As it appeared in the

AUSTIN AMERICAN-STATESMAN

Commission betting on new lotto game
By Ken Herman

Saturday, May 3, 2003

Lotto Texas, rejiggered to make it harder to hit the jackpot but easier to win lower-tier prizes, will enter a new era Sunday. Some players will come in kicking and screaming. Some say they won't come in at all.

But the Texas Lottery Commission, which made the change despite opposition from lawmakers who heard from cranky players back home, is convinced sales will increase and griping will decrease as jackpots climb.

Tonight's drawing will be the last for the six-of-54 game. Tickets for the new game, with the first drawing Wednesday night, will go on sale Sunday.

In the revised Lotto Texas, marketed as "a whole new ballgame," players pick five numbers from a 44-ball field and a single ball from a second 44-ball field.

The odds of hitting the jackpot will go from 25.8 million-to-1 to 47.7 million-to-1.

The odds of winning any prize will go from 71-to-1 to 57-to-1.

The marketing strategy is based on the fact that ticket sales go up when jackpots are high. Commission projections say jackpots should top $65 million three or four times a year under the new system. Folks who run state lotteries believe that's the approximate point at which lotto fever sets in and ticket sales soar.

Similarly motivated by a desire for higher jackpots, the Lottery Commission in 2000 added four balls to the original 50-ball game that had been in play since Lotto Texas' 1992 inception.

It didn't work. Last year, jackpots topped $20 million for only 14 of the year's 104 drawings. That led to the latest change and the latest round of negative feedback.

Aware of opposition from loyal players, Lottery Commission Executive Director Reagan Greer went proactive in an April 21 letter to all legislators.

"It is estimated that the new game will generate more than $50 million in additional revenue during the first fiscal year of sales," he said, accentuating the positive.

"I understand you may be receiving inquiries from constituents regarding this new game rule," he said, acknowledging the negative.

It took Rep. Dan Ellis, D-Livingston, one day to respond.

"You are absolutely correct," Ellis wrote. "I am receiving a huge volume of correspondence from my constituents, none of which I would call `inquiries,' regarding the rule change, and none of it has been positive or complimentary to me, the Lottery Commission or the state of Texas.

"In light of the strong objections I am receiving, I am going to have to strongly object to this rule change."

Ellis said this week that the lotto change has sparked a flood of response in his district.

"We probably heard from 50 to 60 constituents about the change," he said. "That's a ton from my district. Most of the folks in my district don't follow the Legislature that closely. But they were upset about the odds of winning increasing so drastically."

Lottery commissioners are going to find out they've made a costly mistake, Ellis predicted.

"I think sales are going to go down," he said, adding that the change could be huge if lawmakers approve additional forms of gambling.

"In my opinion," Ellis said, "they are shooting themselves in the foot. And when they shoot themselves in the foot, it ends up shooting us in the foot because we see a decrease in the state's share of that lottery money."

Despite the legislative opposition, no bills have been filed to undo the change.

Ellis isn't the only lawmaker who urged the commission to change its mind.

"It is my opinion that this proposed rule change has the potential to have a negative impact on a game that many Texans love and enjoy," Sen. Mario Gallegos, D-Galena Park, said in a letter to Lottery Commission Chairman Tom Clowe.

"The citizens of this state want lottery games of chance that are fair and consistent," Gallegos told Clowe, who has said that players will learn to love the new game and that the increased jackpots will mean more revenue for the state.

Rep. Bill Zedler, R-Arlington, also urged the commission to undo the change. He cited "a large number of correspondence" from constituents upset about it.

Much of the correspondence resulted from a campaign orchestrated by Dawn Nettles of Grand Prairie (Garland), publisher of a lottery newsletter and persistent critic of commission decisions. Many people who submitted complaints about the change used a form letter she drafted.

But some added comments of their own.

"Most of all, the odds are just not fair to those who have supported the lottery these many years, and should we set idly by while the Texas Lottery Commission puts the fix in? NO," wrote Brett Mikeska of Conroe.

Buddy Christopher of Conroe put it a bit more simply in his e-mail complaint forwarded to lawmakers.

"I want a fair chance to win the American dream. Not just a snowball chance in hell to have a shot at financial freedom the rest of my life," he wrote. "Changing the odds in the long run will hurt sales and people's notion of having a fair chance at winning. I am opposed!!!!!"

Said Zane McCoy of Magnolia, "Look, Lotto Texas, don't get too greedy. Just look what happened to the Roman Empire when they got greedy."

kherman@statesman.com; 512-445-1718