Wednesday, July 09, 2008
Man sues for a chance to win the lottery
Let’s forget for a moment that playing any state lottery game is very much like flushing the money down the toilet. Even if you can pacify yourself with the notion that it benefits the educations system, you’d be gravely mistaken. The odds on winning any of the larger prizes in a state lotto or scratch off are roughly 1000 times worse than winning big in Vegas, and Vegas casinos take in big money.
All that aside, a professor in Virginia went ahead and purchased a $5 scratch off ticket only to discover afterward that all of the top prizes had been award. He’s now filed suit against the state claiming deceptive polices because the advertised winning value of the ticket was already paid out and there was absolutely no chance that his purchasing a ticket could have netted any of the larger prizes.
The professors lawsuit has become a class action suit on behalf of all Virginia lottery players for the past five years and seeks $85 million in damages.
Not surprisingly, this practice of continuing to sell tickets after prizes have been awarded is pretty much a standard practice in the state gaming racket.
The practice among state lotteries is widespread, said Rob Carey, an attorney who has filed similar challenges in Arizona, California, Colorado and Washington state.
“It’s flat-out false. It’s deceptive,“ he said. “They all play for the grand prize.“
In New Jersey, for instance, no top prizes remain for an 8-month-old game, $1 million Explosion, but Lottery spokesman Dominick DeMarco said he was unaware of any similar lawsuits in that state.
Virginia Lottery Director Paula Otto said Monday she had not seen Hoover’s lawsuit, but that policies were being updated to ensure that top prizes were available for all games.
Hoover’s action said the problem arose in popular games, in which the Lottery issued new shipments of tickets but did not tell retailers to pull tickets from old shipments when all the top prizes were awarded. As a result, the lawsuit said, tickets with no chance of winning a game’s top prize were sold. Source: Lottery Post News
I agree with the premise that no one plays a $5.00 scratch-off game to win 20 bucks. At the same time I can see the state’s need to recoup the monies spent of printing tickets and advertising a particular game. If the winning ticket sold on the first day should the state eat the cost?
Since playing the lottery is basically another way to tax the poor I feel that some measure should be in place to protect the wild dreaming and feeble minded. No lawsuit needs to be brought, just a simple adjustment within the states operating procedure. Once a top prize has been awarded for a particular game, a notice should be placed on the advert of said game stating what the new available winnings can be.
Most tickets have a disclaimer on the back stating that the prizes offered may have already been awarded but who really reads that? My decisions is that the state award the professor a full $5.00 refund and pay for his court fees. All states have websites than be checked to see what prizes have been awarded and store owners have access to this information as well. You’re gambling and if you’re not willing to educate yourself on the risks than be prepared to suffer the loss.
Posted by deadscot on 09 Jul, 2008 at 18:22Random Turds • (0) Comments • Permalink
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