Support Your Poor, Needy Local NFL Team By Playing Lottery
A common rationalization for lottery players who throw away their cash on get-rich-quick dreams is "it's OK if I lose, because at least the money is going to schools."
Now Dallas residents can substitute "schools" with "Tony Romo's next signing bonus" and "big, stupid, punt-blocking scoreboards." The gambling-averse NFL has buckled to economic pressures and allowed teams to sell their own state lottery scratch-off tickets, the Dallas Morning News reports.
The Cowboys hope to make $4.2 million from the tie-in, and the Houston Texans could pull in $1.45 million, the Dallas Morning News reports:
These scratch-off games were made possible after the NFL decided in May to drop its ban on such sponsorships. The NFL and major sports leagues have typically shied away from associations with any type of gambling.
The recession, however, has put a squeeze on even the nation's most lucrative franchises. In the Cowboys' case, despite having the NFL's most expensive stadium and one of the biggest names in sports, the team has been unable to land a naming-rights deal this year.
At least the money going to worthy causes. Terrell Owens' contract buyout isn't going to pay itself off, so it's nice that poor people with delusions of quick, easy wealth will be chipping in.
Cowboys cashing in on Texas Lottery scratch-off tickets [Dallas Morning News]
(Photo: blue_j)
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The NFL could just do like ever other sport, raise ticket prices so high that nobody goes initially. Then it makes the news that ticket prices are insane, generates a ton of free advertising and they lower ticket prices again. Its the neverending circle.
That's their own damn fault you know.
Overpaying players, overcharging for substandard, awful foods bordering on being poison. Ticket costs skyrocketing for seating where you have to wear oxygen or risk passing out.
That's all their fault for making a quick buck instead of doing what they were made to do in the first place; play.
Q: What has six balls and screws Texas?
A: The Lottery (tm Kinky Friedman)
The lottery in Texas doesn't fund education, at least not in the way people were led to believe. Yes, the proceeds from the lottery go into the education fund, but oddly, when the lottery started that fund shrunk down about the same amount that the lottery brought in.
In Maryland, the proceeds from our tickets have been going to the "Maryland Stadium Authority" for years. You know, because taxpayers paid for new stadiums instead of the team owners.
But Phil, How objectively can we take this article, considering your recently professed hatred of the Dallas Cowboys?
Ah the NFL, finding yet more ways to work with government to fleece people.
@Streblo: Can you point to a link for that? Not doubting, just want to have that in a more solid form.
Support the Vikings? After hiring Favre? Not a chance in hell. Oh, the shame...
This summer we had a Yankees and Red Sox game in CT. Just yesterday I saw a billboard for a NY Giants one on I-84 in Waterbury.
My GF got excited because it said something about pre-season sales and she thougth it was for tickets, only to realize it was for a cratch ticket.
I only saw it for half a second cus I tend to ignore them and pay attention to what is in front of me.
@Nighthawke: I was at the next Cowboys stadium on Saturday and I have to say that the food is by no means substandard and awful. The hot dogs were VERY good (better than at the Ballpark in Arlington across the way) and they have Cheesesteaks that are fairly good. Now, if an Eagles fan is down here, they'll probably say they're horrible, but for someone who likes them (me) it wasn't that bad.
As for the tickets... very expensive. But the place is selling out. Even the nosebleed seats. I would venture to guess, because of that, he's not overcharging. Its basic economics. And this was a PRESEASON game.
Oh... and the stadium. Wow.
just to be clear, this is a Dallas issue , not an NFL issue.
The 6 time Super Bowl Champion Pittsburgh Steelers have a similar lottery ticket going as well via the PA state Lottery, but all these profits go to the same state assistance that the rest of the state charities go to.
Maybe if Dallas would win a few more football games, they could afford a bit of charity.
10 years later when they ban NFL lottery tickets:
Football Star: "It's a real shame that the people don't want to support us after all we do for them. I was only able to afford nine Ferrari's and two, TWO, Bugatti's this year. I hope none of the other player's had to go through the same pain I did."
I'd wondered why all of a sudden the Connecticut state lottery came up with a NY Giants-sponsored game. They caught some heat over their promotion which stated that "Connecticut is Giants' territory" ... because this is quite obviously not true (CT has a lot of Giants fans, yes, but it also has a lot of Patriots fans, and a sizeable minority of Jets fans).
Apparently the Patriots have no interest in a CT lottery promotion. I have no idea why, but it may have something to do with Robert Kraft's antipathy toward CT ... the state that had appropriated money to build him a new stadium, free to him, but he nonetheless refused this over-generous offer.
Patriots have been doing this too. They started the "Patriots $1mil Ticket" or whatever it is, and people like buying it because of the association with the team. I'm not a scratch ticket buyer, but hell, I'd probably buy a Pats branded ticket over "LUCKY SEVENS" or something else.
