Tenn. Lottery CEO blames lagging sales on Powerball

Comment #53

itsmyhouse — Mon, 15 Dec 2008 18:00:31 GMT

Go to the Tennessean's website and there's a link where you can do a search of all the Lottery employees salaries. Unbelievable, Paul-Hargrove making almost a half a million dollars a year and three of her Georgia control freaks earning over $200K a year.

Comment #52

cher19622 — Mon, 01 Dec 2008 12:52:15 GMT

I told everyone on this post a week ago what happened to me,I went in a local market to buy the neww 200 edition Giant Jumbos,,I bought 21 of the 5.00 dollar tickets.......I got 3 free tickets ........you tell me.$105.00 and winning 3 free tickets,whats wrong with this picture? I'm stupid for ever buying the first one.I've been buying for 2 years now and nothing....I just broke my habbit 2 weeks ago,you talking abouy hard thing to do but I was weak but not any more.....Being so mad broke me from... [ More ]

Comment #51

copper2 — Tue, 25 Nov 2008 18:35:37 GMT

Good point on the economy.if it was just powerball sales or lack there of then wouldn't it be a problem in all states that have powerball? The cash 3 and cash 4 in Tn have low payouts compared to Kentucky.I compare Ky and Tn cause the states are about even and actually Tn has just as many people playing cash 3 and cash4 . Tn has gone to a sum it up ,but Tn web site sure doesnt make players that aware of it ...the players are the last to know about draw break changes,more money fridays(only in No... [ More ]

Comment #50

spy153 — Mon, 24 Nov 2008 13:06:45 GMT

Even though you normally do an extremely well job of wording your comments, nicely put.

I don't believe there has ever been built a 100% secure system either.

Comment #49

itsmyhouse — Sun, 23 Nov 2008 18:31:03 GMT

Every state is different...some sell more online games than instants. Tennessee is about 70/30 in favor of scratch offs. Probably more than that now, given the impression about the rng in TN.

Comment #48

Todd — Sun, 23 Nov 2008 17:04:40 GMT

Comment #47

Tnplayer805 — Sun, 23 Nov 2008 06:39:42 GMT

They will NEVER get rid of the scratch games. That would be stupid. They sell more Instants than any other product. I've often heard Becca say, Instant Tickets are the bread and butter of lotteries. They aren't going anywhere.

Comment #46

MaddMike51 — Sat, 22 Nov 2008 22:42:12 GMT

Personaly,I hope Tennessee keeps Rebecca Harwood.Iowa is looking for someone to replace Dr.Ed Staneck who retired earlier this year and I would hate to see Harwood as his replacement.I wouldn't wish that witch on any state,but since y'all already have her,please keep her.

Comment #45

LOTTOMIKE — Sat, 22 Nov 2008 20:52:17 GMT

my sister used to buy strictly scratch offs.she always bought the 5 dollar scratch offs.she would buy two or three and would most of the time come close to making the fifteen dollars she spent back and there were a few times where she would win close to a hundred bucks.the last two times she went and did this nothing.then she said she went and bought ten at one time,no winners.i told her stop and she said she was.i told her they changed it to where its not good for the players.

Comment #44

cher19622 — Sat, 22 Nov 2008 18:30:04 GMT

Thats where I play also....Hey listen to this ,I just got back from kroger,Heard 2 little ole ladies talking going down the isle,They said there where discontinuing the scratch offs,,,,well what do you think about that? That should tell us all STOP PLAYING HERE !!!! Something is going down,,,,down town Nashville ..

Comment #43

Tnplayer805 — Sat, 22 Nov 2008 17:03:52 GMT

Wildwood is a great place to play. I try to stop everytime I go to Chattanooga.

Comment #42

cher19622 — Sat, 22 Nov 2008 16:53:31 GMT

That's why I will drive 1 hour and half to what they call the loop to play Georgia,They are so good to their players,From Murfreesboro,I will take Interstate 24 east,almost to Chattanogoo,there is a place on the Interstate where it runs into Georgia,then back into Tennessee,,,,Driving 1 1/2 hours is worth winning to me....On that exit is 4 stores to play...hehehe

Comment #41

Tnplayer805 — Sat, 22 Nov 2008 16:41:00 GMT

The reason they don't put a poll online is because they know what the outcome will be already. They will play dumb and assume everyone is fine with RNG. However, they know how it would turn out. Last year when they went to RNG they did it in a very dirty way. We had like 3 weeks of warning... They wanted to implement the change hoping very few would notice. However, WE NOTICE BECCA!!! I wonder what's next? What else is she going to do to screw us over

Comment #40

Todd — Fri, 21 Nov 2008 18:16:26 GMT

Think about it.

