Merchant Jumps Gun on Lottery; ‘Fun’ Backfires

He made a mistake, Dinh Dien admitted Thursday, but it was fun while it lasted.

The day before, 17,500 lottery tickets had been delivered to Dien’s J R Mart in Anaheim, so that Dien, one of 1,500 Orange County merchants selected to sell the tickets, would be prepared for the start of the California Lottery on Oct. 3.

But Dien said he thought the delivery meant that he could start selling tickets right away. So he did.

Customers bought three of the scratch-off tickets, and Dien and his nephew bought another 116 tickets for themselves.

The two had played for an hour--winning $33 in $2 and $5 instant winners--before Dien’s wife noticed them huddled in the back of the store and told them they were violating the rules. They stopped playing the game as she requested, but three hours later Dien’s number was really up.

License Is Suspended

Following an anonymous tip, two state lottery agents visited Dien’s store Wednesday afternoon, took his lottery poster, a banner and all his tickets, and suspended his lottery license for 30 days. He won’t get the license back, lottery agent Al Romero said, unless state lottery director Mark Michalko gives the OK.

Dien was the second merchant in the state to jump the gun on ticket sales. Also on Wednesday, a San Francisco grocer defied the lottery commission, gleefully selling more than 1,500 tickets before officials revoked his license.

The incidents prompted James Braxton, lottery director for Orange, San Diego, Riverside and Imperial counties, to order his sales representatives to visit or telephone all ticket retailers Thursday, reminding them that they faced suspension if they started selling the tickets early.

“There’s been phones smoking this morning,” Braxton said. “Hopefully, we got this nipped in the bud.”

Braxton said Dien had scratched all the spots off the lottery tickets himself, although “it’s very clear and defined what you’re supposed to do.” But in contrast to the San Francisco merchant who said he was having the time of his life breaking lottery rules, Dien’s tone Thursday was one of remorse.

“I really enjoy to sell the tickets because I can bring the customers in,” he said. “I didn’t know I could not sell the tickets. It is my bad luck.”

Dien said he hopes his vendor’s license will be reinstated. In any event, he said, he would like to play the lottery again. “That was my fun, you know.”