CT Lottery to Offer PC Game 303
nstrom writes "The Connecticut State Lottery is giving out a PC game (for Windows, presumably) with their new scratch-off lottery tickets which offer a chance of winning $25,000 by playing. This news article from the Hartford Courant mentions that the game might be targeted at children, but there's no mention of any problems involving software cracking, which is what I immediately thought of. I'm sure there are some bored crackers out there who'd tackle this for a chance at some cash. What do you think?"
Outrageous (Score:3, Funny)
I think it's unconscionable that Connecticut is having a lottery offering crack for children to raise cash.
I'm going to call up my radio station immediately and express my opinion about this obscenity.
Re:Outrageous (Score:3, Funny)
[In Chris Rock voice:]
Crazy cracker-ass-crackers. They always tryin' to beat the lotto and steal the cash from non-internet havin' brothas. Cracka-ass-crackers!
[End Chris Rock voice]
Re:Outrageous (Score:2)
What's that you say? Oh, that's very different... Never Mind.
</VOICE>
Lottery: def (Score:4, Funny)
english - noun
def 1. A tax on people who suck at math.
(I admit, stolen from a bumpersticker, but I think it's funny
Re:Lottery: def (Score:2)
I'm not sure if they think people will gamble more or if those places print money behind the scenes. I'm guessing the latter.
Re:Lottery: def (Score:4, Insightful)
You'll notice that gambling initiatives never are proposed to fund highway development or the general fund. They're always "earmarked" (a bogus term that any accountant can get around) for education, welfare, etc.
Re:Lottery: def (Score:2)
Until now! [startribune.com] Our own Dick Day (as in "Dick Day before he dicks you") is proposing just that.
Around here we have a lot of Indian casinos, and usually the new gambling proposals are either casinos sited a lot closer than Indian casinos or some kind of statewide thing that wouldn't entail a lot of travel. The Indians complain because they know the market for throwing away money is finite and it will drain customers.
Re:Lottery: def (Score:5, Funny)
Re:Lottery: def (Score:4, Funny)
That's right! Before we even approach the problem of getting people off of welfare, we need to correct the problem of people occasionally mistakenly using "its" instead of "it's"; for that is the real problem facing America!
spell-checked to avoid the pedantic nit-pickings of spelling/grammar-nazis
Re:Lottery: def (Score:2, Informative)
Actually, the original poster was correct in the use of "it's". He said "It's the way..." meaning "It is the way...". He was not using the possessive pronoun "its".
Re:Lottery: def (Score:3, Funny)
Before we even approach the problem of getting people off of welfare, we need to correct the problem of people occasionally mistakenly using "its" instead of "it's"; for that is the real problem facing America!
"Occasionally" and "mistakenly" are both adverbs. Stylistic suggestion: "...people occasionally using 'its' instead of 'it's' by mistake...." Also, you may want to insert commas when beginning a sentence with an adverb such as "also" or "actually."
What, I don't get a "70% Funny" like the original poster? We can mock the poor but we can't make light of someone who has not mastered his native language?
For discussion: have you ever visited a casino (especially towards the first of the month)? How do we solve the problem of getting the elderly off of Social Security?
Look shit up once in a while. (Score:2)
Tim
Re:Look shit up once in a while. (Score:2)
Re:Lottery: def (Score:2)
its is possessive for it.
the parent used "it's" correctly, I believe
Re:Lottery: def (Score:2)
Re:Lottery: def (Score:2)
A person with a lottery ticket has infinitely more chances of winning than a person that has none. So nyeah!
Re:Lottery: def (Score:4, Insightful)
Q.E.D.
Re:Lottery: def (Score:2)
Re:Lottery: def (Score:2)
Re:Lottery: def (Score:5, Insightful)
He sighed and told me that for 1 dollar a week he could day dream about winning the millions, retiring before he was 40 and doing everything he ever wanted to do in his life but couldn't because he had been kicked out of the house at 15 and had to get a real job instead of going to school and learning statistics. It was a pretty cheap day dream.
