LOOKING FOR BETTER ODDS

I have never been a person who likes to gamble with card, dice or other games of chance. At times I have put a small wager on a football game with my wife. I have often commented that the process would be a lot quicker if I would just give the money to her because she would more than likely get it anyway. I guess in reality we all are gamblers to a certain extent. In the business world we base our decisions on our investments on what other people may or may not do. Unlike the people that just play the games of chance, in the business world we can make our odds of success better if we go the extra mile and work hard. When the Oklahoma lottery was voted in, many people were led to believe that it would be a huge help to the education of Oklahoma children. Recently the Lottery Commission made a request to cut education's guaranteed share of lottery profits and use that money to increase prizes to boost sales.

State Rep. Chris Benge, chairman of the House Appropriation & Budget Committee, was quoted, as saying,  " Oklahoma is very unique in that we have such a large presence of casino gaming and those facilities compete with the lottery for gambling dollars. The casino option has become more attractive to those seeking to gamble. It seems unlikely that a slight increase in lottery prize money would change that dynamic." Lottery officials voted this week to ask the Legislature to repeal a voter-approved law giving education a guaranteed share of lottery profits. The program approved by Oklahoma voters requires that education programs receive 30 percent of lottery proceeds during the first two years of operation and 35 percent in all subsequent years. However, lottery officials want lawmakers to repeal the 35-percent mandate so they can increase payout on some games, saying the larger prizes will boost overall sales. Oklahoma law already requires that at least 45 percent of lottery revenue be used for prizes with another 20 percent designated for administrative costs. 

The lottery revenue is running about 1.2 million a month behind projections. Maybe our lawmakers, instead of cutting education’s share, should tie the lottery performance to the salaries of those who run it. Then they will have some incentive to better the odds.