Gosh a lawyer for employee rights is salivating on that comment! Lest we forgot to not hire a drinker or a former addict. That would leave half the politicians without a job right now. (*grin)

Now onto the real original issue. Maryland does need to revamp its lottery advertising and promotions. The sheer fact that Most of the players are of lower income should be a wake up call for Maryland! They are low income BECAUSE of the bureacracy (sp?) of the business's that have remained. Low pay means higher pocket change for the rich.  I truy do support the Maryland lottery , I give them money each week and they give me nada back . Its my choice though, unlike taxes.

Regarding the lawyer comment, some states have made it clear that you do not have to provide health insurance to smokers (Michigan comes to mind). Others say that you do not have to pay the difference between the smoker and non-smoker rate.

Regarding the lottery: That's exactly what Maryland wants. The rich pay the high taxes. The poor, who would otherwise not pay much of anything, are forking over their money for a lottery that is essentially a sponge for the state. Perhaps the profits dropping might be beyond the quality of the games, and more of the fact that people are wising up to what Maryland is doing, literally robbing the poor.