Tenn. Lottery created discontent with move to computerized drawings

Sep 2, 2007, 8:01 am (15 comments)

Editorial / Opinion

Lottery should not have ended drawings
By Larry Duck

When the Tennessee Lottery started drawing the numbers by computer software, did you know they were doing away with the ball drawings?

I could hear a great cry from loyal lottery players. People who have been playing the lottery for many years must have felt betrayed by the lottery, as they were not properly informed that this was going to happen. No constituent votes were taken and no polls conducted — the lottery just made its decision and ran with it.

The Tennessee Lottery had taken away one of the most respected and well-liked aspects of the game: real live ball drawings, where people could actually see the numbers being drawn and know without a shadow of a doubt what those numbers were. Instead, the Tennessee Lottery switched to computer-animated drawings where people have no way of knowing for sure if those numbers drawn are truly random or some numbers that were programmed to come out.

People have no way of knowing the numbers weren't tampered with. Computerized drawings leave doubts in the minds of the players that the games are on the up and up.

Software is not perfect

The lottery personnel will tell you that the software cannot be compromised, that it's tamper-proof, that it won't have errors and all sorts of related babble. This would be the same babble the software manufacturers told them. The RNG (random number generator) programmers want to sell them a product that they claim will save the lottery money. At the same time, they never mention that they may well put out of business a long tradition of mechanical-drawing vendors and their equipment.

On July 16, the Tennessee Lottery wrote one sentence buried in the middle of a story on its Web site, www.tnlottery.com. The story was titled, "$919 Million Dollar Win for Education." This is how the lottery informed the people of Tennessee about changes to their Cash 3 and Cash 4 and Lotto 5 drawings: "An exciting new way to hold drawings using the latest in automated technology, joining numerous lotteries throughout the country that use similar computerization."

When Lotterypost.com first reprinted this story, people took notice and we found the Tennessee drawings were flawed. Numerous attempts to contact the lottery about the flaw failed.

Larry Duck is a lottery enthusiast who monitored the Tennessee numbers from Baltimore.If this is the way the lottery officials want to conduct business, by using a most controversial way of drawing numbers and by not informing the people ahead of time, then why should loyal lottery players continue to be loyal? Lottery officials made the decision to switch drawing types without the consent of the people.

What kind of country are we living in now when a company, in this case the Tennessee Lottery, makes major decisions without the approval of its investors — the lottery players and the good people of Tennessee.

Computerized lottery drawings should not be permitted to replace real live ball drawings. Most random number generators in use by state lotteries are not truly random.

Larry Duck is a lottery enthusiast who monitored the Tennessee numbers from Baltimore.

Tennessean

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LOTTOMIKE's avatarLOTTOMIKE

is larry a member here on lottery post?   great article by the wayThumbs Up

KyMystikal's avatarKyMystikal

Quote: Originally posted by LOTTOMIKE on Sep 2, 2007

is larry a member here on lottery post?   great article by the wayThumbs Up

Yes he is, and I'm glad he wrote the article. The Tennessean contacted me about writing it too but I didn't have time. I think he and I were one of the first people that were interviewed about what had happened. I was told to ask you lottomike, from a couple of other LP members, to see if you would write a editorial about it but didn't have time to get in touch with you.

Smokenbaar

If the people of tennessee want it make the games honest again they need to boycot all tennessee lottery till they change it back, If not then they to play the fix games, and the players will never win a game unless they pay to have fix for them.

jarasan's avatarjarasan

If the lottery reverts back graciously and are humble about it, the rewards would far outweigh the cost of setting things right again with the people of Tennessee.

The greatest reward to the lottery would be regaining the trust of the people. 

It would be precedent and historical.  People forgive and forget. Set a date, do it, and get it over with.

 "We're sorry. Please forgive us." Is a good place to start.

 

NOTE:

This is free advice from the consultants at Jarasan LLC. not just some randomly generated advice from some computer or whatever.

Also, breaking the contract with the RNG people, piece of cake, no contest hands down.

Just6ntlc

I'm disappointed that Tennessee went to computer drawings. I hope they go back to ball drawings ASAP.

Guru101's avatarGuru101

Quote: Originally posted by Just6ntlc on Sep 4, 2007

I'm disappointed that Tennessee went to computer drawings. I hope they go back to ball drawings ASAP.

Ya. I HOPE they do too.

Miss Bee's avatarMiss Bee

I feel the same I will play again if they switch back otherwise I'm still out.

KyMystikal's avatarKyMystikal

I'de like to know what their revenue is now?

GASMETERGUY

Quote: Originally posted by KyMystikal on Sep 4, 2007

I'de like to know what their revenue is now?

Probably the same.  From what I have gathered during my talks with the good customers at Waffle House, no one even realized Tennessee went to RNG numbers nor did they know there was a scandal in progress.

  I tried to explain what had happened.  Their eyes glazed over and their minds went numb.  They did not care.  All they wanted to know what "Did my numbers win anything?"

