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Families outraged after Illinois fails to pay out $288 million in lottery winnings

Posted by $ nickursis 8 years, 6 months ago to Government
53 comments | Share | Flag

Now, this is an example of how a government can rewrite the law, do what it wants and openly commit fraud. They still sell tickets and then have no intention of paying.


All Comments

  • Posted by ObjectiveAnalyst 8 years, 6 months ago
    Is it a coincidence that our POTUS hails from such a fiscally irresponsible state government? It is among the premier training grounds for looters...
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  • Posted by $ blarman 8 years, 6 months ago
    I was always told that the lottery was a tax on stupid people, or to put it more politically correct: mathematically challenged.
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  • Posted by $ 8 years, 6 months ago in reply to this comment.
    Nope, not gonna happen, because they cannot generate original thought, against union rules, I think...
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  • Posted by $ MichaelAarethun 8 years, 6 months ago in reply to this comment.
    I'm really in favor one state a really really greedy state in the middle of a bunch of income tax states doing the lottery the way it should be done with non-disclosure, a running start and the whole bit and zero taxes. That would leave just the federal bite. The amount of loss would be paltry compared to increase in sales especially from across the border. The first step would be a state address and state ID. The income tax states surrounding lost their control. The winners become out of state property owners at worst but any real estate agent can fix that. What sits between Illinois Wisconsin, Michigan, and Ohio? with more to the south?

    Right uh huh Greed will win out every time if it's presented that way. The greedy but stupid can go pound sand.

    Never happen. Indiana can't see past the end of it's nose either.
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  • Posted by $ 8 years, 6 months ago in reply to this comment.
    Michael, remember, we are talking about the government here! A group of people whos only task is to ensure the contribute to the party in power, hang on for 20 so they can retire at 100% pay, and ensure every living member of their family has a job. All that would interfere in the execution of you plan above, as it would actually mean someone would have to do some work. They would reject it as " a right wing plot to remove the state from it's hard earned income" or some crap. But nice idea...
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  • Posted by $ MichaelAarethun 8 years, 6 months ago in reply to this comment.
    I just thought of this. The state gives them a credit on state income tax equal to the amount of the prize. however they have to count the value of that credit as income which uses up a bit more and so on. The State ends up not getting the income tax from a few winners for a cancelled debt. The feds get a bit more. meanwhile the State gets to keep all the money for that weeks lottery sales....for the good of the State like you said. But it's an easy way out and what's called an elegant solution which means solving more than one problem with one action. However they make it not subject to inheritance provisions....Elegant in that the state keeps all the money the winner gets to pay more taxes to the feds and otherwise gets screwed. State then runs for office on a balanced budget if they can find enough yoyo's to purchase more tax exemption prizes. Lotteries across the nation convert.....

    Or the non income tax states could start selling tickets through the internet with a guarantee of no disclosure of the winners names and payable minus taxes to any place in the world.
    Now that would be worth the gamble.
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  • Posted by $ 8 years, 6 months ago in reply to this comment.
    Nope, there are several lawsuits, but having had the joy of doing one, a) The judges will rule whatever the political machine wants (I had 8 witnesses and 58 pieces of evidence against my neighbor with 300 alpacas on 3 acres and never picking p any manure, and she rule it wasn't a nuisance yet gave us 148K in damages, because they were afraid if they said it was one, there would be 500 more lawsuits for the same thing in the county, since they do not ever address them) or b) They will be delayed to the point the state gets its act together, or rule that the winners will get 10% of their winnings since it is "for the good of the state" or some such crap. Then the lawyers are going to take whats left, anyways. These folks are well and truly screwed.
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  • Posted by $ MichaelAarethun 8 years, 6 months ago in reply to this comment.
    Reminds me of the Sec Treas Ruben ripping off the Social Security and Railroad Retirees Trust money to bailout Tesorobonos of which his own company in which he held stock and a partnership position got their 40% of the total bailed for them. I'm wondering who obviously someone in Illinois was in on this little raiding party.
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  • Posted by Technocracy 8 years, 6 months ago
    I am honestly surprised that some enterprising lawyer hasn't tried to make a class action suit out of this.

