NOVEL LOTTERY SCHEME

Hokitika Guardian, 8 February 1924, Page 1

NOVEL LOTTERY SCHEME

SAN FRANCISCO. Jan. 1

It is exceedingly difficult for the police authorities of American cities to cheek gambling uud another method to defeat iho powers that *e Inis been evolved in thu populous tuoLur-eni ina.’iufat.iij itig, city ut Detroit. it scents that at; ingenious lottery, with if. r oiui.us: minder'- derived from daily M'inpena.ure readings, is being operated full blast in Detroit ’along with numerous gambling activities that the anti-gambling law lias been powerless to stop. Tickets in tin 1 lottery known as the "Mutual ■Weather Report.” are being sold in cigar stores, suit drink parlours, and “blind-pigs” throughout the city. Tickets cost half-a-crown apiece. On each ticket is a score card with a space- for each day in the week except Sunday. The tickets are numbered serially. Official temperatures arc taken bv the United States "Weather Bureau at fi a.in.. 9 a.m., and 3 p ut. The last digits of each temperature reading, placed one alter the othei form a day’s winning number. The bolder of the ticket corresponding to that number or nearest to it wins the daily capital prize ol 190 dollars. tin Saturdays there is’a special prize ol 500 dollars. Winnings are paid wltorecver the holder of the ticket bought it. As an example, it to-day's temperatures were of, CO, OS and i'2. the winning number would he 40*2. In addition there are ”0 daily pi izes ranging from 10 dollars to 'JO dollars, based on the nearest numbers above and below the winning one. I bore are al.-m nine so-called “terminal prizes” of 3 dollars awarded to ticket-bidders, the last three digits of whose serial nmnlsers coincide with ihc winning number. The aggregate prizes in the daily list is about Jfio dollars, while mi Saturday Sill dollars is paid in prizes. The total amount of prize-money which would have to he paid each week would be about *2178 dollars, which, in addition to cost of printed matter, commissions to agents and profits to the promoters, provided the scheme is conducted on the square and the prizes really paid, would necessitate the selling of more than oool> of the tickets each week at least. Some time ago a similar scheme was in operation in various cities, the timires being taken from the daily bank clearings. At one time newspapers in some of the cities printed onlv the round numliors of the bank clearings in order to defeat the gambling scheme, and they are still 'knag JC ’lt is claimed that a “ring” is operating the scheme in a number m American cities, including Detroi and that the tickets are punted out of town, and despatched secretly into the town, where the lottery is ton ducted.