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re: How does MS, GA, TN & FLA have a lottery and Alabama doesn't?
Posted on 6/10/16 at 9:33 am to The Spleen
Posted on 6/10/16 at 9:33 am to The Spleen
quote:
Second, and this is more recent, the Poarch Creek Indians don't want one and they've spent a lot of money lobbying Montgomery to keep it from going to a referendum. The general feeling is if it went to a referendum the people would vote for it. Remember, Governor Bentley said he would support a referendum on it, but he knew the legislature was bought and paid for by the Poarch Creek Indians and they would never get a bill through. Sure enough, a bill hasn't been passed, and I don't even think one has reached the floor for debate/vote.
This is actually the correct answer. The Creek Indians have bought the legislature to ensure that they will never have competition for gambling dollars.
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Posted on 6/10/16 at 9:35 am to stomp
quote:technically, Mississippi does not have casinos.
Since when does MS have lottery?
I could have sworn they did. I stand corrected. They do have casinos though.
Posted on 6/10/16 at 9:36 am to Robert Goulet
quote:I've lived across several states in the South. Louisiana and Mississippi are far worse states than Alabama. Georgia is about the same. Tennessee and South Carolina are the only states I'd say are better.
Serious answer: Alabama is a really terrible state.
Posted on 6/10/16 at 9:38 am to stomp
quote:
I've lived in Alabama all my life and I can't wrap my mind around it. How did the lottery/gaming come about in other SE states? Why not here?
In Tennessee it was a statewide referendum.
Posted on 6/10/16 at 9:40 am to The Spleen
quote:
They basically just have slot machines.
That's all they need. Slots account for 70% of gambling profit even in full-blown casinos.
This post was edited on 6/10/16 at 9:40 am
Posted on 6/10/16 at 9:45 am to kywildcatfanone
quote:
e use ours to pay for scholarships for in-state kids to go to in-state schools. Great program.
quote:
That sounds great, but is it really happening with any significant number of the proceeds collected?
Yes...in Tennessee significant numbers of scholarships have been awarded. Since 2004, over 100,000 scholarships have been awarded in Tennessee.
Posted on 6/10/16 at 10:01 am to madmaxvol
In addition to what others said about the Poarch Indians and religion, the last time we voted on it our now incarcerated Governor Siegelman packed the proposed amendment full of loopholes to create enormous opportunities for political graft.
Posted on 6/10/16 at 10:22 am to DaBama
quote:
That's your serious answer as to why Alabama doesn't have a lottery?
Well, it's definitely not the only reason it sucks, just one of many.
Every other southern state besides Alabama and Mississippi has some sort of redeeming quality...they're really bad.
Posted on 6/10/16 at 12:47 pm to airfernando
Mississippi has the second largest number of casinos outside the state of Nevada. There's 40-50 casinos in MS, on land, gulf coast, and riverbanks.
Posted on 6/10/16 at 12:52 pm to Robert Goulet
That's actually incorrect.
Posted on 6/10/16 at 2:26 pm to AUBorn
quote:
last time we voted on it our now incarcerated Governor Siegelman packed the proposed amendment full of loopholes to create enormous opportunities for political graft.
1. As AUBorn said
2. Poarch Creek Indians
3. Baptists
I've also heard tales for years that gaming lobbyists from Mississippi donate to anti gambling efforts in Alabama, happy to continued the cash flow over the state line. But this has always come from 2nd and 3rd hand sources.
Posted on 6/11/16 at 6:25 am to VOLcano
Yeah but whenever they implemented the Hope scholarships the colleges just increased their tution by that amount because they know they are going to get that government money anyway.
How do people not see this???
(Of course, the average American hasn't connected the trillions of dollars dumped into Medicare, Medicaid, Prescription Drug Benefit, etc to spiraling health care costs.)
How do people not see this???
(Of course, the average American hasn't connected the trillions of dollars dumped into Medicare, Medicaid, Prescription Drug Benefit, etc to spiraling health care costs.)
Posted on 6/11/16 at 8:23 am to kywildcatfanone
quote:
That sounds great, but is it really happening with any significant number of the proceeds collected?
Kentucky passed the lottery on the grounds that it would fund education in the state, but most of the money is now diverted to other projects and schools still struggle for funding.
When I graduated high school in 2009, you had to maintain a 3.0 in high school and score around a 21 on the ACT to be eligible for like 4K per semester. Considering tuition for in-state kids is very affordable, it helps a lot.
