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Posted Jan. 17, 2001 This fantastic story appeared in the New York Post. On behalf of the many lottery players across the nation, we thank you for helping us spread the word. People have a right to the truth - especially when they are spending their hard earned dollars playing these games. If everyone only knew how long it "really" took for Professor Busald to convince the TLC to tell the truth, they'd cringe - he's fought this battle for years. Just the same as The Lotto Report has been fighting the TLC since July 2000 to get the drawing result faxes back as they were taken away from me unjustly - I feel this was an attempt by the TLC to prevent me from reporting the drawing results to my readers quickly & accurately. Scroll down for the link to this story - it's unbelievable! Now, here is the story that appeared in the New York Post. Odds of Texas Are Upon You Is breaking even winning? Of course not. You don't make money breaking even. You can go broke breaking even. But in a nation that sells gambling to its citizens as a logical and legitimate means to fulfill one's dreams, state-run lotteries factor the odds of breaking even, then publish and promote them within the odds of winning. Soon, however, that will no longer be the case in Texas, thanks to a persistent group of San Antonio College math students and their instructor. They made the point to the Texas Lottery Commission -- and they made it stick -- that if you spend a dollar to "win" a dollar, you haven't won a thing, fool. In promoting its friendly odds of buying winning instant lottery tickets, Texas had factored in the chances of breaking even -- spending a buck to "win" a buck. Of course, in Texas and in all states that run instant lotteries, breaking even constitutes the most frequent kind of "win." In the case of "Jingle Bucks," a $10 per ticket scratch-off lottery game, Texas lists the odds of winning as on in 2.46. "Hmmm, sounds pretty good, son." But 28% of "winning" tickets pay only $10. Furthermore, if you were moved to spend $10 for a ticket, and you "won" your money back, you're likely to buy another ticket with that $10. Heck, the odds of winning are only in 2.46. Except the odds of winning are much higher. Texas' new and presumably accurate odds will soon be published, thanks to unyielding pressure applied by Gerald Busald and his statistics classes. Toni Smith, a spokeswoman for the Texas Lottery - remember, a government agency that trades on the public's trust - told the Dallas Morning News that the changes will be made although she hadn't received any complaints. "I know for a fact that a lot of players feel like they've won if they got their money back rather than not getting any prize," she said. " . . . I think our players are very savvy." Yeah, only a dope wouldn't jump at the chance to spend the day handing a dollar back and forth. Everyone else would pay for the privilege. (We are still awaiting a response from the New York State Lottery Commission as to whether its published odds for purchasing winning instant lottery tickets reflect break-even odds, but we suspect that they do.) - End Story - We Will Be Heard NOW! An important note to add to this. Professor Busald has been asked by the National Council of Legislators From Gaming States (NCLGS) to participate in a panel discussion entitled "Lotteries: Bane or Boon?" to be held in San Antonio on Jan. 27, 2001 in conjunction with the NCLGS Winter Meeting. This is an important stepping stone for players. I'll keep you posted.
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