4-23-03 - WOW - Judging from your emails to me, ya'll are really mad now. It appears that only one Senator wrote a letter to the TLC telling them they opposed the new rule. And that was Senator Mario Gallegos, Jr. His district covers part of Houston, south Houston, Galena Park and Pasadena. (Harris County)

FYI - I forwarded over 3000 comments to the legislators in just 2 1/2 weeks and only one wrote a letter. Sad - huh?

In today's commissioners meeting, the Commissioners did NOT reverse the rule. In fact, the TLC issued a press release that said in part, "When we have a $4 million to $5 million jackpot, sales are $7 million to $8 million for the week," Clowe said, "We're looking at the possibility of a $7 million to $8 million sales day. That tells me that players are voting with their purchases and it is heavily weighted towards bigger jackpots."

It is still not too late to overturn the rule. In fact, it's NEVER to late. And as long as ya'll are still with me and are still willing to fight for the cause, I will continue to do the work. And from what I've heard this week, ya'll want to continue. So, we will.

I will be posting our next move with a full explanation Thursday (I hope). In the meantime, I wish ya'll would do two things RIGHT NOW.

One, if you have to buy lotto tickets, don't buy extra's. I realize ya'll plan to stop when the new game starts, but help keep sales down too.If GOD has picked you to win, then you only need one ticket.

Second, I think you all know who your state reps are now and you probably have their phone numbers. PLEASE, call them and somehow make them explain why and what is the purpose of a comment period? Then ask IF he/she believes the TLC ever "intended" to consider comment - after all - the TLC did publish promo literature and bought new drawing machines and balls at least one month PRIOR to the rule being adopted. The truth is, our legislators know this was illegal - so see how he explains it.

Here's why the adoption of this rule was illegal. I personally want to know WHO is going to hold the TLC responsible in upholding the laws of this state and I can only hope that you do too.

Government code says -
§ 2001.029. Public Comment. (a) Before adopting a rule, a state agency shall give all interested persons a reasonable opportunity to submit data, views, or arguments, orally or in writing. (c) A state agency SHALL consider fully all written and oral submissions about a proposed rule. (The TLC received 6000+ comments)

§ 2001.035. Substantial Compliance Requirement; Time Limit on Procedural Challenge (a) A rule is voidable unless a state agency adopts it in substantial compliance with Sections 2001.0225 through 2001.034.

So, how was there ever INTENT to consider the comment when they were printing promo literature and purchasing the equipment necessary to start the new game one month prior to adopting the rule? How did they comply with 2001.029 (c)?

It was a DONE deal before it was ever even proposed yet they led US to believe they would consider our comments. Some folks have called this fraud. This is much like the American Airlines deal - the employees are outraged and rightfully so.

We're outraged too - we were led to believe that the TLC would consider our opinions regarding this rule change yet, obviously, they never intended to consider anything.

If you don't know who your reps are, here is a link so you can easily find out. When you get to this site, chose an option under "Find Your Incumbent."
http://www.capitol.state.tx.us/fyi/fyi.htm

If any of you have suggestions, please, share them with me. I am open. And for the record, I DO consider comment! Email me

Thanks for all your efforts and your cooperation. We are being heard - and we'll fight to the end to get our game back if ya'll want.

April 20, 2003 - I want to thank all of you for your super nice messages. Yes, I have worked hard on the new rule and I appreciate your words of encouragement and thanks for my/our efforts.

I want to address a couple of your MANY questions and comments -

Actions the legislators could have taken -
So many of you have asked me what action your legislator could've taken and how can you find out what he did about the newly adopted Lotto Texas rule.

First of all, I want you to understand that this issue isn't a "bill" - It's a "rulemaking" issue. And there's a big difference.

The legislature has full authority over all state agencies proposed and adopted rules - the law says:

2001.032. Legislative Review (a) Each house of the legislature by rule shall establish a process under which the presiding officer of each house refers each proposed state agency rule to the appropriate standing committee for review before the rule is adopted. (b) A state agency shall deliver to the lieutenant governor and the speaker of the house of representatives a copy of the notice of a proposed rule when the agency files notice with the secretary of state under Section 2001.023. (c) On the vote of a majority of its members, a standing committee may send to a state agency a statement supporting or opposing adoption of a proposed rule.

