Manfred Sternberg
& Associates, P.C.
Attorneys at Law
4550 Post Oak Place, Suite 119
Houston, Texas 77027
Ph: 713-622-4300
Fax: 713-622-9899
Twitter: @sternberglaw
Email: manfred@msternberg.com

Richard L. LaGarde
LaGarde Law Firm, P.C.
Houston Office:
3000 Weslayan Ste. 380
Houston, TX 77027
(713) 993-0660 Phone
(713) 993-9007 Fax
Twitter: @lagardelaw
Complete form on their website

Mark Lanier (Steele Appeal)
6810 FM 1960 West
Houston, Texas 77069
(713) 659-5200

Peter Kelley (Nettles Appeal)
1005 Heights Blvd.
Houston, Texas 77008
(713) 529-0048

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Editorial & Opinions by Dawn Nettles

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12/07/15 - It's been a while since I updated this page for ya'll - sorry. As you've read on the Lawyers Blog, there's been a number of things going on with the Fun 5's lawsuit. I've been busy to say the least. Anyway, when we went to court last Friday, Dec 4th, I learned something on a personal level that I really wanted to share with all of you.

Richard LaGarde is the lawyer in charge - so to speak. His wife, Mary Pat, is also a lawyer and is only one of several other lawyers working on the Fun 5's cases. When we were in court last week, Mary Pat and I got to talking - small talk. I learned that she was into art - she loves to paint and draw. Now everybody has hobbies and that's what I thought at first. That is, until she pulled out her phone and started showing me her work.

WOW. Her paintings are unbelievable. All I could think about as I looked at her work was that I wanted you to all see the human side of those that are fighting for your rights. For the record, I did ask her why she bothered to be lawyer when she has such talent as an artist - she said she just loves to paint. Gawd, she could make tons of money selling her paintings! Also, I want you to know that some of her painting were done when she was in elementary school. WOW!

Go look at Mary's work - you'll be impressed to know that she is one of the many lawyers fighting for you. Click here.

And just so that you know - our lawsuit is in EXCELLENT hands - in my humble opinion. I hope it's OK to say this too, but G-Tech is blaming the Texas Lottery for deceiving us. They have literally thrown the TLC under the bus. It is inconceivable to me that any court would agree that G-Tech is not responsible in any way, shape or form - and - we'll know soon enough what the court believes.

More later ...

9/27/15 - Just a very short note to let you know that I will be posting a complete story on the latest news that Texas Lottery audited Financial figures were changed - within the last couple of years. They changed audited figures dating back to 1992. This is a very serious matter as "audited" figures should not be changed. The attorneys have posted documents supporting the changed figures. I will be posting additional documents and I will go in depth with the details of the changed figures.

I'm not an attorney or an enforcement person, but I believe there is a law against altering government documents. It will be very interesting to see if this is swept under the carpet like issues uncovered in the missing money story, ie ... not balancing a checking account for 5 years, losing money to fraudulent transactions, keeping prize money that should have been sent to the Comptroller as unclaimed prize money, not being able to determine how much money they should have in their account, lying by omission on a government application and finally, for cheating/short changing Lotto Texas winners.

I should be able to have my story up later this week. In the meantime, read the attorneys story.

7/6/15 - As most of you know, last week the attorneys sent everyone an update on what's going on. I know ya'll received that message. I have nothing new to report on the Fun 5's issue at this time but I did want to post a notice here that I have addressed several topics of interest on my Daily Page. Since one of the issues involves Consumer Protection for lottery players, where I've shown my communications on this page, I felt I should let you know that I've done a follow up on another page. Click here to read the July 6, 2015 posting on the Daily Page.

I also tried to explain the Ken Paxton issue so ya'll would understand what it's all about. He IS the attorney representing the Texas Lottery so everyone should have an interest in the man behind the Texas Lottery. There's been a number of news articles about Paxton statewide lately - one of the best ones was a blog in TX Monthly. Here's a link should you want to read it too.

6/13/15 - You have been asking if I was going to respond to Executive Director Grief's letter. As you know, Governor Abbott's office referred my letter to Mr. Grief expecting him to respond for the Governor. Well, YES, I am responding to Mr. Grief and here it is (pdf).

