Controversy Over State Lottery’s New Game to Increase Jackpots

When the state goes into the numbers racket, the consequences are bound to be embarrassing--for everyone involved.

As a Californian, I am embarrassed to see a state commission hawking lottery tickets as if its enterprise were a legitimate function of government.

Parents in our school district are embarrassed to learn that their support of the California lottery, touted as a major source of help for our faltering educational system, has brought no relief from overcrowded classrooms and over-stressed teachers.

Legislators must be embarrassed to realize that the big jackpots which entice poorly educated citizens to double their bets will never actually be paid from the betting pool. The operators of this grandest of all scams have the government’s own blessing on a formula which spreads the payoff over 20 years.

Time enough for them to invest the money and cover the winners’ annual checks with the interest. Twenty years from now they will still have the principal.

Now you tell us (“New Lotto Game Aims at Super Jackpots,” Part A, May 25) that lottery officials will try to boost revenues by further diminishing the odds on the new Lotto game in order to produce more giant jackpots. (Starting on June 21, players will pick six numbers from a field of 53 instead of the present 49.)

Perhaps it’s time to change the motto on the official seal of our great state.

From “Eureka” to “Never Give a Sucker an Even Break.” Sort of a Lotto motto.

DONALD W. MOORE, Ridgecrest