I still occassionally buy lottery tickets to this day :-)
Re:Lottery: def (Score:2)
It's worse for the winners - Washington Post (Score:3, Interesting)
I got the date from this [health20-20.org] website.
But here's also a quote from the website that gives the typical scenario:
------
"Paul McNabb was Maryland's first $1-million lottery winner 20 years ago. He has now seen his last check, the final $50,000 on his two-decade splurge. He now faces life after lottery. Has the money changed him for better or worse? The story is told by the Washington Post.21
"Today McNabb lives in a rented two-bedroom apartment near Lake Mead outside Las Vegas, where he drives taxi on the night shift. He doesn't own a car or any property. The lottery experience has ruined his ability to trust his fellow humanity.
"For a year after his award, his story appeared in dozens of papers, on radio and television, including those in Canada, Britain, and Australia. He received thousands of letters from people wanting money. Religious groups, travel agents, investment counselors, budding film producers, literary groups, poor people all wanted a part of McNabb's good fortune.
"One letter-writer threatened McNabb's two daughters, whose pictures had appeared in newspapers and on television, unless money was forthcoming. He turned the letters over to the FBI. He feared for himself, his daughters, his wife. His house in the Owings Mills area, near Baltimore, was broken into three times, presumably by people who thought $1 million might be lying around, he said. People came to the door, called on the phone, accosted him everywhere. Rather than to continue enjoying this limelight, he ran for cover, to the shores of Lake Mead, where he joined the military.
"'If you had gone through what I went through that first year, you wouldn't have trusted your own mother,' he said. 'Do you realize I've lost 20 years of social life, of being human? I never got over the point that I always had to be on my guard.'
"Stories like this, with variations, can be told about many instant millionaires. Many of gambling's big winners have had their lives turned topsy-turvy. They bear the scars for life.
------
The real losers are the winners. But also losing are the losers. And the people who are taking something [state services] for nothing [lottery-style theft], since they are undermining their own society.
In line with fasting, people just might try giving up their little personal evils, and maybe we could all live with a little less government, a little less war, ... I dunno.
Right... (Score:3, Insightful)
...wanna look at a statistical distribution of who plays the lottery? Wanna look at what types of TV shows they advertise during, and when they air? Your average lottery player is generally not all that bright, usually quite poor, and frequently un/under-employed. Particularly those people who play it with any regularity (ie, not for the occasional novelty). There's a reason they advertise during those inane judge shows that air during working hours.
No wait, you don't understand it (Score:5, Funny)
Once something has been approved by the Government, It's no longer immoral.
Of course, it would be wrong for private individuals to run gambling operations, just like it's wrong for individuals to steal...
Re:No wait, you don't understand it (Score:2)
Re:No wait, you don't understand it (Score:2)
Given sovereignty?
-- this is not a
Re:No wait, you don't understand it (Score:2)
Did someone mention Orwell? (Score:5, Informative)
They were talking about the Lottery. Winston looked back when he had gone thirty metres. They were still arguing, with vivid, passionate faces. The Lottery, with its weekly pay-out of enormous prizes, was the one public event to which the proles paid serious attention. It was probable that there were some millions of proles for whom the Lottery was the principal if not the only reason for remaining alive. It was their delight, their folly, their anodyne, their intellectual stimulant. Where the Lottery was concerned, even people who could barely read and write seemed capable of intricate calculations and staggering feats of memory. There was a whole tribe of men who made a living simply by selling systems, forecasts, and lucky amulets. Winston had nothing to do with the running of the Lottery, which was managed by the Ministry of Plenty, but he was aware (indeed everyone in the party was aware) that the prizes were largely imaginary.
Re:No wait, you don't understand it (Score:2)
Play the game enough (Score:4, Funny)
Many games already do this (Score:4, Funny)
Is it real money... or do they just show your character with a $25,000 cheque and some text that says "You are the winner!" with some cheesy background music?
