Letters to the Editor


Recent sweepstakes editorial got it wrong


Dead Editor, I’m not the kind of person who writes to the edi-


tor all of the time, as a matter of fact, this is my first time. After reading the Matt Tate commentary in the Dec. 2 - 8 issue Tribune I feel that I must respond because I think it had the ring of an almost judgemental glee to it. I am the president of Cole Vending Co., Inc. here in Weaverville and I would like to tell our side of the story. Te first thing Mr. Tate brings up is the problems


at the Buncombe County Sheriff’s Department and I would like to tell you what I think created some of the circumstances for this to happen. When the law was passed requiring the registration of all video redemption machines, a second part to the law was to be passed in the next session. Tis second part was to create a $500 license stamp per machine to be issued by the state to each of the counties and controlled through the sheriff’s department of that county. Tis was to give the sheriffs the revenue to police the industry and the state the ability to keep track of the 10,200 legally registered machines in the state. Te second part was never passed and total con-


trol was put in the hands of the local sheriffs, which opened the door for potential problems. As for the lottery which Mr. Tate cites as being less corrupt, I question that too. Te investigation that eventu- ally brought down Speaker Jim Black was started because of allegations of misconduct between the speakers office and Scientific Games, one of the po- tential lottery companies and there is still a lot of controversy about the way the lottery was passed. Now I would like to compare the lottery to the


sweepstakes games. First of all, it’s a proven fact that the largest group of people who play the lottery are the poorest (some estimates over 70 percent) people in the state. Some of the highest-revenue produc- ing lottery outlets in the state are the ones close to low-income housing. Te majority of the people (about 65 percent) who play the video sweepstakes are working or retired people. When you buy a lottery ticket or scratch-off what


do you get besides the ticket, nothing. When you buy credits or points in the sweepstakes you get In- ternet minutes or long-distance minutes. When you play the scratch-off, the winning percentage is 15


Big Ivy News from Big Ivy Volunteers are still needed for


the Meals on Wheels program in the Barnardsville area. At this time of winter when money is low, food is scarce and everyone is busy, please consider helping the community just a few hours each week. Call 253-5286 or 626-3438 for more information. More Big Ivy news: • The library also is in need of coverage, especially on Saturdays.


If you like to read or need time to do research on the Internet, call Roycette at 779-2048 or 626- 3438. • Joanna Dillingham Blood-


stock blood drive will be held from 2 pm to 6:30 pm on Dec. 28 at the Barnardsville Fire Depart- ment. Call 626-2624 for more in- formation. • A Boy Scout troop of 15 young men is looking for leaders and as-


sistant leaders. Call 626-3438 to help. • Vicki Fox teaches ZUMBA at


6 pm each Wednesday Barnards- ville United Methodist Church. For more information, email vck- fox@gmail.com. • Pleasant Gap United Method-


ist Church will hold a Christmas Eve service at 5 pm on Dec. 24. Te church is located on Hol- combe Branch Road.


www.weavervilletribune.com 4 THE TRIBUNE/LEADER - December 16 - December 22, 2010


percent. When you play sweepstakes the winning percentage is between 45 percent and 91.5 percent. When a store sells $1,000 worth of lottery tickers,


it receives $70. When a store sells $1,000 worth of long-distance time, the people buying it will receive the long-distance service and could possibly redeem $500 or more in cash or prizes. If this is the case, the store would receive $250 and the sweepstakes company would receive $250. My question is, if you were a business owner,


would you rather have $70 or $250 to help you with your overhead? Tere is also the entertainment factor to be con-


sidered. In the scratch-off, you scratch your ticket to see if you win and if you don’t, you throw it in the trash and try again. In the sweepstakes,


you play


video games just like the ones at home to see if you win. As far as impact, the last time we had to remove


these games many small Mom & Pop businesses had to close and others had to lay people off including our company. As a matter of fact, it was estimated that over 8,000 people lost their jobs because of this law. When we had to remove the machines last time, it was in July but this time it is three weeks before Christmas. So Merry Christmas from the N.C. Leg- islature to all of you who might lose your job be- cause of this law. Because of the impending budget problems and


the popularity of these games, representatives from our industry have been talking with some people in state government and we agree that if we were regulated and taxed it would be good for us and the state. Some of us think that with an 8 percent sales tax on the gross income or 25 percent on the net income from the sweepstakes or games like them, we could make the state as much as $400,000,000 a year. Tere is one last point I would like to make. Please


understand that this is only a part of our business but it is an important part. Finally, as far as the lot- tery and Te Buncombe County School System is concerned, the way the lottery was set up originally, Buncombe County didn’t receive any money from the lottery. As a matter of fact, it’s possible that our company has been responsible for giving more mon- ey, in the form of scholarships, to the Buncombe County School System than the lottery has.


Howard Cole Weaverville


PO Box 2293 • Weaverville, NC 28787 Volume 8, Issue 50


Te Leicester


Leader


PO Box 202 • Leicester, NC 28748 Volume 3, Issue 50


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