Apparently new CEO looking to make things even worse at beleaguered lottery

By Jon Lender

The Connecticut Lottery Corp. (CLC) is quietly examining possible changes to the drawing procedures by which it selects winning numbers in its various games — from the daily Play 3 game on up — and one option under consideration is to discontinue live TV drawings that have been broadcast on local stations since 1977.

Another option could be that, in addition to taking the drawings off TV, the lottery would discontinue use of the familiar drawing machines with the visible numbered, pingpong balls bouncing around in them — and, instead, would use computerized random number generators (RNGs) to select winning numbers.

No conclusions have been reached about what changes may be made, if any.

And the lottery corporation is staying mum. "We're not not at a point where we can discuss anything publicly at this time," lottery spokeswoman Tara Chozet said Thursday.

However, in a Dec. 20 email obtained by Government Watch, lottery corporation President Greg Smith, hired this past July, told all employees of the quasi-public revenue-raising agency that "a CLC project team has been looking at all aspects of our draw process." He added: "We are in the process of studying various options" and "want to make you aware of this topic so that you can hear it from us first." Smith said in the email the lottery corporation's drawing personnel, as well as lottery regulators at the Department of Consumer Protection (DCP), have "recently been made aware of this process evaluation."

Chozet would neither confirm nor deny whether discontinuing TV drawings, and switching to random number generators, are among those specific options when asked about it in recent days. She said: "We are looking at all of our options, and we are willing to speak on the record once a decision has been made." When will that be? "I can't give a time frame," she said.

The clearest statement of what the lottery is considering came from the DCP, which regulates the lottery's games to ensure their integrity. As Smith said in his email, the DCP has been briefed by lottery officials. "We are aware that CLC has a working group to evaluate how they conduct their drawings. They have informed us, as their regulator, that one of the proposed changes is replacing live television drawings with RNG drawings," said Lora Rae Anderson, communications director for the DCP.

Any changes that are eventually made will be closely watched by an extremely attentive, and probably skeptical community of Connecticut lottery players who annually buy $1.2 billion worth of instant and draw tickets that, in the past year, generated $345 million in revenue for the state.

RNGs distrusted and disliked

Random number generators might be controversial.

A national website for lottery players, Lottery Post, attests to the value that lottery aficionados place on lottery drawings that let players see what's going on, as opposed to having a computerized RNG spit out the winning numbers.

"Lottery Post is a proponent of true lottery drawings using player-visible drawing methods," the website says. "Even though states using computers claim that they are auditable and valid, Lottery Post believes the transparency and common sense approach of using mechanical drawing machines provides a more fun and confidence-inspiring experience for the lottery player, and therefore we recommend players seek out those games using real lottery drawing equipment."

The Lottery Post includes a "State Lottery Report Card" that rates lotteries in the U.S. and other countries, and, at present, it gives the Connecticut Lottery Corp. an "A+" based on how much player-visibility there is in the current setup. "States (jurisdictions) with a higher proportion of games using traditional lottery ball machines receive higher rankings in this report card than those using computer random number generators," the website says.

(To find the report card, go to the main Lottery Post website — which has been displaying the Des Moines Register's story updating the Tipton scandal — put your cursor on "Results" at the top and then, near the bottom of the drop-down menu, click on"State Lottery Report Card.")

A random number generator was in use last Jan. 1, when a team of Connecticut state employees made a major error in selecting the winning numbers in the New Year's Super Draw, resulting in a do-over drawing Jan. 16 and a $1 million loss to the state. The RNG didn't malfunction and the problem was blamed on state workers, who were disciplined.

Discontinuing live lottery broadcasts in Connecticut would save some money and trouble, although the savings would be dwarfed by the annual sales and revenue figures. The lottery has been paying $380,000 a year to Tribune Broadcasting Hartford LLC to televise the live drawings on WCCT-TV Channel 20, Chozet said. The latest contract extension is up on July 31, although it's renewable for up to five years beyond that, she said. The lottery's TV drawing studio is in the same building at 285 Broad St. in Hartford that houses both The Hartford Courant and the TV station FOX 61, also owned by Tribune Broadcasting. But the corporations owning the broadcast and print properties are separate.

The lottery's drawing personalities perform their on-air duties as an optional, part-time add-on to their regular jobs at the agency, Chozet said.

Here is the live, televised drawing schedule on WCCT-TV (times approximate) according to Chozet: Play 3 and Play 4, Monday through Friday at 1:57 and 10:29 p.m., Saturday and Sunday at 10:29 p.m. only (day drawings not televised on weekends days, but available for viewing via links on the Connecticut Lottery Corp. website); Lotto, Tuesday and Friday at 10:38 p.m.; Cash 5, 10:29 p.m. seven days a week; Lucky Links, Monday to Friday at 1:45 p.m. (those are the only five Lucky Links drawings broadcast, even though drawings are held seven days a week at both 1:45 and 10:17 p.m.); Lucky for Life, Monday and Thursday, at 10:38 p.m. WCCT-TV also broadcasts multi-state lottery drawings that originate elsewhere: Powerball, Wednesday and Saturday at 10:59 p.m.; and Mega Millions, Tuesday and Friday at 11 p.m.