Re:Many games already do this (Score:2)
*cough*actualcashvalueonetenthofonecent*cough*
Why not? Earn money based on skill (Score:4, Insightful)
I bet if there was a game like Diablo 2 where some sort of cash reward was involved, but it was a pay to play service like EQ, many many people would get very hooked on it. HEY DON'T STEAL MY IDEA ****patent pending****
Re:Why not? Earn money based on skill (Score:4, Funny)
Re:Why not? Earn money based on skill (Score:2, Informative)
Comment removed (Score:4, Funny)
Shouldn't this be construed as on-line betting? (Score:4, Interesting)
Re:Shouldn't this be construed as on-line betting? (Score:2)
Re:Shouldn't this be construed as on-line betting? (Score:2)
How do you ensure it is fair for the people who choose to take part in it?
Re:Shouldn't this be construed as on-line betting? (Score:2)
You are correct that online casino games are a whole seperate bag.
I see no reason why online sportsbetting shouldn't be legal, however.
Re:Shouldn't this be construed as on-line betting? (Score:2)
Re:Shouldn't this be construed as on-line betting? (Score:4, Informative)
I think it's just an animated "scratch-off" (Score:5, Insightful)
They'll probably have one cd that can win the "grand prize", and that one is probably at the bottom of the St. Charles River in Quebec.
Re:I think it's just an animated "scratch-off" (Score:2)
Oh, you mean like the article says?
Re:I think it's just an animated "scratch-off" (Score:3, Funny)
Re:I think it's just an animated "scratch-off" (Score:4, Funny)
This is only fair. (Score:4, Funny)
Not Funny. Sad (Score:2)
What do I think? (Score:5, Interesting)
It sounds dumb, that's what I think. But I wouldn't worry about crackers (people trying to crack the game and win the cash kind of crackers). They state the odds are 1 in 260,000. This is their business and you damn well better believe they won't be paying out more than that.
Even if they are foolish enough to let out a game that can easily be cracked (doubtful, they'll probably just put an encryped code on the winning CDs and check it when you come to redeem), they can refuse the prize at any time. So if too many people come to redeem it, "Sorry, we're paid out. Read the fine print, go home."
If theyre smart enough to put it in! (Score:2)
Re:If theyre smart enough to put it in! (Score:2)
It happens once in a while. (Score:2)
ANd how morbid do you have to be to play the numbers of a downed plane.
They ARE smart... (Score:2, Informative)
Odds (Score:3, Insightful)
Yo Grark
Canadian Bred with American Buttering
Lotto (Score:5, Funny)
DirectX 9.0
64 megs of ram
A 3D accelerated video card
A sound card
A mouse
A keyboard
Seriously... (Score:3, Insightful)
This is /., so someone has to say it.. (Score:2)
Re:This is /., so someone has to say it.. (Score:2)
Microsoft pays no federal income tax due to a clever ruse they have gotten to be legal.
Retailers pay a considerable amount of sales tax on said products when purchased retail, though the OEM version's sales tax associated with it is almost certainly negligible when you compare it to the rest of the hardware, esp. when the OEMs rather than the sofware company are the ones paying the sales tax.
IANAL or accountant, and I do not know the sales tax laws in said state.
In other news... (Score:5, Funny)
DirectX 9.0
64 megs of ram
The odds of getting Windows XP to run smoothly with 64MB of RAM are now greater than winning the actual lottery.
Cracking not possible (Score:5, Informative)
I suppose you could put in serial numbers until you find the $25,000 winner. You wouldn't get anything out of it.
Re:Cracking not possible (Score:2)
[don tinfoil hat]
Perhaps there's something in the EULA to collect personal information and/or check for 'illegal activity'?
[/hat]
Re:Cracking not possible (Score:2)
I suppose you could put in serial numbers until you find the $25,000 winner. You wouldn't get anything out of it.
Are the serial numbers distributed in some predictable order? Once you have the winning serial number, then you can find the store which is distributing that serial number.
Re:Cracking not possible (Score:2)
Re:Cracking not possible (Score:2)
On the second point, even if you were to put in serial numbers until you found the $25,000 winner, then what? You still don't have the ticket you'd need to turn into the local gas station. And you can bet they're going to examine the "big winnner" very carefully to make sure it's authentic!
