Free Republic

Perry weighs odds on selling lottery Sale could raise money for health care, research By Laylan Copelin, Ken Herman AMERICAN-STATESMAN STAFF Friday, February 02, 2007 Gov. Rick Perry said Thursday that his State of the State address on Tuesday would include a plan to fully privatize the Texas Lottery by selling it to private interests. Perry said such a sale would raise substantial funds that could be used for health care and research. Other states, including Illinois and Indiana, are looking into the concept, which allows a state to collect a large lump sum to replace future lottery revenue. The...

Lottery officials admitted today that they knew ticket sales would not cover an advertised $8 million Lotto Texas jackpot this month, saying they used the higher number to keep players interested in the game. The Texas Lottery Commission set an estimated jackpot for the June 8 Lotto Texas drawing even though staff reports estimated sales could only cover $6.5 million, Product Manager Robert Tirloni told commissioners today. "At the time that we did these estimations, I felt that it was critical for the long-term health of the game for the jackpot to increase if there was no jackpot ticket sold,"...