Keno drawn every 5 minutes with ball machines is logistically and physically impossible. Drawing 5,000 6-digit raffle numbers with a ball machine is logistically and physically impossible.

I would not suggest what I said about 10 digits without reason.

I never said computers should be banned entirely. They have their purposes. But one of them is not lotto-style games.

There are basically three types of people who like computerized drawings:

The companies that cr... [ More ]

Comment #39

cher19622 — Fri, 21 Nov 2008 15:14:31 GMT

Well I'm just a dumb hillbilly from the sticks amd dont understand nothing you are all talking about but I do know one thing . All her education and stealing from us inocent people in Tennessee have to see what the lottery was put here to start with,,,,,THE EDUCATION OF OUR KIDS.

Comment #38

Captain Lotto — Fri, 21 Nov 2008 15:06:39 GMT

I'm sure they know what you're saying. I understand the lack of confidence. But some questions...

You really don't think Powerball and the economy don't have something to do with it? Not every state is booming, many are seeing a drop in sales. People do turn to the Lottery as a way out in tough times, as long as they have money to spend. Eventually they shut their wallets, which is what we're starting to see across the board.

Why ball drawings for everything less than 10 numbers? Do you t... [ More ]

Comment #37

itsmyhouse — Fri, 21 Nov 2008 15:01:25 GMT

The lottery board is a farce. I don't know how you get appointed to serve on the board, but one of the qualifications is that you must be willing to play ball . They're supposed to oversee the lottery, but its more like they're in cahoots with them instead. The board approved (for the first time in the lottery's existence) a change in how the bonuses were paid this year...why? So they'd have a better shot at earning it in the face of declining sales, it's now determined on less cut-and-dried met... [ More ]

Comment #36

cher19622 — Fri, 21 Nov 2008 14:59:49 GMT

On the front of the web sight it says 10 million for friday night,why did she put that up there?So we (all of Tennessee residents) will go out and spend $ 10.00 for quick picks and their own draws hoping to win the 10 million,,,,,,she will make that much plus a few million to boot (probally).And she will pocket the rest that we have already spent on that game alone. Who hired this woman? Well as a paying lottery big time (Loser) ...............................................YOU ARE NOW FIRED

Comment #35

cher19622 — Fri, 21 Nov 2008 14:28:24 GMT

All these comments are the truth,everyone that has posted are so tired of the way Tennessee people are treated.I wonder if she is a member on here,Todd call her up and offer a free month on here so she can read what we wrote about her.....That the best thing you could do for us all,

Comment #34

Todd — Fri, 21 Nov 2008 13:37:15 GMT

The other thing to keep in mind is that noticably absent is that she does not blame the economy .

Why?

Because almost every other state lottery is booming right now, with many having record years. The poor economy actually helps lotteries, but for some reason only Tennessee is particularly bothered by Powerball .

I hope the governor and legislators and lottery board are all asking hard questions and demanding adequate responses.

WHY doesn't she spark sales by switching to real drawin... [ More ]

Comment #33

LOTTOMIKE — Fri, 21 Nov 2008 13:31:28 GMT

someone mentioned the fact that this lotto plus game has went all this time and hasn't been won one time.i think it went years in indiana that way but of course when you have computer draws the odds get thrown out of wack as far as the jackpot being hit.with games like lotto it would get hit more often when the balls are being dropped because the computer draws are just manipulated to bring in higher jackpots so more people will spend more money which goes into the state coffers.

Comment #32

LOTTOMIKE — Fri, 21 Nov 2008 13:25:32 GMT

we all overlooked something here.

rebecca paul blames powerball and funny thing that's the only game here not RNG.

the lottery director was overheard speaking in hushed tones..well governor bredesen i blame powerball because i can't manipulate it like i can the other games here that are in-state.shoot mr.governor i just walk in that little control room and start tinkering with the computers but a few times i've messed up and it almost got out of hand and got me in trouble but now i've... [ More ]

