JEFFERSON CITY, MO ?- A plan endorsed earlier this week by Missouri??s House Veterans Committee seeks to reallocate prize money from the state??s lottery to help support the state??s financially ailing veterans homes, the Mansfield News Journal reports.

"We finally found a solution that doesn't hurt anybody," said Richard Heigert, representing the Missouri Association of Veterans Organizations, in response to news that the Missouri Veterans Commission would receive roughly $29 million a year and use it to help run seven nursing homes while saving money to build another one under the plan.

While currently roughly 63 cents of every dollar goes to players as prizes, that amount would decrease to roughly 59.5 cents of every dollar under the proposal.

Lottery officials said reducing the money available for prizes could impact ticket sales, a consequence not lost on convenience store retailers.

Ron Leone, executive director of the Missouri Petroleum Marketers and Convenience Store Association, said the proposal has significant implications for convenience store owners.

Leone said lottery ticket sales generate foot traffic for convenience stores, which then leads to sales of other products.

"They're big in the sense of bringing customers in the door, even if not in terms of profit margin," he said of lottery tickets. "Anything that dissuades customers from coming into our stores concerns us."