Didn't see that coming, again

The New York Times reports on the introduction of the $50 scratch off lottery ticket in Texas:

As for the criticism from legislators and others that such games appeal most to compulsive gamblers or low-income players, a spokesman for the Texas Lottery Commission, Bobby Heith, said, “We value and respect those concerns very much but our job is to run the lottery, to generate as much revenue as possible, as responsibly as possible.”

I figure we'll see these games in North Carolina within 24 months.

Because it's so much easier to do than a responsible tax policy that raises enough revenue to educate our children.

UPDATE: We've already got a $20 ticket game. The drawing is today. There's 500,000 tickets available. If all tickets were sold, that would be a pool of $10 million.

But they weren't. Last week, the N&O reported that only half the tickets had been sold, and the lottery needed to sell 290,000 just to break even.

Today they're saying that a total of 368,462 tickets had been sold, generating a total of $7.37 million in revenue. Since there are 4 $1 million prizes, and 5 half million dollar prizes, that leaves, at best, about $800,000 for "education," assuming that the raffle cost absolutely nothing to stage.

You know, education is really too important to be run like a VFW lodge in the state of North Carolina. Considering that the entire program was only approved as a result of the corruption of folks like former state Senator Jim Black, maybe it's time to start thinking about scrapping this piece of shit and replacing it with a sane revenue policy.

Continue reading Didn't see that coming, again

Didn't see that coming, again

Ticket sales for the North Carolina lottery's first fiscal year fell well short of expectations, generating about $110 million less in education funds than legislators had projected.

Expect to see marginally higher prizes for the scratch-off games, significantly more advertising, especially billboards in lower income communities, and lots of head scratching as the legislature tries to figure out how to make up the shortfall.

There's a problem with trying to raise money from poor people. I'll bet some of you can figure out what it is.

Link

Continue reading Didn't see that coming, again

Jim Black

So Jim Black's going to jail for 5 years.

A few thoughts cross my mind.

Last year, at the Durham County Democratic Party convention, a motion to call on Jim Black to resign was defeated, by, as i recall, an almost 2-1 margin. I'm still pretty new to party politics, and the 06 convention was my first. I should probably have spoken my mind, but i didn't, although i did vote in favor of the motion. Corruption is corruption, and if Democrats want to govern, we need to keep our house clean, not hide behind platitudes of "protecting our own." If our own are not doing the job honestly, we need to call them on it.

Now that Black's gone, can we dump the stupid lottery as well?

Finally, what do you think the reaction will be from conservatives if Gov. Easley commutes Jim Black's sentence?

Continue reading Jim Black

Didn't see that coming

From the Charlotte Observer:

Despite sagging lottery revenue, Senate Democrats say they won't support Gov. Mike Easley's proposal to make more money available for prizes.

Easley's idea: More prizes equals more players, adding up to a bigger jackpot for education.

He sees it as a way to spark interest in the N.C. Education Lottery, which began to great fanfare a year ago this week. Passed by a single vote in 2005, the lottery has generated $220 million for education.

But overall, it has raised just $883 million -- well below the $1.2 billion once projected.

Easley's proposal appears to have little legislative support.

"I don't think we want to do anything with the lottery because you might see an amendment that would repeal it," said Sen. David Hoyle, a Gaston County Democrat. "We better just leave it well enough alone."

Supporters have called the lottery's initial projections unrealistic. Skeptics say they're not surprised by its less-than-stellar performance.

"What we're seeing from the lottery is what those people who opposed (it) said all along -- that the amount raised would not meet the rosy projections," said Senate Minority Leader Phil Berger, R-Rockingham. "It's an unreliable source of revenue."

Actually, i did see that coming. Along with a whole lot of other folks.

I don't really care if the State wants to be in the gambling business. People should be allowed to make their own decisions whether or not they want to participate in these kinds of games. But don't bet the educational system on the lottery. It's a losing proposition.

(h/t to Blue NC)

Continue reading Didn't see that coming

Lipstick on a pig

The News and Observer reports that the initial rollout of the North Carolina lottery "fell just short" of projected sales in its first week. Lottery director Tom Shaheen is quoted as describing a "very huge, successful startup."

Bullshit.

Lottery sales, especially for the scratch-off games, go nowhere except down after their introduction. They'll spike occasionally when the jackpots reach the upper 8 or 9 figure range, as office workers pool their 10 spots to buy a couple of hundred tickets at a time, dreaming of retirement in St. Thomas, but generally, opening week is as good as it gets.

Just watch as the lottery advertising budget starts eating up more and more of lottery revenues. In the end, the schools end up with squat.

Continue reading Lipstick on a pig