It is a rather long letter - 4 pages. I felt Mr. Grief was telling the Governor that the Texas Lottery responds to my requests for information so rather than just say, sorry but I don't agree with his assertion on this issue, I felt I needed to be specific so I gave 6 examples. I did respond directly to Mr. Grief's 3 main points brought out in his letter. Ya'll should all find my letter of interest. Just in case you needed refreshers relating to the earlier communications ... here's links so you can read the letters.

My initial letter to the Governor, click here
The Governor's response to me, click here
Mr. Grief responds as requested by the governor, click here
My response to Mr. Grief with copies to various folks, click here

In my letter to Mr. Grief, you will see an issue with Kelly Cripe refusing to send me meeting notices and you will see an issue with Powerball winners being shortchanged. While Mr. Grief and all those who are familiar with the rules and policies and just the inner workings of the lottery will fully understand what I am talking about and the ramifications, many of you may not understand the full impact. Therefore, I will post the communications involved on these specific issues so you can understand the full impact. You should be able to sense the obvious frustrations one feels when dealing with the Texas Lottery in requesting public and media information.

Since everyone likes reading comments, I think many of you will really enjoy reading the series of Ms. Cripe's short messages to me. The Powerball issue I will explain fully when I post the information about the proposed rule change. When you see a chart of prize payments vs jackpot amounts, you will most likely get mad.

The attorneys new posting (6/11/15) ...
Now some of you have been asking what the attorneys are saying about their 9000 pages of documents. These documents are a small part of discovery that both G-Tech and the TLC had not provided to our lawyers. As you will gather from my letter to Mr. Grief, it seems to me that the TLC always waits until they are forced down to comply. Anyway, non receipt of these documents was what the canceled hearing was to resolve - the Motion to Compel - which in layman terms means they are saying, "Hey Judge, they won't comply like they are suppose to. We're still waiting on our documents." Just in case you don't know how things work in courts , if a Judge tells you to do something, you'd BETTER do it!!!<grin>

So, as I understand the situation, the attorneys for both sides came to terms on releasing these documents therefore they told the Judge things were OK for now. (My language - not theirs!!). And it appears they just received the first of many documents to come.

The attorneys did update their blog page two days ago and this is what they are telling you.

For a juicy and interesting read today, read my letter to Mr. Grief. I would love to hear your comments. I will post them on my new comment page. Click here to read my letter.

5-29-15 - The attorneys posted an update today. Great news in that TLC employees have been scheduled for depositions in July. If you want to see what they were served with, go to the attorneys blog page - they have the documents posted there.

I think the attorneys are still waiting on documents responsive to discovery though I'm not sure. The lawsuit is moving forward ... slowly but surely.

More later.

5-26-15 - The hearing for May 27th was canceled today due to the flooding. The attorneys posted the following remarks this morning which says it all for now ....

"The hearings on GTECH’s Motion to Quash and Plaintiffs’ Motion to Compel, previously scheduled for Wednesday, May 27th, have been canceled due to flooding in both Houston and Austin. Attorneys for the lottery players are working with GTECH’s attorneys to try to reach an agreement on their discovery dispute to avoid the need for a hearing in the near future."

I pray they can reach an agreement - it's past time for them to release documents responsive to the discovery. We'll know soon!

On another note, I received a letter from the Governor, a pdf, in response to my May 21st letter. It is obvious from their response that they either did not read my letter or are ignoring the point of my letter which was - WHO can players call to settle a dispute with the Texas Lottery? As you can read, they responded that they were contacting the TLC ... can you believe it????

(By the way, here is my letter,pdf that the Governor responded to.)

I called and spoke to the Constituent Communication Division who seemed to not understand what this was all about. As I was trying to explain the problem to her, her responses were ... 1) call the Texas Lottery - I responded that it was the TLC that I had a problem with and I needed a third party to settle a dispute because we couldn't come to terms; 2) to hire an attorney - I responded that I can't because the TLC is immune from lawsuits; 3) then she suggested that I go to the AG for help to which I responded that the AG is the TLC's lawyer and they refused to help too. The poor girl (who was very nice) was at a loss for words and never fully understood what I was trying to get an answer to. But she was adamant that the Governor himself could not answer my question either! <grin> Our conversation ended that I would leave a message with a senior director who might have a better understanding of the situation and what I was wanting an answer to.