    Of course it is Illinois, which contains Chicago, so perhaps they are justifiably afraid of consequences.
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  • Posted by $ 8 years, 6 months ago in reply to this comment.
    Well and good. In Oregon, at least it seems there are some checks and balances. I am ok with the idea of voluntary support, but I need to see a cut in offsetting mandatory requirements. In Oregon, it has all been trumpeted as "education etc" but they still bleat they never have enough. We are in real trouble when Commie Bernie gets his free college, and dumps the cost on the states as "you own it",need really big lottery then....
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  • Posted by $ 8 years, 6 months ago in reply to this comment.
    Yep, any way around the looters is more of a constitutional requirement than anything else...
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  • Posted by $ MichaelAarethun 8 years, 6 months ago in reply to this comment.
    Put it in zero interest bearing account. No interest no taxes after the first bite. withdraw the rest as needed for your probable lifespan plus five or ten whatever. Three places to find such a deposit. Your bank, T bills with automatic roll over and a big mother safety deposit box in the same bank. have the bank people count the amount and hand deliver it the safety deposit box and arrange...for a fee...to have them sign off when you make a withdrawal and deposit it to your debit card account. If you touch it the Gestapo will show up citing that $10,000 rule and steal everything. Never put more than $250,000 at a time in that zero interest debit card account and then tell 'em to bark at the moon. They might even have a way of doing that in simpler manner that follows those rules. Remember you have no need to invest anymore. Risk Management 101 Eliminate the Risk Lesson two identify the risk. Friends, Family, Government.....Lawyers. Then by a ticket to Ulan Bator and go on a long safari seeking the burial site of the Ka Khan. Long way of saying disappearing is largely a matter of being out of touch.
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  • Posted by $ MichaelAarethun 8 years, 6 months ago in reply to this comment.
    You notice I don't live in the Peoples Democratic Republic of Takilma anymore. But Arizona charges and 8% sales tax on winnings while Texas and Florida charge zero. Birth, Life, Taxes, Death only one of them must be endured more than once.
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  • Posted by Technocracy 8 years, 6 months ago in reply to this comment.
    Move to the other state before you collect. Then tell Oregon to pound sand. Move back after if you like.
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  • Posted by LibertyBelle 8 years, 6 months ago
    Re: a Lottery. I should think that of course they
    would have to pay: first, the costs of operation
    (printing the tickets, etc.); after that, a certain per-
    centage to the winner of what is left; after that, have whatever is left go to the state government. But of course, they could not know
    in advance what the total would be, because of
    not knowing how many tickets would be sold.
    I voted for the lottery to be brought in in Virginia.
    I thought it would be one way of demonstrating
    that there is a possibility of having voluntary fi-
    nancing of the proper functions of government in
    a free society. And I spent a dollar for a ticket
    once in a while, I think about once a week, and
    maybe an extra one on a special occasion, such as my birthday. But after they said they
    were going to give all the leftover money to the
    public schools, I quit buying lottery tickets, be-
    cause of what I think of the public schools and
    public education.
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  • Posted by $ 8 years, 6 months ago in reply to this comment.
    Indeed. I would also want it all up front, and let a tax lawyer finally get a chance to game the system for me. They should have to have the cash set aside, and in Illinois (see below) they are required to pay winnings first by law, so oopss...Even when they tell you it is all covered, it isn't.
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  • Posted by $ 8 years, 6 months ago in reply to this comment.
    From the oregon Lottery:
    "The law requires that at least 50 percent of the Lottery's total annual sales is paid to players as prizes. The Lottery currently pays out traditional game (Oregon’s Game Megabucks, Powerball, Mega Millions, Scratch-its, Keno, Win for Life, Lucky Lines, and Pick 4,) prizes at a combined rate of 64 percent, which means that overall 64 cents of every dollar played goes back to players in prizes. Video Lottery game prizes pay out at a combined rate of 93 percent."
    So, I would have to assume Illinois was also to have some percentage of their money set aside for prizes.

    Here is what Illinois says:
    http://www.illinoislottery.com/en-us/...
    They claim 61% paid back. So it should be a set aside, and not subject to anything with the state.
    Here is their law:

    (10) The apportionment of the total revenues accruing from the sale of lottery tickets or shares and from all other sources among (i) the payment of prizes to the holders of winning tickets or shares, (ii) the payment of costs incurred in the operation and administration of the lottery, including the expenses of the Department and the costs resulting from any contract or contracts entered into for promotional, advertising or operational services or for the purchase or lease of lottery equipment and materials, and (iii) for monthly transfers to the Common School Fund. The net revenues accruing from the sale of lottery tickets shall be determined by deducting from total revenues the payments required by paragraphs (i) and (ii) of this subsection."

    Basically, they are required to set aside enough to pay the winnings, so the State should have no claim on it, and what the state is doing is, or would seem to be, a violation of Illinois State Law. But when has law stopped any state from doing what it wants> This is a good example of just how bad things have gotten.
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  • Posted by LibertyBelle 8 years, 6 months ago
    What a state lottery should do is pay out a per-
    centage
    of the take-in. It should state ahead of
    time what percentage it will be. Of course, this will
    not guarantee any specific amount, depending on
    how many tickets are bought. And it would still
    be necessary to have it be monitored, to make
    sure there was no misrepresentation of the am-
    ount of the prize.
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