Lottery Loses Again
- For the third consecutive year, the private firm hired run the Illinois Lottery has failed to bring in the profits it promised to raise for the state, even as its parent companies continue to be paid more each year to provide games and services.
According to a Tribune review of preliminary year-end data, Northstar Lottery Group posted a net profit of $738 million – nearly a quarter billion less than it pledged to bring in for the 2014 fiscal year, which ended June 30.
The figure is less than the company raised for the state in the 2012 and 2013 fiscal years after it became the first private company in the nation to take over day-to-day operations of a state lottery.
After three years, Northstar is about $480 million behind what it committed to bring into the state’s coffers, prompting one of the company’s harshest critics to renew questions about why Gov. Pat Quinn has not fired the company.
In private practice, if you don't hit targets, you get fired.
In government, if you don't hit targets, you get subsidies.
What could possibly be keeping Quinn from firing these fools?
In government, if you don't hit targets, you get subsidies.
What could possibly be keeping Quinn from firing these fools?
- Northstar spokeswoman Avis LaVelle said the company would not have any response until the 2014 results have been audited, something that has yet to be completed for the two prior years.
You mean Shortshanks former press secretary Avis LaVelle? That explains it all right there.
Labels: money questions, state politics
posted by SCC at 12:02 AM
28 Comments:
$480 Million could fund a lot of nice retirement homes.
So we came up a little short, the parties the vendors threw were EPIC!
As soon as I read Avis LaVelle I said WHHHOOOOAAAA.
Just another politically-connected firm. That's why it doesn't even pay to respond to state bids - they are ALL fixed.
That's the perception at least and in Illinois, we know the perception is the reality.
Reminds me of that company that Rahm tried to coerce the AG of Minn. to back off on,
Accretive Health, Inc..
...“The reality of it was, we were expecting (the fallout) to be much worse,” said Bret Jones, an analyst with Oppenheimer & Co.
The situation, however, did get worse. In February 2013, Accretive leaders postponed the release of the company's 2012 full-year financials, saying they had to re-evaluate how to recognize base fees and incentive revenue. Several analysts didn't foresee a major problem.
RESOLUTION DELAYED
“For a while, I thought this would be resolved in a couple months,” Jones said. “But this has gone on for a lot longer than I anticipated.”
As of the end of last week, Accretive still had not released quarterly results for 2012, 2013 or 2014, nor had it announced restated financials from 2010 and 2011. In 2011, the company said it had a $29 million profit and more than $826 million in revenue.
Since the postponed release of the financials, the company has cleaned house. Co-founder and former CEO Mary Tolan stepped down last year, and her successor, Stephen Schuckenbrock, is now on his way out. The missed reporting deadlines also forced the New York Stock Exchange to delist Accretive this past March. The company now trades on the over-the-counter market. As of last week, it was trading at almost $9 a share.
rest of the story: http://www.chicagobusiness.com/article/20140721/NEWS03/140729980/here-are-the-challenges-facing-accretive-healths-new-ceo
Rahm Emanuel: Back off Accretive Health probe
Posted by: Corey Mitchell Updated: May 8, 2012 - 2:22 PM
...Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel has asked Minnesota Attorney General Lori Swanson to back off of Accretive Health Inc. until she’s met company executives to discuss her concerns about its collection practices.
In an undated letter addressed to Swanson, Emanuel defends Chicago-based Accretive, which served as a financial consultant at Fairview hospitals until last month when she released a report that alleged the company violated federal and state laws, including those regulating debt collection and patient privacy, to collect debt from patients.
Emanuel’s letter did not directly address any of the concerns Swanson’s report raised, but said Accretive Health “does important work for hospitals and good things for our City, particularly for our neediest citizens.”
In response, Swanson wrote that Accretive CEO Mary Tolan declined her invitation to meet last week and vowed to press on with her investigation.
“This is a law enforcement matter,” Swanson wrote. “Unfortunately, Accretive appears to address it as a political one. It has retained or contacted numerous heavyweights in the national Democratic Party.”
Last week, Accretive’s lawyer accused Swanson of distorting the company’s business practices and blindsiding the company by release information that Accretive provided “voluntarily and confidentially.”
http://www.startribune.com/politics/statelocal/150635345.html
Why do all these companies that deal with Chicago or the state of Illinois have problems counting their money IN THE 21St CENTURY AGE OF COMPUTERS?
"Capitalism is the legitimate racket of the ruling class". - Al Capone.
Why do they continually promote games where "100% of the profits" go to MS, or Save the Whales, or whatever the cause of the month is? The PROFITS should be going into the school funds or general funds of the State of Illinois.
Whatever, Al, but what's going on here is not an example of capitalism.
If life is six degrees, in politics it has to be even less.
After bonuses and kickbacks, how can you expect a profit?
This is a great example of why many no longer support a Chicago run casino.
Yes, we could use the revenue, but the thought of all the friends and families of Burke's, Daley's Madigan's, Brookin's, Jackson's and Vaneko's lined up at the trough make it a money losing situation that will need massive tax payer subsidies
Try my company---SouthStar. We will do better.
Yet the Illinois Lottery is one of the most profitable in the nation. Why? Because no one wins!
If people won even small amounts maybe they would sell more tickets.
Pop Quiz:
1) Who was Governor when the last Illinois resident won the Mega Millions Jackpot?
2) In what century did an Illinois resident win the Grand Prize in either Mega Millions or Powerball?
3) When did you last win over $5
'There's your problem right there...'