This will only end badly. (Score:3, Funny)
Re:Cracking not possible (Score:2)
Bored? (Score:3, Insightful)
If there's $25k involved, I'm sure even a cracker who wasn't bored would give it a shot.
Crackers (Score:5, Interesting)
It seems like the best way to do this would be *not* having some random chance of any given game winning, but instead link in a seperate module for 1 in 260000 that has a cash redemption code at the end or some such. In other words, have a 'loser' version, and a 'winner' version, with none of the winner's code in the losing version.
We've had this for a while... (Score:3, Informative)
Target: Children (Score:4, Funny)
"The Lottery: When You Need Millions of Dollars, Right Away!"
Lottery Winner Hit By Meteorite!! (Score:2)
It does sound pretty sketchy... (Score:2, Interesting)
considering it's centered around a cartoon character. Didn't the CT lottery learn anything from Joe Camel - that cartoon characters and vices don't go together?
I've always found it ironic that gambling is so bad that it needs to be illegal in most places, yet it's OK for state governments to run lotteries - which probably offer worse odds than legal games would. Sounds like rent seeking behavior to me.
Cartoons gambling is mmmbad, mmkay? (Score:2, Insightful)
That sounds rather ridiculous. There have been many Simpson's episodes in which Homer, Marge, and even Bart have gambled. Not that that makes it right, but there is quite a precedent with cartoons gambling. There are much bigger things to worry about.
Re:Cartoons gambling is mmmbad, mmkay? (Score:2)
But, nonetheless, in all of those episodes we see harmful consequences due to their gambling. You think we'll see that in this game? Mmnah.
-T
What bothers me... (Score:2)
You can't lose if you don't play (Score:3, Informative)
That means each chance is "worth" about 9.6 cents. That's some pretty long odds for not-so-great money, and I'll bet it ends up costing alot more than 10 cents a try.
Re:You can't lose if you don't play (Score:3, Insightful)
If you actually want to win $25k, you're better off going to Vegas, putting $25 down on black, then hoping black comes up ten times in a row. The odds of that working are only about one in 1200 or so, depending if you're playing on a single zero or double zero wheel.
Sure you can't do it as often, but that's for the best anyway, isn't it?
No different than video slots (Score:3, Informative)
Anyone who has been in a casino in the last 5 years has noticed the proliferation of colorful, fully-animated, cartoon slot machines. Almost nothing (except stuff from IGT) has mechanical reels anymore. The new machines _scream_ out "I'm like a video game! Note my humorous caricatures of rednecks, TV stars, and clowns!"
Sure, the lottery game probably appeals to a certain juvenile instinct in the players (which is what I'd personally have a bigger problem with), but I doubt that this rises to the level of a conspiracy to bilk money from players who are too young to collect the potential purse from playing. It's just a bit of Vegas seeping into the respectable, honest, dependable investm^H^H^H^H^H^H^Hlottery industry.
And besides, *$4* for one in 260 kiloChances??? Thanks, but I'll stick to baiting reckless drivers to chase me down and assault me so I can sue them.
Justin
another promotional tie-in (Score:3, Funny)
Thank you! (Score:5, Funny)
Dear Connecticut State Lottery,
I would like to sincerely thank you. For quite some time now, I've wanted to hone my reverse engineering skills to a very fine edge. Lately, though, I have lacked motivation.
For a while, I dabbled in reverse engineering on-line gambling software. However, depositing money in some shady off-shore bank first really put a wet blanket on my enthusiasm.
This announcement has rekindled my desire to expand my reverse engineering capabilities. I look forward to practicing on your software.
Thank you.
-spoonist
There not the first... (Score:2)
Wow... (Score:3, Funny)
Well, at least they understand modern kids!
Re:Wow... (Score:3, Funny)
"We don't think that [anyone] would really be interested in playing this game."
CT is making their own version of Sims Online?
Hold your horses (Score:2, Interesting)
What is more, the games have parental control protection in case you think playing too much golf is dangerous to your 4-year-old.
