Texas Lottery
- Texas Triple Chance - 401.322
Was Secretly Proposed Jan 3, 2014
A New "Keno" Nightly Draw Game For Texans
Keno Was Rated The #1 Worst Game For Gamblers!

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brought to you by
The Lotto Report

Originally Posted: Jan 7, 2014 - 3:30 PM
Revised/Updated: Feb 18, 2014

Texas Triple Chance - 3 Separate Postings
With this letter, I've done all I can do - Posted 1/30/14. Click here
Is this game a true lottery game? Is it legal? Posted 1/20/14, Click here
"Secretly" Proposed - Details New Game - Posted 1/7/14, Click here

Read Dallas Morning News
Story About Texas Triple Chance
Appeared Feb 12, 2014 - Click here

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Senator Deuell Requests an AG Opinion ...
Does Texas Triple Chance Qualify As a "Lottery"
Read Senator Deuell's letter, Click here (a pdf - 02/10/14)
Read my letter to the AG - (a pdf - 01/28/14), click here

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- Editorial -
Opinions expressed here are those of
Dawn Nettles - Publisher of The Lotto Report

Texas Triple Chance
Read My Letter To The Attorney General
With the writing of this letter, I've done all I can
do to protect the People of Texas. It is now out
of my hands. Posted 1/30/14. Click here

Texas Triple Chance - A Casino "Keno"
Game In Almost Every Aspect
I Wonder ... Wouldn't a Constitutional
Amendment be needed for the TX Lottery to
conduct this game? Pertinent information revealed
& explained. New Page Posted 1/20/14, Click here

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"Texas Triple Chance"
- Basic Game Concept & My Explanations -

The name of the proposed game is Texas Triple Chance
It's a true "keno" game

Tickets will cost $2 apiece.

When you buy ONE ticket for $2, you will automatically
receive 2 Quick Picks tickets.
Don't be fooled by what could appear to be "generosity" ...
the odds are so great they know you won't win so they have nothing
to lose by giving you the "free" tickets. This is a marketing tool ... the
same as it was when they started paying $2 for matching 2 numbers
in Cash5 - they wanted to "advertise" how many "winners" there
were to entice sales.

Ask yourself ... How often do you match 6 numbers from 54 numbers
playing Lotto TX or 5 numbers from 37 numbers playing Cash5?
So imagine matching 7 numbers from 55 numbers even when
they draw 10 numbers. BINGO players are well aware it takes
a whole lot more numbers to be drawn to win.

Drawings will be held Monday through Saturday, 10:12 PM
- 6 Draws Per Week -
WOW - another draw added to the mix to compete
for dollars (takes dollars away) from the other games.
This is too many draws for this game. The same people play
all the games and the only reason "sales" remain constant
is because players give back their winnings. It is not "new" money.

Players pick 7 numbers from a pool of 55 numbers.
Lotto Texas has never recovered from going to 54 numbers ... now
they want to offer a "keno" game with 55 numbers. Look what's happened
to Mega Millions sales for going to 75 numbers. Too many numbers.

10 numbers will be drawn from a pool of 55 numbers
making this a "Keno" game. Players need to
match 7 numbers to win the jackpot.
This is different and could be fun. But it's still not enough
numbers drawn for players to win the jackpot. Jackpot
wins will be a rare occasion - like all other games
except Cash 5.

What worries me it that the rule fails to specify that balls
and machines will be used. They may be trying to sneak
in computerized draws again. I say this because the
language in the Megaplier rule refers to "draws"
yet Megaplier is a computerized drawing.
(I've asked the lottery if they plan to use balls
and machines but have had no response as I post this)
The Texas Lottery still has not answered my request
for information, however, there is a bid posted for
balls and machines for this game.

All prizes are guaranteed prize amounts.
Players win if they ...
* Match 7 numbers: Win * $100,000
Match 6 numbers: Win $500
Match 5 numbers: Win $25
Match 4 numbers : Win $5
Match 3 numbers: Win $2

The prize amounts are unacceptable. They should be pari-mutuel
prize amounts to be FAIR. I address this below in my official comments.

