OFFICE OF THE A’ITORNEY GENERAL OF TEXAS 

AUSTIN 

Xonorablr Andrew Patton 

Dlrtriot Attorney 

Dallar County 

Dallas, Tex.rr 

ottary rtatutrr 

pt o? your raquert 

ctor I. Q.” rrdlo 

work oaoh work I# 

our appreolatlon r0r 

ml your brief which ooaply 

6399, Ravirod Clril Stat09 th8 brhr rubalttrdr 

eraa 18 prsasntrd 

weak ror a half hour 

mmroial rponror. Thr promm a motion plcturr 

an intsrd8alon bstaaaa plophono hr mlvlner tho red10 and pioture 

rhori sudienor that ho ha8 rav8ral asmlrtant8, raoh with a portable microphoar, 

aaong thr aaabarm of ths audionor. Thr 
Honorobls Andrrw Patton, pagr 2 

announoar reqursts ona of his aseIstants 

to ohoose a mombe r of the and irnor who 

is wIllIng to answar a question sbout to 

br propounded. Thr announoar than propounds the q uestiol n, :vIsI~ the Farson 

ohosw that If he oan answsr thr question 

hs will br paid a stated stim of nonry. In 

the OVOBt tho correct OB8W.r ir &iV@B, ths 

monry Is tbsrr paid to tha mombrr.or tha 

audlrnoa who thus assisted In the vmrk, 

and thr asslrrtant announcaT8 peas on 

through the audlrnor ohooslng othar got:; 

with whom tha proaass Is rrpeatrtl. 

emnt that ths parson chosen oannot andwar 

thr question, or glvrs the wrong answar, thr 

asslstant announoIr, nrvarthalrss, ooopansatre him for his efforts by presenting 

him with 6 box of acrohandlsa on behalf 

or the sponsor of tho program, 

“As an Illustration oi the questions 

aotuslly propounds&, soaa that have brsn 

used arm: 

nlzbo won thr 1939 National League 

pennant?’ 

WgIs It poealbla to make fresh wator 

out of salt water?’ 

“‘In 19lf,, In what nation was thr 

olty OS Wsrsaw?* 

wFor the oorreot answer to thr first 

quastion, $9.00 ms p&Id: for the sroond 

uastlon 

% 

$5.00; an4 for ths third quertlon 

8.00. In tha avant th:t any on8 of ths 

questiona was not answerrd correctly, tha 

sponeorr gsta the person who bad voluntrcrrd 

to trr to answrr the question a box of merohandls a. Therr ir BO Oontrst b&wean the 

various menbars of the SUdIsBO6, 8imr if 

tha first person chosen do68 not prO94rly 

answsr the quartion, ths annoUnoar on thr 

eta&o advises all of t&r l udianor what tha 

oorrsot amwcr Is, and an rntiralf blrrerent qutstion IS presantrd to the nart par- 
Honorable Andrew Patton, poet 3 

son who volunteers. The mnbera of the 

audIen who volunteer to try to answer 

tho qurstlons propounded, rcaeln at their 

plaoes In tho thsatre and &peak through a 

portable mlorophone. 

“?I0 maaber of the audlanoo 18 oompellet5 or ureed to pertloipata, but an7 

member of the audlenoe who wishes to do so 

mar havs an opportunity to try to answer a 

QUeZItiOB. 

*In afldltlon to that portion of the 

program hereinabove outlined, awards are 

m&e by those who present the show to Forsells who rend In questIons that ara ohvam 

for propoutilng i and other awards ara nade 

to those mezibers of the audionot who can 

oorrectlf answer a list of questIons whioh 

the announcer stater. Eaah member Of the 

audionor has a tally oar6 upon Hhloh ha MI 

cheek as right or wrong each rtate~ont 

included In this list. Usually, th6re are 

niar or tan such statomante, such as: ‘A 

latohet Is a shoostrIng. * Zvarjr member 

of the azlenoe has an equal opportunity to 

answer the puostlona, an6 l aoh of those who 

oorreotly answer 811 of the puestlons Is 

peld an equal srmunt for his contribution 

Of his talmt to the cvenl~e'e entertalnaent. There Is no drawing, no ‘luoky BUaborn, nor price, to be droI4ed by lot, 

luok or chance. Instaad, each person who 

p3rtlcipetes Is paid for tls partlolpatlon 

In Qlreot proportion to the value 0s his 

servlors. - 

t3ootion 17 0s Artlole III or the Constitution 

or Texas reads: 

“The Legislature shall pass laws 

prohibiting the rstablishment Of lotteries and girt anterprIses In thls 

state, es well as the sale of tickets 

In lotteries, gift enterprises or othsr 

ava6Iona Involving the lottery prinolpal, establlehed or exIstlng, in other 

etatos.m 
Honorable Andrew Patton, pa(3e 4 

FUrWant to 6uOh command the LsgIslature 

pasasd Artlols 634 of the Fens1 Code, whioh reads 

48 r0iim8r 

*If any parson shall estsblIah a 

lottart or dIsposa 0s any estate, real 

or personal, by lottery, ha shall be 

flnad not lese than One Hundred ($100) 

Doll4r8 nor more than One ThouBand 

($1,000) Dollars; or If sny parson 

shall mall, offer for sale or keep 

for sala snr tIokets or part tIoketr 

in sky lottery he shell be fined not 

less than TOB t 

than Fifty (850 ! 

