California Gov. Gavin Newsom appointed Alva Vernon Johnson to take over the the state's lottery Monday, after former director Hugo Lopez stepped down Friday amid investigations.
Johnson, a former tribal lobbyist, takes over a department that has been been under scrutiny from the Department of Justice and the State Controller's Office since August, when anonymous employees sent a letter to former Gov. Jerry Brown alleging misconduct among senior executives at sales conferences.
Johnson lobbied for the San Manuel Band of Mission Indians from 2016 to 2018, and for the Agua Caliente Band of Cahuilla Indians from 2005 to 2015, according to a Governor's Office news release. He was a legislative liaison to the Lottery in 2001, according to the release.
He has a master's degree in public policy from UC Berkeley. The position requires Senate confirmation and comes with a $180,000 salary, according to the release.
Lopez, who held the job starting in 2015, oversaw a period of growth at the Lottery, with annual revenues topping $7 billion, he noted in a resignation letter.
Last summer's anonymous letter focused on senior lottery staff misbehaving at a Southern California piano bar after a sales conference in 2016. The letter included photographs that had been posted online of managers carousing at the bar.
A State Controller's Office audit later determined department officials inappropriately spent about $300,000 over four years on travel, food and accommodations for sales conferences.
Good Luck.
Hope all goes well.
I don't know how that's going to work out when you have a former lobbyist with his hands in the cookie jar. Wish Pelosi country good luck.
Congratulations to Alva Vernon Johnson. May you have smooth sailing and wind at your back.
Way to go Newsom, of all the candidates available he picks a lobbyist, oh great. Degree from Bezerkley and a salary of $180,000 this screams liberal.
Seems to be a trend, lottery directors with no lottery experience.
I bet he claimed he had alot, in that he played PB/MM when the j/p's were over 500M...
Could be worse. I worry more about conflict of interest than incompetence. One of the reasons CA pays pari-mutuel prizes rather than fixed prizes is that the tribes argued that fixed prizes constitute a house-banked game in the same spirit as a casino. The tribes didn't want the state to offer any lottery that would compete with their gaming, so the state compromised by making the prizes pari-mutuel, where players essentially play against each other. It averages out the same for players, but there's a lot of unpredictability that isn't so great for players. Looking at a game like Daily 3, the straight prize is sometimes as low as $300 and sometimes as high as $700. If you're a CA lottery player, you can thank the tribes for that.
Does the New Jersey Lottery pay their pick-3 and pick-4 prizes by pari-mutual for the same reasons?
Other states that pay pari-mutuel lottery prizes have their own reasons. California's reason was keeping the tribes happy.
Their lobbyists are good at preventing the state from making more money off gambling. Recent case in point: While other state are making moves to cash in on sports betting following the Supreme Court decision, California's sports betting legislation has been tabled because of -- you guessed it -- the tribes. Is it a shrewd move on Newsom's end to hire a former tribal lobbyist to head the lottery? We'll just have to wait and see.
This should be interesting. The person they picked, from what they say, doesn't seem to have any experience 'running' a department/agency/company of this size. I am kinda hoping they have experience that is not listed. Anyone who has been in management (at almost any level) for a large company knows there are a ton of things that someone with no experience will get tripped up on. I get the feeling this person will not be in this position for long.
Everything nowadays is turned into a political scenario. If the Gov had appointed a kid straight out of University, Newsom would have been taken to task. Let’s see what this guy does, if anything. He will be picking up a hefty paycheck, and the confetti has just fallen, however if he turns out to be trash, he will be gone soon enough. I can think of politicians that sit in Congress & the Senate that pick up hefty paychecks as well & do squat for years. At least this is one guy.
Maybe I'm looking in all the wrong places, but never found the reason New Jersey is pari-mutual. I bought a $1 box and a $1 straight twice and the clerk gave me four 50 cent tickets and when I gave them a funny look, they said it was because of the payoff. Looking at some recent results, the 50 cent payoff was between $160 and $420.
I suppose every state lottery still have people that are anti-lottery for a number of reasons.
Oh and for what's it's worth, Johnson does have some lottery experience. "He was a legislative liaison to the Lottery in 2001,"
Learned something new, I always wondered what the reason was for the pari mutuel payoff. Thanks for that info.
California should follow New York's example and introduce a subscription service. It would raise additional revenue for the state. It would also be very convenient for players, tapping into people who don't play in stores. It is time that the high-tech state's lottery''s came into the 21st century.