* They've capped the total payout to $1 million meaning IF there's more
than 10 winning tickets, then they will divide however many tickets
into $1 million to determine how much to pay each ticket.
Example - though not likely to happen:
Let's pretend 16 tickets match 7 numbers
$1,000,000/16 = $62,500 per winner (gross)

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Lottery Failing to be Transparent
I've been involved with the Texas Lottery since I began the Lotto Report in 1993.
Until now, they have traditionally discussed new games and received approval
from the Commissioners prior to proposing a new game. If you are not present at
a Commission meeting, then generally speaking, you can read the transcript
to see what's been said. Staff generally explains all details of a new game
and it's usually explained in layman terms. Obviously, to circumvent
obstacles, staff did NOT tell the commissioners about the new
game that they want to start. My guess is that staff doesn't
want the Commissioners responses on the record.
See .... it's never been discussed in a meeting ...

FYI - This game has been in the works for at least the past two years
but they've never elaborated on it. It was always a secret!

Understand "Propose"
So that you understand the word "propose" - it means they are to
post the official rule in the Texas Register so the People of Texas WILL know
about it and can comment. Now the reality is that FEW Texans even know
that the Texas Register exists and they do not read the weekly online publication.
But this is the "legal" meaning for state agencies who want to change something.
This is all that they are required to do. It's sad that the Texas Lottery is not
required to advertise proposed rules via the newspapers, radio and TV.
But then if they did, then they'd probably get to much negative input which
is exactly what they are dodging.

Commissioners can adopt this game on Feb 2, 2014. This will be the day they
hear the details publicly and have an opportunity to ask questions. As you can
imagine, they will have had plenty of time to think about it and to research
the pro's and con's of adding another game to the mix! <sarcastic remark>

Gee - They Gave A 4 Day Notice of An
Upcoming Comment Hearing - How Generous ...
Did you know that state agencies are required to give 10 days notice that a
Commission meeting is scheduled? Well ... the Texas Lottery scheduled a
Comment Hearing for Jan 8, 2014 to take comment on this new game rule.
Notice was posted in Friday's, Jan 3, 2014, edition of the Texas Register.
Let's see, this means that technically they have given the public 4 days
notice - Sat, Sun, Mon, Tue - to be in Austin on Wednesday if you would
like to be heard. I'm not sure if this would be considered a "legal" notice but
what I do know is there is no way I can attend on that day as I have a doctors
appointment. (What ya'll don't know is that I've had two surgeries in the
past two months which has caused delays in my work/writings.) At any rate,
lottery staff has gone against the legislature who made it very clear in the
Sunset Bill that the People of Texas and their comments were to be heard
and considered by the lottery. Little did the legislature know that to get
around this staff would bend over backwards to make sure no
one is aware of it.

Inserted Jan 20, 2014
The Texas Lottery has scheduled another Comment hearing for
Monday, Jan 27, 2014 at Lottery Headquarters. Imagine that!

The Rule (401.322) Says, Doesn't Say - Interesting
Interestingly, the rule says the "Object of the game is to match 3 or more
numbers in a single Chance to the 10 numbers drawn in the drawing
to win a prize." I'm sorry but for the life of me I don't know anyone who buys
a lottery ticket for two dollars who is wanting to win $2. Do you? I think players
buy tickets hoping to win the "big one" and that would be the real objective.

In part, section (d) of the rule says, "since the second and third Chances
are randomly generated Quick Pick numbers, any of the three Chances in
a play may include duplicate numbers." Hmmmm ... This really makes me wonder
how the software is programmed in the Quick Pick selection. This is one way
a lottery can cheat. To my knowledge, no other Texas rule includes a statement
of this nature.

H (A) in part says, "the calculation shall be rounded down so
that the prizes shall be paid in multiples of one dollar." Well, it appears
Mr. Grief, the Executive Director, has said to hell with Commissioners Clowe &
Cox. "Rounding down" is extremely unfair and it was pulled from all rules many
years ago. Now they are putting it back. Sure hope the current Commissioners
put a halt to this.

The rule FAILS to quote a prize pool which is a very bad sign for
both players and the state of Texas. It is my humble opinion that in this
case it will be the players who will get screwed. Players will not receive
50% of sales - another major issue that was covered many years ago.
Now staff is trying to sneak this past the new Commissioners ... they have
no idea that by excluding a set prize pool in a rule they are failing in
their fiduciary duties - to protect BOTH the state and the consumers.

The rule states, "Any part of the top pari-mutuel prize for a drawing that
is not paid in prizes (breakage) shall be applied to offset prize expense."
How can this be - there's no prize pool. "Breakage" - what's the breakage?

