Wai....wait....you're typing so fast and furious and then point out you are not making a public appeal to have your English graded? Very interesting. So, ummmmm, jimmy-like.
Since you've estalished you want a reasonable discussion, I'll put my points on the table. We'll use your original post to do so. I'm less tactful than Todd who suggested you speak to the lottery director. And I will say straight up, I see no evidence that you have made any effort to get direct answers from Michigan. ANY person who handles tens of thousands of questions per year would have a more thorough and direct response to any question dealing with their job. Would they not?
Since this is a public issue, there is no reason to withhold the name, contact information, or the complete content of the request. Please PM me that information so I can contact that person myself. And please feel free to share some of the other state's responses. Those would be interesting too.
But let's look at the questions:
Question #1: "Is it correct that when a player buys a Michigan Mega millions or Power Ball lottery ticket using the easy-pick feature that the set of random numbers generated is actually done by the retailer's terminal and then sent to the Lottery commission central computer for recording? NO THAT IS NOT CORRECT."
Such a contrived way of asking: How are quick picks generated? that it makes no sense. First, Michigan is a PARTICIPATING STATE in the Mega-Millions drawing. You can buy a ticket for the game in Michigan, but Michigan does not OWN the Mega-Millions game. I'll go forward and point out I would dismiss this question as false on the second idea that random numbers are sent to the "Lottery commission central computer for the purpose of recording." What do you mean recording? (I smell a trap)
Question #2: "Is it correct that the lottery central computer is not the originator of the easy-pick numbers that the retailer's terminal prints? And that the retailer's terminal(computer) is? NO THAT IS NOT CORRECT"
Same question from a different angle. This is a known lawyering tactic. It says, "if I don't get the answer I want, I'll rephrase from the opposite side. Yep. You got me. I did spend a few years judging debate.
Question #3: "If 1 and 2 in above are true, does it mean that each retailer could be potentially generating and selling the same sets of easy-pick numbers on a daily basis to multiple players who request the auto pick features as other retailers are doing during a particular game period? NOT APPLICABLE"
If 1 and 2 are NOT true, the rest of the question is moot. And since BOTH 1 and 2 were answered not true, 3 is not applicable.
Question #4: "Where is the set of auto-pick numbers that are printed at the retailer's terminal generated from? the retailer's terminal(computer) or the lottery central computer for the Mega millions and Power ball easy-pick tickets? LOTTERY CENTRAL
Haven't got the right answer yet? Ask again: HOW ARE QUICK PICKS GENERATED? By the way, what is an AUTO-PICK? I've never bought one, so they might sell them at Lottery Central. Have you tried buying one?
Question #5: "Are the easy-picks tickets for Mega millions and Power-ball generated randomly at the retailer's machine or are they selected from a pool of numbers already stored on the retailer's terminal? EACH SET OF NUMBERS IS GENERATED WITH EACH TRANSACTION"
ONCE MORE with the HOW ARE QUICK PICKS GENERATED? How do define "pool of numbers already stored?" Certainly there is a limited pool, no matter how large it may be, since there is a set lower and upper number. And each terminal must be limited to generating a set within that limit. I haven't seen any tickets with -23 or 62. Have you?
Question #6: "Are the easy-picks tickets for Mega millions and Power-ball generated randomly at the Lottery central computer or are they selected from a pool of numbers already stored on the Lottery Central Computer? SEE ABOVE"
AGAIN: HOW ARE QUICK PICKS GENERATED? I'm sorry. You're persistence is laughable. The very reason it is so laughable is by continuing to ask the same question in so many ways, YOU ARE ADMITTING YOU DON'T EXPECT A TRUE ANSWER! You called them a liar after the first question by asking again! NOW IF YOU CALL ME A LIAR AND I LIE TO YOU THEN YOU GOT WHAT YOU EXPECTED.
And this is exactly what happened, isn't it? You didn't confuse them. You didn't trip them up. You're bright, I'll admit that. I mean, you tried to get them to take possession of Mega-Millions by calling it Michigan Mega-Millions, and adding Power ball, which is a separate entity altogether. You used 'recording' in such a general way it could be misconstrued to mean almost anything. I especially liked the 'AUTO-PICK,' it leaves me with the image of the terminal endlessly spitting out tickets.
By the way, did you know Mega-Millions has its own site? And they have a random number generator on there as well. They even have a 'contact us' button it. Might try it. Who knows? Couldn't hurt, could it.
You asked for opinons. That is mine.
Harrison Township Michigan
*BURP*