I'm pretty sure it's still going strong now, I see kids using it all the time that have graduated after me. Helps keep kids going to in-state schools as well. I definitely think the money is being allocated to it.
Posted on 6/11/16 at 8:40 pm to Supravol22
It's primarily due to the protestant anti-gambling b.s. but I remember when the same rhetoric was used by the residents of Georgia. Well guess what. When the lottery passed, those same people benefited from the lottery proceeds same as those who supported it. Furthermore, those whose children qualified for HOPE gladly accepted that money to send their children to college. Pretty darn hypocritical, but that's to be expected from many holier than thou types.
As for me, with 2 children that graduated from Georgia public schools, I saw first hand how the lottery proceeds afforded school systems with new and improved resources. Then, after they graduated, both my children attended college with the HOPE money. Saved me a lot of money. So you guys that have ready made excuses how the lottery money never gets to the schools and the students are wrong. Granted, the parameters of qualification have changed over the years but it's still a great program for Georgia students and their parents.
By all means, though, keep voting down that Alabama lottery because now I have a granddaughter, and all the folks that drive over from Alabama to buy lottery tickets are going to help her school purchase new and improved resources, and is going to help her go to college when she graduates. Don't stop believing!
As for me, with 2 children that graduated from Georgia public schools, I saw first hand how the lottery proceeds afforded school systems with new and improved resources. Then, after they graduated, both my children attended college with the HOPE money. Saved me a lot of money. So you guys that have ready made excuses how the lottery money never gets to the schools and the students are wrong. Granted, the parameters of qualification have changed over the years but it's still a great program for Georgia students and their parents.
By all means, though, keep voting down that Alabama lottery because now I have a granddaughter, and all the folks that drive over from Alabama to buy lottery tickets are going to help her school purchase new and improved resources, and is going to help her go to college when she graduates. Don't stop believing!
This post was edited on 6/11/16 at 8:45 pm
Posted on 6/11/16 at 10:22 pm to Huddie Leadbetter
quote:
It's primarily due to the protestant anti-gambling b.s.
You're not very knowledgeable about Alabama politics.
Existing gambling interests in the state will not allow any other form of gambling to be put on a ballot. They've controlled the process for close to 20 years now. Religion is an excuse used by paid-for legislators and governors for doing the bidding of the Poarch Creek Indians.
Posted on 6/11/16 at 10:26 pm to stomp
Two reasons: Jack Abramoff and Ralph Reed.
Posted on 6/12/16 at 7:19 am to Evolved Simian
quote:
You're not very knowledgeable about Alabama politics.
Existing gambling interests in the state will not allow any other form of gambling to be put on a ballot. They've controlled the process for close to 20 years now. Religion is an excuse used by paid-for legislators and governors for doing the bidding of the Poarch Creek Indians.
I've talked to enough thumpers, some in my own family (that live in Alabama), to know from which I speak. As noted, there were many in Georgia that felt the same way, but who didn't seem to have a problem taking advantage of the lottery proceeds, including HOPE, after it was passed.
Of course it's political, and in Alabama, politics and religion are often in lockstep. Elected officials often run and are elected on religious platforms that cater to the thumpers. So what else is new in Alabama?
This post was edited on 6/12/16 at 7:20 am
Posted on 6/12/16 at 10:22 am to Huddie Leadbetter
quote:
So you guys that have ready made excuses how the lottery money never gets to the schools and the students are wrong.
Georgia's HOPE scholarship program is one of the best in the nation. From its beginning, lottery profits have been directed to scholarships for in-state kids.
kywildcatfanone correctly summarized the situation in Kentucky. The lottery was voted in with the understanding that all profits would be used for education.
That has not happened. The legislature and administration have repeatedly redirected lottery money to other uses, primarily programs that couldn't generate money on their own.
The lesson is, make sure your state's plan to use the money is ironclad and in writing, as was Georgia's, before you vote for a lottery. Politicians are scumbags and they don't give a shite about verbal promises.
Posted on 6/13/16 at 1:39 pm to kywildcatfanone
quote:
Kentucky passed the lottery on the grounds that it would fund education in the state, but most of the money is now diverted to other projects and schools still struggle for funding.
The issue with that is that the legislature sees the pot of money that the lottery is generating for the schools and is taking the money from the general fund that was going to schools.
Posted on 6/13/16 at 4:13 pm to Huddie Leadbetter
The answer is the Poarch Creek Indians won't allow it. The same group that offered almost 200 million bucks just a few months back to close the gap in the AL general fund, but only if legislators promised to not propose any gaming legislation.
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