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Lottery officials admit jackpots were inflated

Monday, June 27, 2005 | 9:45 a.m.

AUSTIN, Texas -- Lottery officials admitted they knew ticket sales would not cover an advertised $8 million Lotto Texas jackpot this month, meaning a winner would not have collected the full amount.

The Texas Lottery Commission used the inflated number for the June 8 drawing to generate interest and get more people to play even though staff reports estimated sales could only cover about $6.5 million, manager Robert Tirloni told commissioners on Friday.

Tirloni said jackpots had fallen short of the advertised amounts twice before -- once last October and again in February. Each involved an advertised $8 million jackpot that couldn't be supported by ticket sales. No winners emerged, however.

"At the time that we did these estimations, I felt that it was critical for the long-term health of the game for the jackpot to increase if there was no jackpot ticket sold," Tirloni said. "In hindsight, I would have left the jackpot amount at the same amount."

The revelations prompted strong criticism from the lottery's three commissioners. The issue is scheduled to undergo legislative scrutiny next week.

"There is nothing more important to this entire business than the integrity of the game," Commissioner Rolando Olvera said.

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