"They're not taking money".

Their goal might not have been to take cash money, but the whole point of stealing lottery tickets is to get the money the tickets win. Hopefully these crooks don't get much out of it.

Gives new meaning to the instant games such as

red hot 7's and blazing 8's.. 

In Ohio, you have to activate the tickets. Stealing them is stupid.

If they stole them from the display case, they were already activated because they were for sale.

But I totally agree, stealing them is stupid regardless. 

Am I the only one who'd be too paranoid to cash the winning tickets?  I'd be thinking they have the series of numbers that was stolen programmed into the verification system, and it automatically dials 911 when a stolen ticket is scanned.  Is there any way they could cash in a ticket for over $600 that has to be paid by the lottery office?  Surely they'd know they were stolen. 

Maybe they sell the Big Winners to a third party at a discount so they don't get caught cashing in the Winners.

In some states, stores won't cash scratch-offs they didn't sell.  These thieves may have to wait until the store is reopened before cashing their winners.

There are all sorts of verifications in place, but people who are inclined to steal are not inclined to think that far, and what passes as "punishment" these days does not encourage them to find other means of "employment".

don't  people  know  that  ticket  sales  with  the  Lottery  are  numbered  and  have  a  code  and  bar  code  which  can  identify  tckets  from  that  store  ???

I  realy  hate  thieves .....this  was  just  crule  and  unusal  punnishment  to  the  owner  of  that  store  and  his  loyal customers  who  played  the  lottery  there;

I doubt they'll get anything out of it execpt arrested.  The LC knows the numbers on all scratch-offs that are sold to any retailer. They'll set up a red flag/alarm in the computer system and as soon as anyone tries to cash a winning ticket from one of the stolen rolls, they will get the police in there.

This is just another example of how many criminals are stupid and don't think farther than the end of their nose.

Of course they'll know the ticket(s) were stolen.  The idiots that did it are/were probably on some drugs.  Of course, they could simply be really stupid.  Wouldn't be the first time.

They'd have to be really stupid to compound theft with arson.  Last I knew, arson was a very serious crime.  And for what?  What are they really covering up?  Maybe they're destroying the security video, but dang.  When they get caught, they'll figure out that wasn't such a smart move.

It's hard to figure out why people without morals do what they do.  I realize that drugs can alter one's thought process and behavior, but it's not a good excuse.  When a couple murders their child or someone burns down a store and I hear "they must be on drugs" I feel it's some kind of explanation for their bad behavior rather than saying that they were s-cum anyway who happened to take drugs too.  You can be a burglar, a rapist, a pedophile, a murderer or an arsonist and be straight & sober too. If I were on drugs I still wouldn't do these things. 

Maybe they sell the Big Winners to a third party at a discount so they don't get caught cashing in the Winners.

Raven, smart comment!  Is there anything illegal about buying a ticket from someone who isn't an authorized retailer?  They could be stealing $10 tickets and selling them for $1, etc.  Of course most people would realize they're stolen.

I smell smoke, and I don't think lottery tix smoke, if the lottery tix get burned up in the fire, then, the state get's involved in the fire investigation, lottery theft sounds like a good excuse to post a claim for some insurance mony, and that equate's to higher insurance premiums on everybody else. hum.