On Monday, 4-21-03, I will find out WHO was on the "standing committee" and I will post it for you.

Anyway, in the case of this new rule, the legislators sent NOTHING to the TLC which to me, means they were hoping it would just slide by.

If they had sent a statement stating they supported the rule, then there would be a record of the statement and the people COULD find out who voted in favor - meaning those legislators were in favor of the TLC using these tactics to make more money for the state.

IF they had sent a statement of opposition, the TLC wouldn't have adopted the rule. As you can clearly see, silence was golden and SAFE for our elected officials.

However, I will also add that they entrusted the TLC to abide by the laws in adopting the rule - specifically - considering comment - which the TLC did NOT do as is evidenced by the fact that they produced promotional literature and they purchased new drawing machines and balls at least one month prior to the adoption - at a great expense too.

The "action" ALL legislators could have already taken and/or can still take RIGHT now is to write a letter to the TLC stating opposition to the newly adopted rule on behalf of his constituents (voters). If the TLC receives such a letter from the legislators, then the commissioners will repeal the rule and/or rescind their vote. It's as simple as that and more importantly, it's not too late either.

This is probably going to happen at American Airlines right now. The big boys kept a secret - they kept their employees in the dark - just like the TLC has kept the players in the dark about the rule change - not to mention the fact that the adoption was a "done deal" no matter what the people said and this tidbit has surfaced now. The adoption was illegal because the TLC had no intention of considering comment. Now the big question is - are our legislators going to allow the TLC to get away with this?

How to find out IF your legislator wrote a letter for you -
Now the way you find out IF your legislator wrote such a letter would be by making an "open records request" to obtain copies of ALL letters the TLC received from the legislators regarding the rule - 16TAC 401.305. The legislator would have sent his letter to the TLC so this is why you ask the TLC. This is called "open government" and the "Freedom of Information Act" gives us the right to find out. Your legislator has now had nearly 3 weeks to act for you - and I know you all want to know what he did.

I personally believe you should find out if your legislator listened and/or cared about your input. He represents YOUR interests - that's why you voted for him/her. If you want to find out what the legislators did, just click here (there's another link at the end of today's entry too)

By the way, many of you also complained that you never get responses and/or timely responses from the TLC. In this case, you WILL. You see, your message is going to "open records" and by law, they have to "send documents responsive to your request" within 10 days. If they don't, the AG goes after them IF you file a complaint with the AG.

Rebuttal to the reply's you may have received from your legislators
Many of you have shared the letters you received from your legislators so I have seen the "propaganda" some sent out. Therefore - for the record - I want you to know that the TLC received 6000+ WRITTEN comments of opposition to the rule during the "official" comment period, then after the rule was adopted, the legislators, in JUST the past 2 weeks, have received 3000+ messages from ya'll.

For those of you who received a message from your legislator that said this ... "Thank you for your comments regarding the recent adoption of rule 16TAC 401.305 for the Lotto Texas. I have contacted the Texas Lottery Commission to research your concern. According to the Texas Lottery Commission, two public meetings were held to discuss the rule change. No one attended the first meeting and only two people attended the second meeting. Hearing no objection from the community, the new rule was adopted"

WOW - what nerve this legislator has or maybe I should say, what nerve the TLC has for telling him this! First of all, the reason for TWO meetings was because the 1st meeting was held on the day of the big statewide ice storm and no one could or would travel to Austin. That's WHY they held a second meeting. Second of all, the TLC received 6000 WRITTEN comments of opposition - I personally delivered about 4000 to the TLC on Friday, March 14 at 3 pm. Then I faxed even more! I'm afraid I can't agree that the TLC "heard no objection from the community!")

There are more issues like this but I will address them at a later date. OK?

What I did ...
To be perfectly honest and up front with you - regarding the 3rd feedback form containing the message about the ball and machine purchase prior to the rule being adopted that was sent to the legislators - if you didn't include your physical address, many of those weren't redirected. That's because I learned many of the legislators didn't care unless they KNEW you were one of their voters and without that physical address, they didn't know who to reply to. Also, I received so many that time didn't allow me to send them all so this is how I tried to narrow it down. That particular mailbox has over 10,000 messages in it and I'm just one person. But rest assured, they got plenty. Just ONE of those comments was ONE too many!

