1. Welcome to VegasMessageBoard
    It appears you are visiting our community as a guest.
    In order to view full-size images, participate in discussions, vote in polls, etc, you will need to Log in or Register.

Powerball Office Pool - Ethics Question ?

Discussion in 'Non-Vegas Chat' started by Joe Strummer, Aug 7, 2013.

Thread Status:
Not open for further replies.
  1. Joe Strummer

    Joe Strummer VIP Whale

    Joined:
    Apr 4, 2006
    Messages:
    5,109
    This is an ethics question......with legal ramifications.
    *
    We have started an office pool at work -
    when the prize gets really large.
    ( It was my suggestion. )
    We have done it twice before -
    this is our third time.
    We let this nice woman handle the collection
    of money + the buying of the tickets --
    she is a daily player on her won.
    I'm not gonna chase people down for money --
    I learned that from a Super Bowl pool I used to run !...no more !
    *
    First pool -
    we had about 10 people in it.
    Second pool -
    We had about 14 people in it.
    This pool ?
    I get our zerox copy of all the tickets -
    and there are 26 games played....that's 26 people
    buying one game apiece, at $2 per game.
    We don't even have that many people in the building !..?
    *
    So, I asked the woman....."Who are all these 26 people ?"
    She said, "Oh, I asked everybody....part timers, too....and then,
    I added my sister....and her friend....and then, I added Dave +
    Eddie, too."
    *
    Well ?
    These people didn't pay her.....she paid for them.....but none
    of these people even knew they were being added to an office pool.
    They do not work in the building.
    I don't have a problem w/ her sister being added......but.....everyone
    else ?
    ( How about adding my senile, Aunt Alice, in South Carolina ? )
    In fact, I know "Eddie" scoffs at the lottery and laughs at people
    who play it ! He would NEVER buy a ticket, himself.
    There are other scenarios, as well.
    I did mention this to one other worker and they were not happy
    about this prctice, either.
    *
    Okay,
    One scenario...
    "She paid for them.....then, what's the problem ?"
    .
    Well....I could see some legal issues here.
    And what if the woman who bought these tickets for others -
    changes her mind ( with a winning jackpot ) and says -
    "I bought more tickets....I'm claiming more of the jackpot !"
    ( basically...I'm saying....she screws the people she bought tickets for )
    *
    *
    So....
    I'm going to mention the apprehension I have about this practice -
    if nobody wins this powerball - and the jackpot rises, again.
    I would certainly.....join the pool again......because of the
    horror story I heard about the one office worker who didn't
    and the office pool won a huge jackpot !
    I wouldn't want to be THAT guy !
    *
    *
    Just wondering ....What do you think ?:wave:
     
  2. Gino

    Gino "The King of Inappropriate."

    Joined:
    Oct 25, 2009
    Messages:
    1,807
    Location:
    Tampa, FL.
    Trips to Las Vegas:
    23
    Y'know Joe, I'll always err on the safe side. Why cause an argument? I live about 30 minutes from where that huge Powerball jackpot was sold down here in Florida a few months back. This is not an urban myth or a legend it's been verified by employees running the lottery ticket counter that day at the Publix (grocery store) where the ticket was sold, some nice guy also buying PB tix let the lady who bought the eventual winner cut in front of him. She bought PB quick picks w Power Play, as did he. :eek: Why this story you may ask? Don't let something small like this get in the way of playing. I know the odds are astronomical, but imagine being the guy in the office that decided not to play and your office pool wins it. That would be a feeling only rivaled by the death of a loved one I think, and talk about living in a sea of regret for the rest of your days..Oooof. That scenario hurts just posting it on a messageboard:vomit:. I see 2 ways to handle this: Put in the bare minimum and keep quiet about it and hope for the best, and hope she is honest...OR go to the lady that does the lotto pool collection and thank her for being the one who always does this for the office, let her know how truly appreciative all of you are..blah blah blah (I'm hoping you'll go to her w/ a few employees) and politely request that you would appreciate it if she could keep the office pool seperate from her family pool of tix. Also a spreadsheet w/ everyones signature, date and amount they paid would also be helpful. This may piss her off and she may very well quit doing it (which could be good) or she may adhere to your requests...Either way - DO NOT be the guy who doesn't play the office pool...Or let old ladies cut them in line while buying tix...
     
  3. zolar31

    zolar31 Low-Roller

    Joined:
    Nov 28, 2009
    Messages:
    173
    Trips to Las Vegas:
    11
    IMO - you are entitled to 1/26 of the winnings. Maybe she bought multiple shares, thats her problem. If you got the photocopies of 26 tickets, you get 1/26.Oh yeah, Sorry to inform you that I have the winning ticket.

    Seriously, you have to cap these things at 10 people max. I prefer 5 or 6. The left out people can start their own pool. This way if you hit 10K, you get some decent pocket change.
     
