Tenn. legislators float idea that lower prizes will bring in more money

Comment #22

rdgrnr — Wed, 02 Nov 2011 18:07:39 GMT

Yeah, they're always talking about giving something back to the community so how about those big, fat, bloated pensions?

And the 8 Ball couldn't make any worse decisions than the clowns who've been running the show for decades now.

Comment #21

sully16 — Wed, 02 Nov 2011 17:20:57 GMT

Ridge, with the bad decisions these polititions make, I think we should convert to the magic 8 ball system of government.

Should we raise taxes ? no

Should I forfeit my taxed base pension to better our community ? yes

see, magic 8 ball knows.

Comment #20

rdgrnr — Wed, 02 Nov 2011 17:13:27 GMT

What, you thought we couldn't get worse, lol?

It's a strategic move aimed at solidifying our position as the backwater swamp of all state lotteries.

Comment #19

sully16 — Wed, 02 Nov 2011 14:13:19 GMT

Lower the prizes ?

How are they going to pay off their credit card gambling debt with lower prizes ?

I wonder if someone thought it would be a good idea to clog up the courts with bankruptcy cases

Comment #18

maringoman — Wed, 02 Nov 2011 00:40:17 GMT

You should encourage them to do it. Why? because less than a year from now they will roll back so far, they'll reward you for considering to play.

This happened in NH. Their politicians suffered from a bout of foaming-at-the-sides-of-their-mouths-greed and decided to tax lottery winning for the first time a few years ago. Less than a year later after making heavy loses and learning their lesson, they tucked their tails between their legs and removed the taxes.

Netflix is learning their les... [ More ]

Comment #17

skeptic — Tue, 01 Nov 2011 18:25:36 GMT

Could this be a good deal for the banks ? Normally retailers pay a % of a purchase to the bank when credit/debit cards are used. . As a side issue - Bank Of America is trying to get debit/credit card users to pay a $5 fee each month for use of either cards. IF debit/credit cards can be used to buy lottery tickets - will the retailers selling tickets have to pay the lottery a % for each purchase or the user's bank?

I think the idea stinks. What about those who only have a small amount of cash... [ More ]

Comment #16

faber98 — Tue, 01 Nov 2011 15:43:06 GMT

lower prizes so they can give out more scholarships?. and what are these educated buford puser clones going to do after they graduate. there are no jobs, so why do we need another batch of educated people anyway, especially from tenn. put the money toward modern stills and hemp farms and other products that are in demand. we all need shine and weed. endless supplies of it and tenn. folks have the expertise to work the stills and farms. not much else going for them. book learning has had it's day... [ More ]

Comment #15

TnTicketlosers — Tue, 01 Nov 2011 10:57:10 GMT

Ok Tennessee heres a deal for you,when I can hit on paper more than once a YEAR I will start playing again,LOL.

Comment #14

TnTicketlosers — Tue, 01 Nov 2011 10:53:22 GMT

That's why I go to Kentucky and Georgia to play.I go to exit 2 in Franklin Ky and what I call the loop at Georgia (Wildwood Pilot )The excitment Tim and I have going to play in another state is more powerful than anything here.When I go to Illinois to visit parents there is an extra 500 to play there,I can play for a long time on that.Playing here turns my stomach,it makes me sick to see a( purple Play Here) I know what it means LOSE HERE is what it should say.

Comment #13

cbr$ — Tue, 01 Nov 2011 08:17:49 GMT

I agree with Mr. Kyle, it would be nice if they maked it legal to use a debit card to purchase lottery tickets. It is a controled setting. The money in the bank.

Comment #12

myturn — Tue, 01 Nov 2011 07:32:48 GMT

Tennessee lottery could raise additional revenue by offering a subscription service. I see for the web site, a subscription service is not offered.

Frequently Asked Questions - Tennessee Lottery

Can I buy lottery tickets on the internet or through a subscription? Can I use my debit or credit card to purchase tickets?

No. Tennessee law requires that all Lottery tickets must be purchased in-person at a participating retailer, and tickets can only be purchased with cash.

Comment #11

rdgrnr — Tue, 01 Nov 2011 04:36:47 GMT

Roger that, I like getting back to fundamentals constitutionally, but rights undefended are rights lost and we've given up so much by not defending them already that precedents have been set that may be impossible to supersede.

We have the TSA doing illegal random searches of vehicles on TN highways now and our state government is allowing it. Whoops, there goes another one.

