Read about the TLC employees ... Click here and read Oct 9th entry.
See and hear what our legislators were told about VLT's, Click Here.

Jan 17, 2012 - Let me add a little bit to my Jan 13th posting as per your requests/suggestions. I am listening to you. But first, I want to thank all of you for your very kind comments. I have tried to reply to all messages, but, IF by chance I've failed to reply, please accept my apologies. If you have not read the Jan 13th entry below, then I would suggest you read it before you read this short, quick message.

Many of you have expressed your concerns that I failed to warn players that if you spend the same amount of money playing Powerball as you have in the past, then you will reduce your "chances" of winning. This is because you will have fewer tickets. Your odds of winning remain the same but with fewer tickets, then your "chances" of having a winning tickets is reduced. I didn't mention this because I felt it was a known, obvious point. Sorry!

Texas stores had no new Powerball playslips. WOW - this really caught me off guard because they've had since at least June 29, 2011 to produce the materials needed to start on Jan 15, 2012. Texas retailers have been telling players that they could only buy Quick Picks for the last two days. Sad but true. I did pick up new slips this afternoon from some stores and found stores that still do not have new playslips for Powerball players.

Unfortunately, the playslip issue is not the biggest and worst oversight by the TLC ... By far, the worst injustice is one that literally takes players to the cleaners. It is .... If by chance you are a scratch ticket player and have bought game #1318 - Instant Powerball - if you have not already collected the "$5 Powerball quick pick prize" offered in this game ... well - you can't collect it at the retail level now. You will have to drive to a claim center, fill out a claim form then they will pay you $5 rather than to give you the free ticket you actually won. You'll probably also get a W2-G meaning you will have to report the winnings on your tax return!

Do you have any idea how costly this is for MANY players? Do you have any idea how many people will NOT collect this prize because it would cost them more money to collect the $5 prize than the actual value of it?

The Texas Lottery tells us that we can collect ANY prize under $600 at the retail locations. Not so anymore - they can change the rules in midstream. Folks, this is VERY, VERY wrong in so many ways. To me, they are literally ripping off players and intentionally so. In light of their HUGE mistake in planning - they should have simply given players a ticket even if it meant increasing the prize amount. These players bought these tickets in good faith but the TLC is not acting in good faith. They are taking advantage of Texas Lottery players. Guess who gets the prize money that goes unclaimed???? You guessed it - the state keeps much of the unclaimed prize money thanks to HB 2922 signed by Governor Rick Perry in 2003.

The Texas Lottery knew LONG before June 29, 2011 that the Powerball change was coming. Why did the TLC not close the scratch ticket game before Sept 8, 2011 allowing all prizes to be collected PRIOR to the start of the new Powerball game? The reason - they didn't want to take a loss on the ticket so they are letting players take the loss instead.

We have 180 days to collect a prize from a closed game (scratch tickets) or 180 days from the date of the online drawing (Lotto Texas, Cash5, Pick3, Daily4, 2 Step, Mega Millions). For this particular ticket, players have until March 6, 2012 to collect these prizes. The TLC should have closed the Instant Powerball scratch game so ALL players could collect their prizes - 1) as per the rules and 2) as stated on the face of the ticket.

That's all for today ... now if you haven't read all details regarding the changes to Powerball ... then read on ...

The Truth About the Jan 15, 2012 Powerball Changes

Jan 13, 2012 - Comments and Opinions by Dawn Nettles - By now you've all heard that they are changing the Powerball game. Many of you have asked why is it that I have not told you about the changes and why didn't I post something so you could comment. The truth is, there was no reason for us to comment because the Texas Lottery didn't care what the People of Texas had to say - it was a DONE deal prior to them ever even proposing a rule change for Powerball. It would have been a complete waste of our time.

Here's why I say this ... On June 29, 2011, the TLC issued a press release regarding changes to Powerball that would take effect on Jan 15, 2012. As it turns out, the press release was deceptive in its content but this was something no one could have known at the time because there was no new rule.

Anyway, on August 10, the TLC submitted a new Powerball rule to the Commissioners for their approval to post in the Texas Register. Of course, the Commissioners didn't have much to say about the "done deal" either. They just approved the rule for posting as this is the legal process.