  4. Joe Strummer

    Joe Strummer VIP Whale

    Joined:
    Apr 4, 2006
    Messages:
    5,109
    Gino -
    As I posted....I'm definitely "in" the next pool.
    That story, I read, was horrifying !
    *
    Zolar,
    I was thinking the exact same thing.
    What about a 10k win ?.....the "win" becomes so liquidated
    with so many in the pool.
    *
    Somebody did suggest we do a smaller pool with
    just a certain roomful of workers....instead of the entire building.
    *
    *
    Anybody else ?
     
  5. jr7110

    jr7110 VIP Whale

    Joined:
    Jan 13, 2009
    Messages:
    1,556
    Location:
    NYC
    Trips to Las Vegas:
    35
    I would tell her politely but firmly that going forward, the office pool is just that - the OFFICE pool. End of discussion. If she wants to start a pool for her family and friends independently, that is her choice, but it is unfair to the 14 people who are investing in what they thought could be a 1/14 slice of the pie and they are now only entitled to 1/26 if the ticket hits any level of prize.

    This woman is selfish - she did not ask anyone else if it was ok if she did it - she just went ahead and did what she felt like doing without a care in the world. Why couldn't she have just done a separate family/friends pool from the start? Those people are not in your office and have no place in your office pool. That is the bottom line.

    If the woman does not see the logic in restricting the pool only to actual office members, then she should be relieved of her duties as being in charge of the pool and have someone else in the office handle it.
     
  6. merlin

    merlin MIA

    Joined:
    Aug 1, 2009
    Messages:
    3,755
    Location:
    mn
    Trips to Las Vegas:
    40
    You need to get someone else to run the pool, that will solve the problem. In our pool you put up the money you're in, no money not in. If you're on vacation you better have given someone the money with instructions to put you in. Everyone gets a copy of the tickets with who's in written down.

    In this situation obviously there are 26 shares, which means if you win there needs to be 26 people claiming the money - it's possible she's making it up to get more shares(which would be ridiculous but possible).
     
  7. Someone

    Someone High-Roller

    Joined:
    Jun 16, 2012
    Messages:
    836
    Trips to Las Vegas:
    1
    restrict it to only people that put in their cash

    have her do all the "heavy lifting" and then you or someone else goes with her to buy the tickets and verify the numbers

    I really don't see a big issue if she is getting money from 14 people at the office and then tossing in real cash for all of her 12 friends, but the fact is it probably will become an issue down the road if there was a big win

    it is really no different than if 14 people were buying in and 7 of them bought in X2 and 21 tickets were bought and the people that bought in for X2 would get 2/21 of a share.......except for the fact that if there is a big win some type of issue with that would surely arise since lotto pools always seems to bring that out

    have her round up the cash and two people go buy the tickets for the amount of cash rounded up everyone with a single share and a list of who bought in
     
  8. undathesea

    undathesea Grandissimo

    Joined:
    Feb 26, 2013
    Messages:
    1,664
    Location:
    Washington D.C.
    Trips to Las Vegas:
    20
    Having the extra tickets may just be the thing that actually wins you the jackpot. You just never know.

    I know you're worried that your portion may be reduced, but since you're not running things and not worrying about the money, just be happy with the payout. You paid for 1/26 of the tickets and you're entitled to that much. And, you have 26 chances to win now.

    Don't be that person who paid $2 for $10M and was seriously upset about not getting more money.
     
  9. wizard950

    wizard950 High-Roller

    Joined:
    Apr 5, 2005
    Messages:
    690
    Location:
    Harleysville, Pennsylvania
    Trips to Las Vegas:
    47
    I run our pool here at work. For last Saturday's Powerball drawing we had 108 participants @ 2.00 each.

    I have some simple rules and everyone knows them.

    1. The player signs their name on the sheet when they deposit the $2.
    2. When I send the e-mail telling everyone the pool is on (we only do it for the really big ones, like now). I ask them to tell the new people how we do it and to cover their fellow employees in their department.
    3. When I do run the pool I make it a rule not to buy extra tickets for myself. That keeps it clean and neat.
    4. When I have the tickets in my hand I scan them to a PDF file and include a link to where that file is located in my e-mail informing the people that we have tickets.
    5. If a jackpot rolls over, what ever we won in the last pool is used to purchase additional tickets for the new pool. But only those people in the last pool are included on the rolled over tickets.

    I guess bottom line is that everybody here knows the rules of how we play and that the sign up sheet with the players signatures on it is our contract.

    So far today I have 85 people signed up. I expect a last minute rush this afternoon.
     
  10. lotso-bear

    lotso-bear VIP Whale

    Joined:
    Jan 21, 2013
    Messages:
    1,225
    Trips to Las Vegas:
    111
    Definitely would have another person in charge... it's called an "office pool" for a reason, no? ;)
     
  11. Joe Strummer

    Joe Strummer VIP Whale

    Joined:
    Apr 4, 2006
    Messages:
    5,109
    Well,
    Everyone's made good sense so far.
    Some good advice.
    *
    Wizard,
    I can't believe you run a pool w/ over 100 people !:nworthy:
    With that many --that sign up sheet is a must.
    As I posted -
    I did a Superbowl pool for a couple years (ago ) --
    but I swore it off after the last experience.
    People in the building still come up to me + ask if
    I'm running it - at Superbowl time.
    I tell them flat out -- "I had to chase people down for money -
    NEVER ! again."
     
