Lottery feelings still run deep

Jan 19, 2004, 7:21 am (12 comments)

Tennessee Lottery

Over at the Varsity Market on Oil Well Road in North Jackson, the store managers and cashiers know Louis Morris by name.

He's a regular, usually in and out on weekdays to grab a cup of coffee before being on his way. In fact, his silver coffee mug has the store's name on it.

However, as Varsity Market geared up in recent days to sell lottery tickets and showed off signs it would place in windows, Morris hardly cared. The store might sell its share of lottery tickets, but the Tennessee Lottery won't get a dollar from Morris.

"I don't believe in gambling," Morris said. "I'm a religious person, and I don't believe in it."

And he won't be the only one who won't play, for slightly more than a year after Tennessee voters gave the green light to legislators to rework the state constitution to establish a lottery, feelings in West Tennessee still run deep.

For example, state Rep. Chris Crider, R-Milan, recently sent a fax to The Jackson Sun about lottery statistics and scribbled on the cover sheet that, "the lottery stinks."

Much of the sentiment remains against the lottery itself, and the anti-lottery fighters gained more ammunition when the state rubber-stamped a $752,500 salary, with incentives, for Rebecca Paul, the new president and CEO of the Tennessee Education Lottery Corporation.

Morris is a 52-year-old from Jackson who has a landscaping business and attends Faith Tabernacle Church. His feelings should come as no surprise. Of the 16 Tennessee counties that voted against a lottery in November 2002, eight were in West Tennessee, including Madison County, where voters rejected the lottery referendum by 1,547 votes out of 26,249 counted.

However, 40 businesses in Jackson have lottery equipment installed, but Morris and others have no plans to play.

"And I understand that," said Don Graves, supervisor at Varsity Market. "There's going to be people who are not going to play, and there are going to be others that will. There's people that don't smoke, but we do have a group of people who do smoke. It's basically the same thing."

But others draw the line on lottery tickets.

"I think it's terrible. It takes advantage of the poor," said Kelby Smith, a minister at the North Jackson Church of Christ. "It's not the rich that buy lottery tickets. It's the poor people."

Smith echoed a rallying cry heard over and over from the anti-lottery forces in the months that led up to the November 2002 vote.

Leading the charge against the lottery was the Gambling Free Tennessee Alliance, a now-defunct organization. One of its board members, however, has continued another fight on the lottery. Bobbie Patray, state president of the Tennessee Eagle Forum, helped to craft legislation that, among other things, allowed qualifying Tennessee high school graduates to receive the $3,000 lottery scholarship if they attended either a public or private college in the state.

"We worked as hard as we could to make the legislation as tight as possible," Patray said. "To me, it's sad that Tennessee will be in the lottery business."

What irks Crider is Paul's salary and that home-schooled graduates must meet a 23 ACT score to qualify. Other Tennessee high school graduates must meet a 19 ACT and have a 3.0 grade-point average.

"I feel like we're wasting a lot of $3,000 scholarships on paying John Shumaker-type salaries," Crider said, referring to the former University of Tennessee president with expensive tastes.

Still, the lottery won't get any money from Morris.

"Other people can do it if they want to do it," he said. "I just don't believe in gambling."

Jackson Sun

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Bradly_60's avatarBradly_60

A lottery that is going to pay for thousands of peoples higher-education is a great idea.  But there should be requirements to get those scholorships. 

But to those complain about it.  Stop!  haha.  Your state voted for one so stop complaining.  Its coming.  I don't see how gambling is SO BAD.  I mean they are like its the devil at work.  Well what about smoking and drinking, they too are habits people bad...why aren't they SO BAD.  I should go into politics just to debate with people.  I think it would be fun.  haha

Brad

Pick-4_Master

Whenever Religion gets involved in things like this it gets BLOWN out of proportion.One Minister said "Rich people don't buy lottery tickets poor people do" well if that's true how come the majority of lottery winners come from middle to upper income families.Look at the guy who won a $319 million PowerBall he was a business owner and a millionnaire.Poor people don't necessarily spend as much on lottery as people who are well off do because they don't have the extra money to do so.There's been many studies done that prove people with money play the lottery more than people who don't have much money.The lottery doesn't prey on the poor because if it relied on there dollars to stay afloat there wouldn't be any lotteries.

Mana's avatarMana

As I said earlier in an ear

golotto

to those who might speak badly of lottery participation, i say...

...yes, i do buy occasional Powerball, Megabucks and SuperCash tickets. i suppose that anything in life that's done in excess isn't recommended, but, i don't play excessively. opponents always cite the odds...but that's what makes the lottery exciting for me, knowing the odds and challenging them.

how many other hobbies can give a person the true enjoyment and excitement of participating in a jackpot game at an annual cost of less than attending one professional sporting dvent?

what does it cost for a couple of tickets to a football game or a rock concert? including meals, lodging, and transportation most would cost much more than i spend in a whole year on the lottery...even if i play every week.

Mana's avatarMana
Quote: Originally posted by golotto on January 19, 2004



[...] what does it cost for a couple of tickets to a football game or a rock concert? including meals, lodging, and transportation most would cost much more than i spend in a whole year on the lottery...even if i play every week.