As I was writing this posting, I decided to call back because I failed to get her name. Instead I got someone else who offered to help me - Anthony. Anthony was extremely nice too but he figured out real fast that he could not talk to me because I was writing a story about my response from the Governors office. So now I'm waiting to speak to the Press Office.

So far, the Governor's office is the only response I've received.

More later - right now I've go to write and file another complaint as the Texas Lottery is refusing to send me Commission Meeting notices/agenda's. I've received the agenda's since the early 2000's but Ms. Cripe has -in essence - cut me off again. And it appears that Mr. Grief and Commissioner Krause is allowing her to do it as they've recieved copies of the communications.

05/25/15 - This past week has been extremely busy for me because I got mad again. Imagine that! <grin>

I keep thinking about a Texas "business" - my definition of a business is "someone or an entity selling goods [lottery products] in an attempt to make a profit" - not having to abide by state laws in conducting business with consumers. Knowing the legislative session is nearing an end, I decided to make one more attempt to BEG our elected officials to give us (lottery players) someone to call when we feel we've been wronged by the Texas Lottery.

It is beyond me that ANY Texas business is immune by law from unscrupulous business tactics. I firmly believe the Texas Lottery Commission will continue to screw players as there are no consequences to pay - they have Sovereign Immunity.

I do hope you all understand that in reality, it is the STATE who is screwing us. The TLC is just the "branch" who was given a free-hand to screw people - for a profit - for the STATE.

This past week, I faxed letters to EVERY elected state official on behalf of myself and all lottery players statewide. My letter(s) went to 150 State Representatives, 31 Senators pdf, Governor Abbott,pdf and Lt. Governor Dan Patrick,pdf. The letter sent to the state reps and state senators were the same but the letters to the Governor and Lt. Governor were edited versions. (Click each one to read)

95% were faxed while some had to be emailed due to the official not having a working fax machine. A couple of letters were submitted via the officials website with one elected official's staff - Representative Naishtat (Travis County), demanding that I use their website only to communicate with them.

I hope you will all read the three (3) letters I sent then contact your State Representative and State Senator to ask the same question I asked ... WHO can players contact if they feel that they've been wronged by the TLC? Who has the authority to step in and help? This is a legitimate question and there should be an answer other than to call the Texas Lottery Commission. Hell, they are the ones we have a beef with - we should have an outside entity to contatct for help.

Here is a link to find your State Rep and your State Senator - call them.

Let me quickly address a couple of other things. Many of you have commented about G-Tech (IGT) and TLC filing motions to not disclose documents. Folks, I've been fighting this battle for many years and it appears nothing has changed. They go to extremes to not release documents - to me - I construe this as meaning they have something to hide! And my educated guess is that they do .... <grin>

As for G-Tech's motion, well, I can say that the Texas Lottery has asked G-Tech to submit written documentation to the AG to keep from giving me documents that I had requested through Open Records. These folks work hand in hand and suck up to each other whenever the need arises. All we can do is hope that a THIRD party (the Judge) sees through them and refuses to let them get away with it like the AG does.

Finally, let me quickly address your comments about "no press." The press has covered the Fun 5's story but not recently. This is because they are extremely busy covering the legislative session. Also, with the exception of a few things ... i.e. the 3rd Party issue, the growth to 1000+ plaintiffs and $508 million; the TX Supreme Court ruling ... there just really isn't anything new to report on the Fun 5's case at this time.

But I can assure you, this story will make headlines in the near future.

As will the Monopoly players story --- these people won but three weeks later the TLC reneged on paying them the prizes they actually won. I will see to it that the press understands what "really" happened but as I write this, reporters have no idea that the Texas Lottery did this. I honestly believe this will make headlines too.

The hearings are Wednesday, the 27th. I should have something to report on the 28th. Have faith that our Judge will see through the Texas Lottery and G-Tech (IGT).

More later.

5/15/15 - WOW - what a response I've had from my readers on yesterdays posting. Thank you for the very kind words and taking your time to call and write.

