It’s a winning week for the state lotto. Lawmakers have considered phasing out the lottery, but in a new report a committee studying the issue recommended that the Legislature avoid its elimination because it would leave a hole in the state budget. According to the report, the Texas Lottery has contributed more than $22 billion in state revenue since it began in 1991, with $17 billion of that going to public schools. The game has brought in nearly $40 million to programs that support veterans and more than $176 million to the UTMB teaching hospital and other state programs, the report said.