The Lottery, with its weekly pay-out of enormous prizes,
was the one public event to which the proles
paid serious attention.

24. The Lottery

It was nearly twenty hours, and the drinking-shops which the proles frequented ('pubs', they called them) were choked with customers. From their grimy swing doors, endlessly opening and shutting, there came forth a smell of urine, sawdust, and sour beer. In an angle formed by a projecting house-front three men were standing very close together, the middle one of them holding a folded-up newspaper which the other two were studying over his shoulder. Even before he was near enough to make out the expression on their faces, Winston could see absorption in every line of their bodies. It was obviously some serious piece of news that they were reading. He was a few paces away from them when suddenly the group broke up and two of the men were in violent altercation. For a moment they seemed almost on the point of blows.

"Can't you bleeding well listen to what I say? I tell you no number ending in seven ain't won for over fourteen months!"

"Yes, it 'as, then!"

"No, it 'as not! Back 'ome I got the 'ole lot of 'em for over two years wrote down on a piece of paper. I takes 'em down reg'lar as the clock. An' I tell you, no number ending in seven—"

"Yes, a seven 'as won! I could pretty near tell you the bleeding number. Four oh seven, it ended in. It were in February - second week in February."

"February your grandmother! I got it all down in black and white. An' I tell you, no number-"

"Oh, pack it in!" said the third man.

They were talking about the Lottery. Winston looked back when he had gone thirty metres. They were still arguing, with vivid, passionate faces. The Lottery, with its weekly pay-out of enormous prizes, was the one public event to which the proles paid serious attention. It was probably that there were some millions of proles for whom the Lottery was the principal if not the only reason for remaining alive. It was their delight, their folly, their anodyne, their intellectual stimulant. Where the Lottery was concerned, even people who could barely read and write seemed capable of intricate calculations and staggering feats of memory. There was a whole tribe of men who made a living simply by selling systems, forecasts, and lucky amulets. Winston had nothing to do with the running of the Lottery, which was managed by the Ministry of Plenty, but he was aware (indeed everyone in the Party was aware) that the prizes were largely imaginary. Only small sums were actually paid out, the winners of the big prizes being non-existent persons. In the absence of any real inter-communication between one part of Oceania and another, this was not difficult to arrange.


Illusionist leaves more questions than answers as he explains lottery trick. Telegraph, Sep 12, 2009
Derren Brown...promised to disclose how he predicted the winning National Lottery numbers. An audience of more than 2.7 million tuned in to Channel 4 on Wednesday to see if Brown could guess the correct balls before they were drawn. Amazingly, he appeared to have done so, beating odds of 14 million to one. Better still, he promised to let everyone in on the secret on Friday night....

Illusionist describes "fixing" UK lottery (somebody on lottery show an informer...showed his balls AFTER Lottery showed theirs). BBC, Sep 12, 2009

Darren Brown cracks UK lottery numbers. Recent Poker, Sep 9, 2009
9/10/09 - The UK media are trying to work out how illusionist Derren Brown managed to fulfil his promise Wednesday night to predict the winning National Lottery numbers. But the media, and the public it serves, will not know until Friday when Brown has promised to explain what must surely be a monumental sleight-of-hand. Channel 4 live television screened Brown's attempt to call the draw across its five channels - the first time the broadcaster has given over its entire network to a single event. After indulging in some theatrics to heighten the suspense, Brown said "I can't believe it" when he turned over the numbers he said he had selected in advance to reveal they matched all six in the official draw. Brown's publicists looking for a big start for his new series of television tricks hit the jackpot with this one, which has achieved massive coverage in the British press both pre and post event, and garnered a large television audience. Brown set up the Lottery event in a secret studio location, telling viewers only he and two cameramen were present. After explaining that the line of balls on display contained the numbers he had predicted earlier in the day, he said he would not be able to show them to the public until after the BBC had screened the draw. To prove his show was live he switched on a television in the studio showing the BBC1 National Lottery draw programme. "We are absolutely live and in synch with the BBC," he said. As he waited for the draw machine to be launched, a nervous-looking Brown apologised to viewers in case he got the numbers wrong. "I should say this is the culmination of a year's obsession over this," he said. "I have had Lottery numbers all up over the walls of my house. "If it goes wrong...I'm really sorry." Brown watched silently as the draw, with this week's jackpot of GBP2.4 million, delivered the numbers 2, 11, 23, 28, 35, 39. Holding a card up with the numbers written on it, Brown then turned over his row of balls which were exact matches for the six. He said: "Those are the numbers. "That's a year of my life right there." National Lottery spokesmen said that 70 percent of Britain's adult population were ticket buyers hoping to win big with their predictive choice of numbers, and stressed that it was not possible to influence the actual draw. Brown's objective as an illusionist was to create the illusion that he had accurately predicted the winning numbers prior to the draw, they emphasised.