Comment #31

copper2 — Fri, 21 Nov 2008 12:24:09 GMT

Well, good posts by everyone. Cash 3 Pick 4 and scratch offs is where the Tn is losing money. Check this out: go to cash 3 and check how many times 439,184,007 have come up. Even 000 came up TWICE within a 4 day period. other #s like 375 have not come up since 2007. ALSO, try to send the Tn lottery a message-go to contact us ,scroll down,....ok when you type your comment or question you cant use a ? ... it comes up as invalid character...Tn does not want player feedback or questions. I was one w... [ More ]

Comment #30

chasingadream — Thu, 20 Nov 2008 17:18:13 GMT

This is the saaaaaaaaaaaaaaaame thing that I thought when I first heard that Arkansas would possibly be getting a lottery in the next few years

Comment #29

itsmyhouse — Thu, 20 Nov 2008 15:51:48 GMT

Go to the Knoxville News Sentinel website and read the entire article. She's blowing smoke up Bredesen's a$$...she doesn't want to admit the random number machine decision continues to impact sales, blaming Powerball for the drop in revenue doesn't fly, that game only significantly impacts sales once it's over $150M or so. Funny how they're going back and stating that they're claiming sales will be up versus last year...that because sales were DOWN last year because of the screw-ups and the rand... [ More ]

Comment #28

spy153 — Thu, 20 Nov 2008 13:04:26 GMT

Wow! I'm a huge James Bond fan. (Could you guess?) That's where all of my numbers have been coming out, huh? I've said it once, and I'll say it again....KY is my kryptonite. Absolutely can not win anything in this stupid state. I play one time in TN, and win. I have played in Ky now for over 2 years, (almost three) and nothing. I won since living here, but only because I played in TN. I usually do win something if I play in TN.

So, cruddy or not, I guess I have to go back to TN to play. Thank... [ More ]

Comment #27

Tnplayer805 — Thu, 20 Nov 2008 07:05:54 GMT

I just noticed lotto plus is up to $10 million. It hasn't been won since March. (The 1st drawing) I guess because of poor ticket sales. There's no doubt in my mind if they would have kept ball drawings there would be a winner every month or so. It's a great game... The problem is the drawing and confidence in a lottery that is clearly in a downward spiral.

Comment #26

Todd — Thu, 20 Nov 2008 03:30:41 GMT

Nice post, welcome to Lottery Post!

Sadly, the reaction by the lottery to comments such as yours is to quickly dismiss any such notion with a wave of the hand. They start talking about the locked rooms and security clearances and all the other CYA stuff that they use to prove to themselves that everything is just peachy.

In August 2007, we all got to see why that attitude is so wrong, and why so many people are fed up with them.

Within a week of the now-famous drawing glitches , players... [ More ]

Comment #25

Tnmeme5177 — Thu, 20 Nov 2008 01:34:45 GMT

Message to Hargrove from a TN resident,

I used to play the tnlottery daily but lost confidence after the fiasco last Aug/Sep 2007 and all of the repeats of the same numbers and constant mistakes and errors. Bring the real balls back . I know for a fact that someone is tricking the machine or has interfered with the program. There is all kinds of hacking going on in corp america......do you think its not going on with the lottery? I tell you we can't even play a good hand of poker online anymo... [ More ]

Comment #24

Todd — Thu, 20 Nov 2008 00:06:16 GMT

Wow, didn't know that. Thanks for letting us know.

Comment #23

itsmyhouse — Wed, 19 Nov 2008 22:27:11 GMT

Funny how the Knoxville News Sentinel reported this, yet the Tennesseean (located in Nashville, where the Corporate HQ is) doesn't mention it at all. Someone has made it clear that it's hands off the lottery in Nashville.

Ah, politics and their strange bedfellows...

Comment #22

cher19622 — Wed, 19 Nov 2008 17:49:43 GMT

How cold is that?I'm sorry for what she did to georgia's people,So much I'm sorry for us here in Tennessee. WHY DONT SOMEONE STEP UP TO THE PLATE AND DO THE PROPER THING ABOUT WHAT SHE IS DOING TO ALL AMERICANS. HELLO

Comment #21

canyon — Wed, 19 Nov 2008 16:23:24 GMT

I'm soooo glad she's no longer in Georgia!!!! The NUTS here in Georgia paid her a lot of money and bonus when she left and Tennessee paid her even more money and now she's sticking it to the people of Tennessee while her pockets continue to overflow with money!!! When will somebody she her for what she really is???? Some people in Georgia were sad to see her leave, after we saw how things were going with the new lottery head, but we definitely are celebrating now!!! TENNESSEE KEEP HER, DON'T SEN... [ More ]