I heard that HB 108 died last night in the House. What a relief! I did send a message to a great many legislators yesterday opposing this bill - maybe that helped in killing it - I have no way of knowing for sure - but I'm relieved all the same.

Now if we can just get our elected officials to quit discriminating against lottery players and give us consumer protection - I explained this in detail yesterday so if you haven't read my 5/14/15 posting, please do. Then PLEASE help me by contacting your elected officials. OK?

5/14/15 - It's been a while since I updated my Fun 5's page - actually, I've let the attorney's do the talking. Though I have tried to reply to all commenters when they didn't understand what was going on. I know I promised an update two weeks ago - sorry - guess I need to say it's better late than never!

The latest Fun 5's update ...
is that G-Tech and the Texas Lottery have both filed motions with the court to keep from disclosing information that may be vital to our case. There is a hearing tentatively set for Wednesday, May 27, 2 pm. The TLC is notorious for claiming "confidentiality" and "security" when I think it's a bunch of baloney. But this is what they are going to tell the court.

Did you know that I recently asked the TLC how MUSL and the lotteries compute the amount a Powerball jackpot winner was entitled to receive but they have failed to reply with a direct answer to the question. In fact, they filed for an AG opinion. There should be nothing confidential or secure about computing the amount a winner has won. Of course, I know what they really do - in a nutshell - they underestimate jackpots when the jackpots are high and have no set policy on what they will really pay a winner. They increase the jackpot amount but not in the manner that it should be increased. I will be posting a story very soon about this and it WILL be complete with all the details so every one will be able to understand what they are doing. Then you can decide if you think there is integrity and honesty with what they do and how they do it.

I didn't mean to get off track - it's just that I'm watching a $3 billion state agency who gets its money from consumers try to claim "confidential" and "security" again when in all likelihood there's nothing confidential about these things. So I used the Powerball question as the most recent example.

The judge will rule on this motion - we can only hope he makes them disclose pertinent information. We must have FAITH in our judicial system - we've already lost faith in our elected officials, G-Tech and the Texas Lottery. That leaves our courts to hold them accountable.

Click here to read the motions filed with the court to "quash." The attorneys have the motion posted for you to read if you want the glory details.

Everybody MUST try/attempt to cash in your "winning tickets" ...
I need to address the attorneys instructions for everyone to take their tickets to cash them in and to obtain the terminal receipts showing "Not A Winner." Many of you have inquired about having tickets that would pay a prize and your concerns for getting your tickets back. You do need to go on and cash in your tickets.

What you do is take your ticket to a retailer BUT before you hand him your ticket(s) - tell him that you need to collect your winnings BUT you must have your ticket(s) back and you NEED the receipts showing what it paid. Simply explain to him that you are involved in the Fun 5's lawsuit. IF he says he will not or can not return your ticket, then go somewhere else. Most clerks will return the ticket when the player explains it in advance.

You must cash in your tickets ASAP and send copies of your receipts to the lawyers. Fun 5's validations expires soon and you must be able to prove that you tried to collect your winnings. It's very important. If you are one of the procrastinators, do it NOW and quit stalling. OK???

Let me share some of the questions & comments I've received ... but I can't cover all of them ...
A most popular question has been about G-Tech naming the Texas Lottery as a potential "Responsible 3rd Party" in the lawsuit and about the disclosures.

"3rd party" - I thought Richard did an excellent job in explaining what "3rd Party" meant but the questions keep coming in. He does speak in legal language which can be intimidating at times so I do understand why you are asking me.

What "responsible 3rd party" means in simple language ---- IF a jury's verdict sided with us (the players - we're called the plaintiffs), then - IF and only IF - G-Tech's attorneys convince that same jury that the Texas Lottery was ALSO to blame, then the jury would be asked to assign a percentage of liability for both G-Tech and the Texas Lottery. If the jury finds G-Tech 50% to blame and the Texas Lottery 50% to blame G-Tech would escape liability for 50% of the amount awarded by the jury. If the jury finds G-Tech 10% to blame and the Texas Lottery 90% to blame, G-Tech would escape liability for 90%.

