You are probably right. But, the bitter motives of DarkMark and rheisler do not change the fact that WTC was illegally benefiting by the order of $1m per year and thus should not be tolerated.

fwiw, I think the Kona lottery should be legal. They have an asset and have chosen to monetize it via a game of chance rather than auction or direct sale. I have a lot of faults with how WTC runs its business, but I never faulted them for the Kona Lottery. However, learning that it is illegal makes me believe that it should be terminated. And, those who are up in arms over this should instead take up their fight with the Gambling laws, which are ridiculous, rather than going after DarkMark and rheisler. Hell, it is legal to buy puts and calls on options that expire in a few days, which means you are either gambling or have inside information. Why is this "investing" legal, but what WTC did to monetize their Kona slots is not?

So, I am certainly not aggrieved by what WTC had been doing. But, I was definitely one of the many who was not just going to toss WTC money for a negligible chance at a Kona slot. And, my guess is there are many like me who would have participated in a free lottery but were not going to throw money away on a paid lottery.