CBS publishes second hatchet job on lotteryPrevious TopicNext Topic

I think that sometimes in our haste to defend the blindness of our assumptions we forget to see the truth that stands before us

At least that is what I think...but I have been wrong before.

That is a nice quote.  I think we're all guilty of that at one time or another.  Some more than others. 

computerhead723, it doesn't sound like there is anything the lottery could do to make you feel they are conducting fair drawings.  New York has real ball drawings, conducted on live TV, and to which they allow witnesses.  I can't think of anything else they can do to be open and transparent in their drawing process, to show that nothing underhanded is taking place.

If you REALLY feel it is unfair, why not go and witness a live drawing?  You can ask them questions and see the whole process for yourself.

The problem is that I am picking up a strong vibe that there is absolutely nothing on this Earth the lottery could do to convince you it's fair, other than forcing certain stores and/or people to win.

your  right  ,  under  the  current  lottery  operatons  there  is  no  way  to  convince  me ;

Put  the  state  police  at  each  of  the  drawings  and  have  the  state  appoint  an  attorney  general  to  oversee  the  legal  contracts  which  go  on  everyday  behind closed  doors  ;

inspect  the  ball  machines  and  the  balls  themselves  everyday  put  that  live  and  on  TV  ;

give  back  money   to  the  community/ players    that  put  money  into  the  process....   in  other  words  give  the  players  a  better  shot  at  winning&&Some  players  expect    to  loose,  not  me  I  expect  the  sysyem  to  lose  sometime  ,...  but  not  the  lottery  their  winning  streek  continues  unchecked  and  unchanged because  to  think  otherwise is  downright  foolish  oh  yaH  and  playing  a  RACE  CARD.........  Lets  all  be  obedient  and  belive  nothing  is    going  on  xxx

                                      PART  2 IN RE.  ASSULT  ON  ME  AND  MY  INFORMATION&

THE  FOLLOWING  IS  THE  PAYOUT  CHART  FOR  THE  NY  LOTTERY  PICK  4  GAME  ONLY  it  will  only  say  how  much  is  won  but  I  and  millions  like  me  play  everyday  {aprox,.  1.4 Billion  is  spent  on  lottery  operations  per  week:  pleas  deduct  this  from  a  billion p  and  notice  the  dates ;

thats  a  nice  store  ...never  seen  it  when  I  lived  in  DC  ;

but  the  poulation  is  who ?/

and  look  at  the  income  DC  lottery  is  generating  from  those  sales?????????

the  lottery  machines  is  just  plain  over-kill :

So .... the lottery should not be making money?  I don't think you've thought that one through.  In every form of gambling, the house always makes a profit.  That keeps the gambling enterprise alive. 

All those things you mentioned about verify this, verify that, are already done.  In fact, in your state (NY) the lottery is tightly controlled by the legislature.

In other states it is more of an independent "quasi-government" organization, but in New York -- the state you're talking about -- all those things are done already.

But I'm sure in whatever manner they do the verification does not live up to your high standards.

As I mentioned earlier, the lottery is not a charity, and not a source of income.  It is entertainment.  If you are playing because you need money, then you should not play, because that is not its purpose, and the odds are that you will lose money, not gain money. 

In fact, gambling in any way in order to get money for basic necessities is a form of a gambling problem, because gambling -- by its very definition -- is entertainment, and all money wagered should be money you can afford to lose.  Think of it like buying a lottery ticket instead of going to the movies.

If you're playing because you can afford a few bucks to play, and you're dreaming of what a huge jackpot would mean to you, then you're right in the zone. 

On the other hand, if you are waiting impatiently for the jackpot you're supposed to get (for "your turn" to come), you should not play.  Because only a small fraction of players win a jackpot.  You should not expect to win, because according to the odds, you probably won't.

Lastly, I hope that "race card" comment was not directed at me, because I don't do that.  i keep trying to bring the discussion back to social status, and you keep forcing it into a race issue.

This post remind me of a  movie about gambling that I saw called "Any Number can Play" 1949 starring Clark Gable, Alexis Smith and a few people you'll recognize like Egar Buchanan, Uncle Joe on Petticoat Junction and Frank Morgan, Prof. Marvel on The Wizard of Oz and Lewis Stone.

Clark Gable owned a casino and caught a lot of heat not only from his family (teenage son mostly) but from a few people who lost.  There was a lady who dragged her husband to his house and insulted his wife saying they stole their money.  He was an honest bookie and had earned respect and was loved.  He even gave money back to a women who had lost her wedding ring.

But what I found interesting about the movie was when he gave the stats of gambling in America in rebuke to his son who had a problem with his father being the owner of a gambling house. 

I was shocked at the number of dice that were bought, decks of cards, (he rattled off the stats) how much money was bet and made on the horses, (billions) and the fact that horse races was a part of the stock market, and that half in America gambled.  He said that people even gambled on when they were going to die.& 

I was like OMG it was only 1949 and gambling was that big, even though I thought I knew the history of gambling in America.  I mean that was one of the reasons the river boat gambling was started because they were thrown out of town much earlier.  And those that didn't leave had to shoot it out.  (History Channel) So we've come a long way. It was the stats in 1949 at that time that amazed me.