IF G-Tech were to officially name the TX Lottery as a responsible 3rd party, they'd be placing part of the blame on one of their biggest clients. Throwing the Lottery Commission under the bus could cost G-Tech the TX lottery contract UNLESS it's a plot to reduce G-Tech’s costs (liability) and has been approved by the Texas Lottery. Hmmm .... what a thought or imagination I have! Good - huh! <grin>

As we all know, the Texas Lottery claims it cannot be sued - our elected officials have told us that our lottery is PURE and can do no wrong.

Seems like everyone has legal rights EXCEPT lottery players EVERYWHERE - clearly discrimination ...
It is quite obvious to me that our elected officials have clearly discriminated against ALL lottery players - Texas consumers - because our officials refuse to allow lottery players to settle lottery disputes using our justice system. This is defined as "sovereign immunity" - our elected officials GAVE the Texas Lottery - in reality, a business - the right to take advantage of everybody by giving them "sovereign immunity." To me, my elected officials are messing with my Constitutional rights as I interpret "sovereign immunity" as telling the lottery, "take the People's money and do anything you want because we have removed their consumer rights."

It also looks like our elected officials are going to give the Texas Lottery a freehand at stealing jackpots - if House Bill 108 is passed by the Senate, then winners can collect their winnings anonymously. Conceivably, the TLC could say there was a winner when there really wasn't a winner and the state could keep the money. I agree that winners need educating and protection - but what everyone fails to recognize is that the winner exposes himself the day he wins because he's generally telling everybody he knows that he won. So he's going to have the same problems whether he collected his prize anonymously or not. Most players collect under a Trust name - I wonder if the motive behind HB 108 is to make more money for the state like they've done on the Fun 5's game? I noticed that the witnesses in favor of the bill are two TX Lottery employees! Hmmm ...

The Legislature should have written a bill detailing what the Texas Lottery should do to protect the players. The interesting part about HB 108 is that one of the authors of this bill was quoted in the newspaper as explaining that one of his constituents was concerned for her safety if she won the lottery because she lives on the border. She feared her children would be kidnapped. I wonder where his concern was is in the state honoring the written word on scratch tickets they sell to consumers or when the TLC reneged on awarding prizes already won and publicly announced?

The Texas Attorney General discriminates too - they are suppose to provide consumer protection for all citizens in Texas but lottery players are excluded. A $3 billion dollar industry selling directly to consumers who have NO way to fight for their rights and beliefs. Seems like it would be best for the TX Lottery to find new legal representation as the AG is suppose to represent the People of Texas. But it appears to me that if a dollar is for the state, then the AG says, hooray ...

Two huge injustices committed by the Texas Lottery in 4 short months with NO consequences thus far ...
Besides the Fun 5's fiasco, in early December, the Texas Lottery conducted a 2nd Chance drawing offering a 4 or 5 day trip to Vegas with a chance to win a $1 million by being on a TV game show - they drew 18 names then sent out a press release stating "18 people were headed to Vegas." In late December - the Texas Lottery QUIETLY contacted these winners and told them, we're not sending you to Vegas - you can either accept $10K and sign this agreement or get nothing at all. The Texas Lottery violated the rights of those winners with that ultimatum. I hope you all understand that for the opportunity to even enter this 2nd chance drawing, players spent $5 per ticket under the pretense that for $5 - there would be 3 WAYS to win $1 million. To me, this is unbelievable that any business could get away with this and the Texas Lottery is clearly a business. They hide behind "state agency" but they are a gambling business.

Then Grief [the Executive Director] put the cherry on the cake ...
After pulling this stunt and getting away with it, in January, Mr. Grief told the Commissioners how much money he saved the state during the Commission meeting and how he successfully got everyone to sign a release. Hmmm ... bragging. Guess Grief forgot how much he actually cost the state with the Monopoly game - years of travel expenses, hotels, wasted time designing and concocting a horrible game for players not to mention the bad press where a price tag cannot be set YET. I think Grief's wishful thinking and greed took over his failed logic.

The Lottery and our elected officials thinks the "state" can promote such things then not honor their word. It appears they think this is the definition of "integrity" - the word they use to describe themselves and the lottery. I just wonder how they sleep at night.

I am MAD. And it's obvious with this posting. So - let's take action - would you help me?
I sure would like to see all of you take action on the issue of no consumer protection for lottery players. It's simple and easy - here's what I wish you would ALL do - Go find your state representative and your state senator again - I'll give you a link (a few lines down) - all you have to do is type in your address to find out who he/she is.

