Monday, February 24, 2025
Good Monday Morning. What did I get done last week? Hm. Well, I jumped on a purple castle bounce house, ate four cronuts in two days, and somehow managed to find enough uninterrupted time to put a new bike together.
Get in touch: greg@gregcox.law
"Do I feel lucky? Well, do ya, punk?" The Texas Lottery Commission is under the gun after two of the biggest jackpots in history were won via seemingly boiler room style operations.
On Friday, Clark Smith, a respected regulatory lawyer in the Capitol orbit and a Lottery Commissioner appointed by Gov. Abbott in late 2023, resigned. And today, the Texas Lottery Commission will testify in front of both a House and Senate committee. In a House Appropriations Subcommittee, it will speak to budget recommendations. And Senate State Affairs will hear SB 28 by Sen. Bob Hall (R–Rockwall), which would prohibit the sale of lottery tickets through the use of courier services, which is in part why we're here today.
The Houston Chronicle has been reporting since 2024 that investors have been gaming (no pun intended) the Texas Lotto. And last week, Lt. Gov. Patrick showed up at the site where the most winning ticket was recorded and asked a few questions. "So, this is the location of Winner's Corner where someone won $83 million on a Texas lottery ticket," he started the video. "And I had a question because Winner's Corner is also affiliated with a courier service who purchased the ticket. ... Jackpocket is the name of the courier service. Winner's Corner is the name of the retail outlet. Both of whom are owned by DraftKings."
