ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times
DATE: Friday, June 14, 1996 TAG: 9606140033
SECTION: EDITORIAL PAGE: A-10 EDITION: METRO
VIRGINIA IS really in the money, isn't it? Or will be soon, anyway, with a new, multistate lottery starting in September.
Yippee.
"The Big Game" is coming, yet another device to part people from their money, a "voluntary tax" touted as pain-free, just another form of innocent entertainment for those who choose to amuse themselves in this wholly legal, supposedly wholesome way.
There is just nothing can beat the high-spirited good fun of that minute (or less) when Mom, Pop and the kids gather round to check their numbers, come up losers, and toss their tickets in the trash. Hooo boy! Teach those children all about the values of easy money and get-rich-quick schemes.
Actually, of course, the "fun" in a lottery comes in the days and hours before the drawing - assuming you don't win. (And that is a safe bet. Chances of winning The Big Game jackpot will be 1 in 53 million.)
Before the numbers are drawn, you can carry around in your pocket or your billfold the possibility of instant wealth, and imagine what you'd do if you had a million bucks; what the heck, make that several million.
Harmless enough, for regular players who can afford to toss a few dollars into the trash every week, the price of ticket on a short flight of fancy.
Unfortunately, those who can least afford to lose any money are likely to be just as susceptible to the bait. And some poor souls may discover a weakness they never knew they had - a compulsion to gamble. Experts estimate that 4 percent to 6 percent of the population are potential compulsive gamblers.
Since adopting what was to be a low-key, modest little lottery, Virginia itself has become addicted to the easy money. Witness the steady pressure to come up with new instruments, like The Big Game, to suck more money from residents. As far as the state is concerned, the more losers among Virginians, the better.
LENGTH: Short : 42 linesby CNB