Once you have the information of who your STATE elected officials are on your computer screen ... click on your State Representative so you can go to his web page. From their webpage, you can send him/her an email.

I'd suggest you send him/her a nice note telling him that .... "I feel lottery players should have a right to settle a dispute using the courts in our great state if we can't settle a dispute with the TX Lottery. To deprive me of my consumer rights from a $3 billion industry is an injustice and refusing to offer consumer protection to lottery players is discriminatory, appalling and detestable - players should have a recourse they can pursue in the event they feel they need it. I am respectfully requesting that you please file a bill to give consumer protection to lottery players." You can do a copy & paste then edit it to fit your language. You do need to give your name and address to your elected officials.

To find your state senator and your state representative, just click here, then type in your address.

After you send your state rep an email, then send one to your State Senator. Then send the same message to the Governor.

I would also like to encourage you to tell them NOT to pass HB 108 too. Maybe we can still prevent them from giving the TLC the perfect opportunity to keep jackpots for themselves by not passing this bill.

Next month the session will end. Giving lottery players consumer protection would have to be considered an emergency to get it in this session. They CAN do this if they want. I hope all of you will remember what action your state reps and Senators took, how they treated you and IF they even responded. Then come next election time VOTE - speaking with your votes seems to improve their hearing.

G-Tech has a new name [the "merger"]...
On April 8, 2015, G-Tech became IGT.

On April 9, 2015 during the Texas Lottery Commission meeting, Mike Chambrello - CEO, IGT (Formerly G-Tech) told the Commissioners, "And personally, as someone who -- who started with the very, very early days of GTECH in 1980 or '81, I have a special affinity for the culture that was developed, for the passion for this business, and for the ability to increase our customer satisfaction through you-all. So we look forward to driving ourselves to greater heights." Yeah - right - then honor the face value of our Fun 5's tickets.

About some of those folks who are commenting online ....
Some people have the audacity to say that players are greedy and ignorant - they seem to disagree with our interpretation of what's printed on the tickets. Ya'll tell those "insiders" (almost used another word - <grin>) that the same ticket was played in other states and players with the special symbols were paid 5x the prize amount. Same language that Texas had on their Fun 5's tickets except other states used the word "get" while Texas used the word "reveal." If the players tickets had the special symbol in the same game, it paid 5 times the amount. Period. (In TX, the symbol was a "money bag" but in the other states, the symbol was a "5")

That's it for now. I'm out of time!

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3/5/15 - The first hearing has been set for the $450 million lawsuit against G-Tech - April 14, 2015 - 2 pm - Travis County (Austin). The lawyers have posted all the details and commented - click here. (This link takes you directly to the BLOG page)

Also, they [the attorneys] have a pretty neat website - ya'll can post comments there and ask questions to which they're answering. This means you can quit hollering at me to add that feature to my site. <grin> I look forward to seeing your comments!

3/1/15 - Last week Manfred Sternberg sent out an update for all the Plaintiffs in the Mass Action lawsuit. Often times, I take calls where the caller asks ... "what's the latest" ... you all need to understand that I should NOT answer this question and I don't. This is why I respond with - "didn't you get the notice from the attorneys?"

It would be better if you said to me, "I received a notice from so & so but I don't understand what was meant by such and such." Then I'd talk more freely to you. I take calls everyday that I question - so maybe this tidbit will help and you won't think I'm rude.

Having said this, you do need to make sure the attorneys have your correct email addresses - if you've changed addresses - be sure to notify them so they can contact you.

Also, let me take this opportunity to tell ya'll that when they tell you they need you to do something - do it and respond quickly. This advise is in the best interest of all players. What they requested last week - well, I had mine to them by Thursday in spite of the ice. I hope you can all say that. Please don't drag your feet. OK?

I heard a "rumor" this past week that I want to comment on. I heard some of you were planning a protest against G-Tech and the Texas Lottery. I hope you have spoken to the attorneys before moving forward - and IF you really do co-ordinate a protest - I hope you will include a call for Consumer Protection for all lottery players and take your protest to the Capitol.

