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Wednesday, May 03, 2006
Pinoys excited to join bid to win major US lottery
CAGAYAN DE ORO CITY -- Lotto aficionados are upbeat over the prospects of sharing in a multibillion-peso jackpot at stake in a lottery game abroad.
This was the general impression gathered by Smart Marketing Concepts Inc. (SMCI) after it announced last week its plan to start a lottery pool aimed at winning a lotto jackpot from the Mega Millions lottery in the US.
The Mega Million lottery is one of two big lottery games in the US with jackpots reaching over US$200 million (P10 billion). The other big lottery is the Power Ball lottery.
SMCI president Manny Quisumbing Jr. said he has received many inquiries from Filipinos here and abroad asking how they can take part in the lottery pool.
"I got e-mails from overseas Filipinos as far as Afghanistan and Austin in Texas, USA," Quisumbing said. "They read about it in the Internet."
The thought of sharing a multi-billion peso jackpot excites them because Philippine lotto jackpots rarely go beyond P100 million, he disclosed.
Quisumbing clarified a news report stating that WMM Marketing Company, Inc., its partner in the US, is the company operating the Mega Millions lottery in the US.
He said WMM Marketing Company, Inc. is just a marketing company and its principal duty is to help SMCI sell the lotto pool concept to OFWs and to buy the lotto tickets for the lotto pool members.
"WMM does not conduct lotto drawings. Only the state lottery commissions do that," he said.
"We will just be like any lotto player although we will be buying lotto tickets in bulk for our lotto pool members," he added.
Quisumbing took exception to a statement by a Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office (PCSO) official who questioned the legality of starting a lottery pool for a lottery abroad.
"The lotteries of Australia, Germany, Spain and Canada are now sold in the Philippines by mail. What makes us different from them?" he asked.
"I believe everyone has the right to decide where and how they want to spend their lotto money. If one wants to go for a billion peso jackpot instead of just a few millions, what law would stop him from doing that?" Quisumbing said.
He urged those interested to know more about SMCI's lotto pool program to send an email to wmmsmartlotto@verizon.net. (Press release)
(May 3, 2006 issue)
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