I understand that the point is that children are attracted to computer games, put believe me, these are well executed but lame games... And at some point, you have to take responsibility as a parent to control what your child does.
Finally, the games are certainly easily crackable. The catch is that "winning" the game has no value. As the article points out, its the ticket that has the value, protected by a zillion digits control number. So it is on the same level as other scratch-and-win games.
Re:Hold your horses (Score:2)
But here's something even stupider:
<quote>
"You get four tickets for $15. Where could you buy a video game for 15 bucks? You can't," said Derevensky, co-director of the McGill University Youth Gambling Research and Treatment Clinic in Montreal.
</quote>
Methinks he should check out game prices at Future Shit^H^H^HShop - Microsoft Flight Sim 98 = $14.99 Cdn, Railroad Something-or-other $9.99 Cdn, playable demos of various games ("Raven Shield", etc. - 1 cent), Maxis 6-game Sim Packs (SimIsle, other titles) under $20.00. Derevensky should get out more.
Lottery & ATM's (Score:5, Interesting)
Why stop there? (Score:5, Funny)
Heck, why not have an option to receive your Income Tax refund in lottery tickets?
Or maybe a certain percentage of your paycheck? Wait -- they call that stock options.
Nothing new (Score:2, Insightful)
The game (of which I haven't played) has nothing to do with skill, it only depends upon the numbers that are under the scratch off material on the physical ticket. so even if you could "crack" the game it wouldn't do anything for you because to clain the prize you need the physical ticket.
The game is nothing but a formality if you didn't have a PC you could just simply turn the ticket in and the retailer would tell you if you've won/loose and for how much.
Let's get them hooked on gambling early... (Score:2)
nothing to hack (Score:2, Funny)
From the article it sounds like the ticket determins if you win money and the game is just window dressing.
From the Courant:
"Customers may choose to forgo the CD and just scratch and turn in their ticket to see if it's a winner"
Reminds me of the Cadillac PowerPlay contest (Score:3, Interesting)
I can see where this is going (Score:2)
The difference between lottery and gambling (Score:3, Insightful)
It's not just the level of skill involved. Let's have a look.
What exactly is the difference? As was mentioned elsewhere, Reverend Lovejoy said it best:
Once something has been approved by the Government, it's no longer immoral.
yo.
Iowa was the first in 11/2000 (Score:2)
Lottery's Treasure Tower Sales Going Well
Iowa is the first state in the nation to offer an instant-ticket lottery game that can be played on a home computer. Sales of the game began in October, and have gradually been introduced to all of the game at select shopping malls. As of November 14th, the Iowa Lottery has collected approximately $187,456 in sales from the game.
Treasure Tower is a unique combination of a scratch game and CD-ROM technology, with the security of built-in parental control. The Treasure Tower CD cannot be activated without a code from a scratch ticket, which must be purchased at an Iowa retailer by someone age 21 or older.
Players initially buy a Treasure Tower pack containing a CD and three scratch tickets for $12. After the game is installed, future tickets can be bought for $4 per ticket.
Recommended minimum computer re-quirements for the game:
Pentium® 166 MHz compatible
Windows® 95, Windows® 98 or Windows® 2000
32 MB main memory
20 MB available on hard disk
CD-ROM player 8X
Sound card (compatible with DirectSound®)
SVGA Graphics card (640 x 480 pixels in 16-bit mode)
The game will not operate on Windows NT, Mac or Linux systems. Players experiencing difficulty playing the game can call 1-888-852-5558 for assistance from 8 a.m. to midnight.
The game will automatically install itself when inserted into the computer. Treasure Tower then asks for an access code, which is found on scratch tickets in the game. Each ticket contains a single access code good for one adventure. Once installed, the game can be played again and again with different tickets granting access to different adventures.
Expansion of Gambling?
Critics contend that Treasure Tower is an ex-pansion of gambling, and is a form of video gam-bling at home. They are also concerned that the game, with cartoon characters, targets kids. The Iowa Lottery is emphasizing the parental control features of the game that allow adults to block access to the game by those under the age of 21. By entering their own password in the game, players can block anyone else from playing the game.
