THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Monday, February 5, 1996 TAG: 9602010014
SECTION: FRONT PAGE: A6 EDITION: FINAL
TYPE: Letter
LENGTH: Short : 29 lines
How long are Virginians going to permit the state to run fictitious lotteries? A lottery is a prize, for a price, by chance. Chances of winning $1 million are slim and none. Lotteries are pie in the sky.
Twice weekly the state runs an alleged lottery for a million dollars, but when no one has the correct numbers, instead of drawing more numbers until someone wins, the state keeps the money. It collects interest on the million and rolls the money over until the next drawing. Then, when the miracle happens, the winner is doled out the winnings over a 20-year period with the state and federal government standing by to share in the spoils.
The state never pays out a dime of the principal it collects and only a portion of the interest from its investments. Meanwhile the lottery commission becomes a politician's fiefdom whose only winners are sycophants and hangers on.
DAVID S. SILVERMAN
Virginia Beach, Jan. 15, 1996 by CNB