10) Dollars nor more 

Dollare.” 

in City or Kink v6. crirrith A!nunure~eBt coinpan7, 100 9. K. (26) 695, (Ter. Sup. Ct.), the oourt 

said: 

"The State Penal Code does not dafin0 8 lottsrr, but our oourts have 

interpreted it in aocordanoe with pub110 usage, to mean 8 schsme or plan 

xhioh pro~Iaes for a dIstrlbutlon of 

crItes bf or¬ among those who have 

paid, Or agreed to pay, a oOn1idaratioB 

for the right to pertlolpate theraon. 28 

Tax. Jur. p. 409, 880. 2, and oases olted 

in the Betas.* 

Tha Federal Ciroult Court of Ap 

7 

eala in the 

oase of Paek vs. United States, 61 F. (2d 973. ha8 

given the r0ii0wi~ dafInItIon 0s a lottery: 

*A schema for tha dIatrIbutIon 0s 

prizes or thInp,s of value by lot or 

ohanoe among persons who hsve paid or 

agree to pay a valuable oonsIder~tion for 

the ohanca to obtain a prize. And again: 

A sohwne by ?&Ioh I raeult Is reaohsd by 

some aotlon or means takan, iB whloh result man’s oholce or till har no pert, 

nor can human reason, . . . sagacity or 

design ensble him to know or detsrmIne 

. . . until the same has barn aoacrnplished.W 
Eonorabla Andrew bttOB , ps~a 5 

Vndtr your statamant Of the fact8 48 quoted 

by us, two of the elements of a lottery are clearly 

dlsaernlbla, 1. a., a prlra In money or thing or 

vslua, end papsat 0s a ooBr.ideration for tb ohanoa 

to partlolpats In the pro&yam through attendance et 

the theatra, paying SB admIssIoB price therefor. 

?:hether the l lament of chance Is 8uffIoItntly est4blIshed Is a more perplexing problem , 

In the 0080 0s Boatwright v. state, ii8 

Tex. Cr. R. 381, 3e 8. w. (24) 87, the Court or 

Criminal Appeals held that a punoh board wherein were 

pleoad different checker problems, the earns to be oompleted by the. pertlclpent efter paying a Set for the 

prIvIlege of playlw, did not constitute a lottery, 

even though prlzes were awarded those working out the 

best solution. We quota from the oplnlorrr 

*An;7 sohame for the di8trIbUtIOB 

~of prizes by ohanoa, under our etatuta, 

Is a 1otterJ. paaen v. State, 93 Tex. 

Cr. R. 173, 246 5. F. pl,; Stawer v. 

State, 107 Tex. Cr. R. 574, 298 S. K. 906. 

The phrase ‘earns of oh4Bca’ Is defInad In 

27 Corpus Jurls at page 968, as SollOws: 

*It Is a earns detrrmInad entirely or In 

psrt by lot or mere luck, and In which 

judgment, praotlce, skill or adroitness 

have honestly no orrioe et all, or are 

thwertad by ohanoe; a gas8 In ahloh 

haaard entirely predomInatss. @ 

%Ithout approving In Its entirety 

the foregoing dafInItIon when oonsIdared 

In oonneotlon with our statute denounolng 

lotteries, It Is observed that the success 

of the player In the earna under consideration dapends upon praotlca, l r p er Ia n0e, 

or skill, Other than the ordinary ohenoa 

or oontInC.cnor which is Involved iB practically every humen endeavor, the element 

or chance Is not prdent, Tha prize Is 

drawn ae a rerrard for the skill of the 

91 awl and not br ohrnoe. The prsdomlnant 

l laaent In the game Is one of skill. . .I 
iwo 

. 

Eonorablr Androw Patton, psgr 6 

SOI also MoFsr i. Statr, 46 Tax. Cr. R. 

489, 81 9. 1. 741; Roit v,. Dally Craphlo, 230 H. Y. 

s. 360, 103 A. L. R. 870. 

Fros a oarrful study 0r tbr 6rolrlonr aa 

l qlied to thr faOt8 prsaantrd by you, we oorxludr 

that the m6lo program doer not rlolatr thr lottery 

law oi thlr Stat@. 

Trutatlng that we ham aetlsfaOtOrl1~ anewerd 

your lquiry, we are, 

Yours v6ry truly 

A 

Anslrtant