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.

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