Set in the Babylonian era, Treasure Tower takes players with a character known as "the Traveler" as he explores the Treasure Tower, a desert castle. The tower has 100 rooms and the code on each ticket gives the player 10 lucky stones that grant access to at least 10 of the rooms. As the traveler searches the tower, the player helps him find objects and symbols in each room. Finding three identical symbols wins a prize. Prizes start at $4, and reaching room 100 at the top of the tower wins the top prize of $10,000.
Re:Iowa was the first in 11/2000 (Score:2)
Lottery Goes Scratch and Sniff
Much less controversial is the Lottery's other scratch game called Easy as Pie. This game features the first scented lottery tickets introduced in Iowa.
Tiny capsules of the pumpkin pie scent were applied to the edges of the latex area on the front of Easy as Pie tickets. The scent of cinnamon and pumpkin pie will be released when players scratch their tickets.
The CD's a gimmick (Score:5, Insightful)
The store I work at got in one of the demos for this game, and since I'm the "resident computer geek", they had me test it out. The CD part of the game is just a complete gimmick. You buy a ticket, which has some long number you type into the program. You watch it go through some corny animation sequences, where you click on every damn thing on the screen, then afterwards, it shows if you won anything. The CD itself doesn't do anything, you need the $4 ticket to claim the prize.
Personally, I think it's going to flop. A lot of the people that I see who buy lotto tickets either go immediately scratch them, then return five minutes later to cash them and buy more, or they just purchase occasionally. This won't appeal to either group; the occasional buyer won't want to drop $25 for the "starter kit" with CD, and the addicts want their money right away, and won't buy it.
This is Baaadddd! (Score:2, Insightful)
parental keys only work after it's installed. I just don't like the idea of kids randomly getting ahold of this.
My wife is horrible about gambling! I have a stuffed dog from the fair that cost $50! We just kept on playin' until she won something and in the end we ended up owing the guy like $30 cause we weren't payin' before each shot. Since then, I don't let her out of my sight at the fair, or at least hand her a budget and cut her off! the dog serves as a visual reminder! If she ever walked in a casino, I'd be bankrupt!
They say people should stop themselves, but I'll tell you that certian personalities just can't stop hoping for the big score! Putting this in any form where kids can get it unattended is just wrong and should be stopped! The people planning this should be booted from office or fired, whichever applies! If your Legislative critters get ideas like this--boot 'um!
Re:Can you blame them though? (Score:5, Interesting)
Many of the online casino games tell the server whether it won or lost. And on one particularly funny case the game connected right to the SQL server at the casino.
The first place I worked did better with a flash/php combo but theve never bothered to upgrade apache or ssl since I quit.
It's quite sad really I'm supprised these places don't get ripped off more often.
Re:Plenty of games for =$15 (Score:2)
Or even good ones that are just slightly older (Fallout 1 & 2, Planescape: Torment, Elite Force, Alpha Centauri...)
And that's ok. (Score:2)
2) It's better for the stupid to be paying their stupid tax to a fund for roads/education/etc so that my taxes are lower than for them to be paying their stupid tax to the mob. That doesn't help keep my taxes down.
Although I don't necessarily agree with the assessment that the lottery is merely a tax on the stupid. The lottery is entertainment. Spending $36 on lottery tickets isn't any worse than spending $36 on Quake CDXVII. In fact, wasting your $36 on the lottery may even be preferable, as at least you still have the hours of time you saved by NOT playing Quake left to do something constructive.
If people want to spend $5 for a day or even a few minutes of wondering if they've won, what makes them any worse than someone who spends $40/month and wastes hours on end playing Everquest? The consumer is entertained for some amount of time, and when that time is over, they're left with nothing of value.
Gambling is only "bad" because it's entertainment where the people who REALLY like it can very easily entertain themselves into bankruptcy and other bad things - the ratio of dollars consumed to time required to consume it is high. Hell, I bet I know more people who are broke because they play paintball too much than who are broke because they gamble too much. *ANY* form of expensive entertainment will mess up your life if you do it too much.