Doyle Potenteau 2009-03-12
Hockey fans looking for a cash windfall at Kelowna Rockets games will have to look elsewhere. On Monday, the provincial government clamped down on 50-50 sales during games at Prospera Place, saying Kelowna Minor Hockey raffle-tickets licence was, effective immediately, suspended for an indefinite period. In a two-page letter to KMH obtained by The Daily Courier, B.C. Gaming director Ursula Cowland said KMH‘s licence was suspended following a recent audit. She said issues were raised last year and had not been addressed. The letter was sent to KMH president Luis Diaz, treasurer Leonie Popoff and Don Evans, an independent contractor who co-ordinates the 50-50 operation. “We have to take a very close and serious look at how the 50-50 operation is being managed by our independent contractor,” said Diaz, “and how it‘s being supervised by Minor Hockey.” This is the second time in three years KMH has faced questions surrounding 50-50 sales.
KMH is the only association the Rockets allow to sell 50-50 tickets at their games. It‘s believed that KMH takes in more than $200,000 per season from sales. KMH receives most of the proceeds, with some going to the Rockets‘ education fund and Evans for managing the sales. Diaz called Monday‘s letter surprising because B.C. Gaming‘s issues were addressed last year, and that nothing had changed since then. He called that “problematic.”
1 comment:
It might be fair to say that B.C. Gaming sees a golden opportunity to grab the $200,000 that the KMH is getting yearly.
They are worse than the Mafia was in their numbers game.
They only payout 27% of receipts, while Nevada mandates 91 % payouts.
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