Is it ok for Public Officials to Play the Lottery?Prev Topic Next Topic

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Is it ok for Public Officials to Play the Lottery?

Yes, everyone can play.

[ 27 ]

[ 73.0% ]

No way.

[ 10 ]

[ 27.0% ]

Total valid votes

[ 37 ]

Discarded votes

[ 2 ]

BobP

Dump Water Florida
United States
Member #380
June 5, 2002
3,574 Posts
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Nov 16, 2006, 11:29 am

What do you think about public / elected officials playing the lottery and what about if they win big?

Do you think about this as a problem, like playing the lottery makes them less honest or more normal?

Would it affect your vote?

I'm asking in part because I'm running for the local city commission see http://www.electrobertperkis.com/ and am wondering if I should make mention of my hobby or not.

What would you do?

BobP
four4me

MD
United States
Member #1,701
June 18, 2003
10,731 Posts
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Nov 16, 2006, 1:25 pm

I don't see a problem with it unless in accordance to the lottery commission rules and regulations elected officials are bared/prohibited from playing the lottery. If your position was to come into direct contact with the lotteries goings on then you might not be allowed to play. As well as your family might also not be allowed to play the games. I would check with someone about this, if you were elected and couldn't play the Florida lottery would you be ok with that.
EXCALIBUR

United States
Member #2,460
October 7, 2003
766 Posts
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Nov 16, 2006, 1:30 pm

Bob
I would not worry about it, so long as you are not directly working for the state's lottery.
But perhaps, just in case, take your site down right now and keep it down if you win, if you don't win then bring it up again.
They don't need to know about you and the lottery.
I am talking about Lotto Logix not about the other site if it is yours also.
But if you are making good money in some way from LottoLogix then keep it up and just don't worry about it.
And no, you don't have to tell anybody about it, unless it is required by law for you to tell them about it for some reason.
I myself would not tell them.
I would not even talk about the lottery at all with anybody out there just in case.
Your lottery business is not any of their business.
And I do hope that you get elected.
I would vote for you if I was there.
Good luck to you Bob.
Fernando.

EXCALIBUR is no more that "Handle" is dead, gone.
Maybe sometime in the future I might come back as LANTERN again, but maybe not, if I don't come back as LANTERN in the future then I won't come back at all, but as I said there is no more EXCALIBUR.
Snakeyes

Cleveland, Ohio
United States
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February 13, 2005
1,303 Posts
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Nov 16, 2006, 1:35 pm

Quote: Originally posted by EXCALIBUR on Nov 16, 2006
Bob
I would not worry about it, so long as you are not directly working for the state's lottery.
But perhaps, just in case, take your site down right now and keep it down if you win, if you don't win then bring it up again.
They don't need to know about you and the lottery.
I am talking about Lotto Logix not about the other site if it is yours also.
But if you are making good money in some way from LottoLogix then keep it up and just don't worry about it.
And no, you don't have to tell anybody about it, unless it is required by law for you to tell them about it for some reason.
I myself would not tell them.
I would not even talk about the lottery at all with anybody out there just in case.
Your lottery business is not any of their business.
And I do hope that you get elected.
I would vote for you if I was there.
Good luck to you Bob.
Fernando.

I agree with Fernando.
And if you do win...congrats!
floridian

United States
Member #45,801
August 28, 2006
335 Posts
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Nov 16, 2006, 1:36 pm

Quote: Originally posted by BobP on Nov 16, 2006
What do you think about public / elected officials playing the lottery and what about if they win big?

Do you think about this as a problem, like playing the lottery makes them less honest or more normal?

Would it affect your vote?

I'm asking in part because I'm running for the local city commission see http://www.electrobertperkis.com/ and am wondering if I should make mention of my hobby or not.

What would you do?