Comment #20

cher19622 — Wed, 19 Nov 2008 16:10:46 GMT

Hey everyone go out and play 666.It would either break them if it came in or the payout would be $0.00

Comment #19

cher19622 — Wed, 19 Nov 2008 16:08:43 GMT

One thing I would to know, how much Tennessee has made on 111 and 666 because never once played.Enough to send 10 kids to Vanderbuilt,

Comment #18

itsmyhouse — Wed, 19 Nov 2008 15:56:37 GMT

She's not going anywhere, since she married a politician and Bredesen even performed the ceremony. It's been oddly hands off the lottery since the legistlation was very quietly withdrawn to force them to go back to the balls. The papers, websites, the City Paper, TV, no one has printed a thing. How about this little tidbit...Paul-Hargrove very quietly just received a ONE HUNDRED THOUSAND DOLLAR BONUS for reaching $5B in sales before the lotterys five year anniversary. How many scholarships is th... [ More ]

Comment #17

konane — Wed, 19 Nov 2008 13:45:23 GMT

If Paul-Hargrove is true to form she will likely be recruited by Arkansas to launch their lottery. Maybe that's what she was planning for before the consequences of her own ill conceived decisions came back to haunt her.

Comment #16

chasingadream — Wed, 19 Nov 2008 08:02:30 GMT

i totally agree with what all of you are saying. I do not trust the lottery here.

Prime example.....the last raffle ticket drawing that was held here only announced 2top prize winners and when i called the lottery office back in June to ask if the remaining 1mill top prizes were claimed, I was put on hold for 26mins!!! No one came back to the phone. I had to disconnect because I was on my lunch break at work.

I will admit that I play Lotto Plus every full moon but if its not hit by the end... [ More ]

Comment #15

Amazing Grace — Wed, 19 Nov 2008 05:34:22 GMT

Shes right I would not buy a ticket if it was a win for 0nly a 100, million dollars

The Govt dont tax our lottery winnings in Canada,

The american Govt needs to let the American people keep more of thier money=GDP.

But they dont because that is what pays for Wars, Freedom,Superstructures, Superior technology,

Its Rebuilding the Nations, Notice I said Nations, 300 million people in united states,

so 1$=300 million thats if they all worked.

Given the unemployment rate this increa... [ More ]

Comment #14

Todd — Wed, 19 Nov 2008 05:31:25 GMT

The more people warning Arkansas about falling into the computerized drawing trap the better!

They need to hear early and often about how players do not like and do not trust computerized drawings.

If they want to kick off their lottery without another group of people attacking them (i.e., like the anti-gambling folks), they need to ensure that only mechanical ball drawings will be used.

Arkansas legislators: When you write your lottery laws, please specify the following language

Comment #13

LOTTOMIKE — Wed, 19 Nov 2008 05:13:46 GMT

i meant to tell you guys this about pick 4.remember back a few years ago i was hitting the pick 4 three or four times a year? since the middle of 2007 until now i've played on paper and guess how many times i've hit since they went to RNG here in tennessee? 0 times. thats right not once.soooooo what i'm doing is keeping fingers crossed about arkansas and if those guys want to play fair and do ball draws i'll just take my business there.i honestly expected a small mistake by our lottery here ever... [ More ]

Comment #12

diamondpalace — Wed, 19 Nov 2008 04:58:01 GMT

Wow, another bad story from Tenn lotto. With errors like these people are loosing confidence in the lotto headquarter, not in themselves. Get real Tenn lotto if you want to make money you need to offer people a chance to win it, let the odds do the selection, not insiders. I have a feeling that this will happen few more times, at least once more before 2009. Investigation will take place eventually...those that walked away with great sums from this mess will soon be thinking about how not to dro... [ More ]

Comment #11

spy153 — Wed, 19 Nov 2008 04:19:43 GMT

That is my personal opinion why the lottery sales have come down. I'm sure the jackpots on Powerball have something to do with it as well., but mostly the gas prices, economy instability, etc., As far as confidence levels from the consumer, well, can you blame them? The computerized drawings? Remember, most people don't trust computers and the internet anyway. Oh, let me clarify that, most people I know. Not any of you here, of course. But throw that in the mix with seemingly fixed draws and blo... [ More ]

Comment #10

cher19622 — Wed, 19 Nov 2008 04:01:50 GMT

Like I said what goes around comes around.And I do hope she reads all of this that we all write.I would love to see her retire,she has not only my money but all of Tennessee people .We all across the united states work hard,not just us in Tennessee but every one.Do you think for a minute she cares if we have food to eat or gas in our cars or what we need for our families,,,,well $%^*) no she dont.I'm keeping my hard earned money,I dont know the way the rest of you work but most of the time I'm w... [ More ]

Comment #9

konane — Wed, 19 Nov 2008 02:04:19 GMT

Well stated Maddog, completely agree.