@PsiCop: It's because Connecticut sucks and everyone knows it. :)
I wasn't against it back in the 1990s when the discussion was active, because most of Eastern CT is closer to me than Foxborough is, but it had a few major drawbacks. First, transportation -- Patriots fans coming from New Hampshire and parts north would have been required to drive through Worcester, 290, and 395 for most of the proposed plans. Those roads cannot handle the traffic like Route 1, 495, 95, and the Pike handle it when going to foxborough... not that they handle the traffic great, but there are so many ways to get out of Foxborough that you get out of those lots onto Route 1 and onto the open road within about 30 minutes of the end of the game (from seat to highway). Back in the day, it used to be a 3 hour wait.
Another big thing is what Kraft's final plan for Foxborough was, with Patriot Place. South Eastern CT is dominated by the Casinos, which had already been established by the late 1990s, and the Kraft's want to develop Foxborough into a Foxwoods-light area.. not with the gambling, but with hotels, shopping, and attractions other than the sports teams. There isn't the room for that in most of Connecticut, until you get towards Western CT, which is not as heavy of a Patriots region as the rest of CT.
@watcher95: Point of clarification, the Steelers are 4 time Superbowl champions. They bought and paid for the last two wins.
GAMBLING IS EVIL & DANGEROUS (unless I am the one collecting the rake).
What I think is funny is that the Washington Redskins scratch-off game is being produced by the Virginia lottery, not DC.
That being said, yes I've bought some of the scratch-off tickets for the Ravens, but I want to collect enough of the second chance game points to try to win season tickets for 20 years ;-)
Actually, I think they're punt-deflecting scoreboards. The contact occurs after the punt has crossed the line of scrimmage, so it's not really a block. :)
It's good to see that the NFL is solidly behind gambling and will do anything in its power to support an industry that will ... what? oh. So this gambling is OK, but that gambling isn't.
whew. I nearly corrupted myself with the "wrong" type of gambling.
Maybe they can sell some Colts scratch-off tickets to make up for the debt the Capital Improvement Board has incurred. Think they can get a million tickets printed in two weeks?
@watcher95: Also from the article, the Houston Texans also is involved in this, too. So even in Texas, it's not just the Cowboys.
Sour grapes. Steelers overcame:
1. Toughest schedule ever given in the NFL. Not my words, ESPN. [sports.espn.go.com]
2. Steelers are #12th in total salary, not first. [msn.foxsports.com]
Watcher95, are you perhaps from Cleveland or Baltimore? >-}
@KreativeHitman13: The NFL already has the highest ticket prices in sports(not including the highest priced Yankees tickets). I don't see how the Consumerist just found out about this. The Patriots lottery tickets have been out for weeks, and numerous other teams have signed agreements with lotteries and have tickets available now. Also, Terrell Owens didn't have a contract buyout. His guaranteed money had already been paid so it didn't cost any actual money when they released him. If you're going to report on sports have someone that knows the facts.
@PsiCop:
And what makes that even funnier is that neither the "NY" Giants or Jets actually play in NY, but rather in East Rutherford, NJ.
So, in getting $4.2 million, the Coyboys are making enough money to move their scoreboard twice (I had heard that moving it cots $2mil)
I like lotteries. It's about time the poor pay for services that are useless to the rich.
Underfed, tattered-book-loaning students or already-lushly-subsidized, billionaire football stadium owners.
Only in Texas would these two classes of people have to compete for scarce public resources...
On the bright side, I suppose this means fewer Creationist biology textbooks purchased, so... Win?
@Nighthawke: Overpaying players or overspending owners?
Leave it to Big League sports owners to run the only legal monopoly in the nation, and the owners still screw it up.
@Streblo: In fairness to Texas, that particular Big Lie is what all state lottery companies use to justify their entry.
@Trai_Dep: Hah... optimist. Instead, they'll cut funds for health, arts education, history, vocational programs and music so they'll be able to fund those all-important Intelligent Design/Creationist programs. They removed the requirement to teach health just this year. It's not like offering classes about it has kept teenagers from getting each other pregnant around here, after all, it was obviously a wasted expense. ;)
This shiznit is why I've given up pro sports.
/enjoy minor league baseball, though. players may not be as polished, but they play hard.
I laughed when the idiots in Arlington, Tx voted to pay to have "Jerry's World" built there. This was after they paid the keep the Rangers there (and lost money on that deal too!). I laughed again when several home owners who thought they were going to get rich, got paid below market value on their home from land grab for Jerry's World. (IMHO, the use of eminent domain/condeming should be illegal for anything other than building/expanding 1roadways and even then the owner should be given top dollar, not be ripped off)
I just cannot believe the absurd amount the Cowboys are charging, er screwing, the fans who want to come see a game. $40 just for parking? $100+ a seat (on top of the rights to purchase the tickets). crap food for the price of a high scale restaurant. If you in the cheap seats, well, good luck trying to players on the field.
I remember the days before Jerry owned them and it was enjoyable to go to a game (one where the Cowboys might actually win!).
@grumpymo: Salary had little to do with the last two wins. Attache' cases full of small unmarked bills delivered to a guys dressed as zebras on the other hand...
Greedy-ass NFL and Dallas Cowboys-money doesn't buy you everything, in this case, a name.