Part 1

I goofed so I apologized ...
Then I had to disagree with
what the TLC "tried" to portray ...

I'm going to let my letter do most of the talking
because I feel it is self explanatory. But for a
quick summary .... I sent a complaint to the AG
accusing the Texas Lottery of failing to provide
documents responsive to an Open Records request.

As it turned out, they had, in fact, sent documents.
I was wrong so I apologized as quickly as I could.
Eventually I will be showing those documents when
I complete the story of Eddie Tipton. If you will recall,
Mr. Tipton was found guilty of rigging a drawing.
At this time, Mr. Tipton's case is on appeal.

So let's get started .... Here's my apology
letter. Links to all attachments referenced in
my letter are also included with their own links.

My Sincere Apology Letter to Texas Lottery.pdf

------------

Exhibits A
Exhibits B
Exhibits C - Emails
Exhibits C - Interview Questions
Exhibits C - TLC & AG Letters
Exhibits D
Exhibits E
Exhibits F
Exhibit G

Should you want to see the letter I received from the
Texas Lottery telling me that I goofed, well, here it is.
This is where you can see where they said ... “and
believe each of your requests are handled
appropriately” & “I feel confident the agency
complies with the Open Records Act.” (page 2)
Whoa ... as you just read, did I ever disagree!

TLC Letter Advising Me That I Goofed

After you review everything of interest to you in the apology
letter, now read Part 2. Interestingly, Part 2 is an update
to "Do I want to pursue a cost estimate to obtain sales
figures" that you read on page 3 of my apology letter.

Part 2

I mailed and faxed this complaint letter
(link below) yesterday (11/07/16) to the AG.
As I just explained, it's an update to a request I
made in an attempt to obtain daily sales for the
Lone Star Line Up promotion. Interestingly, the
TLC estimated a cost of $456 for me to obtain
sales information. Unbelievable! Read my letter
then you'll understand completely ...

Open Records Complaint To AG - RE: Promo Sales

Exhibits - 3 pages - Invoice and Emails

My Lone Star Excel Spreadsheet - One page
(Notice the decline in promotional sales from
Sept 26 to Nov 5th. Obviously promo not effective)

Can you believe the Texas Lottery is denying
having sales information - how could this be?

Also, I'd like to call your attention to one thing
I did not address. In the invoice the TLC sent
(page 3 of the Exhibits), in paragraph #6 the
TLC says, "We estimate that the information
will be made available to you within four weeks
of receipt of your payment."

WOW ... 4 MORE Weeks .. 16 hours for programming
at $28.50 per hour and no telling how many pages
they'll have to print with an unknown postage amount
just to provide me with daily sales for a promotion.

I, on the other hand, created a spreadsheet in 10 minutes.
It computes Lone Star daily sales as I enter Pick3 and Daily 4
free tickets. Also, I can print it on one piece of paper for now.

All I can say is that it will be interesting to
see how the AG proceeds. Time will tell.

In Conclusion

I have several pending requests where to TLC
does not want to release information to me for
various reasons. Of course, it goes without
saying that I already know and/or possess some
of what I've requested. The problem is, it seems
to me that they generally get away with pulling
these stunts. This is evidenced by the things
presented in my apology letter.

The AG IS their attorney and it is the
AG's job to protect their clients, namely the
Texas Lottery. There's really only one way
for change and that is when it makes headlines.
Even then, its not guaranteed that our elected
officials will take action. They may write a
nasty letter but for the most part, that's
generally as far as it goes. Sad but true.

Right now it's election time - meaning
the media won't cover a lottery story. I suspect
there may be new faces in Austin come January.
The reasons are two fold - Fun 5 players are
speaking up with their votes and needless to say,
the Presidential election is causing havoc.

I've written more stories that will be posted
eventually. Next I need to cover the proposed
Powerball rule change. I hope to have that posted
very soon so ya'll can see what they are doing.

If you have comments, please share them with me.