Here is the text from the "Opinion" article you mentioned from the Wed, Jan 26, 2005's Standard Examiner. . .
Utah's only legal state lottery
Get ready for the only legal state lottery in Utah, the Division of Wildlife Resources' annual big-game drawing.
In 2004 there were 215,271 $5 donations with 56,264 winners. Since it is illegal in Utah to run a lottery, $1,076,355 nonrefundable dollars were sent to Fallon, Nev.
You can even purchase bonus points to increase your odds. This nonrefundable fee is called a processing fee, so it doesn't offend Utahns who are against any form of gambling.
DWR should get all the money sportsmen send in for the permits, and not have it go out of state or to the general fund.
Use caution when applying for the Cooperative Wildlife Management Unit hunts. My 60-day bull-moose hunt was limited to a five-day hunt at the operators' convenience. CWMU will provide 3,000 hunting permits in 2005; 15 percent -- or 450 permits -- will be provided to the general public through this "lottery."
The 2,550 remaining permits are given to the landowners to sell. The state should sell permits to the landowners, and they should sell them to their clients like other businesses do, passing the cost on to the consumer.
The landowner may allow the animals to "live" on their property, but what about all the public land that is landlocked by a few acres of privately owned land? The general public cannot access it, but the landowner has full use of it. This is not right or fair.
