Tag Archives: Texas Lottery Commission

Texas Two-Step (TM)

What a tale. After two years experimenting with an old Persian family technique using grains and raisins, Ali Ansari finally nailed his new vodka recipe. He poured $4 million into building a distillery outside of Houston and branded his drink … Continue reading

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Paxton opines against daily fantasy sports sites

I feel confident saying this will be tested in court. While placing bets on fantasy sports sites might involve skill, there is still an element of chance that equates such leagues with illegal gambling in Texas, Attorney General Ken Paxton … Continue reading

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Texas Lottery Commission dies and is reborn

And we have our first curveball of the legislative session. The House voted Tuesday to defeat a must-pass bill reauthorizing the Texas Lottery Commission, a stunning move that casts doubt on the lottery as a whole and may potentially cost … Continue reading

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Ending the Lottery?

Seems unlikely, but that won’t stop some folks from trying. As lawmakers look at whether the Texas Lottery Commission is operating effectively, influential Baptists are suggesting that the lottery shouldn’t merely be tweaked. They want it abolished. “Ask the pertinent … Continue reading

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A step forward for online gambling

Interesting. The Justice Department has reversed its long-held opposition to many forms of Internet gambling, removing a big legal obstacle for states that want to sanction online gambling to help fix their budget deficits. The legal opinion, issued by the … Continue reading

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States looking at online gambling

Until the economy returns to the point where states aren’t completely strapped for revenue, I expect them to look at all possible sources of new money. It’s an idea gaining currency around the country: virtual gambling as part of the … Continue reading

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Bad times are good for the Lottery

Some people might consider this to be good news, but I don’t. This year, the Texas Lottery Commission’s sales are headed for a record high, on pace to reach about $3.83 billion, up from $3.74 billion last year. The previous … Continue reading

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The bingo business

Really interesting story about how bingo, which is legal in Texas as a charitable fundraiser, operates without a whole lot of scrutiny. In June 2006, police responded to a call from Daytime Bingo Hall in Midland reporting that $100,000 in … Continue reading

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The state of the Lottery

The Statesman has an interesting two-part story about the state of the Texas Lottery today. Part One is about the declining fortunes of Lotto Texas and what that means for the state’s finances: Consider: • In 1994, 70 percent of … Continue reading

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Lottery can’t meet its jackpots

Oops. Lottery officials are celebrating an uptick in Lotto Texas sales this year, but ticket proceeds were nearly $1.2 million short of covering the latest winning jackpot, forcing officials to dip into the state lottery account to cover the difference. … Continue reading

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Who wants to run the Texas Lottery?

The contract is up for a bid, and the competition is fierce. Companies that run lotteries around the world are expected to ante up by this week, proposing how they would oversee the Texas Lottery if they were to land … Continue reading

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The stalking horse

Peggy Fikac brings up a familiar point about expanded gambling. [Rob Kohler, a Texas Baptist Christian Life Commission consultant working against gambling expansion] suspects the gambling talk is paving the way for a new push to lease the state lottery … Continue reading

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Here comes Powerball

Powerball will come to Texas as soon as January 31 after a unanimous vote approving sales of its tickets by the Texas Lottery Commission. “What the Legislature has charged us to do is to raise revenue, and this is going … Continue reading

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Texas to get Powerball

The Texas Lottery Commission is fixing to bring Powerball to Texas. The commission unanimously voted to publish rules for the game for public comment. If the panel gives final approval to the rules early next year, the first Powerball ticket … Continue reading

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Scratch EZ Match

I can’t say this comes as a surprise. EZ Match is a scratch. The Texas Lottery Commission pulled the plug Friday on the proposed game that would have allowed players to become instant winners by handing their money to a … Continue reading

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Now you can blow your money on lottery tickets even faster

Is it just me, or does this sound like much ado about not very much? A proposed lottery game that would allow players to become instant winners (or losers) without so much as scratching a ticket is under fire from … Continue reading

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