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The Players Comment
What players think about the
latest TLC Proposal ...
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Continued ... Back to first page of comments Subject - To the Lottery Commissioners re: advertising of Lottery pay outs Commissioners, Sending your comments directly to the Commission-ers via the subject line on your email was a brilliant idea. The TLC is suppose to forward all mail and correspondence to them. I never thought of that and I don't think they would object to email like the TLC does either. Subject: TLC
To: T.L.C.
No subject line remark - Thank you again for your' efforts to provide the citizens of Texas information on the TLC. Also congratulations on the letter to Kim Kiplin posted June 13. My personal guess is this is another attempt to go "underground": (a) To deny access to Meeting Minutes. (b) They are going to resubmit the plan to change the Lotto payout structure. On the site they have an area where this sort of proposal should be available for view. They {Kim & Linda} would prefer to hide this in the Texas Registry, and not receive comment. They already refuse e-mail on the subject. (c) To deny easy access to ball set and pre-test information. Question to the citizens: Does anyone else believe this is another ploy to benefit the TLC's desire to be autonomous, with no contact with us {customers}; other than to take our money? SPEAK UP PLEASE!!! G.E.
Subject - TLC Proposed Changes I disagree 100% with the TLC proposed changes to the supposedly pari-mutuel
Subject: Please forward my remarks What the lottery is trying to do is not fair. It's as simple as that. Yvonne N.
Subject: Please forward my comments I heard about your web site from a friend and have spent a great deal of time reading all that you have written. I commend you for the coverage and the time you have spent on behalf of the lottery players in Texas. Ms. Kiplin said she wanted specifics in the comments she received. Please advise her to read your web site for my many reasons including the suspension of your faxes, the treatment of Professor Busald and his students, the questionable surveys supplied by G-tech with no action taken, the addition of 4 balls, the non disclosure of scratch ticket information, the overpaying lotto winners, the false testimony of the director, the many misleading advertisements and the current attempt to rob money to supplement other jackpots due to lack of sales. After reading all that I have, I'm certain that in time the people will demand the lottery be voted out for the very reasons stated on your web site. Glen C.
What are the chances anyone at TLC will take this seriously ........ 25.8 Million to 1 (Believe it or not, the chances are a whole lot better than this!) Gary A Name and address was included but I deleted for posting.
Subject: WHY WHY WHY I think this is just another rouse to fool the people into thinking they may get a bigger prize. Such as the addition of 4 more balls. What a JOKE. Please tell them for me I VOTE NO. Name and address was included but I deleted for posting.
Subject: Voter's Opinion I AM TOTALLY AGAINST ALL OF THE NEW PROPOSALS OF THE TLC. Carolyn Name and address was included but I deleted for posting.
Subject: Please Forward My Comment To The TLC We oppose all of the proposed changes! !. Prize winners should received the full amount of monies agreed on by previous rules. Sincerely, Name and address was included but I deleted for posting.
Subject: Texas Lotto's 54 game and Two Step are irrelevant Anyone who seriously plays Lotto games knows the 54 game and Two Step are for dreamers while the Cash 5 and Pick 3 are for strategists. Let them mess with the big games and let those of us who care about statistics work with Cash 5 and Pick 3 where the odds are better and the chances to actually win something are ever-present. It is a lot more fun to take home a small prize once in awhile than it is to chase rainbows. Don't get me wrong, I still play "54" and plan to watch Two Step for a couple of months to see whether it can be milked for a profit. Remember, pigs feed and hogs get slaughtered. Mark Twain once said "figures don't lie, but liers figure". That is the situation with the Texas Lottery Commission at the present time. Give Don a pat on the back for me, he is on the right track. Name and address was included but I deleted for posting.
