Talk:George Adams (businessman)

Section "When the Bank of Van Diemen's Land Ltd., Hobart, went into liquidation in 1893, the directors decided to raffle the bank's assets. George Adams conducted a lottery, the first in Tasmania, with 300,000 tickets at £1 each. The first prize was the bank building itself and the land on which it was built on Miller's Corner, Hobart. Second prize was Hadley's Orient Hotel, which was owned by the bank. All the other prizes consisted of a long list of bank properties in various places. Tickets were fully taken up. Its success inspired George Adams to inaugurate his famous Tattersall's Consultation. – though correctly cited from source [1] – is historically incorrect regarding the success of the "Grand Lottery" and the creation of Tattersall's. More correct detail is given below:

The initial drawing of the Grand Lottery had about 50,000 marbles placed in the drawing drum whcoh eqauls the number of tickets sold. "In spite of the interest shown, this first lottery had not been entirely successful. Only fifty thousand tickets were sold and Hadley's had been withdrawn as the first prize".

A flyer, dated December 1895, announces the "Grand Lottery. Second Distribution of Prizes" with 200,000 tickets at 5/ each. Hadley's Orient Hotel is again set out as First Prize, with 223 more prizes formed by bank premises, hotels, cottages, building lots, etc.

This 2nd lottery was not sold out either, and the prizes allocated "pro rata" as laid out in the terms and consitions. Hadley's Hotel was withdrawn again from the prizes to be handed over, and remained in Hadley's hands.

George Adams had started running public "sweeps" from his Tattersall's Hotel, Pitt St., Sydney (home of the Sydney Tattersall Club) in 1881. He moved to Hobart in 1896, after "Tattersall's Consulations" had been forced out of NSW in 1893 and a similar fate occuring in QLD (Telegraph Chambers, Queen St., Brisbane) during 1895. He was desperately looking for a new home for his enterprise, however facing low prospect he even contemplated moving the business to New Caledonia when the Government of Tasmania invited him to evaluate a plan on how to reconcile the 1891 failure of the VDL Bank, especially with focus on how to generate cash for the TAS geovernment. He drew up the finally adopted plan to sell tickets to secure cash, but to hand out real estate items owned by the VDL bank, or serving as security for credits handed out by the VDL Bank.

George Adams denied being paid for his efforts regarding the Grand Lottery. Instead, he asked premier Braddon to support his plea to license Tattersall's Consultations. Though not yet accomplished, George Adams relocated to Tasmania at the end of 1895. The first home to his enterprise became Fysh's Building, Hobart, where a first sweep was conducted on the Anniversary Handicap, run at Randwick, 26 Jan 1896.

"On 1 June 1897, the Tasmanian Government granted Tattersall's Consultations an exclusive License to conduct lotteries under The Suppression of Public Betting and Gaming Act, 1896. The license cost the proprietor George Adams £10,000, and permanently wedded the fortunes of the Government with the financial success of Tattersall's Consultations."