BobP

I would hope Bob that the general public is not that stiff in their thinking any more so as to hold a hobby like that against you.
It could depend on how heavily the religious faction is imbedded in the community where you are running.
It is kinda like when you start a business, you need or should take stock of who your competition is so you can market the business in a meaningful way.
I was involved last year in such a situation which turned out great. However, to win, it required a concentrated effort to understand who we wanted to impact and what their needs were.
I would certainly tune into the community's likes and dislikes before jumping into anything that could come back to haunt you.
Of course Bob, I am biased, I love to play and would not hold it against you by voting for someone else. I would be tickled if you as an elected official won the big one. As far as I am concerned it would prove that he or she was just like the rest of us and not sitting on a throne of authority.
Now this is assuming that you are not affiliated with the Lottery itself and have personal relationships with the Lottery Commission members. Even then if you came across as honest and did things in the best interest of the community I would be hard put to chastise you for it.
Rick G

FEMA Region V Camp #21
United States
Member #520
July 27, 2002
5,699 Posts
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Nov 16, 2006, 2:05 pm

Bob, I agree. The position you are running for sounds unlikely to be a conflict of interest with your hobby. I wouldn't list it in my hobbies and interests bio though because many people think that when your hobby is lottery that you have a gambling problem or that you are a fool.
Good luck in the election! I'd vote for you too.

Posted 4/6: IL Pick 3 midday and evening until they hit: 555, 347 (str8).
BobP

Dump Water Florida
United States
Member #380
June 5, 2002
3,574 Posts
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Nov 16, 2006, 6:39 pm

The site is strictly a hobby it barely pays it's own way. Once and a while it buys beer or dinner and a movie, but it has been up for so long it got into all of the search engines free where now they all have their hand out if I shut it down and come back later.

You and your immediate family can't work for the lottery and play otherwise I'd be out delivering tickets and fixing terminals. I go into the store and the terminal is down I call it in, sometimes they get mad because they were only pretending it was broken, I guess five cents a ticket isn't worth the extra person when it's busy. Dang though I drove all the way down there and it's BROKEN!!! and they are sending me to another store when they know it isn't broken! Well that's another poll someday.

BobP
Coin Toss

Zeta Reticuli Star System
United States
Member #30,469
January 17, 2006
11,788 Posts
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Nov 16, 2006, 6:44 pm

I'll say as long as they don't work for their state lottery they could play, but not people working for the lottery.
Just one of the reasons for that would be that if that were the case and they hit a jackpot people would be suspicious of collusin.
The people who worked the lottery tent for the Illinois state fair told us they can't play Illinois but they go to Missouri to play lotto, I don;t see any problem with that.
justxploring

Wandering Aimlessly
United States
Member #25,359
November 5, 2005
4,461 Posts
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Nov 17, 2006, 2:13 am

This might help answer your question:

Friday, October 21, 2005; Posted: 8:32 a.m. EDT (12:32 GMT)

Sen. Judd Gregg, R-New Hampshire: "Even senators can be lucky"
WASHINGTON (CNN) -- Sen. Judd Gregg won $853,492 from the Powerball lottery after matching five of six numbers in Wednesday's drawing, adding to his already sizable wealth.
Coin Toss

Zeta Reticuli Star System
United States
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January 17, 2006
11,788 Posts
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Nov 17, 2006, 2:29 am

"Money goes to money" - some kind of cosmis law about it.
EXCALIBUR

United States
Member #2,460
October 7, 2003
766 Posts
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Nov 17, 2006, 3:02 am

Bob
Yes, don't take the site down.
Just don't go around telling everybody that you see on the street that you have a lot of interest on everything lottery.
There is nothing wrong with telling people that you play the lottery, because now-days a lot of people do.
But they don't need to know that your interest in it goes way beyond just playing, like having a lottery site and other things.
If they ask you if you play the lottery and or if you are interested in the lottery say that you do, but they don't need to know no more than that, if even that, if they don't ask, then don't tell.
Don't worry, you will be O.K. even if you don't get elected, but you might as you have a chance.
As I said, if I was there, I would vote for you and perhaps most people or all people here would too.
--------
Also, since the lottery is so hard to win as you well know, maybe you should re-think about your working for the lottery, you might like working for them.
-----------------
Whatever you do, good luck to you.
Fernando.

