"21" Game Operators To Sue JPS
The quarrel between the board of directors of the Junta de Protección Social de San José (JPS) and its general manager, Luis Polinaris, made the headlines during the past week over who had the authority to give the "21 de la suerte" permission to operate a lottery.

Polinaris assured that his office has the final say, while the JPS board said that the general manager's office had been giving out permits for years, but the ultimate decision always rested with the board. In the cross fire "21" operators kept quiet and continued to sell their lottery tickets as usual.

However, yesterday, the "21" game operators said that they will be suing the JPS because all the negative publicity has hurd their sales.

"21" operators say that their sales have dropped by as much as 17% over the past week, when news that the game, nor the beneficiary, Hogares CREA, did not have the full permission of the JPS. José Miguel Jiménez, general manager of Hogares Crea, said that damage is not only to the revenue of the game, but also to the youths who benefit from the Hogares Crea assistance in 23 centres around the country.

Hogares Crea is a youth assistance program that helps young people get off the streets and drugs, taking shelter in a rehabilitation centre before reintegrating into society. A portion of "21" profits went to Hogares Crea.

Jiménez added that the vendors of the "21" lottery tickets, easily identified by their bright yellow t-shirts worn by sometimes scantily clad women, were being called "thieves", "pigs" and series of other names.

According to Gloria Navas, a lawyer representing "21", the game operator will be presenting charges within the next coming days. "The problem is not with us and in the way they (the JPS) evidently made it public in a way to hurt the game and of course Hogares Crea", said Navas.

The Hogares Crea general manager added that in the first weeks of the lottery, their average sales were around 44.000 tickets, however, this past week it won't reach 36.000.

"21 de la suerte" received permission to operate the lottery from the JPS board of directors. The JPS manager came out publicly denouncing the way the permission was granted and threatened to shut down the game, calling it illegal. The fight between the JPS board of directors and the general manager was all in public.

The JPS is the only legally authorized body to hold lotteries in the country, save for the "Tico Bingo" operated by the Cruz Roja (Red Cross), which it uses to raise funds to keep operating its emergency response services.