I thought I'd share that - I know it's Hollywood but if you ever run across the movie on TCM - it's worth a watch. 

p.s.  Anybody interested in knowing about pick3 lottery in the African America community BEFORE state run lotteries when the runner came to your house and you placed a nickel bet,  I reccommend the book called "Daddy was a Number Runner" by Louise Meriwerther.  When I read it I got it from the Library.  It's dated as well.

whats  with  everyone  placeing    the  Race  Card  - on  me  for  it was  in  the news - article-  and  God  forbid  I  aggreed  with  the- news  agency:  lets  see  what  did  they  say:????(like  I  said- people  see  what  they- want- to  see :)

CBS said ;

"It's a shift of the cost of government onto people who can least afford it," says State Rep. Garnett Coleman, who has represented this neighborhood for 17 years. "Is a drug dealer responsible when they sell to the person?" Coleman asks. "If somebody says, 'yeah,' then the state is responsible for hooking the people on the gaming, on the lottery."

"You're selling hope," says Rob Kohler, who worked 12 years for the Texas Lottery and is now a private consultant in Austin. It was his analysis of lottery sales data that opened Coleman's eyes, revealing who the majority of heavy players are.

"It's coming from the folks, you know, high minority, low education, and low income," Kohler says. "That can least afford to play the game."

Texas lottery spokesman Bobby Heith does not dispute the data. "The data is what it is. We don't target groups of people," Heith says.

In Texas, Blacks and Hispanics outspend Whites nearly two to one on lottery tickets. According to a 2005 Texas Tech demographic survey commissioned by the lottery, blacks in Texas spend $109 a month on lottery tickets, Hispanics spend $102, and whites spend $55.

"We put out Hispanic ads mainly because for Spanish speaking people. I mean, it's good business," Heith says. "We don't want to prey on anybody. We're here to run a business for the state."

You can't trust the lottery. Oh I suppose if you get the six winning numbers on a single line you will no doubt collect, but this is not an agency of government that's looking out for you.

When they say "Play Responsibly" they're just warding off complaints from critics  like beer companies advising us to drink responsibly, don't sue us it isn't our fault you and our product combined to cause disaster we tried to warn you really we did honest.

Poor people play the lottery because that's where the money is. What other possible dollar investment can pay off in tens of thousands to millions of dollars.

There aren't a lot of investment oppertunities for poor people. They'd be better off stockpiling food before the next price increase then putting their money in the bank at today's interest rates.

The lottery targets people who have needs they can't scratch, pretty things cost a pretty penny.  When you have nothing you want everything.  Once you have most things and enough money your desire to win lotto shrinks so of course people who are doing just fine play less lotto. 

In the same sense, high priced scratch-offs are going to sell better where customers have the extra money to take a chance on them. The poor will and should limit their play to low cost tickets until they win and can play on the state's money.  Dollar scratch-off tickets usually pay in the hundreds or thousands, not millions so poor communities won't have big scratch-off prizes because the high priced big prize tickets don't sell that well.

That's what I think, who knows I could be right!!! BobP

 
 

The population of DC is about 700,000, and this includes about 700,000 people, which is everybody. 

Actually I'm kind of confused. I'm wondering why you are comparing where you live to Texas? What the article doesn't say is what the demographics are for the population in Texas. I have a very good feeling that there probably are more Hispanics and Blacks there. If you conduct a study in a state which has more of nationality then of course they should be the ones spending more money. Also if your ever in the Ft. Campbell, Ky Area you will see that most all the mom & pop stores in this area have sold big winners and before TN had lottery there was a black man from the Nashville area who had a co-worker drive up to Oak Grove , Ky and bought him some Powerball tickets. That man won somewhere around 89.3 million dollars and also gave the co-worker something for buying his tickets. Blacks, white, and people from all walks of life win. I don't beleive what you say about where the winners come from with online games but you may have a point with scratch offs. There is a store in Oak Grove, Ky that has sold a lot of Grand prize winners on scratch offs.

Most polls are slanted. And you have to consider the margin of error as well.  And most of all - you have to consider the source.  You especially have to be careful of special interest groups.  You can pigeon hole just about anything to make a point. If you just fell off a turnip truck you will believe anything and the media and politicians know that.  Whether you are within the ignorant masses is what's important. 

just  who  a re& you  refering  to  as  (  iggnorant  masses)& and  (just&fell of  a  turnip  truck) ;

I 

I  live  in  NY- we  got  the&whole  earth here ; 

your  right  ,  under  the  current  lottery  operatons  there  is  no  way  to  convince  me ;

Put  the  state  police  at  each  of  the  drawings  and  have  the  state  appoint  an  attorney  general  to  oversee  the  legal  contracts  which  go  on  everyday  behind closed  doors  ;

inspect  the  ball  machines  and  the  balls  themselves  everyday  put  that  live  and  on  TV  ;

give  back  money   to  the  community/ players    that  put  money  into  the  process....   in  other  words  give  the  players  a  better  shot  at  winning&&Some  players  expect    to  loose,  not  me  I  expect  the  sysyem  to  lose  sometime  ,...  but  not  the  lottery  their  winning  streek  continues  unchecked  and  unchanged because  to  think  otherwise is  downright  foolish  oh  yaH  and  playing  a  RACE  CARD.........  Lets  all  be  obedient  and  belive  nothing  is    going  on  xxx

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computerhead723,

do you honestly think that by placing State Police at the drawings make them anymore secure than with another firm? The State Police have been shown to be just as crooked. Also why would the state appoint another Attorney General, when they already have one.

The lottery is in business to make money, not give it away. If you want better odds get in a card game and leave the lottery to others who are going to take a chance , even at long odds.

 After reading this thread it seems like to me that you're looking for an arguement on your beliefs alone instead of just voicing your opinion for what you think is happening.

I would think if your that dissatisfied with the LOTTERY, you would'nt play it..! Oh, by the way the Lottery does'nt sell hope , they let you decide if you want a piece of the pie and they let YOU make that decision, they're not pressing you to buy ,it's voluntary. Your choice and yours alone.......