Canada gov't in On-line casino-style games. Online, Sep, 2009
Players living in the western Canadian province of British Columbia will be pleased by the news that they will soon be able to take part in online casino-style games such as blackjack, roulette and poker through PlayNow.com. The domain is owned by the British Columbia Lottery Corporation (BCLC), which stated that the new games should go live by the end of March with any revenues being returned to the government for charitable uses. “British Columbians currently spend an estimated $87 million each year gambling on approximately 2,000 available unregulated offshore Internet gambling websites,” read a statement from the BCLC. “PlayNow.com will offer online players the option to play casino-style games such as blackjack, roulette and poker on a secure and regulated website while helping to keep online gaming revenues in British Columbia.” In addition, the BCLC has also adjusted the weekly deposit limit at PlayNow.com to reflect player demand and industry best practices. The service now allows players to set their weekly deposit limit at any amount between one Canadian dollar and $9,999. Access to PlayNow.com is restricted to residents of British Columbia over the age of 19 while games feature a session log displaying the amount of time spent online. Players will also see responsible gambling reminders and factual information on the odds of winning on their screen while the set transfer in limit is pre-determined by the player. Operated and regulated in British Columbia, all gaming revenues from PlayNow.com are used for the benefit of residents of the province including government, charitable and community programmes and services.

Gambling is a big deal in Canada ($15.3-billion revenue for government) & Gov't complicit in gambling addiction (video lottery machines causing havoc; 'crack cocaine of gambling world'). CanPress/Time, Apr 9, 2008

Gov't runs 87,000 gambling machines (in $13-billion industry & wants a slice of Internet-gambling pie & cellphones & interactive TV). National Post, Jun 22, 2005

Canadians leery of on-line gambling (government-run virtual casinos coming to add to VLTs (Video Lottery Terminals) - also known as "electric morphine"). Winnipeg Sun, Mar 7, 2005

Schwarzenegger & Indians in gambling deal (exclusive right to run casinos & unlimited number of slot machines). SanFranGate, Jun 16, 2004. Go to DON'T WANT TO ACCEPT BLAME

SLOT MACHINE PICKPOCKETS (gov't to get $10-million tax/year engaging in mass pickpocketing of people gambling $100-million). Vancouver Province, Jan 25, 2004. Go to 35.The Brotherhood & CANADA HAVANADA SIMSADA

EXPERIENCES IN RUSSIA, 1931, A DIARY, by H J "Jack" Heinz, II (on page 64 this article describes lotteries in the Soviet Union under Stalin)

Reservation, casino for Denver Airport (to compensate 1864 Indian massacre). Rocky Mountain News, Dec 31, 2003. Go to INDIAN LAND CLAIMS

VLTs are crack cocaine of gambling (for addicted gov't greedy for cash & 19 million Canadians who use). Edmonton Sun, Dec 13, 2003

2.6-million pound lottery unclaimed (3rd-largest unclaimed jackpot ever). Guardian, Nov 7, 2003

Casinos a mixed blessing (no business outside Boardwalk). WashPost, May 12, 2003

Playboy making millions (internet's dirty little secret). National Post, May 12, 2003. Go to PLAYBOY'S JFK

Big-buck Indian casinos (playing with marked cards provided by politicians). SanFranChron, May 11, 2003. Go to I DON'T WANT TO ACCEPT ALL THE BLAME

Crime, drugs & gambling linked (people suicidal and desperate but gov't makes billions). Edmonton Journal, Apr 17, 2003. Go to GAMBLING STUDY

Indians join corporate America (buying the nation piece-by-piece with revenue from mega-casinos). San Diego Tribune, Feb 18, 2003. Go to INDIAN LAND CLAIMS

Brutal economics behind casinos ($100-million into Celine Dion). National Post, Feb 1, 2003. Go to 24.Lottery

Tribes are front organizations (non-Indians enriched by gambling). NY Times, Dec 12, 2002. Go to INDIAN LAND CLAIMS

INDIAN CASINOS CASHING IN (Indian casinos making claims to land that was never theirs). Time, Dec 8, 2002

More states embrace gambling ( "protect & serve" now "addict & rob"). Rense.com, Aug 29, 2002

"Vice-Fund" invests in unethical only (gambling, booze, weapons, tobacco). Financial Times, Aug 29, 2002. Go to 11.Ministry of Plenty

UN setting up global lottery (step toward international tax). National Post, Aug 13, 2002

Uncle Sam's one-armed bandits. (7,000 machines on 94 overseas bases). U.S.News, May edition

Canada wants legalized Net gambling (even if it "preys on the poor"). National Post, May 15, 2002

Gambling addiction fuelling crime (Government profits from "new cocaine"). National Post, May 6, 2002. Go to 24.Lottery

Do kids gamble? Do you wanna bet? (Today's kids are being groomed as tomorrow's gamblers). Toronto Star, Oct 6, 2001

Loser claims Montreal Casino's games are rigged. National Post, May 2, 2001.

Jackpot TV: Betting viewers love to gamble. Financial Post, March 29, 2001.

Gambling is on the rise among youth, study says, Southam News, March 21, 2001.

DRUG WAR & PEACE and MAFIA IN CANADA and 35.The Brotherhood

Jackie Jura
~ an independent researcher monitoring local, national and international events ~

email: orwelltoday@gmail.com
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