I did comment (vaguely) at the Commission meeting and I did comment to executive staff regarding this action being "another" violation of Administrative Code 2001.0225 through 2001.034. State agencies are suppose to consider public comment prior to adopting new rules. The issuance of a press release in June regarding the changes coming to the Powerball game prior to Texas ever proposing a rule told me that the changes were obviously another "done deal." Therefore there was no reason for us to voice our concerns nor was there a reason for me to do all the extra work and spend my money that is involved in the rulemaking process.

Just so that you know, the TLC says that they have no control over the rules of a "multi state game" - therefore - they thought nothing of their actions. What they failed to consider, however, was that they had the option of pulling out of the game which is exactly what they should have done - in my educated opinion. And I believe, given the data that I have to support my belief, you would all agree it would have been the best move for Texas to simply pull out of the game. And these were the comments we could have made had this change not been a done deal from the beginning.

About the changes to Powerball ...
1) They are increasing the price of a single ticket to $2.

2) They are still selling the PowerPlay option for an additional $1 - BUT - they will no longer draw a number to see how many times to multiply the original prize amount. PowerPlay prize amounts will be set prize amounts and the prizes are actually lower than before for the most part. I'll cover this in depth below. If you play PowerPlay, a single ticket will cost you $3.

3) They are reducing the number of bonus numbers to pick from - down from 39 bonus numbers to 35 bonus numbers. This is what is enabling them to tell you that there's "better odds of winning." This statement is only HALF true. This is because players will still be picking 5 numbers from a pool of 59 numbers. The odds of winning 5+0, 4+0, 3+0 are exactly the same as they were - your chances of winning one of these prizes in NOT "better" nor improved.

4) They have increased the starting jackpot to $40 million rather than the current $20 million. This is not a big deal because 1) so few players ever win at this level and 2) players will now be paying $2 per ticket rather than $1 so IF players continue to buy as they have in the past, then they will only be a little short of having enough to support the advertised jackpot amount at this level. Texas and MUSL are gambling big time. They think players will continue to purchase tickets as usual in spite of the cost increase. Judging from what I've heard from you and my personal feelings, I think they are wrong. I've always spent $5 for each draw and IF I continue to purchase tickets, it will be a $4 purchase rather than a $5 purchase.

5) They are increasing the prize amount for matching just the bonus number (0+1) to $4 rather than the $3 prize amount. It is true that your odds of winning this prize are better than before as they are reducing the number of bonus numbers - again, you will be picking one number between 1 to 35 rather than 1 number between 1 to 39.

6) While they are heavily and deceptively promoting promoting the "so called" $1 million prize for "matching 5 numbers but NOT the bonus number," this is no different than it is right now. You see, if you purchase a $2 ticket today for tomorrow nights draw, you could win $1 million dollars as that is what the prize amount already is with the PowerPlay. One would pick 5 numbers from a pool of 59 numbers and next week after the change takes effect, you will still pick 5 numbers from a pool of 59 numbers and you will still pay $2 for the ticket. One could still win $1 million. Your odds of winning this prize is NO better than it was before for the SAME amount of money.

With the new game, IF you play PowerPlay and pay a total of $3 for ONE ticket, then you could win $2 million for matching 5 numbers but NOT the bonus number. This is a new prize amount but the odds of winning are exactly the same as they were and there will not be "more" 5+0 winners. You do not have better chances of winning this prize than you did before as you are still picking 5 numbers from a pool of 59 numbers.

FYI ... to date, Texas has printed a total of 208,565,958 Powerball tickets (203 drawings) and of the 208 million tickets printed, only 46 tickets matched 5 numbers and no bonus number. This means that 0.000022055% of Texas players won "match 5" numbers. (I hope you noticed that I did NOT say "sold" 208,565,958 tickets - this is because there have been sooooo many FREE tickets given out in way of prizes from scratch tickets. The TLC did NOT collect this much money in Powerball sales.)

FYI ... To date, Texas has NOT had a Powerball jackpot winner - 0% of Texas players have won the jackpot. (There has been 203 drawings with 29 jackpot winning tickets since Texas joined Powerball but none in Texas. And to make matters worse, Texas has sent $66.3 million out of state to pay these winners.)

Sadly, you will now be paying $2 to win the same amount of money as before should you match 4+1 ($10K), 4+0 ($100), 3+1 ($100), 3+0 ($7), 2+1 ($7) and 1+1 ($4).