Stack47

Quote: Originally posted by KyMystikal on Sep 4, 2007

I'de like to know what their revenue is now?

Ticket sales dropped in both the Cash-3 and Lotto-5 games from 2005 to 2006. The sales of those two games plus the Cash-4 game accounts for 11% of total sales so I guess their plan to increase sales was to change to an "exciting computer drawing".

I'd like to know the percentage of the tickets with doubles and triples that were returned for a refund.

marcoviski's avatarmarcoviski

I will be very straight in what I have to say. These things happen and will continue happening because we lottery players, enthusiasts, experts, gurus, forum admin and so on are not ORGANIZED.

Stop crying and complaining like babies. Grow up. Do something about it. Join me to create the NORTH AMERICAN LOTTERY PLAYERS ASSOCIATION. Then we will have a voice. Then we will have an official channel so the lottery industry will listen to us.

We need to unite under one organization to have an effect on the future of the lottery industry. We need one voice to speak on behalf of lottery players. A committee formed by Lottery Players from around the Country.

Do you want to buy lottery tickets over the internet legally? Do you want the state lottery to conduct real drawings made by real people? Do you want to have more chances of winning a lottery jackpot? Would you like to have less taxation on lottery prizes? How about more lottery money driven to our Cities, to benefit education, roads, health and hospitals, public safety, etc.? Did you know that most cities and towns are in a serious fiscal crisis? Would you like to have a lottery in the State that you live?

It all can be achieved and much more as long as we are ORGANIZED UNDER A NATIONAL ASSOCIATION. JOIN ME. DON’T DELAY. ACT NOW.

Todd's avatarTodd

Quote: Originally posted by marcoviski on Sep 7, 2007

I will be very straight in what I have to say. These things happen and will continue happening because we lottery players, enthusiasts, experts, gurus, forum admin and so on are not ORGANIZED.

Stop crying and complaining like babies. Grow up. Do something about it. Join me to create the NORTH AMERICAN LOTTERY PLAYERS ASSOCIATION. Then we will have a voice. Then we will have an official channel so the lottery industry will listen to us.

We need to unite under one organization to have an effect on the future of the lottery industry. We need one voice to speak on behalf of lottery players. A committee formed by Lottery Players from around the Country.

Do you want to buy lottery tickets over the internet legally? Do you want the state lottery to conduct real drawings made by real people? Do you want to have more chances of winning a lottery jackpot? Would you like to have less taxation on lottery prizes? How about more lottery money driven to our Cities, to benefit education, roads, health and hospitals, public safety, etc.? Did you know that most cities and towns are in a serious fiscal crisis? Would you like to have a lottery in the State that you live?

It all can be achieved and much more as long as we are ORGANIZED UNDER A NATIONAL ASSOCIATION. JOIN ME. DON’T DELAY. ACT NOW.

Your profile says you're from Brazil.  Why would you be trying to start a North American organization?  Wouln't you rather start an organization for South America?

marcoviski's avatarmarcoviski

What you say sounds to me like discrimination. I travel regularly to the USA and play us state lotteries for years now. I happent to have relatives who ar american citizens. Every time I am in "your" country I play lotteries. I alsoput my money on this industry. Englhis may not be my native language. Although I think there are people living in the US that has a worst english than I do. with the advent of the internet, country borders has changed. The world is smaller each day. It does not mean that a person from other country than the USA can not have good ideas and/or a contribution to make to the US lottery industry in general. please review your thoughts on this issue. in fact I can buy lottery tickets from USAMEGA, for example. so my money is good for u but not my thoughts? not my intelect? not my ideas? not the contribution I may have to make to this industry? Sorry but I think your wrong. I may not be better than anyone, but also I am not worst than anybody too. We only have differnet cultures and speak differente languages after God mixed languages in Babylon tower building.

greetings,

markoviski

ps: as I am a platinum member of this great forum, I hope you become a member of this Association which has the intend to help us/you lottery players have one voice, one strong channel and to create a political streinght to push for issues we/you conside significative. to speak on behalf of lottery players nationwide. do not beat me, JOIN ME. sorry if the words I use are not allways the appropiate ones.

marcoviski's avatarmarcoviski

Dear Friend,

Before I forget. There is one more thing. I not SUGESTING  the creation of the North American Lottery Players Association. I am CREATING this entity. I am inviting you and your pals, the guys from the LotteryPost to join me. People like you should suport such initiative, no matter who is behind it. no matter who is the "father of the idea". Do not let the "not invented here syndrome cacth you Todd". I arrive in the USA the next week with the intend to stay for a couple of months working in this project which will benefit peolpe like you and other americans, poor people, the "mass". People that do not even have access to the internet. People that play official lotteries and are allways complaining about the fact tha the lottery industry "make the decision to switch drawing types without the consent of the people ... an industry that makes major decisions without the approval of its investors ." Lary Duck is right. But It can be differnet. Free your mind Todd. Join me to ORGINIZE the North American Lottery Playes Association-NALOPAS.

Best Regards,

Markoviski 

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