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High jackpots to lure California lottery players
Californians will soon have a chance to play the multistate lottery. Mega Millions without crossing state lines or trusting distant friends to buy tickets when jackpots reach staggering levels.
The State Lottery Commission on Tuesday unanimously approved joining Mega Millions, a game that could routinely offer jackpots of more than $100 million.
Now played in 11 states, Mega Millions offered a $40 million bonanza Tuesday night. In contrast, California's jackpot is expected to be about $10 million for tonight's drawing.
"We're going to have higher jackpots faster than ever", said an excited Buddy Roogaw, president of the Mega Millions consortium.
California Lottery Director Chon Gutierrez said," He will push to start ticket sales this year, but would not commit to a more specific date". Contractual agreements with other states must still be reached, game details and prizes need to be sorted out, and retailers have to be brought into the network.
"My goal would be to move quickly", he said.
Mega Millions beat out the larger 27-state Powerball game in the sweepstakes for California's vast market, principally because its drawings will not compete head-to-head with the Wednesday- and Saturday-night schedule of California's Super Lotto Plus. Mega Millions is played on Tuesday and Friday night.
California lottery officials estimate the anticipated surge in ticket sales will push the Mega Millions payout beyond $100 million about 17 times a year. In its 20-year history, the California Lottery has awarded just six jackpots of more than $100 million, including the state record of $193 million in 2002.
"What really moves this game is the jackpot. That's what generates the excitement, the energy", said Jim Hasegawa, a marketing specialist for California's lottery.
The Mega Millions record is $363 million. But the odds are equally eye-popping. The chance of winning a recent Mega Millions jackpot was one in 135 million. In California, its one in 41 million for some games.
California lottery officials say flat sales over the past nine years and pressure to increase funding for public schools prompted the move. Mega Million ticket sales should reach $500 million annually in the state, bringing in about $175 million more for schools. Education receives 34 cents of every $1 ticket. The rest goes to prizes and administration.
"The new game is not a panacea for education. ... It's almost insignificant", said Jack O'Connell, the state's elected schools chief.
Lottery proceeds account for 1.4 percent of the $55.8 billion K-12 budget, O'Connell said. That $793 million represents about $124 for each of California's 6.4 million K-12 students.
O'Connell said the Lottery often is used as an excuse to "supplant" general tax dollars that should be going to schools.
California's gambling tribes apparently were indifferent to the move, which had been forecast months ago by a recommendation from a gubernatorial task force that conducted an exhaustive review of California's government.
"I'm not aware of any tribe having taken a public position on this", said George Forman, a San Rafael attorney who represents a broad spectrum of tribes, including Sycuan of east San Diego County.
Forman said," He did not believe the state's decision would have much of an impact on Indian casinos".
"The studies I've seen have generally indicated a lack of connection between state lottery fortunes and tribal government gaming ... because the two experiences are so fundamentally different", Forman said.
Anti-gambling forces expressed disappointment that the commission did not give the public much time to consider the implications. An agenda notice came out late Friday.
"I don't think there's enough scrutiny", said Fred Jones, an attorney with the National Coalition against Gambling Expansion.
Speaking prior to the hearing, he predicted that the three commissioners appointed by Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger would "rubber stamp" the addition of what amounts to a major new lottery.
Jones also questioned whether voters authorized multistate games when they approved the lottery in 1984.
"There's room for it", Jones said of a court challenge. However, he conceded, "we don't have the resources to do it".
Melissa Meith, the commission's lawyer, said that legislation is not necessary to join a multistate lottery.
"It's by definition a lottery game", she told the commission. "I don't think there's a successful challenge that could be made".
Harvey Chinn, also of the anti-gambling coalition, decried the decision, saying it will entice poor people to squander money that should be spent on their families.
Answered Commission Chairman John Mass: "I don't look at it as encouraging people who are poor to take these get-rich-quick schemes. I see it as entertainment. ... Gambling is entertainment. This is another choice".
Source: BonusGambler.com Editors' Choice
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