENNSYLVANIA plans to sell $950 million of tax-exempt general-obligation bonds via competitive bid as soon as April 17. The proceeds will be used for construction and environmental projects. It's the state's biggest sale of long-term, tax-exempt debt since 2006, data compiled by Bloomberg show. Moody's Investors Service rates the state's full faith and credit pledge Aa1, second-highest, Bloomberg data show. (Updated April 16)

METROPOLITAN TRANSPORTATION AUTHORITY, the biggest U.S. transit agency, plans to sell $600 million in tax-exempt revenue bonds as soon as this week, according to an offering document. The proceeds will be used to finance transit and commuter projects. Moody's Investors Service rates the bonds A2, its sixth-highest investment grade. Wells Fargo Securities is the underwriter. (Added April 16)