Comment #10

Todd — Tue, 01 Nov 2011 03:57:54 GMT

Wow, that's really pathetic. (About the ho-hum response to your phone call.) Not surprising though.

I can't tell you how many e-mails I get every week from people complaining about a local lottery ticket vendor. I do my best to refer these people to their state lottery to file a complaint, but it's sad to think how few complaints will be taken seriously by them.

I hate that gambling in a state is ruled by a monopoly -- the state government. Think about it: the government (which rarely runs... [ More ]

Comment #9

rdgrnr — Tue, 01 Nov 2011 03:36:07 GMT

Thanks Todd, I understand that and agree.

I just get really annoyed with the way things are done here and how unresponsive they are to the players. It makes me recall when I called in to report a clerk trying to cheat my wife out of some of the winnings on a ticket I sent her in to cash for me.

I explained what happened to the guy on the phone and he didn't even want to know where it happened. He just told me to be careful from now on.

Just another reason I drive to Va to play the lotte... [ More ]

Comment #8

LANTERN — Tue, 01 Nov 2011 02:41:40 GMT

It might work, people don't win anyway, so Who will notice? People are used to buying and not winning anyway, show them the bone, but don't let go of it.

You train an animal with food, once they learn the trick, they no longer need the food to keep on doing the trick.

When no doubles came, people kept on buying them anyway, Where people happy that the boxed pick 3 numbers went down from 220 to 120? No! They got upset that no doubles would come out.

Pay out half as much from now on, a fe... [ More ]

Comment #7

Todd — Tue, 01 Nov 2011 01:38:39 GMT

The reason they do that (hire consultants rather than interact directly with the player base here at LP) is because it is run strictly as a business. The only thing that really matters to most at that level is the bottom line net profit that goes to the state. Because THAT is what they are held accountable for by the state legislature.

There are some lotteries that walk that line (between running it as a strict business and being player-friendly) better than others. Typically, you will find s... [ More ]

Comment #6

rdgrnr — Tue, 01 Nov 2011 01:17:39 GMT

Roger that, Dog.

And you know how governments and businesses always hire consultants? Well they couldn't find better lottery consultants anywhere than we have right here.

But we have a bunch of rich, fatcat politicians who probably never play or even think about the lottery, whose heads are so far up their rearends they won't take advantage of it.

If they want to know what lottery players will buy more of, why not just ask us? We're right here for free at Lottery Post. We're a concentra... [ More ]

Comment #5

MADDOG10 — Tue, 01 Nov 2011 00:38:35 GMT

How about we float the idea of getting rid of those Legislators who proposed this to begin with and this way we'll be able to generate some money fot the scholarships, then you can really generate some cash by getting rid of the Dragon Lady and her salary and generate some more.

What say you Ridgerunner

Comment #4

weshar75 — Tue, 01 Nov 2011 00:27:09 GMT

I think that lotto should be cash only that is a slippery slope when you let credit cards and debit cards too. People could charge all day long and run up big bills with that. So cash only for me.-weshar75

Comment #3

Stack47 — Tue, 01 Nov 2011 00:09:32 GMT

Not much we can do when they raise our taxes, but when they lower prize payouts, we don't have to play. The only good idea I see is allowing players to buy tickets with credit or debit cards.

They can use them to buy alcohol, red bull, and cigarettes buy heaven forbid if they use them to buy a lottery ticket

Comment #2

rdgrnr — Tue, 01 Nov 2011 00:07:36 GMT

Leave it to Tennessee to suggest solving the problem by screwing the players just a little bit more. RINO Senator McNally said we wouldn't even worry about less prizes when we stop for our beer and cigarettes . What a jerk.

What they should be considering is new leadership in the lottery department, not figuring ways to screw the players. Get some decent games, increase the prizes, have bigger jackpots, run jackpot games everyday instead of three times a week, fire everybody you have and get... [ More ]

Comment #1

dpoly1 — Mon, 31 Oct 2011 23:54:41 GMT

Kinda like raising taxes to stimulate the economy .................. epic fail

Tenn. legislators float idea that lower prizes will bring in more money

Lottery Post — Mon, 31 Oct 2011 23:38:53 GMT

Task force says 'bad idea'

Some Tennessee legislators are eying a reduction in prize payouts for Tennessee lottery players while letting them buy tickets with debit or credit cards.

The proposals are among ideas that are being floated as a way to generate more money that can be used for college scholarships.

Both were criticized at a meeting last week of the Senate Lottery Stabilization Task Force with a lottery official suggesting that a cut in prizes could be a bad business decision a... [ More ]