YOUTH OUTLOOK

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Cigarettes May Be Taboo --
But Kids Have No Trouble Buying State-Sponsored Lottery Tickets

By Billy Pascual

Date: 10-29-96

Sixteen-year-old consumers have a lot of taboos these days -- like buying adult videos or cigarettes. But when it comes to buying state-sponsored lottery tickets, age is rarely a barrier. Billy Pascual is a 16-year-old reporter for YO! (Youth Outlook), a newspaper by and about young people published by Pacific News Service.

DALY CITY -- At age sixteen there are a lot of things I'm not supposed to do -- like vote, watch adult videos, get a motel room, and -- above all this election season -- buy or smoke cigarettes. But on a reporting trip to a number of corner stores in my hometown of Daly City and neighboring San Francisco, I found that there was one taboo I could break almost any time I wanted to -- buying a state-sponsored lottery ticket.

First, I went to a store deep in the heart of a working class neighborhood where the friendly female clerk had seen me buy candy a couple times before. I picked up a pack of Big Red gum, approached the counter, and said in a deep voice, "And one scratcher."

"Are you 18?" replied the clerk with a concerned expression.

"Of course, ma'am," I replied. She handed me the scratcher I was pointing at and I was on my way. "Do I really look 18," I wondered, "or is she just very gullible?" I decided to take my success as a compliment (girls tell me I'm pretty mature for my age).

Next I went to a seedy part of downtown San Francisco and entered one of the many liquor stores I saw. I scanned the tiny shop for some snacks, but I couldn't find anything that looked good, so I got some more Big Red gum and proceeded to wait in line. When it was my turn I asked, in the same deep voice, "Can I also get one scratcher, my good man?" The clerk looked me in the eye and, with no hesitation, handed me a ticket.

Then I headed to the city's heavily Latino Mission District, where I went into a larger corner store and tried looking for the candy section, without any luck. "Where's the Skittles?" I asked the clerk, and he pointed behind him to a glass case. I guess he didn't want any little rascals stealing his candy. As he got me some Tropical Skittles, I spotted the lottery ticket dispenser.

I asked for a ticket and he said, "Are you 18?" I was getting tired of getting no resistance when I lied about my age, so I decided to try and make things harder for myself.

"No, I'm only 16, " I told him, "but if I win I'll give you half." He chuckled and said something in Spanish to his compadre, then sold me a ticket and watched as I scratched it off. I apologized for not winning anything and, shaking my head, went on my way.

Since I was three-for-three in my efforts to play the California State Lottery illegally , I started to think, "How come it's so easy for me?" Was it because I looked old enough? Did they want me to hit the jackpot? Or did they not care how old I was as long as they made money? I strongly believe it was the latter.

Last but not least, I went to a store in a middle-class shopping mall district of Daly City. I picked up a bottle of Dr. Pepper, walked up to the cash register, and confidently said to the cashier, "I want one of those scratchers to go, please." Looking at me hard, the man asked for some I.D. I was shocked. I made up an excuse that I left it in the car, but the fact is, I was taking the bus. I paid for my drink and left.

I may have looked disappointed, but I felt sort of happy that someone had stopped my lottery rampage. I had finally found a merchant who didn't want to be involved in getting an underage potential customer addicted to gambling. With him as an inspiration, I made a personal commitment to wait until I'm of legal age to waste all my money on the California State Lottery.