Posted on 04/06/2012 11:45:20 AM PDT by Libloather
Corbett wants to hire a private lottery manager
By MARC LEVY | Associated Press – Mon, Apr 2, 2012
HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) — Republican Gov. Tom Corbett is making the state lottery the next frontier in his quest to privatize services, saying Monday that hiring a private manager for the nation's sixth-largest lottery would bolster its ability to meet the rising demand for services from the state's growing elderly population.
The move, which was immediately opposed by Democrats and the state's largest employee union, also may herald an expansion of lottery gambling, such as the addition of online ticket sales, keno terminals in bars or restaurants and an aggressive new search to add more lottery retailers.
The Corbett administration on Monday issued a request for qualifications from companies and gave them 30 days to respond.
"This initiative is simply part of my administration's efforts to tap private sector innovation to make state government work more efficiently and effectively, which is precisely what taxpayers expect," the governor said in a statement.
The 15-page request said that "the highest responsible commitments for maximizing cash flow" submitted by bidders may play into a decision on which company wins the contract.
(Excerpt) Read more at news.yahoo.com ...
RATS and thugs hate old people?
If it were up to me I’d do away with the lottery. What started out as one 3 number game a day has grown to more games than I know.
Then there are the people who hold up customers while they pull numbers out of thin air or spend endless time explaining why they picked the numbers they did.
And don’t get me started about when I used to have to go to a drug store in Pittsburgh’s hill district. On SS and welfare check days there would be 2 LONG lines out the dooor and down the street. One would be to cash the checks, the other was to play all or most of it on thhe lottery.
Hey Tom. To hell with the lottery. How about focusing on privatizing the State Store system like you promised. This always seems to slip your mind when coming up with things to do. Boy this steams me up.
Yeah, that’s the stupidest thing ever. Get rid of that anachronism, bring in Total Wine and Beverage Warehouse. Make the people in the state ABC stores get out and work for a living.
DITTOS! To be fair IIRC there was “discussion” about it but that seems to have gone away.
As an unrepentant alcoholic, I frequent a few of the State Stores around my area. The workers are a bunch of unemployables and incompetents. If it were not for their union, they would be in their mothers basement. They don't know what work is.
Spot on! I was born and raised in PA but haven't lived there in decades. When I go there to visit now, I can't believe how archaic the alcohol policies are. Come on, state stores and beer distributers?! Paying twice as much for a 6 pack on Sundays only because you're forced to buy from a restaurant or bar. It's the year 2012 PA!!!
....and don't even get me started on the lotteries. I was living in PA when the lottery started and it was 'all about the old people'. From there to CA where it was 'all about the children' to TX where it was 'all about the children', to NC where it was 'all about the children'! I do believe that about 3 cents on the dollar do go to support the initial premise, but the rest goes straight into the black hole of the general fund. It's all bull $hit!
I have to say that at my local state store - Noble Manor Shopping Center in Greentree near Pittsburgh- the clerks have been pretty good. Yes there are the ones who make you want to scream but most have been really nice.
Of course the good ones get rotated out....
Privatizing the state store system sounds like a good idea — until you think about the caliber of the politicians we have in Harrisburg.
Giving them a big pile of money to spend is about the dumbest idea I can think of.
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