Tulsa World: Paying to win

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Paying to win
Those in poorer areas spend the most on tickets, an analysis shows

Rita Gordon (center) turns in her winning Peng Win lotto tickets for cash from Batman's Good Food convenience store owner Carnie Low on Tuesday. STEPHEN HOLMAN / Tulsa World

By GAVIN OFF World Data Editor
Published: 11/15/2009 2:20 AM
Last Modified: 11/15/2009 3:56 AM

View an interactive map of Tulsa County’s lottery ticket sales by ZIP code.

In the bustling convenience store on North Mingo Road the small computer by the cash register repeatedly spits out the verdict, "You win."

The announcement comes so often that even those in the neighboring sandwich line can't help but look.

A few minutes later, after the machine scanned about 25 Powerball lottery tickets, local business owner Dennis Kriz walked away with $216 a decent outing for the longtime lottery player.

"It's a good day," said Kriz as he left Batman's Good Food.

Ever since Oklahoma voters approved the lottery four years ago, the Tulsa resident has spent $200 a week on Powerball tickets. Usually he buys 100 tickets and for an extra $1 per ticket plays Power Play, which guarantees to increase any winnings.

His reason for playing is simple: "There's always a chance you might win," said Kriz, 49, owner of a distribution company.

Kriz is not alone.

A Tulsa World investigation found that residents of some of Tulsa County's poorest neighborhoods — such as the ones near North Mingo Road — spend more money per capita on lottery tickets than anyone else in the county.

Kriz, however, lives outside the neighborhood but buys his tickets at Batman's Good Food because it's close to work and no store sells lottery tickets in his immediate area, data show.

Income vs. ticket sales

Residents in low-income areas often see the lottery as a simple, inexpensive shot at riches and a sometimes-daily hope of bettering their lives, experts said.

Those living within the 74116 ZIP code — where Batman's Good Food is located — earn about $26,000 a year on average, data show. Since the lottery's inception in October 2005, neighborhood stores have sold more than $3.2 million in lottery tickets, or about $906 for every resident in the area.

Similarly, those living within the 74119 ZIP code earn about $26,500 per household and have spent $576 per capita on tickets.

By contrast, residents within the 74137 ZIP code earn about $80,000 a household and have spent about $162 per person on lottery tickets since its inception.

It's not a surprise that people in poorer areas play the lottery more often, said Wiley Harwell, executive director of the Oklahoma Association for Problem and Compulsive Gambling.

"I don't think that's a secret," Harwell said. "They're the ones more likely to buy lottery tickets because you don't have to travel great distances. Lottery tickets are within their neighborhood. They're at their quick stops. They're convenient."

North Peoria Avenue

Maveric Mini Mart, a small convenience store on North Peoria Avenue, sits among pawn shops, discount stores and abandoned buildings.

Its cashiers are personable women who call customers "sweetie" if they don't know them by name.

Its customers are blue-collar folks — truck drivers, salvage-yard employees and construction workers. They buy Budweiser, Marlboros and, many times, lottery tickets.

"There are some people who come in just for the scratch tickets," said Maveric Mini Mart cashier Shannon Points. "They get them, go outside, scratch them, and come back in for more. Scratch them, come back in."

The Mini Mart sells about 95,400 lottery tickets a year. Eighteen types of scratch-off tickets lie in clear boxes behind the counter. They have names such as Lucky 7's, Blackjack and The Money Game.

Unlike residents of wealthier areas, those living in many low-income neighborhoods buy twice as many instant tickets as they do online tickets, Oklahoma Lottery Commission data show.

Points quickly recognizes a "scratcher" pulling into the gas station.

She greets 29-year-old Heather Hamblin with a friendly hello. Hamblin buys instant lottery tickets about every other day.

At one point, the Tulsa resident was spending $70 a week on scratch-off tickets, she said. Now she's down to about $20.

"They're addicting," said Hamblin, who once won $77. "You feel like you're bound to win something."

That's what keeps customers hooked, said Warren Blakney, pastor of North Peoria Church of Christ.

Blakney counsels dozens of people a year who are addicted to gambling and playing the lottery. Some have even blown rent and grocery money on the tickets.

He said people in low-income areas play because they want to be able to comfortably afford life's essentials, and they often see the lottery as a last hope.

"They take money they don't have, sometimes borrow money, to take a risk in hopes of getting that return," Blakney said.

Neighborhoods near the church are the poorest in Tulsa County, with households earning about $19,100 a year, U.S. Census Bureau data show.

Percentages

On average, less than 14 percent of the tickets bought in Tulsa County were winners, according to lottery data.

"You're not going to beat the system," Blakney said. "The system is designed for you to lose."

Despite the odds, lottery ticket winnings exceed ticket sales in Tulsa County, thanks to a $101.8 million payout at a Broken Arrow QuikTrip in 2006. County players have spent nearly $130 million on tickets since the lottery's inception. Those tickets paid out more than $140 million, data show.

Carnie Low, manager of Batman's Good Food, said some lottery players feel that her store is good luck.

