True story: I worked in a liquor store once, and this old lady comes in says "gimme a lottery ticket." Scratches it, and as she is doing it she muttered "damn crooks." Then she turns her head up and says "Gimme another one." True story, I kid you not.
America, you are SCREWING YOURSELVES!!!!
Also see: State Lottery a Loser For Mass. Residents
State Scratches Lottery Ticket... and Loses
Lies About the Lottery
If revenues are booming, why the rip-off?
"Megabucks plan rankles lottery players" by Michael Levenson, Globe Staff | March 21, 2009
Like anyone who plays the lottery, Dean Thornblad was hoping to get rich quickly. He studied the odds of winning the various games before shelling out $150 for three season tickets that automatically enter him in twice-weekly drawings of Megabucks. At 1 in 5.2 million, the odds of hitting the jackpot, long by any standard, seemed to him at least "somewhat imaginable."
But even his boundless optimism is being stretched by the lottery's latest proposal. The agency, under mounting pressure to return more money to cash-strapped cities and towns, is planning to make the odds of winning even slimmer, reducing them to 1 in 13.9 million beginning May 2, by making players match six numbers between 1 and 49, instead of six between 1 and 42.
You staties need to find money?
Remember these?
The State Budget Swindle
Governor Guts State Services
Pigs at the State Trough
A Slow Saturday Special: Statehouse Slush Fund
Hollywood S***s on Massachusetts
How about going there first?
Thornblad, a 49-year-old graphic designer from Clinton, says he feels cheated, like someone who did all the recommended research before buying a new car, only to have the manufacturer sharply reduce the terms of its warranty after the sale.
"It's like, 'Hey, congratulations! We just lowered your chances of winning by two-thirds! Put a big smile on your face and have fun!' " he said yesterday. "I think it's unfair, and it may be illegal. I'm angry."
It's not illegal, lottery official say, but that doesn't appease the regulars at the Hub, a liquor store and lottery vendor in South Boston, many of whom are longtime Megabucks devotees. "They just do it to get more money," groused 63-year-old Gail Mathias, who buys two Megabucks tickets every Wednesday.
Lottery officials hope the change will increase the profitability of Megabucks, which netted $40 million in sales last year. The lottery, which funds municipal services like police officers and firefighters, has been seeking fresh ways to come up with more money, after projecting this month that revenues will plunge by about 5 percent this year.
"Ultimately, the idea is to raise more money for cities and towns," said Dan Rosenfeld, a lottery spokesman. "Our research thinks it will do significantly more than that. How much more remains to be seen."
Hey, DON'T GIVE IT AWAY to SPECIAL INTERESTS!!!!
Massachusetts Literally Throws Tax Dollars Away
Although the chances of winning the jackpot will be slimmer, lottery officials hope that by increasing the payouts, they will keep players enticed. The minimum jackpot will rise to $500,000, from $400,000, and the lesser prizes will also increase. Hitting four out of six numbers, for example, will win $100 instead of $75 and three out of six will win $2, instead of a free play, valued at $1. In addition, one out of 10 tickets will double any lesser prize that a player wins. The changes will be marketed as a new game, Megabucks Doubler.
I never play, so I don't give a sh....
"We think it will be much more exciting for the players," Rosenfeld said. "It's 2009, and it needs to have some updating. It's basically a similar game to Megabucks and we think people will like this better."
That an insult or what? The state puke thinks you are 'too-pid!!!!
Many state and local officials have long complained that the lottery needed to overhaul Megabucks, which was introduced in 1982 and has been overshadowed by newer games like Mega Millions, with its fat, $500 million jackpot, and the state's regularly changing array of scratch tickets.
"Communities are supportive of having the lagging sales improve," said Geoff Beckwith, executive director of the Massachusetts Municipal Association, which represents the cities and towns that benefit from lottery revenues. "In academia, it's publish or perish. In the field of lotteries, it's keeping it fresh, keeping it alive, keeping the public engaged."
By RIPPING THEM OFF MORE!!!!
As for the 51,000 people like Thornblad who bought season tickets to the Megabucks, assuming they would have a 1 in 5.2 million chance of hitting the jackpot, Rosenfeld said they were informed of the change in letters mailed out this month. "We think most of them will be very happy with the change," he said. "Change can be difficult."
Seriously, Mass. citizen, can the state authorities condescend to you any more?
It certainly is for Thornblad, who said he considered his season ticket to be the equivalent of a contract with the lottery and called the agency to complain after he got his letter in the mail. "It's like the rug is being pulled out from under me," he said. "It seems a little sleazy."
At the Hub, news of the change spread quickly from player to player, as they filled out lottery tickets, stared at Keno screens, and used coins to rub off scratch tickets.
"I think they're getting too greedy myself," said Bill, a 68-year-old South Boston native who didn't want his last name published. "They're going to kill the goose that laid the golden egg."
I'm home!!!
"It's a bad change," chimed in a police officer who overheard him while working on the street corner. "Pshaw," said another player, waving his hand dismissively at the odds of hitting the jackpot. "You haven't got a prayer."
Maybe so. But it didn't look like anyone at the Hub was ready to give up their lottery routine, no matter how long the odds. "I don't even know why I play," sighed 73-year-old Joe Greene, who had just a bought his weekly Megabucks ticket. "It's just a dream."
Yup, keep brick-walling that soft melon you call a head, Bay Stater!
Related: The Lying Looter at the State Lottery