  12. LolaDoggie

    LolaDoggie VIP Whale

    Joined:
    Jul 6, 2009
    Messages:
    4,299
    Trips to Las Vegas:
    6
    You've had a lot of good advice.

    I'm in Ontario Canada. I used to be in a work lotto pool and my husband is currently in a lotto pool. I had to wait to get into the one I was in because it was restricted to people currently in that dept and I had for people to move on or drop out before I could get in. I think it was the same type of deal with my husband. If the person running it had to chase you for money or you stiffed them something like 2 or 3 times, you were out. Period. Most people run a tab with the person running it. I would hand over $20 and she'd let me know when that ran out. Any small winnings got put back into the pool so my $20 went a long way. We had to sign an agreement when we joined. We had to initial when tickets were bought or we made a payment. It was some serious business. We treated the lady who ran it like a queen, lunches, gifts, big birthday cake.

    OLG runs our lottery and gaming up here and they have info on their website, they even have forms. I wonder if powerball has info like that on their site. I included the appropriate OLG link though.

    http://www.olg.ca/lotteries/group_play/index.jsp
     
  13. mikenhe

    mikenhe VIP Whale

    Joined:
    Oct 28, 2006
    Messages:
    2,579
    Location:
    anglo american in Tampa
    Trips to Las Vegas:
    9
    definatley a list of who is in and not.
    also have a provision that if someone is away for a while (holiday/ sick) then stipulate how many drawings the pool will cover them for before they are excluded from the list - so that if someone is ill they don't get stiffed - and if someone is pulling a fast one then they are out.


    we did an office pool where we paid 10 drawings up front. The person running it would collect at the end of the ninth drawing - but also use the winnings to get a few weeks extra when we could. if you weren't paid up by the time the winnings ran out after the 10 drawing cycle then you lost out on being in the next 10 week cycle.

    it worked great.... until the person running it didn't have any money to pay her bills and we ended up funding her instead of the lotto!!


    :evillaugh

    such is life.....

    nowdays I just buy an occasional ticket on my own...
     
  14. Joe Strummer

    Joe Strummer VIP Whale

    Joined:
    Apr 4, 2006
    Messages:
    5,109
    I just saw the results --
    Our pool only had two games w/ 2 numbers ( our best ).
    No powerball.
    *
    I read 13 -- million dollar -- winners.
    One winner was from the next county.
    *
    If nobody won.....why is the drawing's prize down to 40 million ?
     
  15. KnotGillty

    KnotGillty High-Roller

    Joined:
    Jan 29, 2011
    Messages:
    572
    Trips to Las Vegas:
    38
    I heard there were 3 winners
     
  16. undathesea

    undathesea Grandissimo

    Joined:
    Feb 26, 2013
    Messages:
    1,664
    Location:
    Washington D.C.
    Trips to Las Vegas:
    20
    Yep. Split three ways.
     
  17. FXT

    FXT VIP Whale

    Joined:
    May 16, 2013
    Messages:
    1,033
    Location:
    San Jose, California
    Trips to Las Vegas:
    10
    Yep, 1 in Minnesota and 2 in New Jersey. I guess that means I didnt win :Þ
     
  18. bardolator

    bardolator Lifelong Low Roller

    Joined:
    Mar 30, 2005
    Messages:
    3,055
    Location:
    Gig Harbor, WA
    Trips to Las Vegas:
    999
    It takes someone with special talents to run a clean, efficient pool. We had one guy- the head football coach- who enjoyed running pools. He limited the entrants so everyone knew everyone. Nobody was in until he had their money. Everybody got photocopies of the names and tickets before the drawing. If the proceeds rolled over, the pool was closed to new entrants. He had no rule about people buying tickets on their own.

    He also ran the paycheck poker pool. Collected the money on Thursday for a Friday payday. He noticed after a while that a certain employee from Special Ed. was entering the pool only occasionally. When she did enter, she always had a good hand. Soon it came out that her department got paid on Thursdays. That put a stop to all pools for a while.
     
  19. undathesea

    undathesea Grandissimo

    Joined:
    Feb 26, 2013
    Messages:
    1,664
    Location:
    Washington D.C.
    Trips to Las Vegas:
    20
    Looks like you all got a "special education" from her!
     
  20. wizard950

    wizard950 High-Roller

    Joined:
    Apr 5, 2005
    Messages:
    690
    Location:
    Harleysville, Pennsylvania
    Trips to Las Vegas:
    47
    Update From Our PowerBall Pool

    We had 116 people in our pool @ $2.00 each yesterday. With that money plus our rollover from last time we purchased 60 tickets for last night and Saturday.
    Out of all those tickets we won $8.00 plus we still have 60 shots at the $40,000,000 on Saturday.

    Congrats to the 3 winners - wish it was us!! :cry:
     
Thread Status:
Not open for further replies.