There are no prize allocations for each prize category either.

Lastly and oddly, the rule states, "(5) A drawing will not
be invalidated based on the financial liability of the lottery."
If I were a Commissioner or a Legislator, I'd check into this statement.
Maybe this was a lesson learned from the All or Nothing screw up
where the state faced a huge liability. But the rule caps the payout
so the need for this statement is questionable.

- My Recommendations - Comments
(For Whatever It Is Worth)

1) Please do not start another game until you get rid of one. The obvious
game to rid would be All or Nothing. It's been a losing proposition for
the state and staff really knows it but are afraid of going against
Mr. Grief by expressing their opinions. Also, taking Pick3 and Daily4
to 4 draws daily has NOT increased sales for those games. In fact,
many players have quit due to the extra draws.
(I've asked the lottery if they plan to delete a game
but have had no response as I post this)
01/12/14 - Still have no anwer to this question.

2) PLEASE do not offer "guaranteed" prizes. Players deserve to be paid
fairly. There's only one way to pay fairly - and that's to pay prizes based
on pari-mutuel payouts. This protects both players and the state of Texas.

3) PLEASE - give the game a prize pool - should be a minimum of 50%
of sales. The lottery was initially sold to the public on this premise -
"50% goes to the state and 50% is returned to players by way of prizes."
All games should have a set prize pool - don't intentionally offer this game to
consumers with the intent to make up losses incurred from other games.
(Specifically Lotto Texas, 2 Step, All or Nothing)

4) PLEASE - No rounding down. It is not fair to the players. If it's
over 50 cents, up the prize by a dollar. If it's under 50 cents,
round down. This is called being FAIR and the commission
has been called on the carpet for this action in the past.

5) PLEASE - Question the need for unlimited promotions by the
Executive Director. It is mentioned in the rule TWICE (12) & (g).

Here's several reason to THINK seriously
about the freedom of promotions ...

They've had 7 promo's for All or Nothing in a short year and
a half and the promo's have all failed to produce positive
financial results for the state. The Executive Director has a
history of refusing to make changes when changes were
desperately needed. Here's just a few examples:

Lotto Texas - overpaid winners by $75.4 million since July 2006 -
attempted to fix but still starts jackpots at $5 million and has
continued to overpay winners since the last rule change-
this is foolish. Click here to see the overpayments.

TX 2 Step - overpaid winners by $3.3 million - rule still not fixed -
and the amount continues to increase - foolish too

All or Nothing - sales do not justify keeping the game alive -the
Executive Director has approved 7 promo's and none have paid off.
(He's stubborn - of course I forget - Mr Grief claims the game
was born right here in Texas so it's his baby!)

Additionally, in my humble opinion, the Executive Director
has failed to take necessary appropriate actions for:
1) The prize payment acct not being reconciled
when it was reported in 2007 & 2008;

2) Uncashed prize checks not being turned over to
the Comptroller as required by law;

3) Failed to report fraud as required by 321.022;

4) When the 2012 Prize Payment DRAFT report is released, I
suspect Mr. Grief will need to explain some other things to
his bosses. Maybe ya'll should get a head start in its content;

5) When Project #11-022 Prize Payment Acct Review -
Merit Raise - report is released, again, I suspect Mr. Grief will
need to do some explaining to his bosses too. (By the way, the
identifying document number is an attempt to cover up who
produced the report. More to come on this issue when I post
Part 7. It is an Internal Audit Report but they failed to
include the identifier "IA" in the number and I
can't find anyone in the state who has seen it but me.)

My opinion only - I don't know about ya'll, but I've begun to conclude
that Mr. Grief is not the sharpest pencil in the stack - therefore -
I question his ability to run our lottery efficiently, fairly and honestly.
His judgement has become clouded.

Attention Commissioners - With All Due Respect ...
Instead of staff quoting and boasting "sales figures" to you -
why don't you ask what the bottom line is/was on the draw games.

Also, while ya'll are at it, ask the Director why the FY13 sales were so
late in being released this year. If you'll look back at ALL past years news
releases, you'll see that FY sales has always been released by the
2nd or 3rd week of every Sept - for the most part - until this year
when it was released in Nov. WHY? Here's the proof ...