Subject: Forward to TLC TEXAS has always been thought of as BIG. Well the biggest thing in TEXAS now is the big heads in Austin that are over the State Lottery. You think you can just run over the people of TEXAS. Well, I for one will not ever buy another Lotto, Cash Five, or Pick 3, or scratch off. You are running the TLC like the large ranchers of TEXAS use to do. You make the rules, you break the rules, and sit back and say WELL, WHO CAN DO ANYTHING ABOUT IT. You are a public servent, not a Queen, or King. You are not the ALL POWER YOU THINK YOU ARE. So now you want The TEXAS people to spend their greenbacks on the state lottery, and in return you will give them PEANUTS. WELL PEANUTS TO YOU TOO. May you find paying jobs be taken away from you and given to someone with a little CENTS . NO I DID NOT MAKE AN ERROR IN THE SPELLING. Betty D. Name and address was included but I deleted for posting.
Subject: "Please forward my comments to the TLC." I oppose the recent changes submitted for consideration for the same reasons as stated by the Lotto Report Web Site. Ron M. Name and address was included but I deleted for posting. Another great idea for making comment. If the TLC doesn't see what I have posted, then I'll print it out and attached a copy with all comments that say this. But I won't be posting all these messages. OK? Subject: "Please forward my comments to the TLC." If you recall, the lottery in Texas is somewhat new compared to other states. The basis for the lottery was to improve state revenues for worthwhile objectives the voters would agree on. The proposed changes are not acceptable to me for the very reasons stated on the Lotto Report web site. Name and address was included but I deleted for posting. Dawn The Letter Reads... Kimberly Kiplin Ms. Kiplin I am very disappointed to hear about the proposed changes to the Texas Lottery Commission’s rules. I knew before I read the changes they would be bad for Texas Lottery players. Ever since Linda Cloud has appeared, nothing positive has been done with the Texas Lottery. Apparently, in her view and yours, the players are the last consideration on your agenda. I also appreciate the “No comments by email” rule you’ve levied. That is an obvious attempt to discourage anyone from responding (i.e. “That’s too much trouble”). Well, it’s not too much trouble for me. I have played the Texas Lottery since it’s inception, and I have too much money invested in it to allow any changes that are going to end up hurting the players. Now, you want specific complaints about each proposed rule change (another obvious attempt to discourage any responses). I’m not easily discouraged, so here goes: Lotto Texas Changes: Proposing to add this text to the Rule: General on-line game rules. "The executive director has discretion to set a maximum total cash amount or maximum payment time period for each prize level." Problem: Why would you set a maximum prize amount? It’s always been based on sales. This leaves a door open that certain unscrupulous people would use to their advantage. I have a huge problem with this thinking! I oppose it. Proposing to change it to read: “Roll-over - The amount not won will be carried forward for the next drawing for that specific prize category.” Problem: What exactly does this change mean? The vagueness of this proposed change bothers me. I oppose it. Same as above. The vagueness is bothersome. I oppose it. Proposing to delete this entire paragraph. (k) "Game report. Following the last day on which prizes may be claimed after termination of a game, the executive director or his/her designee shall prepare a report that shows, at a minimum, the total number of tickets sold and the number of prizes awarded in the game. The report shall be made available for public inspection." Problem: So no one will no what amount was never claimed? Why not disclose that to the public? Another shady practice of the TLC. I oppose it. Proposing to change it to read: “Higher tier prizes must be presented for payment to the commission.” Problem: So we have to travel to Austin to claim any prize over $600? Totally unacceptable! I oppose this strongly! Well, I hope this letter meets your criteria to read it. I feel the TLC is in need of some major housekeeping. Your agency’s ethics and tactics leave a lot to be desired. One day there will have to be a review of the practices of the TLC, and I am sure most, if not all of the present board will be replaced. Until then try and remember, the players deserve a little respect. After all, if it weren’t for us, you wouldn’t have a job. Sincerely John W. C. Name and address was included but I deleted for posting.