The odds of winning 5+1 (jackpot), 4+1, 3+1, 2+1 and 1+1 are slightly better than before because they have reduced the number of bonus numbers to 35 numbers rather than 39 numbers.

Your odds of winning 5+0, 4+0, 3+0 have NOT changed at all. Your odds of winning Powerball are about the same as winning Mega Millions - very, very slim. 175-million-to-one with a greater expense of playing and your losses doubling! It's not worth it to me!

About the Deceptive Advertising/Promotions you're hearing now ...
Press releases and promo materials state in part:

"Bigger starting grand/jackpots, better odds of winning and more chances to win $1 million" which is clearly a lie - very deceiving. For the cost of $2 per ticket, your chances of winning $1 million are EXACTLY the same as it was before and your odds are EXACTLY the same as before. The TLC is selling this point heavy - trying to entice you into spending the same amount of money you could have been spending all along but have chosen not to!

"An exciting aspect of the new Powerball will be more opportunities for players to win $1 million or more" ... see how they are stressing the $1 million prize. Yet the odds are no different than they were before - you are still picking 5 numbers from a pool of 59 numbers and you are still spending $2 to win the same prize as before.There will not be more "opportunities" to win $1 million - they are forcing you to pay for the "opportunity" whereas before you had a choice.

"Powerball drawings are held on Wednesday and Saturday nights at 10:12 p.m." - Another out and out lie. The TLC wants players to believe you are seeing the drawings live when you see them here in Texas but the truth is, the drawings are held at 9:59 PM. The TLC should be releasing the drawing results PRIOR to 10:12 pm just the same as they should be releasing the Megaplier number at 9:45 pm when it is suppose to be drawn. But they refuse. Why is this???

"and a matrix change will provide better odds of winning" ... this is not completely true either - it's only a half truth and is a very broad, deceiving statement for unsuspecting players. This statement is better known as "deception by omission." I suspect the TLC is trying to pull the wool over the eyes of most players. The matrix change only effects the odds for the 5+1, 4+1, 3+1, 2+1 and 0+1 prizes.

The $1 million prize (5+0) is NOT effected by the matrix change.

The matrix change does improve the odds for winning the jackpot but the odds of winning the jackpot are so very slim that to me, it's a minute point. 175-million-to-one is HORRIBLE odds of winning. Since TX joined Powerball, there have been 5.6 BILLION tickets sold in the 44 states/jurisdictions and only 29 tickets have matched 5 numbers plus the bonus number to win the jackpot. No one in Texas has won the jackpot.

"the overall odds of winning any prize will also be made easier" - this is clearly not true. It will not be easier to win 5+0, 4+0, or 3+0 yet they are stating that "overall odds of winning ANY prize" will be "easier." And it is certainly NOT easier to win $1 million!

Let's Compare Prize Amounts ... And let's look at the WHOLE picture ... Not a partial picture like the TLC is giving players via promo pieces found in the stores!

FYI - The history of which PowerPlay number was drawn - either a "2", "3," "4" or "5" - in the last 203 draws. This number indicates how much to multiply a players winnings in the event he's matched so many numbers to win a prize. (Note: The "10" was a promo draw and it was only drawn once)

Even though PowerPlay draws are suppose to be random draws, it seems to me from memory that "2's" came out more often at the start of a new roll cycle and it seems that "2's came out alot when the numbers drawn were lower numbers meaning there would most likely be more winners for that draw. Most players play birthday numbers. There have been 27 roll cycles since Texas joined Powerball.

In Conclusion ...
Folks, reporters will be reporting what the TLC tells them to report about these changes and reporters have NO way of knowing any better. They have no idea that they are leading you down a path that the TLC wants them to lead you down for the sake of selling more lottery tickets. I don't know of any one reporter who even plays the lottery so they have no way of knowing any better or what to question. They have no idea that the TLC is issuing press releases the are not 100% true, misleading, and are leaving important factors out.

I will be filing a complaint with the Attorney General with regards to the deceptive advertising this afternoon. Just remember, your odds of winning the $1 million prize have NOT changed and your chances of winning $1 million have not changed from the original game. For the same $2, you could have won the $1 million prize and the odds are of winning it are exactly the same as before the change.

There are some other issues with the rule itself but I will not go into detail on these issues at this time. I will cover them in the complaints I plan to file. The one good thing the TLC says about me is that I am good proof reader so I won't let them down on this new ADOPTED rule!