Grants from Colorado Lottery-funded Great Outdoors Colorado directly supported 11,800 jobs, providing $507 million in labor income and, by protecting land and water and open space for recreation, helped spur $392 million in spending on sporting goods over the past decade, a new study finds. Launched by voters in 1992, GOCO has sent more than $917 million of lottery proceeds to 4,700 open-space projects, including creation or restoration of 900 miles of trails and 1,100 parks. “The bottom line is that, from an economic standpoint, Colorado’s decision to invest lottery proceeds in sustaining the state’s quality of life is a remarkably smart decision.” said Trust for Public Lands economist Jennifer Plowden, the study’s author. “It’s good for business.