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The TLC Is At It Again
The Dec. 21, 2001 Proposed Lotto Texas,
Texas 2 Step & Pick3 Rule Changes
by Dawn Nettles
The Lotto Report
Posted: Jan. 9, 2002
Revised: Jan. 21, 2002
Update: February 13, 2002 -
Rule Revised and Adopted on Feb. 12, 2002
Update - February 13, 2002 - A bittersweet victory. On
Feb. 12, 2002, the Texas Lottery Commission adopted a new Lotto Texas
rule but only after the proposed rule had been revised for a 4th time.
The 4th revision was that they changed the language from "may" back to "shall"
(pertaining to the amount a 6 of 6 winner receive) which is exactly what
players wanted. However, the bad news, they deleted the sentence that
says "no prize will be less than $5." I have a problem with this because
this is what they promised us when they added the 4 balls and the very
idea that any 4 of 6 winner could ever receive less than a 3 of 6 winner
seems terribly unfair. However, the chances of this happening are slim,
so, we'll wait and see what happens before making any plans to object.
Pertaining to the 6 of 6 prize: The verbage in the new Lotto Texas
rule now reads: "The direct prize category contribution shall be
no less than 68.24% of the prize pool for the drawing."
This is the way it should have been all along - so calling this a "victory"
is questionable. It was a hard fought, 8 month long battle/victory.
In essence, the new rule guarantees that 6 of 6 winners will receive
"at least" the amount advertised but if there is more money in the
prize pool than what's necessary to get a return of the amount
advertised, then the player will receive the excess funds too. If
on the other hand, there is not enough money to make good on the
amount advertised, the TLC will pull the funds from the reserve fund
to make good on the win.
This is not necessarily good because the money in reserve is part of the
55% that players "shall" receive. It's conceivable that the reserve fund
may never be needed - after all, it was never needed to pay the 3 of 6 winners
which was the original intent of having a reserve fund in the first place. I'll track the
money and keep you posted. Also I'll obtain the necessary information to see
where players stand as far as actually receiving 55% of sales as the rule states.
In closing, let me say that this particular battle is over and we won. Because
of your comments and support, the TLC cannot pay just the "amount advertised"
like they wanted - they have to pay all that is in the 6 of 6 prize pool too.
I could not be reporting this news to you had you not supported me
so here's a pat on the back for you and your efforts. They paid off. Also,
because of this battle, the TLC has undergone a great deal of scrunity lately
with much more to come. But I won't go there now, let's just move on and deal with
the proposed Pick3 rule change which is to start having two drawing per day.
If you oppose this plan, you must comment and all comments are due in by Feb. 23.
Send your comments to me. The TLC will not accept comment by email.
I plan to post a form that you can fill out for ease of commenting and
I'll try to have it up by tomorrow - 2-14-02 - by the way, Happy Valentines!
Above is how the story ended - now, if you want to see what came before the end, read on!
FYI - this story actually began on May 11, 2001 and offically ended on Feb. 12, 2002.
After the Sept 11 terrorist attack, I'm sure most of you read how the Red Cross collected more money than they ever dreamed possible for the victims. Since the Red Cross collected soooo much money, they made the decision to keep part of the money and use it in the future. The Executive Director thought it was entirely too much money for "just" the Sept. 11th victims.
Well, needless to say, when the people found out about this there were objections and many folks demanded refunds because they gave the money specifically to help the victims of Sept 11th.
That's how I view playing Lotto Texas, Cash 5, Pick3 and Texas 2 Step. Each drawing is an independent event and we play for whatever is in the pot when we purchase a lotto ticket. If we only play Lotto Texas when it's $50 million, well, we expect to collect everything that came in from all drawings leading up to the $50 million jackpot - after all, the TLC hadn't paid out the 6 of 6 winners share of sales during that entire "roll." But the TLC, by adopting this rule, can keep part of the 6 of 6 winners share of sales in the event they advertise less than what sales would have truly generated. This is why it is so very important that players be guaranteed that they will receive AT LEAST the amount in the prize pool as a minimum.
Players have common sense - we understand there is no way to know exactly how much is in the pot until the sales are tallied, therefore, we understand that what we see on the billboards must be an estimated figure. Also, you should know, the amount on the billboards is the estimated amount one could expect to collect ONLY if they chose the 25 annual payment option. You see, they take the 6 of 6 winners share of sales and invest it. The billboard figure includes the interest earned on the money invested on behalf of a 6 of 6 winner.
The TLC is attempting to do exactly what the Red Cross tried to do. They plan to advertise and promote that they "will pay what they say," - sounds great, huh - but it's not great. They can use an $85 million jackpot to entice sales (like Sept. 11) but keep some of the proceeds if sales surpass the amount needed for a return of $85 million over a 25 year period. I feel this is WRONG and I already know that you agree with me because you've already commented twice before on this very subject. But I need you to comment again and we don't have much time.
I have posted the proposed rule in its entirety for those of you who want to read it and I've explained each objection I think players would have to the proposed rule. Click here to read the rule. I have also written a comment for you that you can easily print, sign and mail. All the Commissioners addresses are included on this page too. Click here.
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