They should try less big payouts and more smaller payouts. Everybody I talk to say the same, oh I never win at the lottery. It's just not fun to play anymore. They continue to add more balls within each drawing and make the odds harder and harder to win anything.
$30 scratch off. Who the hell would buy one?
Avis LaVelle was on WGN Radio back when Mumbles was running for Mayor the first time against Sawyer. She was his shadow then. You don't suppose they were real close in a certain way? Nah, not with Maggie keeping watch. But still, maybe, could be, it might have been...
theft
shrinkage???
Gotta pay to play and play to win. The odds just aren't there. Who throws away money on this crap nowadays? And they said it was for the kids and the schools. Ha! Who believed in that sack of a lie? The state isn't losing money with the lottery. They are losing money with free loaders and entitled folks if some who are illegal aliens. Keep dumping money into the lost cause, you know what this state and country have been going through. Detroit here we come!
Heavy very heavy contributions.
I'm sure the potatohead has been more than
"adequately compensated"
there was probably some scheme that gives the potatohead and madigan and few other chosen few a loins share of tr cash.
So wait a minute...the state lottery brought in three quarters of a trillion dollars instead of a trillion dollars on people self-taxing themselves by buying lottery tickets, and the state is upset? And the unemployment rate is, what, 10%? 12? I'd say three quarters of a trillion dollars gambling revenue is pretty good in this economy, and so STFU. Want to plug the gap AND lower unemployment? Legalize prostitution and tax it.
Good news too! Heard that robots and computer programs are gonna be 47 % of the workforce.say in 5 years .
>>>> 'A spokeswoman for Quinn said that his administration expects Northstar to meet the revenue targets outlined in its winning bid. “Protecting taxpayers is our foremost priority and our office continues to closely monitor the situation,” spokeswoman Katie Hickey said earlier this week. “ ' <<<<
Okaaaay... what exactly does Potato-Head propose Northstar do? Kidnap a slew of people from their homes at night and ship them off in semis to stores that sell Lottery tickets and make the people purchase Lottery Tickets --- "Or Else".
Seriously, in case these morons haven't been paying attention our economy is in the fucking crapper. People are lucky if they have any kind of job, and if they do it's Part Time and/or pays a lot less that jobs did a few years ago, like BEFORE OBAMA!
In addition to that bullshit, there's now the cost of peoples goddamn ObamaCare Insurance premiums, premiums which are mostly double of their previous insurance premiums. Then factor in the higher costs of everything from fucking Ground Hamburger to Gasoline and Utility Bills.
The end result is...NO Disposable Income! The people don't have $5 fricken dollars to gamble away now. So contract or no contract, I honestly don't see how anyone can guarantee how much profit they'll make from gambling, and buying lottery tickets IS gambling.
Ergo IMHO, the state is lucky if this company, or any, pays them any profit from running the Lottery, but Northstar isn't blameless either. Guaranteeing a Fixed Profit -- dumb, dumb, and dumb.
The reality is that the Illinois Lottery would have ZERO chance of raising $480 million in new revenue on their own. The Northstar contract is all upside to the state. Every aspect of running a lottery: the system the games, artwork, promotion, marketing, pay-offs - everything is outsourced. Illinois got a new system for no up front money.
The scratch off Pick 4 customer is the most profitable because he buys tickets twice a week. But, that customer is generally minority and not rich. Big (multi- hundred million dollar) jackpots get the players from the wealthy suburbs - they are a lot easier for politicians to justify the social cost.
The question shouldn't really be whether the state got screwed because Northstar can't get to its targets. The question is really, why does the lottery have the same number of people working for it now with everything outsourced as it did before the contract.
Video poker is grabbing lottery players - at a lower tax rate 25% versus 50%.
Oh yeah, people are working less and making less. That makes a difference. If the Lottery hadn't outsourced, it would be worse.
Dennis Gannon who got the $158,000 a year city pension for one days work- his daughter works there. Anyone surprised?
I have played the little lotto since it started.. when it went from once a week to twice than up to daily,, I just quit playing the lotto once a week and just played the little lotto.,. that was $30 a month ($31 some months).. when it went to twice a day for a dollar each game and you had to play both games..I quit.. so now I spend $0 a loss for the state of $30 .. and a gain for me.. these idiots just don't learn they still haven't figured out how much tax money they lose from cigarettes.. food.. bottled water (in Chicago)gas etc.. as people go out of the state to purchase these item..
A google search of "avis lavelle biography" reveals quite a list of political jobs she has had, besides former rich m daley's press secretary. she was also, according to the only print muckraker in town The Reader, a spokesperson for Chicago Parking Meters LLC, the company that reaps gobs of money from people who pay to park on city streets.
I have played the little lotto since it started.. when it went from once a week to twice than up to daily,, I just quit playing the lotto once a week and just played the little lotto.,. that was $30 a month ($31 some months).. when it went to twice a day for a dollar each game and you had to play both games..I quit.. so now I spend $0 a loss for the state of $30 .. and a gain for me.. these idiots just don't learn they still haven't figured out how much tax money they lose from cigarettes.. food.. bottled water (in Chicago)gas etc.. as people go out of the state to purchase these item..
Out of state. It's as simple as driving a few blocks to the suburbs. And when I'm there I do my grocery shopping, mall shopping, and maybe lunch or dinner. All those revenues are lose by the city.
What amazes me is how stupid or in their own world politicians are. For a $2.50 case of 24 bottled waters they add $2.40 additional tax in the city and they act surprised that city revenue from bottled water went down and that people go to the suburbs for it.
Alot of Arab and Indian names on the instant jackpot list why is that? They scan the tickets looking for the big winners its too funny.
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