Patrick says he has ‘no confidence’ in the Texas Lottery

AUSTIN – The Austin American-Statesman reports Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick expressed serious doubts Wednesday about the future of the Texas Lottery, telling the American-Statesman in an exclusive interview that he had lost confidence in the 33-year-old, state-run gaming operation amid recent controversy surrounding so-called lottery courier stores that have recently sold winning tickets. “This is a mess, and if people don’t have confidence in the lottery, they’re going to stop playing,” Patrick said in the interview. “And right now, as lieutenant governor of the state of Texas, I have no confidence in the lottery.” The interview came one day after Patrick, a powerful three-term Republican who presides over the Texas Senate, visited a lottery courier storefront in Austin that on Monday sold the winning ticket for an $83.5 million Lotto Texas jackpot.

Patrick told the Statesman he was startled to learn that the store called Winners Corner was not a traditional shop that sold convenience items like snacks and soda. Instead, he found “racks and racks” of lottery terminals “just spitting out tickets.” The store, one of 17 across the nation and Puerto Rico, is owned by a courier company called Jackpot. It also sells board games, which allows it to avoid the state’s ban on retailers that sell only lottery tickets. Patrick posted several video vignettes from the Winners Corner, including his phone conversation with the store manager and a corporate lawyer. Speaking with the lawyer, Patrick said courier companies seem to be at odds with everyday lottery players who buy their tickets at the corner convenience store. “The intent of the lottery law when it was passed, was that (tickets would be sold) at a commercial location, your typical Stop’N Go store,” Patrick told him. In a statement, Jackpot and its parent company DraftKings said the winning numbers “were selected by the winner,” and not the courier company or by its Austin store.