People playing at the convenience store have won $1,000 from an instant ticket and $10,000 from a Powerball ticket, she said.

In 2007, Kriz came close to hitting it big, when he matched five of six Powerball numbers. Under current lottery rules, that ticket would have won him $1 million.

It's that type of luck that keeps Kriz playing each week.

"That chance of being a millionaire is always nice to have," he said.

State lottery income 2006 to 2009:

Total revenues (sales & retailer application fees): $792.5 million.

Nonoperating income (mostly interest): $3.3 million

Oklahoma lottery expenditures 2006 to 2009:

Prizes: $392.2 million

Transfers to the state for education funds: $279.2 million

Commissions to retailers: $52.5 million

Operating expenses: $35 million

Instant and online costs: $23.4 million

Transfers to treat problem gambling: $1.5 million

The balance is in restricted net assets (capital, prize reserves, fidelity fund, etc.)

Source: Oklahoma Lottery Commission

For its investigation, the Tulsa World matched sales data from the oklahoma Lottery Commission with income data from the U.S. Census Bureau.

It then grouped the information by ZIP code, a format by which the Census Bureau provides population and income data.

The 10 luckiest stores

Name	Address	City	Total lottery sales	Total lottery winnings
QuikTrip #81	4705 S. Elm Place	BA	$1,702,860	$102,146,661
QuikTrip #84	4106 S. Garnett Rd.	Tulsa	$1,752,897	$625,608
QuikTrip #78	9037 S. Yale Ave.	Tulsa	$1,017,328	$569,562
Kum & Go #872	10032 S. Mingo Rd.	Tulsa	$787,059	$568,701
QuikTrip #23	200 S. Oklahoma 97	SS	$1,335,907	$523,681
QuikTrip #44	519 N. Sheridan Rd.	Tulsa	$1,667,575	$498,664
QuikTrip #102	6008 S. 49th W. Ave.	Tulsa	$1,093,640	$491,227
QuikTrip #82	1820 S. Aspen Ave.	BA	$1,325,641	$489,178
QuikTrip #13	3050 S. Sheridan Rd.	Tulsa	$2,015,702	$470,516
QuikTrip #51	15102 S. Memorial Dr.	Bixby	$1,265,952	$469,847