14 NOV 13 - TEXAS LOTTERY® MAKES HISTORY WITH RECORD- BREAKING SALES AND REVENUE
20 SEP 12 - TEXAS LOTTERY® REVENUE FOR PUBLIC EDUCATION JUMPS $133 MILLION IN 2012
08 SEP 11 - TEXAS LOTTERY® SETS NEW SALES RECORD MORE THAN $1 BILLION IN REVENUE GENERATED
09 SEP 10 - TEXAS LOTTERY® GENERATES BIGGEST RETURN TO STATE SINCE 1998
15 SEP 09 - TEXAS LOTTERY® SEES INCREASE IN SALES AND REVENUE IN FY 09
18 SEP 08 - TEXAS LOTTERY® TRANSFERS $983 MILLION TO FOUNDATION SCHOOL FUND IN FISCAL YEAR 2008
20 SEP 07 - TEXAS LOTTERY® TRANSFERS TO THE STATE EXCEED $1 BILLION FOR FOURTH CONSECUTIVE YEAR
27 Sep 06 - NEAR-HIGH RECORD FOR TEXAS TWO STEP®; ODDS ARE GOOD TO WIN MULTI-MILLION DOLLAR JACKPOT
16 Sep 05 - Texas Lottery® Returns More Than $1 Billion To The State For Second Consecutive Year
10 Sep 04 - Texas Lottery Posts 2nd Best Sales Year Ever - $1 Billion Goes To Foundation School Fund
8 Sep 03 - Texas Lottery FY 03 Sales Climb By More Than Five Percent, Preliminary Figures Show
12 Sep 02 - Texas Lottery Sales Up Nearly 5 Percent - Transfers To State Up 10.6 Percent
5 Sep 01 - Lottery Sales For Fiscal Year 2001 Up

(The above was copied and pasted from the Texas Lottery website.
Sorry that the all caps makes it hard to read but I can't change it)

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Texas Triple Chance
Read My Letter To The Attorney General
With the writing of this letter, I've done all I can
do to protect the People of Texas. It is now out
of my hands. Posted 1/30/14. Click here

Texas Triple Chance - A Casino "Keno"
Game In Almost Every Aspect
I Wonder ... Wouldn't a Constitutional
Amendment be needed for the TX Lottery to
conduct this game? Pertinent information revealed
& explained. New page posted 1/20/14, Click here

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- 3 4 Ways To Submit Public Comment -
Tell them what you think!
1) Mailed to: Deanne Rienstra
Assistant General Counsel
Texas Lottery Commission
P.O. Box 16630
Austin, Texas 78761-6630
2) OR by fax at (512) 344-5189
3) OR by email: legal.input@lottery.state.tx.us
4) OR The Texas Lottery has scheduled a 2nd Comment hearing
for Monday, Jan 27, 2014 at lottery headquarters in Austin

In Conclusion
OK players. I've posted the details for you so you know about
the new proposed game. Here's your chance - tell 'em what you think.
And please refrain from telling me AFTER the game starts how much
you hate it and how you wish you'd have known about it so you
could have said something.

I would be interested in hearing what you think about this game too.
Email me - lottoreport@lottoreport.com

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- Links To Stories About the Last New Game -
A Complete Failure

Did Gary Grief Lead The Commissioners to
Believe All or Nothing was born in Texas?
And about that highly publicized "liability" problem.
Posted 6/8/13 - Click here

All or Nothing - Houston Chronicle Exposes
Director Grief's Contradictions, (6/5/13), Click here

- Texas Lottery's All or Nothing Sales Suspended 6/3/13 -
Read Texas Lottery's All or Nothing press release
and my comments ... Click here

All or Nothing Sales and Payouts
See how poorly the game has done financially. Click here
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All Texas Games - Sales Pages
Pick3 & Daily 4 - Sales and payouts, click here
Lotto Texas - Prizes & sales, click here
Texas 2 Step - Prizes & sales, click here
Cash 5 - Prize amounts & sales, click here
Mega Millions - Lottery Sales by the draw, click here
Mega Millions - Lottery Sales by State, click here
Lotto Texas - Lottery Sales by the draw, click here
Powerball - Sales by State, click here
Powerball - Lottery Sales by the draw, click here

Email

Texas Lotto Report
(All About the Texas Lottery)
Dawn Nettles
P. O. Box 495033
Garland, Texas 75049-5033
(972) 686-0660
(972) 681-1048 (Fax)