Frequent lottery wins by retailers investigatedPrevious TopicNext Topic

To me it sounds like Chris is running out of stories to go after. Now he is chasing people that win lotteries. I play quite often. I don't win that much, but some people do. Just because these people play a lot, he is trying to find a story there. Why don't he do a story on BIG winners, what they did withthe money, how family and friends reacted to them as well as how they are treated differently, etc.

I wonder how much of a cut they get when they claim tickets for people.  1/2 maybe.

For everything legal, there is something that can be done "illegal".  If they are cashing tickets for others, they better not get caught.  But also to say this, there are folks who play and when they think that they have the number, they do step on it and try to knock it out the box.  I know folks who do play like that.  They don't play every single draw like that except when they think their number is close to coming out.  It makes sense to me.  I am sure that if they had checked in Ky along the TN/Ky line, they would have found a few players who may or may not work for a store who have chalked up large wins.  I believe though that these people (in the video) are buying tickets from real winners at less than face value and cashing them in.  If a person had a $5,000.00 ticket and didn't want to "do the tax stuff", and agreed to sell their ticket for 50% of it's value, the buyer has a built in 100% profit.  i am sure that someone running a business could find enough deductions (losing tickets) to take the heat off.

I feel a sting coming on.

The video report didn't indicate whether these winning tickets were scratch-offs or terminal print outs or both.  It would be hard to scam a terminal game with a independent draw except where they dupe the playing public by telling them they lost on a winning ticket and then keeping it to cash in.  I've heard of retailers scanning the bar codes of scratch-off tickets and pulling out the winners and cashing them in then putting the no prize or low value prize tickets back out to be sold to the public. Yes I've heard some lotteries will flag multiple scanning of the same ticket to prevent fraud but this security measure probably isn't set up in every state and the video report of lottery officials declining to be interviewed on such an important topic demonstrates they don't take stopping fraud that seriously.  Since the retailers stock their lottery displays no one would be able to see that a length of perforated roll of scratch-offs has been tampered with.  If you scan a roll of 50 connected tickets and the 26th ticket was a big winner then put the length of 1 to 25 out then replace it with 27 to 50 who in the public would notice?

Having "lucky" relatives win all the time smacks of someone trying to hide their tracks.  Having big wins from not only your own store but other nearby retailers who also sell lottery tickets reeks of collusion.

This is one of the reasons I don't buy scratch-offs.

(I know I told this story before)

I was once, standing in line at a store that had one lottery terminal and was being held up by a man who was calling out a long list of 4 digit numbers. The line was long and I had gone to the store while I was on my lunch break from work, as had the majority of the people in the line. People were getting impatient.

When the guy finished and was walking away, someone made a comment out loud about him spending so much money on the lottery. This made the guy return a comment, "I cash in 3 to 4 times a week on straight hits. He walked out.

Someone inquired as to just how much he had spent. The store clerk answered, $400.00, he does it all of the time.

This happened about 3 or4 years ago. I haven't seen him since then, but then, I don't frequent that store much either.

I can see retailers buying off tickets from people who want to avoid paying taxes. Paying taxes on lottery wins is not all fun. I'd rather not, unless it is hugh jackpot that will make it worth the trouble.

That was my first thought, but think about this:

"If a person had a $5,000.00 ticket and didn't want to "do the taxstuff", and agreed to sell their ticket for 50% of it's value, thebuyer has a built in 100% profit."

That's not true in a world where somebody has to "do the tax stuff." If you cash a winning ticket for $5000 you've got $5000 in taxable (and reported) income, but your real income was only $2500.  If you have no state tax and are in the 25% bracket you'll owe $1250, so oyur profit is $1250. Yeah, you can claim some losses, but if you're a lottery retaile (or related to one) the IRS isn't likely to be satisfied with a box of losing tickets as proof of your loss, especially if the tickets are mostly from your own store and you've won with tickets from other stores.

I'm thinking that 1/3 may be about what it takes to make it worth the hassles, including the possible risk of losing  your status as a retailer. At least if the lotteries were serious about preventing it.

"I cash in 3 to 4 times a week on straight hits. He walked out."

Yeah, everybody who's spending a lot of money says that. Kind of makes you wonder how the lottery would be turning a profit if it was true.

KY floyd said: Kind of makes you wonder how the lottery would be turning a profit if it was true.