Gavin Off 732-8106
gavin.off@tulsaworld.com By GAVIN OFF World Data Editor

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	Report Comment oldrustytulsa, Tulsa (11/15/2009 6:52:45 AM) Smokem if you gottem, I always say.
	Report Comment billy8, Sand Springs (11/15/2009 8:29:48 AM) it's amazing that the poorest people will stay poor by playing the lottery with their rent money and grocery money. then they'll by beer and cry about not winning and being a looser. eventually they'll get into drugs and become violent to their spouse and children. I play the lottery, and make about the same as those people do but I don't spend more than $10 a week. You gotta realize that it's not programed for you to win, but spending a small amount for fun isn't gonna break you.
	Report Comment neverbeen2, (11/15/2009 9:47:07 AM) How much of that is actually employees in those areas purchasing? I bet a large amount of those tickets purchased are from AA employees and other businesses at TIA.
	Report Comment Tony G, Tulsa (11/15/2009 9:56:14 AM) A person can spend their own money, however they wish, but, how much of this is welfare money? No person should be able to use their welfare or SSI check on these games.
	Report Comment gadfly, Broken Arrow (11/15/2009 10:38:10 AM) Lottery "players" should be required to show identification in order to "play." Those receiving public assistance, or owing any child-support, or the like, would not only not be sold lottery tickets, but would be denied any winnings -- even in the event that someone else purchased "their" wining ticket. Lotteries are a "tax on the poor" and have even been removed from Cities in Russia -- because those most in need -- "played" the most. That in Christian Oklahoma, this exploitation is permitted is difficult to understand. WWJD? "J" would abolish the lottery and replace it with a tax structure that covers the basic needs of our fellow humans. This is called "Humanism" -- a word that is feared by religious Oklahomans.
	Report Comment Greg19670, (11/15/2009 12:36:26 PM) The rich get richer and poor get poorer. And it isn't because the rich are screwing over the poor. It's because the poor are idiots. I have never purchased a lottery ticket and never intend on doing so. I compare it to taking dollar and simply throwing it in the trash. And according to the statistics above, that is what 86% of the people do.
	Report Comment parksport, (11/15/2009 1:20:36 PM) I have never had a desire to play the lottery, and if people chose to spend their own money playing it, I hope they can afford to lose, same way I feel about casinos.
	Report Comment st470, (11/15/2009 1:23:58 PM) Anyone heard today if an OHP trooper has beaten someone up yet this Sunday?
	Report Comment Ron Ballew, Lawton (11/15/2009 3:22:31 PM) The lottery should be banned because it is a crooked game.
	Report Comment FUTURE WORLD, Tulsa (11/15/2009 3:47:37 PM) I don't play or go to casino's. But if the lottery wanted to increase the payout for education. Then loosen the odds. Bring it down to 1:750,000 and ticket sales would boom. Heck, then I might even be tempted to get in the game.
	Report Comment Few Clothes, America (11/15/2009 3:51:02 PM) If Dennis Kriz actually spends $200.00 a week he would spend $10,400.00 per year. If he has a family, what do they go without from his spending?
	Report Comment Democrat, Tulsa County (11/15/2009 3:54:09 PM) Few Clothes: Do you think that he spends food stamps on lottery tickets? Why don't you go back to the "alliance story" and explain how you saw someone buy food with food stamps just last night?
	Report Comment 007, London (11/15/2009 6:19:37 PM) Just do what the rest of the nation does, make the tribes pay taxes.
	Report Comment Whocanutrust?, (11/15/2009 6:23:44 PM) "Neighborhoods near the church are the poorest in Tulsa County, with households earning about $19,100 a year, U.S. Census Bureau data show." Isn't the same household earnings mentioned above the same contributors that are helping to build some of the mega church empires out North. In otherwords, not only are they spending money on the lotto but they are also helping build "Churches" in their community.
	Report Comment okie ridgerunner, Small Country Town State Line (11/15/2009 6:48:53 PM) Some say i waste money on playing the lottery.I spend about $6.00 a week on it. once in awhile i will win a little from a dollar up to $200.00 i lose more often than i win. but i enjoy playing. Some that say i am wasting money are buying beer. Well i dont buy or drink alcohol are drugs. and i only drink mabe one soda a week.i do not go to bars or clubs or party places. I spend time with my family. and we may go out and eat now and then.so i wast a little on the lottery. dont we all really waste a little on something.
	Report Comment 2ndjoyce, BA (11/15/2009 6:57:24 PM) When the jackpot goes over $100M we splurge a time or two and spend $5 or $10.... We won $45 a few months ago. Woo-hoo! I bought a tank of gas. Which I could have bought with the money I'd spent on tickets in the first place...
	Report Comment Yiddish Engineer, Broken Arrow (11/15/2009 7:19:28 PM) I love waiting in line behind these people, especially those that have a couple of kids with them. They normally will have $15 in cash and buy themselves a pack of cigaretts, a flavored cigar single, and the remainder for lottery tickets. Then, with the $20 in junk that they purchased (energy drinks, QT donuts, and of course "Bug Juice" for the kids who in the summer seem to never wear shoes in the store) they'll whip out their Access Oklahoma welfare cards to pay for it.
	Report Comment Mar, Tulsa (11/15/2009 9:57:13 PM) People will do what they are going to do. Being poor and still purchasing lottery tickets or gambling at the casinos, they make that choice. When I've been in a convenience store or at a casino, I've never seen anyone having a gun held to their head making them play the lottery or gamble at the casino. When you are poor it is not a good idea to waste your money on such things, but it is all about choices in life.
	Report Comment OkieDad, (11/15/2009 9:58:12 PM) Funny how people who say times are hard and they don't have money for food, gas or utilities can find money for smokes, booze and lottery tickets. I guess it's how your priorities fall. Ever notice that wealthy people never play the lottery? They know that the odds are terrible and they can take that same $5 to $10 a week (or more) and make much more from it. People who blow money on lottery tickets haven't wised up to the fact that it's just another tax on the poor and uneducated. DUH!
	Report Comment Thunder196, Tulsa (11/15/2009 10:16:45 PM) gadfly says: "would not only not be sold lottery tickets, but would be denied any winnings? . Don't you think if they aren't sold a ticket there wouldn't be any winnings?
	Report Comment Thunder196, Tulsa (11/15/2009 10:37:46 PM) I'm not poor and I'm not wealthy. I'm not uneducated. I spend $4 a week on the lottery. It is one of the enjoyments I have. If I should ever win big, there are two charities out there that would have financial help. . If people don't want to buy tickets, don't. Don't assume everyone who buys a ticket is forgoing food, gas, or any other necessities. Don't assume we all drink booze and smoke. . Who says the rich don't buy tickets. I know several people quite well off that buy tickets.
	Report Comment FUTURE WORLD, Tulsa (11/16/2009 12:39:50 AM) Play Lotto
	Report Comment Elusive, the burbs (11/16/2009 12:58:58 AM) The rich do gamble just those less fortunate, one reason their are high stakes casino's in Las Vegas, Atlantic City, MS and let's not forget horse racing.
	Report Comment Sanity, Broken Arrow (11/16/2009 9:50:55 AM) The lottery is all wrong for everybody. Unless you just want to donate more taxes, you are playing insane odds. We, the public, are putting this temptation before addictive people who see it as a long-shot hope for riches. This is unrealistic for for 99% (guess) of the people. If a child drowns in a neighbor's pool, which is not properly fenced, the pool owner is responsible. Both the lottery and the open pool are attractive nuisances. Owner is responsible for pool; public is responsible for lottery. When poor people lose rent or utility money, we are guilty.
	Report Comment Corvetteguy, Tulsa (11/16/2009 4:04:14 PM) Anyone pushing the socialized medicine should first put their lottery tickey money into medical insurance....... ....then the left-over cash could be used for the ten million to one odds.

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