The CA lottery says they not interested in subscriptions. Our hands are tied Dannyct.
To purchase a subscription through the Lottery's subscription center, you must access the subscription center from a computer or other electronic device physically located within New York State at the time of purchase. It should be noted that mobile devices i.e., IPads, Cellular devices, etc. cannot be used to purchase a subscription.
Bet you didn't know about the "physically located within the state to buy tickets" part. And that applies to every lottery. Most lotteries have future play options and have stores selling lottery tickets on every corner. If you live in California and want a subscription option, contact you state rep.
The NY Lottery FAQ section really shows why subscriptions are not for everybody.
dannyct,
Well here's one state - Massachusetts - that has some vision;
https://www.masslottery.com/games/lottery/season-tickets.html
Very interesting development, more to come - we'll see 👀
Can non-residents play the game? If so, how do they collect?
Yes, anyone 18 and over can purchase any Lottery product at any agent location. All players can collect their prizes at the same locations referenced in the “How do customers collect their winnings” FAQ. Season Tickets can be purchased directly from any sales agent while in the state, or from out of state by calling l-800-222-TKTS. The ticket can be registered in the owner’s name by completing and returning the registration form to the Lottery. Season Tickets are available for Lucky for Life, Mega Millions, Megabucks Doubler and Powerball.
Lucky for Life, Mega Millions and Powerball season tickets cannot be purchased via phone or by mail from out of state.
Players can purchase Megabucks Double from out of state, but the can only purchase other game tickets while within the state. Their site includes Mass Cash for out of state purchases, but doesn't mention the game in the FAQ section.
And previous to the above post, same person said;
Bet you didn't know about the "physically located within the state to buy tickets" part. And that applies to every lottery.
I'll take another 2 or 3 year break from reading anymore of his drivel.
You must have missed the correction I made BEFORE you posted?
And besides, how do Mass or NY subscriptions apply to an article about "a new California Lottery director"?
Nice attempted save Stack.
In your reply to dannyct you post;
Bet you didn't know about the "physically located within the state to buy tickets" part. And that applies to every lottery.
Your anxiety to point out to other people what they missed and where they are wrong is a joke.
Then in your very next post you copy and paste from the Mass. Lottery about non residents playing.
No, I didn't miss a thing and you're the one who brought the NY lottery into the conversation. I brought up the Mass. Lottery because of your reply to dannyct.
You bet 80, win 40. Bet 30 you win 50. You’re still down 20. Same old same old.
I know what I typed and I know I corrected it BEFORE your post and besides my reply was made directly to dannyct. Maybe you don't understand how LP places posts in chronological order and posters can include the "quoted text" in their replies just like I did when danny mentioned "California should follow New York's example and introduce a subscription service." in their post about three hours before my reply.
"and you're the one who brought the NY lottery into the conversation."
Not much I can say other than the facts show you're dead wrong.
"I brought up the Mass. Lottery because of your reply to dannyct."
I get it, you decided to reply on what I said about the NY Lottery subscriptions by using the Mass Lottery as an example. Fun fact: there is time limit on editing or deleting post on LP so if you're late the only option is to correct it in another post; just like I did.
Do you have way too much time on your hands and nothing better to do than make inflammatory post just to annoy people and start conflicts?
Nice self description Stack
Do you have way too much time on your hands and nothing better to do than make inflammatory post just to annoy people and start conflicts?
Instead of replying to people like this
Person A
B
C
you go one by one, most likely in a real bush league attempt to pad your post count or something.
You're the one annoying people and starting conflicts by using a 'highlighter' and vivisecting other people's posts.
That's why you're really here, isn't it?
No need for you to make another attempt at having the last word, I'll never read a post of yours again, life is a lot better that way.
PUT YOUR EGO IN PARK.
sayo@#$%^&* nara.
"You're the one annoying people and starting conflicts by using a 'highlighter'"
I did not know that was against the rules. Is not including the text I'm replying against the rules too?
"I'll never read a post of yours again"
Said like a true 12 5-year-old! But you'll read my posts, just like the last dozen times you said the same thing.
"That's why you're really here, isn't it?"
I'm here for the tools I can use because I have a Premium Membership and enjoy discussing lottery games and strategies with real lottery players. System players will never purchase a subscription where they must play the same combination for whatever the time period.
This article is about the California Governor appointing a lottery director and none of your usual
.