The lottery makes most of it's money selling scratch offs.

thought scratch offs have best odds,  return 60% of jackpot too

I think a lot of you are missing the lightbulb here. A store cashing in 50+ tickets of large amount prizes has to have a ridiculously lucky to get 50 people to split the ticket with them for whatever reason. They are doing in constantly and similar amounts at regular intervals. There is something seriously sinister going on here than involves a bit more than luck. And the store owner who's wife is winning a tremendous amount of money playing "a lot" has a lil smth going on too. A lot of folks in this site play RELIGIOUSLY....show me proof ANYONE of you have won regularly large prizes as these retailers....OPEN YOUR EYES PPL...DUMB LUCK DOES NOT STRIKE YOU 49 TIMES AT 30 DAY INTERVALS FOR $2500 EACH.

So  like there couldn't be a business that cashes tickets on a regular basis even to the point that the word has spread out from the surrounding communities and now the guy has people walking in several times a week to get tickets cashed. Even legitimate tickets are reported as well as anybody that might wander in wanting to split there winnings.

Cut some people some slack we had a store near me that did it they got caught cashing tickets for people who didn't want to pay taxes and now that store doesn't have a lottery anymore.

There are crooked retailers everywhere.

These "Lucky winners" should tell this to the convicted embezzler in Kansas...he played a lot as well and I'll bet his odds were NOT as good as theirs!!!

 The same thing happens here in South Carolina.  The same clerks seem to cash in winning scratch-offs all the time.  They have a system going...for instance, more than a few have told me that winners come in a roll.  You have a roll of non-winners and a roll of winners.  If you buy 2 or 3 winning tickets in one roll...than that roll is a winner and they will encourage you to buy from it (if they like you).  My mother was told by one clerk NOT to buy from that roll because it was a loser....my mom didn't trust her and bought the next ticket...guess what...she won 200.00.  The clerk was NOT happy.  She had her sister in line behind my mom waiting to buy the entire roll.  This happens a lot.  People who buy scratch-offs understand.  Some go in for the entire roll....and it's been proven...some are a losing batch and some a winning batch. 

If you worked the counter for 8 hours, it's easy to pick up on the "winning or losing" batch....then you just call a friend or relative to buy tickets from that batch without you risking your job.  Think about it....many times when you go into the same gas station the person working the counter usually has a friend/relative hanging around keeping them company while they work....have you ever noticed them scratching off tickets? 

Heck, I've seen clerks buy tickets themselves or write down pick 3/4 numbers that a customer ahead just played.  They'll say, he's pretty lucky...wanna know what he played so u can play it to?  I'm playing it right after work. 

I believe that there are truly lucky people in this world...but come on...not THIS lucky THIS often!

About a couple of months ago I witnessed about 5-7 Mexicans buying a roll of $10.00 tickets for a price of $300.00.  They were all counting out the money and the store owner came from the back with a brand new roll...they all huddled together with the store manager, talked a bit and then he scanned in the tickets and gave it to them.  I wonder what kind of deal they worked out to make them all have to talk really low.   I'm assuming that he probably agreed to cash in the winning tickets for them for a fee since they may not have had identification....I don't know...but why hide the fact that you're buying a roll of tickets?  What was all the secrecy about?  I'd like to know how many winning tickets this store owner has purchased.  It would be hard to figure out since South Carolina allows you to claim tickets anonymously.

 very true....

moral of story is to always check your ticketyourself!

It looks like those retailers are "buying" winning tickets from players who don't want it known they won or for some other reason. I'm assuming because they told Chris Hanson "they were very lucky", the retailers didn't want anyone to know they profited and by how much. I see nothing illegal because the taxes are being paid and the state lottery should already know they are cashing an extraordinary amount of winning tickets; they gave Hanson the printouts.

"I'm thinking that 1/3"

About the same as if two people share a $5000 winning ticket, the one cashing the ticket takes 1/3 off the top for taxes, and they split the rest. Since those retailers cashed at least 25 winning tickets in the last year, I'm guessing it's more like the player gets 50% and the retailer's profit is after taxes.

A much bigger problem is the retailers and clerks that tell players winning tickets under $599 won nothing or the tickets are worth much more than the clerk pays them. I doubt any of the retailers buying winning tickets are involved in that and if Chris Hanson wants a real story, he should go after the retailers that are cheating the players.