In case you don't understand what this means - you see, if you have surgery and the doctors cuts off the wrong limb, you can sue him. If you buy a new car and it's a real bummer, you can sue the dealership. If a car dealership lies in his advertising to get you to his place of business, you can sue him. If you have a dispute that you can't resolve, you have the freedom to have a court settle your dispute once and for all.

But lottery players have no recourse - lotteries are given what's called "Sovereign Immunity" by our elected officials. This means that what the Texas Lottery did to the 2nd Chance Monopoly winners - well, those players have no recourse. The TX Lottery can get away with it.

Oh - you don't know what they did??? Well, let me tell you. They told Monopoly players they had 3 ways to win a million dollars when they bought that expensive $5 ticket - one of those ways was to enter a Second Chance Drawing which if selected, won the player a 5 day trip to Las Vegas for TWO - all expenses paid - where the player would be in the audience of a TV show where if selected, he could win a million dollars. (Two NON TEXAS players did exactly that)

Anyway, Texas had two draws - the first one was in December where they drew 18 names (winners). The TLC then issued a press release with a headline that said ...

Then the Texas Lottery QUIETLY contacted these 18 players in late December and told them they weren't going to honor this prize. They were given an alternative - the player could either accept $10,000 or get nothing at all. Needless to say, the players thought they had no recourse so they felt they were forced to accept this prize in exchange. Mr. Grief - through Ray Page - made them sign a release and the players signed them. But many had hesitations and knew this was wrong ... but thought to themselves - "What can I do?"

They got screwed and so did the 12 players selected in Jan 2015. I'm afraid $10,000 is a long ways from a "chance of winning a million dollars." The TLC has forgotten they are selling products to gamblers who want that "chance." This is why we ALL buy lottery products. We're all hoping to win the BIG one and a chance is all we want. This is why we buy lottery tickets from them - for a SLIM chance.

Couple this recent incident with the continued sales - 7 weeks - of the Fun 5's tickets - where they refused to honor and pay the face value of the prize shown, Tell me, why does ONE business in this state (sounds discriminatory - huh)- have a right to do consumers this way when those in the private sector can't get away with it?

FYI - There have been disputed claims that should have been paid ... they've knowingly continued to sell deceptive scratch tickets in the past ... they've cheated Lotto Texas winners ... they've failed to adhere to laws in reporting suspected fraud ... YET not one person can sue the Texas Lottery because they are protected by Sovereign Immunity. We have no one to settle our disputes like other "consumers."

I think ANY business - and the Texas Lottery is a business - should be held accountable to consumer laws. Shoot - even the 22 other state lotteries that the Texas Lottery hurt by pulling out of Monopoly prematurely probably can't sue the Texas Lottery. I think the TLC could murder someone and not be held accountable.

They bully lottery players and give them unfair games of chance - if only the vast majority of you really understood what I'm talking about. By playing their games, they are maliciously robbing unsuspecting consumers of their future earnings. Make no mistake about it - this is what is happening.

What I just described is wrong and this is what we should PROTEST. Why on earth would our elected officials allow a state agency to do these things to their constituents - the very people they are elected to protect? The Texas Lottery promises integrity but they don't deliver it - they renig and get away with it.

So - IF - there really is a Protest planned - call me and let's discuss adding this to the mission.

There is ONE guaranteed way that I know of to get changes but I don't know IF we could pull it off. And that would be IF everyone in the state would QUIT buying lottery products. If there's NO consumer protection for lottery players, then players won't buy lottery products. I wish there was a way to halt lottery sales for a week or even a day or two to send this message but I don't know how we could stop 8000 players from buying.

I'm not into Social Media - do any of you think we could pull this off???? If so, let me know ...

I would love to add the Texas Lottery as a a co-conspirator to the lawsuit - even though I know that G-Tech really owns, designed and produced the Fun 5's tickets then sold them - a deceptive product - to the Texas Lottery Commission. G-Tech could have advised the Texas Lottery to halt sales immediately but they were hoping they could convince the Texas Lottery to simply bully the players so they could get away with selling this ticket. Shoot, they don't want to lose money.