Your requests for a full investigation
Many of you have requested investigations into the TLC in its actions regarding adopting the new rule. While our legislators SHOULD be doing this for us - I want you to know that anyone can file a complaint with the District Attorney.

Send complaints to: District Attorney Ronnie Earl, 509 W. 11th, Austin, Texas, 78701. Fax: (512) 854-9695. In this case, there are sufficient grounds for a full investigation. The grounds -

Government code 2001.029. Public Comments states: § 2001.029. Public Comment (c) A state agency shall consider fully all written and oral submissions about a proposed rule.

Since the TLC was printing promotional pieces, buying new machines and balls at least one month PRIOR to the adoption of the new lotto rule and at a considerable expense, how was comment EVER intended to be considered prior to adoption? Again, I tell you - they received 6000+ written comments.

In conclusion - it's press time and I have lots to do ...
I hope you all have a safe and happy Easter and I sincerely hope you all will find out what your legislator did for you. Here is another link so you can find out easily.

April 4, 2003 - Most important news ... our comments are being heard so keep them coming in.

Now, about your legislators and what the players are reporting to me ... When I receive your message (the request to overturn the new rule), I'm simply redirecting it to the legislators who represent your county.

If you gave your street address, they ARE writing you back via US mail. If you just give your email address - some are responding by email but some aren't. The reason - they're not convinced you're one of their voters. (In case you didn't know this, everyone has one state representative and one Senator.)

If you didn't give your address or your email address, some legislators are totally disregarding your messages. You see, for the most part, our legislators only work for those who CAN vote for them. They work hard to ensure your vote come next election time. Welcome to politics.

Players have reported ...
Some players have reported that their legislators told them that they couldn't do anything to reverse this new rule. That's a bunch of baloney. You see, the Texas Lottery ONLY answers to the Texas Legislature which means that if all 181 legislators were to call the Texas Lottery and "suggest" this rule be overturned - it'd be done faster than you could blink your eye. Just like the paragraph that was "re-inserted" into G-Tech's contract last year.

Some players have reported that their legislators have sent what appears to be "pre-written response" (not auto responders) and their messages appear to contain the same language the TLC used to convince you that this plan was good. And some players have reported that their legislators response didn't address their questions nor did the legislator provide his phone number.

These thing are really BAD! All legislators should make certain you know how to call them. If this happens to you , then by reason of deduction - your legislator knows you're mad and he's hoping this will just pass and you'll continue to play and just accept the changes. This is what the TLC has told him you will ultimately do - apparently he likes the changes - he must agree that it's OK to give the consumers a game they can't win so the state can make more money by causing consumers to "splurge," by gambling, more often.

If any of you want to know who your legislator is or his phone number, email me and I'll give it to you - but you have to tell me your address, city, zip and your county. Or you can click here and get it yourself - it's real easy.

Now, on the other hand, some players have reported how pleased they were because they heard from their legislators, their concerns were addressed and they believe he may be helping to overturn the new rule.

Keep in mind - their jobs are to protect the citizens in their districts. Are they protecting you if they allow the TLC to sell this game? This is your decision.

In closing, know this one thing ... States were given a monopoly on lotteries as a way to protect the PEOPLE - states were NOT given the monopoly as a source of revenue for the state. How do you think Texas views our lottery?

Click here to ask your legislator to speak up for you.

April 2, 2003 - Boy, what a week this has been. As many of you know, 2 days ago my site went down and was down for about 24 hours. Then, after getting back up, the email server went down last night and all of you who were trying to submit a comment were getting a "server error" when you hit 'submit.' I'm truly sorry for the inconveniences caused - but - all of this was totally out of my control. My web providers have worked hard to fix all that was messed up. Anyway, as I write this, everything is working again - so please - fill out the forms.

I received a call yesterday informing me that we had our legislators attention and someone was attempting to reverse the new Lotto rule. When I get the details, I'll fill you in but right now that is all I know. I was told to just keep doing what I was doing so ya'll GET ME THOSE COMMENTS and help me spread the word like you did the first time. OK? We have nothing to lose and everything to gain.

