Family Council Action Committee Notifying Stores of Concerns

The following is a press release from the Family Council Action Committee

Today, Family Council Action Committee President Jerry Cox mailed letters to Arkansas’ Dollar General, Family Dollar, Fred’s Discount, and Walgreens stores.  In the letter, he outlined some concerns his group and others have expressed about lottery ticket vending machines.

Cox said, “All we want to do is make sure that store owners get the whole story on these vending machines.  The machines are very controversial, and Arkansas’ store owners need to know that.”

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Lottery Commission Does Fuzzy Math on Machine Costs

The Arkansas Lottery Commission is back to doing fuzzy math.

Last week, we told you about Lottery Spokesman Julie Baldridge’s statement that the 100 lottery vending machines they purchased cost $50,000 each.  But yesterday, Arkansas Lottery Director Ernie Passailaigue told the Legislative Oversight Committee the machines only cost $16,500 each.

The sudden change in the machines’ price tag was news to me—and, from what I could tell, to some of the legislators on the committee as well.  When they pressed Mr. Passailaigue about the change in price, Passailaigue said that Baldridge’s statement on the radio was “misinformation”.

Well, I broke down the cost of the vending machines, and I think Julie Baldridge was probably being much more honest and accurate than Passailaigue gave her credit for.

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Legislative Oversight Committee Refuses to Weigh in On Machines

The Following is a press release from Family Council

The Arkansas Lottery Commission’s Legislative Oversight Committee refused to weigh in, this afternoon, on the decision to roll out 100 lottery ticket vending machines across Arkansas.

The committee’s decision came on the heels of the Arkansas Lottery Commission’s vote to move forward with the machines, despite intense public opposition.

Family Council President Jerry Cox was at this afternoon’s committee meeting, and issued a statement saying, (more…)