Back to the lawsuit news ... ya'll do need to be patient and understand that lawsuits take time and this issue will not be settled anytime soon. You see, lawyers for both sides are having this constructive dialogue between themselves that'll go on for a while. If I were a fly on the wall, I'd probably hear our lawyers say, "Hey dude, you know full well these tickets are winning tickets as defined by law, so what are you gonna do about it?" Then the other side says, "Our people are only human, we simply left a word out of the instructions - we're allowed to have a mistake from time to time. What the hell do you want us to do - give you millions for one little, bitty error? Our lawyers say, "I want to see this document" then the other side says, "No you can't have that" then they have to ask the Judge. This is an imaginative conversation in what I think is their efforts to resolve this matter!! <grin>

Bottom line - it takes time. Put your tickets in a safe place. Don't count on getting any money any time soon and just wait patiently. We will have our day in court. I have all the faith in the world that a Jury of our Peers will see a violation of consumer law and an attempt to bully lottery players when they see the many things done to us. And let there be no doubts, G-Tech is Guilty - they are right there advising the Texas Lottery in ALL game plans. Just read the transcripts.

More later.

01/29/15 - As of last week, nearly 1000 lottery players have now been included in the Mass Action lawsuit suit that was filed in December against G-Tech and the claim in nearing the $450 million mark. WOW -

When I heard this last Friday, I thought, "Gee - I heard from 3 players just today who want in so they can't possibly be included in this count." Since last Friday, now I've heard from at least a dozen more players so I can only imagine what the attorney's may have. It just keeps growing.

It never ceases to amaze me on how people procrastinate - me, I want my winnings - so - I took action immediately! You still have time but why are you dragging your feet IF you have a winning ticket?

One thing has come to my attention and I'm just going to address it - IF you are NOT a legal US citizen, you are STILL entitled to collect your winnings - you will only have to pay extra taxes. IF you owe back child support, then this may be a perfect way to pay it. Same for back taxes or student loans. Hey - don't let this stop you. At least discuss it with the lawyers.

One piece of advise for ALL - never lie to your lawyer or your doctor. Tell them the truth at all times. They are there to help you so be completely truthful. Lies in these areas can backfire - never take that risk.

Attorney's New Web Site to Keep You Abreast ...
Richard LaGarde and Manfred Sternberg have created an update/blog site for their clients and lottery players in general. They tell me they will keep everyone apprised by blogging so here's the link. The filed petitions and responses are also included on their page. (I will make a special graphic link to their site and put it on my main pages so you don't have to hunt for it.)

Lawsuits have to run a course and they take time - usually one files a petition to sue somebody else (called the Plaintiff), then the party being sued (called the Defendant) files a petition telling the Court why the Court should disregard everything the Court previously heard. Then they always "pray" the case will be dismissed.

Of course, they speak in a foreign language that only those with law degrees can understand! <grin>

Anyway, once the Judge rules on allowing the case to move forward - if this is what he does - like in Governor Perry's case you just heard about this week - then the Plaintiff and the Defendants start reviewing documents and doing depositions.

Each time the Defendant files with the Court, he will ask that the case be dismissed. It's continual repetition for the lay person to read. Some cases are very interesting to follow from start to finish. So when you see this, just know it's standard operating procedures (SOP).

I don't remember what or how many of Commissioner Krauses documents I actually posted but there was two years of legal activity in his case. Often times, I enjoyed reading the Judges responses. <grin> You will find links to his petitions and the IRS's responses at the bottom of this page, click here. This will give you an idea in what to expect in the Mass Action case.

In closing ....
Now go to the attorney's new blog website to access the documents and to read what Richard LaGarde has to say.

Oh - one more thing - YES - I agree Toni is really super nice and extremely helpful! Thanks for sharing those really nice comments referencing dealing with her. Her head would swell if she saw all the comments I've had about her. <grin> I've had dealings with several other folks too and I can tell you that they are ALL really nice people.

More later. If you want to contact the attorney's who filed the Mass Action lawsuit, below is their contact information.

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Current Fun 5's Update Page, Click here

Fun 5's Update #3 Jan 26, 2016 - Dec 11, 2016 ... Click here
Fun 5's Update #2 Jan 29, 2015 - Dec 7, 2015 ... Shown above
Fun 5's Update #1 Oct 3, 2014 - Dec 9, 2014 ... Click here