On March 31, I began "redirecting" comments directly to the legislators. To you, this means they are receiving your message as if you had sent it directly to them. Many legislators use auto-responders to acknowledge receipt of your email. The beauty of this is that you will receive their phone numbers enabling you to easily call them about this issue if you want. The more complaints they receive, the faster they will act. And since many of you don't know who to blame or who to give credit to about things in your communities - now you will. Just make sure you type in your email address and if you'll provide your address, they will write you back - by US mail.

Stay tuned ...

March 27, 2003 - Today the Commissioners adopted a new rule for Lotto Texas. Come May 2003, players will be selecting 6 numbers from a pool of 88 balls to win the jackpot. I faxed your comments (10 to 15 samples each) to a great many state legislators including the Governor, Lt. Governor and the Speaker of the House.

Since the Commissioners adopted this rule, you now know that our elected officials did not listen to their voters. I will be posting a list of all legislators who received copies of your comments so you will know if yours had the opportunity to voice their opposition for you - as I write this, I do know that one Senator wrote a letter of opposition for us. If you want to recieve emails for FREE regarding a possible plan of action to take for retaliation, complete the form at the top of this page.

More is forthcoming.

March 20, 2003 - Rule change update - The Commissioners will meet next Thursday and they COULD adopt the rule to make winning the Lotto Texas top prize harder to win then. I have turned in a great many comments of opposition but as we saw when they added the 4 balls, the TLC didn't care what players said. Which leads me to what we ALL need to do NOW.

Please make TWO phone calls - call your state rep and your senator and tell them how you feel about the TLC trying to change Lotto Texas to make it harder to win the TOP PRIZE. You MUST ask them to CALL the commissioners BEFORE next Thursday, before March 27th - you can also email them. Here is a link so you can EASILY find out who they are. Our state reps CAN and WILL stop the TLC if they feel their re-election could be in jeopardy over this issue. They WANT to hear from their voters regarding state related issues. You do not have to talk directly to the rep - tell his or her assistant and they will record your call and relay the message to him. If they get enough calls, the rep will ACT immediately.

I PROMISE you, this will work - just make those calls NOW.

March 15, 2003 - Short message just to bring ya'll up to date. First, I apologize for not keeping the scratch ticket pages current this past couple of weeks. I am aware the work has not been done but my priority has been dedicated to printing and organizing your comments regarding the proposed rule. Right now, all I can say is YOU DID GOOD!

Yesterday I had to go to Austin and I turned in over 3000 comments while I was there. Right now, I am still trying to print the comments and I plan to fax them. I would estimate that right now, I have well over 5000 comments of opposition, plus all the petitions and many letters that I received by US mail.

I've received 48 comments from players who say they are FOR the change. It's interesting to note that the "for" commentors won't agree to be interviewed by the media while all of the "opposed" that I contacted did agree to an interview. Also, at least half of the "for" commentors did not give their email addresses while 70% of the opposed furnished email addresses. 5 of the "for" commentors didn't even give a name or city, and 3 or 4 of the "for" commentors obviously erred in checking the comment "FOR" box.

There's also more to the "for's" than what meets the eye but I won't go into that. Not that any of this really matters, it's just interesting.

Next week I will be moving into phase 2 and 3 which is to mail copies of your comments to our state legislators and the major retailers. The retailers CARE what you have to say and will NOT purposely offend their customers by selling a product that the consumers feels is a rip off. For the most part, most retailers take pride in their inventory.

The legislators are "voted" into office. If they know that this many people in their districts feel the way ya'll do, they can pick up the telephone and call the commissioners and speak their mind. This is why I've tried to encourage you to call your state rep and your senator. The commissioners could vote on this rule change during the next commissioners meeting which should be later this month. So, you still have time to make those calls! If you don't know who your legislators are, just click here. They are easy to find AND more importantly, generally LOVE hearing from their voters!

I will keep you posted and I do appreciate all of you.

March 3, 2003 - I finally posted some of your comments for everybody to read and there are some real interesting ones. There is literally no way I can post all but that doesn't mean that I didn't find yours interesting too. I will try to post more after you've had the opportunity to read these.

