Tougher Odds in Lotto Game

I had to smirk upon reading the article “Lawmakers Say Tougher Odds in Lotto Game Make It a Loser” (Part A, July 19). Now, there’s a news bulletin!

Now, the ivory-towered bureaucrats have come up with a new and improved way to widen the gap between the haves and the have-nots. Well, of course they would think that larger jackpots are better; they would play the lottery out of a sense of fun, not out of a sense of desperate, last-ditch hope.

In the real world, the people who can least afford to buy lottery tickets, those classified as “poor,” are the ones most likely to buy them. The lottery is now taking their money, but giving them much less hope in return. Who really needs $30 million; but can you imagine what $1 million or $2 million could do for a family that is just squeaking by on $18,000 or less each year? What would they do? Most likely, quit renting and buy a house, buy a car, invest for their children’s education, and maybe go back to school themselves. They would buy things that most of us take for granted, such as new clothing and new furniture. Now, look at all the money that has just returned to the economy.

But, instead of helping 20 to 30 families attain lives that most of us consider normal, they’ve decided it’s good PR to give the whole aforementioned $30 million to one mega-winner, and while I don’t begrudge that winner the money, I think it’s sad that the Lottery Commission can’t see how very much good they could have done by taking away one or more numbers from the former 49-number field, instead of adding to it.

PAMELA D. ALLOMONG

Simi Valley