HOW THE LOTTERY IS CONDUCTED IN NEW SOUTH WALES

Grey River Argus, 4 September 1948, Page 7

HOW THE LOTTERY IS CONDUCTED IN NEW SOUTH WALES

(By

G. Y. Birch)

Hundreds of thousands of Australians and New Zealanders, and investors from other countries each year try their luck in the New South Wales State lottery, conducted under Government supervision. The lottery in New South Wales, like the Golden Casket in Brisbane, is one of the biggest gambling attractions in the State. It is more, however, in that the profits are utilised for the upkeep of hospitals , throughout the State. To those hundreds of people who have never witnessed a drawing . of the lottery, the following description ’should assist them to visualise just what happens three to four days a week, in a room above Paling’s Music Shop, off Pitt Street, Sydney. Drawings are conducted in public, and in the presence of the lottery superintendent, treasury officials, the police and the press. . A huge barrel which contains a special device for mixing the 100,000 marbles, stands on a platform. For each drawing the barrel, which is locked and sealed, is opened by the superintendent. A check of the interior is made, the door locked and about to begin. the barrel revolved. The drawing is A member of the public is called - on to draw the first marble, which will mean that the holder of the ticket containing the number on the marble will win £6OOO or £12,000, depending on the lottery being drawn. In Sydney every fifth lottery the first prize is valued at £12,000, all others carrying a first prize of £6OOO. A long silver gripper, with a device at the end which allows only one marble to be extracted at a time, is thrust among the marbles. This is drawn out, and is handed, still in the gripper, to the senior drawing officer. He takes the margle, reads out the number, which is taken down by six different clerks. It is checked back by the senior clerk, and the marble placed in a special tray. The barrel is again locked and revolved, and the same procedure followed until all the major prizes have been drawn. A scoop is then used to lift out marbles for the £2O, £lO and £5 prizes. As each number is called it is checked and placed in a tray until the last number. In the meantime the lottery officials have ascertained the name and address of the major prize winners, and these are handed to the newspapers. The drawing occupies an hour and a half, and by 11.30 a.m. the evening newspapers carry the full list of prize-winners and interviews with the major prize-winners. Back in the hall the marbles have been returned to the barrel, which is locked and sealed by Treasury officials, and left until the next drawing. The whole thing is watertight and mistakes are impossible.

GOLDEN CASKET DIFFERENT

The Golden Casket, in Brisbane, is worked on an entirely different principle. This machine, somewhat like a barrel, possesses a long handle. When this is turned numbers drop into a slot in front of the machine where everyone can see them. This method is also foolproof, and replaces one of marbles that some years ago almost resulted in a swindle. The idea then was for a person to thrust his hand into a barrel and extract the marble. This day a boy was called on, and as he was about to plunge his hand into the barrel an official found he was holding a marble. Several people, including the father of the boy, were indicted over the attempted, swindle —the marble carried first prize. That was one reason the Queensland Government decided on the Golden Casket. .

NOT ALL GOOD LUCK

There are many stories associated with the winning of the lottery and Golden Casket, and some of them indicate that too much money is not good medicine for some people/ For instance, in Brisbane a young and successful fruiterer won £6OOO. He immediately sold his business, married and set up as a bookmaker. In less than three months he was bankrupt, and was forced to earn his living as a labourer. In another instance tragedy entered the lives of an elderly brother and sister when £6OOO came to them from the Golden Casket. The shock to these two people, who had, until then, been happy on theii’ pensions, was such that' they became mental, and were confined to an institution from, which they would never be released. There is the case of a Sydney woman who won £5OOO. She became addicted to drink, throwing away hei’ money on human vultures who battened on her, and eventually with only a few pounds left, she committed suicide.

The greater percentage of winners. however, have used judgment in the handling of their wealth, and have invested it in gilt-edged securities, or purchased homes. There are others, of course, the boys or girls under 21, who must wait until they become of age before they can collect. The Government ’ banks the money, and under no circumstances is it paid over until they attain their majority. Only recently, a married woman, with a young baby, won £6OOO in Sydney, but she had to wait five months before collecting—she was only a little more than twenty years of age. . Money attracts money, it is said, and maybe there is something in it. A bookmaker’s clerk in Sydney won £5OOO at the races one Saturday. On the Monday he won £12,000 in the State lottery! And to do it he had spent £7 on tickets. There is another man in Sydney, whose luck in the lottery is phenomenal. He has won first prize on four occasions, and a total of more than £50,000 all told over a period of only a few years. The fact that he purchases 100 or more tickets in each lottery may have something to do with it. -