Going for the football games and rock concerts line ... and an anime convention goer... *grin* ... and a bit of comparison, a very scant summary of one of the cons I go to ...

Hotel for two nights (a weekend, Friday through Sunday) $189/night
Otakon Registration - $45 @ the door
Transportation (22 gallons, to and back) - $1.65/gallon

Cost: $400+

Not to say that conventions i go to are bad, but that's the Mana comparison  and can illustrate golotto's point...

chunnybunny29's avatarchunnybunny29

Mr.Louis Morris will be the type to win the "MILLIONS".People like that alway do.And for me I would like to win a little bit to go on my honeymoon, the first of next mounth will be a year into my marriage.And "NO"I am not begging for money I am good to go but what I am saying I can't take off of work and just go.                      ChunnyBunny      Have a "$$$$$$JING"0"LING$$$$$$" of a NEW YEAR!!!!  PS>>>>It will take me forever to win a million..but thats everyones dream...

Pick-4_Master

The Lottery has nothing to do with crime or drugs it has to do with the people that are doing it, the environment they grew up in and society in general.

johnph77's avatarjohnph77

I find this whole thread strange. Memphis is in West Tennessee, about as far west in the state as one can get. The last time I was there I caught a free shuttle to Tunica, MS. Now surely Memphis and the state of Tennessee didn't benefit from my going to Tunica and gambling there. Or am I wrong?

Lotto Czar's avatarLotto Czar

I too, find this all laughable.  Read the same stories about North Carolina, last year; and people in Virginia are still crying about it, and its been over 10 years.  Here in Pa. it's been over 30 years, and I guess the excitement has died down.  Well, sort of.  The hot thing now is trying to get slots.  You wouldn't be surprised that the same sort of people want to ruin it for the rest of us.  I'm surprized that these people from the so-called Christian churches aren't down at the 7-11's picketing and protesting and otherwise prdventing those of us who like to from doing so.  No body is forcing them to do something they don't like, why do they think they are harmed by those who do?

Gee, I'm Christian ,too, and yeah, will I go to hell for buying a scratch ticket?  Gee, do you think our Pastor would be upset if those people don't show up for Saturnight Bingo at the Fellowship hall?  I find Hypocrites amusing.

ISo where's the outrage?  Are they down at the mini-marts?  Agree with Pick 4 master.  And yeah, Jack Whitaker was a fine upstanding citizen, until he got his 15 minutes of fame.  And he's still getting it.  As I said before, yah, all that money must make people nuts.  Moral of the story, for all of you of them, if by chance, someone forces you to buy a big winning ticket, don't forget to give it all to your church.  Their problem if they don't want the money, and you don't want the tax write-off.

You got a friend in Pennsylvania.

Lotto Czar's avatarLotto Czar

"I don't believe in gambling," Morris said. "I'm a religious person, and I don't believe in it."

Sure, Lou.  But if you lived in Pa., you'd be the first one to jump on the gravy train, that is fueled by lottery poceeds.  Here in Pa. (and only in Pa.) those proceeds benefit Senior Citizens.  For those of us, did you say you're 52?  I'm 55 and got 5 more years before I could retire.  Sort of funding your own retirement. 

 Do you have stock, pay social security?, contribute to other pension funds.  Do you wake up in the morning.  If so, you are gambling; and if you wake up every day, you already won.  Gee, lou, so am I religious; just remember, in that great game we call Life, God is the dealer and holds the deck, spins he reels, the wheel, hands us the dice each day or whatever.  Be thankful. 

 It never hurts anyone to do good for others.  Your Father in Heaven has already repaid you.

And LOu, nobody is saying that you HAVE to by a ticket.  So don't.  That's more for the rest of those who do.

I agree with the Store manager.  I don't like cigarettes either, no body forces me to buy them.  I don't have to pay the tax.  And that's what it is a voluntary tax.  And those taxes pay a lot of salarys and keep a lot of good, honest people employed.

Sorry for the sermon, folks, but I feel as the rest of most of you.  Some people are just too funny.

Mana's avatarMana
Quote: Originally posted by Lotto Czar on January 20, 2004



[...] and people in Virginia are still crying about it, and its been over 10 years. [...]





Ah yes.... the home of the Christian Coalition .... (I live near Regent University, part of Pat Robertson's evil empire.) ... ehehe ...

... I feel I'm a pretty good Christian, even though I'm a stumbling lottery and poker playing goth *smirk ... imagine a guy like that in the World Poker championships.. but that's a different matter altogether.* .... and I dun think gambling of any form is bad (we do it all the time in the financial markets... and just about anything in general). ^_^; You just gotta moderate yourself.

Back to slight topic on the quotation....  yeah.. I still hear the whining about it from around there. Heh.

Lotto Czar's avatarLotto Czar

Thanks for the update.

It's good to see that nothing has changed since 1987.  When I first heard the story. 

Agree with the moderation factor, it's entertainment--and when you can't afford it , you lose!  Any help guide will say that.  Play only what you can afford.  And have fun.  It's only a game.

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