If Hargrove is true to form she's managing the TN Lottery with the same greedy tactics she used in Georgia. Looks like it's coming back to bite her, hope it takes a much bigger chunk before it's over.

Comment #8

Todd — Wed, 19 Nov 2008 01:49:51 GMT

I think there are many people like you.

I really feel bad for you, because you all had the carpet ripped from under your feet with no warning or opportunity to voice you opinion. What the lottery did was just plain wrong. It's not what you signed up for.

It's awesome that you are voicing your opinion with your wallet, because that is the ONLY thing they care about.

Look how big this story is in Tennessee. Normally the annual financial updates from the lottery get scant attention. But b... [ More ]

Comment #7

GASMETERGUY — Wed, 19 Nov 2008 01:45:12 GMT

I, for one, have quit playing Tennessee's lottory since they went to the RNG method. I have no confidence in any official of this state doing right, be they Republicans or Democrats. In my book, computerized drawings were introduced to make mainpulation easier and more difficult to uncover. I will keep my money in my wallet until they bring back ball drawings. If that means I never get to lay $1 down on the Pick 5 again, then so be it. I am finding that I don't have a problem not having a ticket... [ More ]

Comment #6

time*treat — Wed, 19 Nov 2008 01:44:36 GMT

The Knoxville News Sentinel reports the lottery chief told Gov. PhilBredesen in budget sessions Monday in Nashville that the lottery is nowprojecting about $288.6 million in revenues for education this fiscalyear.

That may be less than expected, but it's no small amount. If TN players want real drawings back, drop that number till the decimal point threatens to move.

Comment #5

Littleoldlady — Wed, 19 Nov 2008 01:16:07 GMT

That is amazing. I watched her on the news last night and this morning and she clearly stated that she thought it was the high cost of gasoline that had cut into sales of lottery tickets. she also stated that she thought that with gas prices coming down that the lottery would be able to make more money possibly getting to the amount of money they were making before all of the gas hikes. Well, whatever, it remains to be seen. I am sure player confidence does have something to do with the shortfal... [ More ]

Comment #4

cher19622 — Wed, 19 Nov 2008 00:28:38 GMT

Well said MADDOG With a 10

Comment #3

MADDOG10 — Wed, 19 Nov 2008 00:23:43 GMT

Boy, she still can't see past her nose....!

Powerball may have cut into some, but not 400,000 less per week. WAKE UP and smell the coffee Mrs Hardnose. The good folks in Tenn don't deserve to be bilked the way you're doing it with computers. Get some Balls Rebecca, then maybe the revenue will go back up. Tah Tah dolling......

Comment #2

cher19622 — Tue, 18 Nov 2008 23:16:33 GMT

The Powerball has nothing to do with the drawings.Of course she has to blame it on someone.The fine folks in Tennessee have been waiting on this,now the last laugh is on her.Cant wait till they come and say,,,,,,What you gonna do when they come for you,bad boys.!!!!!!!! oh yea with all these losing tickets I have stacked up in the cabinet are actually good? Who knows....

Comment #1

DC81 — Tue, 18 Nov 2008 22:42:29 GMT

Ahh, just like these sort of clowns, blame one thing while completely ignoring the other, bigger issue....

I'm sure Powerball cut into some sales, but all those problems with the RNG and their brilliant giving out the wrong phone number certainly didn't give customers a boost of confidence in how competent the people in charge of the state lotteries are.

Tenn. Lottery CEO blames lagging sales on Powerball

Lottery Post — Tue, 18 Nov 2008 22:27:14 GMT

Hey, you wanted to be in the gambling business...

Tennessee officials are hedging their bets on Powerball to lift the lottery out of a sales slump that could hurt revenue projections for education.

Lottery CEO Rebecca Paul Hargrove says lottery sales have been running about $400,000 less per week than last year since the fiscal year began July 1.

She blames Powerball. The jackpot went over $300 million at one point last year but hasn't reached that level yet this year. Bigger jackpots i... [ More ]