LOTTERY PURCHASE LIMITS ORDERED

                         Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: TUESDAY, February 25, 1992                   TAG: 9202250072
SECTION: VIRGINIA                    PAGE: B1   EDITION: STATE 
SOURCE: BONNIE V. WINSTON STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: RICHMOND                                LENGTH: Medium
LOTTERY PURCHASE LIMITS ORDERED
The state Lottery Board agreed Monday that mass ticket purchases should be limited and directed the lottery department staff to come up with a proposal to do the job in time for a meeting next Monday.
"Our one concern is that the lottery belong to the people of Virginia, and that they play it and enjoy it," said board member Joseph Stettinius of Richmond.
"It is premature to say that we are concerned" about people losing confidence in the lottery, "but we are very sensitive to the issue," he said.
Board members, who seemed acutely aware of public perceptions after multimillion-dollar block purchases for the Feb. 15 Lotto drawing, were told repeatedly during a public comment period Monday that sales to everyday Virginians will drop if the lottery is controlled by millionaires.
Lottery spokeswoman Paula Otto said sales have not slowed since the record $27 million jackpot of Feb. 15. That pot remained unclaimed Monday; the winning ticket was purchased at a Farm Fresh store in Chesapeake.
Lottery Director Kenneth Thorson assured board members that the chances of winning are the same for small players as for the mass purchasers.
The board on Monday enacted emergency regulations requiring lottery retailers to give "prompt service" to customers present and waiting to buy, even if it means interrupting the processing of orders for someone not present.
While Thorson presented several alternatives to the board on Monday, all would provide impediments to mass buys rather than stopping them outright.
Proposals included limiting to $250,000 the amount that could be purchased through a single chain of stores, and changing the current Lotto game to include numbers from 1 to 48 or 49 instead of the current 1 thorough 44.
Thorson said Gov. Douglas Wilder has agreed to introduce any emergency legislation.

by Bhavesh Jinadra by CNB