(FORTUNE Magazine) – Who buys lottery tickets? Conventional wisdom has it that it's the poor. Not so, according to Scarborough Research. When the market research firm asked people who earned less than $25,000, "When did you last buy a lottery ticket?" the largest number said never. Meanwhile, more than 75% of those with household incomes above $50,000 a year admitted to past bouts of lotto fever. The largest percentage--30%--said they had last bought a ticket more than a month ago, while 29% had bought one within the last week.

Lotteries are apparently most popular in Texas, Florida, and New York. Of all the cities surveyed, San Antonio scored the highest, with fully half of those polled saying they'd bought a lottery ticket in the past seven days. Dallas, Houston, Miami, Orlando, and West Palm Beach weren't far behind. Looks like a Sunbelt phenomenon--except that wintry Albany and Buffalo scored high on the lotto meter too.

Not surprisingly, the least lottery enthusiasm is found in states without lotteries. In Salt Lake City, 65% of those surveyed said they'd never bought a lottery ticket. Which makes you wonder: How far did the other 35% have to drive to buy theirs?

--Amy Kover