HI James,
I am a newbie here and am getting caught up on past posts.
I have always wondered about this. Does the lotto know which rolls contain the winning tickets and where they are in their release stage(s)? If it is truly random (other than the control over printing a certain amount of winners on a single roll) why is it that certain towns sell more big winners than other towns?
For example, the top five selling towns in Massachusetts are: Boston (which makes sense given it's volume), Quincy (which happens to be the home town of the Treasurer), Worcester (another large city), Medford and Methuen.
All towns in the top ten for selling big prizes are more industrial towns (with the exception of Boston). One store in Methuen sells the most lotto tickets in the state and has sold 4 $1 Million prize tickets.
With the exception of Boston and Worcester, these are not the largest cities / towns in the state. Do you think it makes more sense to buy your tickets from the towns that have produced the most winners (I am talking 1 Million dollar prizes at a minimum)? Do the stores really want to sell winning tickets? I would imagine that they would because they receive money and bragging rights but what if they don't because then they lose business? I personally don't buy from a store that has already sold a winner ($1 million). So wouldn't it cut into their business to produce a winner?
Does the store know when they have received a winner in one of their rolls only they don't know which roll? Is it truly random? Twice here in Ma I have heard of the same person winning the $1 million prize a year after they won their first million dollar prize. I bought 200 $20 tickets over the weekend - the first roll I won $1240 and the second roll I won $1300. Can lightening really strike twice?
Thank you and be well - Zippy