EXCALIBUR is no more that "Handle" is dead, gone.
Maybe sometime in the future I might come back as LANTERN again, but maybe not, if I don't come back as LANTERN in the future then I won't come back at all, but as I said there is no more EXCALIBUR.
floridian

United States
Member #45,801
August 28, 2006
335 Posts
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Nov 18, 2006, 4:09 pm

I tend to agree with Fernando but with some reservations. I do not think you need to make it part of your campaign that you play, however, should you have any further expectations about higher offices, people could get the wrong idea about you not telling all. You know how bad the mud slinging has become in politics over the past several years. Most of the time it is about things that have border line truth to them.
I have been involved before in some political issues and it is like this, your are darned if you do and darned if you don't. Politics is a funny animal. It is sometimes as bad as picking the numbers in lottery, you may think you got em and you don't, or you don't feel very good about what you picked and you win.
Being the old gambler that you are, might I suggest an old strategy that has worked many times for me and is shared by gamblers across the world. I am positive you know it and it can be applied very favorably in politics. Bob, read the room, know your friends and know your enemies, you will not go wrong.
I am positive you will fare well. Good luck!
Hey, everybody, I say we all vote for Bob, he is our guy.
F
stavros

Florida
United States
Member #6,147
August 8, 2004
1,396 Posts
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Nov 18, 2006, 5:04 pm

Quote: Originally posted by BobP on Nov 16, 2006
What do you think about public / elected officials playing the lottery and what about if they win big?

Do you think about this as a problem, like playing the lottery makes them less honest or more normal?

Would it affect your vote?

I'm asking in part because I'm running for the local city commission see http://www.electrobertperkis.com/ and am wondering if I should make mention of my hobby or not.

What would you do?

BobP

Bob...I don't see any reason to even mention this in your campaign. There is no conflict of interest. Why let people think you have a "gambling" problem?
Stavros
BobP

Dump Water Florida
United States
Member #380
June 5, 2002
3,574 Posts
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Nov 19, 2006, 1:35 am

Quote: Originally posted by stavros on Nov 18, 2006
Bob...I don't see any reason to even mention this in your campaign. There is no conflict of interest. Why let people think you have a "gambling" problem?
Stavros

I think I'm just going to have to be prepared for it to pop up and deal with it when it does. After all it is a state approved activity.

I'm not an old gambler, I don't consider lottery to be gambling as it doesn't get the blood hot. Not to say I won't walk into a casino, our city has a casino and I support its being there, but I don't support giving them my money.

BobP
Amazing Grace

rainbow lake
Canada
Member #25,176
November 2, 2005
10,765 Posts
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Nov 19, 2006, 2:48 am

Quote: Originally posted by BobP on Nov 19, 2006
I think I'm just going to have to be prepared for it to pop up and deal with it when it does. After all it is a state approved activity.

I'm not an old gambler, I don't consider lottery to be gambling as it doesn't get the blood hot. Not to say I won't walk into a casino, our city has a casino and I support its being there, but I don't support giving them my money.

BobP

I dont think big govt office professionals should be allowed.
and they should have to give to charity if caught playing and winning.
You must make some sacrafice to bad so sad.
Maybe that is what he will do, and good for him if he does and if he doesnt than out of office he goes in my mind and he would lose my vote.
after they serve the term then fine.
MORE POWER TO THE PEOPLE!
MORE WINNING FOR AVERAGE KIN!
MORE ACCOUNTABILITY ON OUR TAX MONEY.
MORE PEACE FOR OUR MONEY
STRIVE FOR COUNTRY UNITY IN ALL COUNTRIES.

CLEAN AIR SUNDAYS!
TOUGHER ENVIROMENTAL LAWS
SAME CLEAN AIR GOAL NORTH AMERICA TO BE THE LEADER.
MORE MONEY FOR RESEARCH ON OTHER FUELS.
HELP REBUILD WAR TORN COUNTRIES.
PEACE , CLEAN AIR , FOOD AND WATER FOR EVERYONE.
NO ONE SHOULD HAVE TO GO HUNGRY.
SOLVE GLOBAL HUNGER. ENOUGH WEALTH ON THIS PLANET TO DO SO.
Ok im done.

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