Path: utzoo!utgpu!news-server.csri.toronto.edu!cs.utexas.edu!swrinde!zaphod.mps.ohio-state.edu!casbah.acns.nwu.edu!accuvax.nwu.edu!nucsrl!telecom-request From: ehopper@attmail.com Newsgroups: comp.dcom.telecom Subject: 900 Space Travel Scam Message-ID: <16759@accuvax.nwu.edu> Date: 7 Feb 91 16:36:13 GMT Sender: news@accuvax.nwu.edu Organization: TELECOM Digest Lines: 16 Approved: Telecom@eecs.nwu.edu X-Submissions-To: telecom@eecs.nwu.edu X-Administrivia-To: telecom-request@eecs.nwu.edu X-Telecom-Digest: Volume 11, Issue 99, Message 7 of 13 An earlier message reported that the founders of Space Travel Services had been convicted of a crime. Not true. They were ARRESTED yesterday 2/6/91. The charge was conducting an illegal lottery. Please note that this charge does not hinge on whether or not they could actually deliver the prize to the winner, just that a $2.99 phone call for entry (or the mail in entry option) was gambling. Obviously, they will use the mail-in entry option as a defense, since that will break the traditional prize-chance-consideration definition of alottery. I wonder, if this is an illegal lottery, what about MTV's big giveaways? They seem to be the same deal. Ed Hopper