North Carolina's lottery embarrassment
Let me suggest a motto for North Carolina's Easley Money Lottery:
"No matter what it looks like now, we're going to run an honest game. Really. You can bet on it."
Seriously, this lottery is in trouble.
It's sad. For many years, I was proud that North Carolina stayed out of the gambling racket while states all around were succumbing to the temptation of grabbing easy money.
Now, thanks to a governor who made the lottery his top priority and legislative leaders who pushed through a lottery bill even without majority support, we're going to have our own numbers game. I'm ashamed and embarrassed.
All North Carolinians ought to be embarrassed.
Barely more than a month after the appointment of our nine-member Lottery Commission, two have resigned.
The first, Malachi Greene, simply said he really didn't have time to serve. Maybe he recognized what kind of swamp he was wading into and thought better of it.
The second, Kevin Geddings, quit yesterday, complaining that "persistent negative publicity" about his past business and personal ties to the vice president of a lottery company were distracting from the commission's work.
A little later, it was revealed just how close his associations were.
That same lottery vendor, Scientific Games, paid Geddings' Charlotte public relations company $24,500 this year -- at least in part for work in the legislature in support of lottery legislation.
The final payment of $9,500 was made Sept. 23, the day after Speaker Jim Black appointed Geddings to the lottery commission.
Geddings never disclosed the payments. They were reported by Scientific Games in papers filed with the N.C. Secretary of State's Office yesterday.
Scientific Games also reported paying Black's former political adviser Meredith Norris $44,592 this year.
Black's spokeswoman said the speaker was "very surprised and disappointed" by the news that Geddings was on the Scientific Games payroll, and never would have appointed him to the commission had he known.
I hope that's true.
The company that is awarded a contract to run North Carolina's lottery will make a lot of money. Scientific Games somehow keeps popping up. Its report also says Black was a guest at 12 meals it paid for, including a $547 dinner in Las Vegas.
Fortunately, Geddings is now off the lottery commission. But what will we find out next?
I wonder if even our lottery governor is starting to worry.
Comments (3)
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It was reported in the News-Record today that the Tennessee Lottery Head earned $700,000 in her first year on the job. That's a lot of cash for a government job. All anyone has to do to understand the potential for corruption here is to follow the money. Any time large sums of money are in play in government, corruption can't be far behind.
Posted on November 2, 2005 1:47 PM
What are the chances of having the vote to approve the lottery thrown out in light of these new developments? Seems to me it was a sham before it ever started. People in this state should be outraged at the way this bill was crammed down our throats.
Posted on November 2, 2005 9:43 PM
I could envision a legal challenge to the lottery legislation.
In the meantime, I commend N.C. Secretary of State Elaine Marshall for asking Attorney General Roy Cooper to look into possible criminal violations of state lobbying laws.
I also have to say that Jim Black's appointment of James Woodward to replace Kevin Geddings on the lottery commission is a good one. Woodward, retired chancellor at UNC-Charlotte, is a man of integrity.
Posted on November 3, 2005 11:39 AM