Northstar fights to keep Illinois lottery documents secret

Comment #30

sully16 — Sat, 19 Apr 2014 11:51:09 GMT

Exactly, Would not trust the integrity of the games at this point.

Comment #29

rdgrnr — Fri, 18 Apr 2014 16:18:10 GMT

That whole state will eventually crash and burn under the weight of the entrenched greed and corruption in their government.

If Northstar wants to hide their secrets they should put them with what's-his-name's school records.

The media will never look there.

Comment #28

rdgrnr — Fri, 18 Apr 2014 15:50:40 GMT

You don't get any money that way.

How many times do I have to tell you

Comment #27

sully16 — Fri, 18 Apr 2014 12:28:41 GMT

I think that's a very good guess.

Comment #26

LottoBoner — Wed, 16 Apr 2014 02:16:41 GMT

Since then, it has failed to meet revenue goals in the 2012 and 2013 fiscal years. Last month, a lottery official said the firm was on track to fall short of revenue targets for the third straight year.

Maybe the targets are too high?

All they have to do is lower the targets and everything should be fine.

How are you going to meet revenue targets if the state is paying them million every year, and then on top of that they probably give large bonuses to themselves for essential... [ More ]

Comment #25

grwurston — Wed, 16 Apr 2014 00:32:30 GMT

Every time I read an article about a private company promising the state they can increase lottery profits, I have to laugh. How do you do that? 1) Sell more tickets. 2) Increase the odds. 3) Make it harder to win. At least according to the private co. The state might do better in the beginning, but then the players catch on and stop playing. Result: Less sales, which equals less $$$ for the state. How many more times does this have to happen before the states realize they should just leave thin... [ More ]

Comment #24

JonnyBgood07 — Tue, 15 Apr 2014 23:45:31 GMT

Comment #23

THRIFTY — Tue, 15 Apr 2014 22:11:56 GMT

Instant scratch off games with pictures of rats

Comment #22

THRIFTY — Tue, 15 Apr 2014 22:10:07 GMT

The lottery is a tough business to profit from nowadays.

Comment #21

Jon D — Tue, 15 Apr 2014 22:06:21 GMT

Be on the lookout for rats fleeing the sinking ship...with golden parachutes.

Comment #20

Artist77 — Tue, 15 Apr 2014 21:58:44 GMT

lol Yes....you know that is my plan! But I will keep my day job in the meanwhile.

Comment #19

THRIFTY — Tue, 15 Apr 2014 21:25:36 GMT

Illinois lottery players are broke. High unemployment rate translate to lost revenues for the lottery.

Comment #18

THRIFTY — Tue, 15 Apr 2014 21:22:30 GMT

You can win a lottery jackpot with 1 ticket

Comment #17

LottoMetro — Tue, 15 Apr 2014 21:18:10 GMT

The business plan included Keno and here's the clincher, a request to revise the promised revenues downwards of over half a billion dollars FY14 to FY18.

Which is probably why they don't want it public.

Comment #16

Artist77 — Tue, 15 Apr 2014 21:10:03 GMT

My guess is that the marketing data was based on less than reputable info sources...in order to get the contract.

Comment #15

THRIFTY — Tue, 15 Apr 2014 21:03:00 GMT

My lottery ticket did not match the lottery winning numbers.

Comment #14

THRIFTY — Tue, 15 Apr 2014 21:01:03 GMT

You can't win forever in life.

Comment #13

THRIFTY — Tue, 15 Apr 2014 20:59:35 GMT

Odds of running a lottery business are too high.LOL

Comment #12

THRIFTY — Tue, 15 Apr 2014 20:57:48 GMT

They are hiding the secret to winning a lottery jackpot.

Comment #11

mrcraft — Tue, 15 Apr 2014 19:10:39 GMT

There should be some performance guarantee in the contract. Three straight years of not meeting revenue goals. Plain and simple. Northstar should be fired. I worry when lotteries become privatized. This is a prime example.

Comment #10

spartan1707 — Tue, 15 Apr 2014 17:34:58 GMT

Making those who run it rich period. If one was to just look at their salaries they gave themselves we would see. And because it's a contract the law makers sign we must pay them. Those who are not private share holders whine,bitch then ask for an investigation but it goes unresolved. THEN THEY GET SOME OF THE MONEY and it's all right

Comment #9

spartan1707 — Tue, 15 Apr 2014 17:31:41 GMT

This is a total lack of the Law. By hidding it's company policy aka how they keep so much money is why so many states are not making money yet those on the boards or private share holders are. Law makers who request a private company to run their state Lottery should be investigated and kick out of office,arrested on fraud and theft! Arizona ia another Lottery which is cheating and I've asked for a full investigation into these so called revenue building lottery companies.

Comment #8

chrissy16 — Tue, 15 Apr 2014 16:19:06 GMT

Also, to add: The inquiry I find just, given that North Star has failed to meet revenue targets as outlined in the contract. The people of Illinois are now entitled to know how their money is being appropiated.

Comment #7

chrissy16 — Tue, 15 Apr 2014 16:14:58 GMT

So much for the argument that these gaming companies will increase revenues. Now, what is the real goal of privatization

Comment #6

pickone4me — Tue, 15 Apr 2014 15:47:17 GMT

When stories like this come out, I lose trust in these lotteries.

Comment #5

sully16 — Tue, 15 Apr 2014 15:44:02 GMT

I think this plot will thicken.

Comment #4

Coin Toss — Tue, 15 Apr 2014 14:58:03 GMT

From the OP:

Northstar was chosen by Gov. Pat Quinn in 2010 to become the nation's first private manager of a state lottery and formally took control the following year.

I don't think either Quinn or Northstar are exactly trustworthy. Quinn was Lt. Governor when former Gov. Blagojevich went to jail, and Blago warned everybody some of the things that woyuld happen once he was removed from office.

Quite a few of them have happened, state pension funds being a prime example.

As for Nort... [ More ]

Comment #3

Jon D — Tue, 15 Apr 2014 13:40:30 GMT

At a hearing before the Illinois Court of Claims, Northstar Lottery Group argued today that lottery officials have no duty to release a marketing study and a business plan even though the Illinois Attorney General has advised the documents should be made public.

Oh boy, what did you expect! Those are documents that public state lotteries publish and release all the time. But now you're dealing with a private company, and they want to keep their secrets.

So you got this half-half public... [ More ]

Comment #2

CARBOB — Tue, 15 Apr 2014 13:27:01 GMT

Does it make you wonder, what they are hiding? Information that is Proprietary is one thing, but trying to hide something else, like bonuses or test draws, is a different story. That should be public knowledge. When anyone attempts to keep information from the public, I get worried. The people in Washington are up to their eyeballs, hiding information, from the public. Florida doesn't publish the test draws, which I think they should.

Comment #1

mypiemaster — Tue, 15 Apr 2014 13:23:33 GMT

Gee, have something to hide huh?.

Northstar fights to keep Illinois lottery documents secret

Lottery Post — Tue, 15 Apr 2014 12:05:53 GMT

The company hired to run the Illinois Lottery continued its fight to keep some documents under wraps, arguing their release would violate its contract with the state and expose company secrets to competitors.

At a hearing before the Illinois Court of Claims, Northstar Lottery Group argued today that lottery officials have no duty to release a marketing study and a business plan even though the Illinois Attorney General has advised the documents should be made public.

The firm asked the cou... [ More ]