Also, I've got some special ones that I will post on another page in the next day or so. Thank you for all your comments - and please - help me get more. Send emails and ask everyone to comment. We CANNOT have too many and the more we have, the stronger we stand.

It took me 7 hours yesterday to print comments and I'm still not finished. But that's OK. This is a worthy cause and I will get the job done. Click here to read what players and retailers alike have said about the TLC's plan to make Lotto Texas' jackpot harder to win.

Feb 28, 2003 - Updated - I've placed a short version comment form for your convenience at the top of this page. I can't believe I didn't think to do this myself! Many thanks for the suggestions to to include a "short version."

Another form, that includes VIP issues included in the proposed rule and it gives you the opportunity to say what ever you want, can be found by clicking here.

The Texas Lottery has a new Executive Director as of today. He is Reagan Greer - a real estate broker, district clerk and former justice of the peace. Acting executive director, Gary Grief, has been name Deputy Director.

I do not know if this is good for us or bad for us. Only time will tell and it won't take long! More to come.

Feb 25, 2003 - Our plans for protesting in Austin tomorrow, Feb 26, are cancelled due to unsafe travel conditions. (Lot's of ice everywhere!) I regret this more than you'll ever know but there is nothing I can do about it. I'm also sorry that so many of you lost money due to hotels not giving you refunds and lost vacation days when most of you could have gotten the day off without losing vacation time.

I've tried contacting each one of you individually but I didn't reach some, so ... I'm hoping you will see this message and NOT go to Austin as planned. Even the TLC is closed because of the weather. I understand the TLC is still planning to have a comment hearing in spite of the weather but they are also going to set another date for another hearing.

Many thanks to all of you who worked so hard to pull this off. I think we're all disappointed - especially me. Be careful, be safe and God bless you all for your tremendous efforts.

Feb 20, 2003 - As you already know, the TLC is trying to change lotto Texas again. They want us to support a game that has 88 balls and odds of 47.7 million-to-one.

They are even bold enough to tell us that the purpose for changing the game is so that they can offer us BIG jackpots. Of course, let's not forget that the only way to have BIG jackpots is to INSURE that no one wins the jackpot until they sell 47+ million tickets for one drawing.

Hell yes, there'll be huge jackpots EVENTUALLY.

Folks, this is WRONG and no business entity should be able to do this to the people of this country legally.

You must help me stop the TLC from giving the people of Texas a financial hangover. There are 3 things to do.

Comment first. Then after you "submit" your comment, there is another link below the submit button to click on that gives vital information on who to call, their phone numbers, email addresses and fax numbers. Print it and sit down and make those calls. And after that, then zerox the petition and help me gather signatures from everybody you know. Before returning the signed petitions to me, fax a copy to your state rep and your senator.

I find it really distasteful that the TLC will not accept phone calls ... nor will they accept emails ... nor do they have a highly visible notice about the proposed rule on their web site ... nor do the have a comment form posted so players can easily comment ... nor do they mention the rule change in their Winning publication that's found in the stores.

Bottom line is, they don't want comment because they know only an idiot would be in favor of the game they plan to give us.

You know why? Because the LAW does not say that they have to do these things. The law says they have to post rule changes in the Texas Register only. Sad huh? I'd be willing to bet anyone that the utility companies, insurance companies, banks and privately held public companies wished this was all they had to do to increase their revenues!

So, please comment. Click here to comment - our first step.

Feb 7, 2003 - Regarding commenting about the proposed rule to change Lotto Texas - The TLC, in a recorded message intended for the media only - and to my knowledge has not been reported by any news organization yet - said, "If you've got an opinion about the proposed change, call the Lottery at 1-800-37-LOTTO."

The TLC reports that so far, approx 40% of the callers have been in favor of this change. They are not taking names, addresses, phone numbers - they are just reporting how many are "for" and how many are "opposed."

This is not posted on their web site. I suggest you go on and call the TLC but we will still have to do written comments. More coming on the written comments.

So, go ahead - Call 1-800-375-6886 and tell 'em if you are "for" or "against" the changes. It's FREE! (When you call, don't pick any of the recorded options - just wait and customer service will eventually answer. Hours: Mon - Fri 8 AM to 5 PM)