Subject Line: Please forward to TLC Kimberly Kiplin General Counsel Texas Lottery Commission P. O. Box 16630 Austin, Texas 78761-6630 Dear Ms Kiplin, I have just read the proposed changes to the Texas Lottery Games as they are posted on the Texas Lottery web site. I am opposed to these changes. There are several reasons for my opposition. All of the changes seem to be designed to change the definition of the term pari-mutuel. They seem to be allowing the TLC to control what is paid out as prizes and would allow for more abuse of the prize pay out system. When the lottery was started, the games were originally intended to be pari-mutuel betting. The TLC would estimate a prize but paid out the actual amount as determined by a pari-mutuel formula. This was true for all except the lowest prize level which was a flat rate prize. In 1997, the TLC changed the rules in an attempt to boost sales. Along with other changes, at that point the TLC started paying whichever was larger, the estimated prize or the prize determined by the formula. Note that sales are not up and that since then there has been a lack of faith in the TLC among the players. As one example of public lack of faith in the TLC I will show how much I have changed my playing of the lottery. I started by playing $10 worth of tickets for every Lotto game, along with some Cash Five games. I also tried a few tickets of every new scratch off game as they were introduced. With the changes to the Lottery, I started losing faith that I was being dealt with honestly and cut down on how much I played. I very rarely played the scratch off games after this and cut down how much I played the other on-line games. When the TLC refused to listen to the players and changed the Lotto game, I lost even more faith in the The new changes include changes to require the TLC to only pay the estimated prize amount, instead of the pari-mutuel formula amount. There is no reason for this change. It will not boost sales and will hurt sales since many people have no faith in the TLC any longer. Other proposed changes allow the executive director to have more discretion in certain areas that will directly affect game play and will allow the TLC to not publish the results of the scratch off games, including how many unclaimed prizes were still out. I firmly believe that there should be NO discretion in anything that affects the way the lottery games are played or prizes paid out. The rules should be exact and firm and spelled out in advance. Anything else is just opening the door for abuse and dishonesty. There is no reason to not publish the beginning odds on games or the final results of games. There should be no secrets about our lottery and what is being ordered or played. The public has a right to know what the true odds are and what the results of a game were. I will not play in any gambling game that I think is not honest. If these changes are put into effect, I will cease play of the Lottery completely and will advise my friends to do the same. I will do my best to convince everyone in Texas that the TLC is not playing an honest game and we should look elsewhere for our gambling. Since I have been negative about your proposed changes, both here and in the past, I will now propose a possible solution to the problem. I do this because I am truly interested in a successful lottery for our state and because I believe that a person who is not part of the solution is part of the problem. My solution is to do away with the TLC prize reserve fund. Pay all lottery prizes as part of an exact pari-mutuel fund payout, including the lowest tier of prizes. Round each prize off to the penny and pay that amount. This means that sometimes a Lotto ticket with three matching numbers might be worth $6 and sometimes it might be worth $2.76. The grand prize could still be estimated but the actual formula prize would be paid. This would, of course, require the TLC to properly estimate the jackpot prize (which would obviously start at $3 million instead of $4 million based on current sales) but it would also increase Remember, without trust, the TLC will continue to lose customers. Look at how the race tracks are increasing in sales and customers while the TLC is losing them. Clearly, we have a question of faith and honesty in the TLC which must be identified. Once again, I urge the TLC to not adopt the proposed changes as published in the Texas Register and on their web site. They will only hurt sales. Sincerely, I totally agree with your solution. His name and complete
Subject: "Please forward my comments to the TLC." Dear Miss Kiplin, The supposed whole reason that the TLC added the 4 balls was to have bigger jackpots, so they added the 5.532% to keep the jackpot higher. If they would follow their own rules and just give the people the percentage of the actual pot there wouldn't be the problems that they are having. Start projecting lower estimated jackpots, that's what having a record is for so you know how much actual jackpots may be so you can have better handle on what a jackpot may "actually" be. Lucinda K - An Oklahoma Player Her name and complete address was included but I deleted for posting.
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