It is now up to the Arizona Lottery players to vote with their dollars. Spend or not spend on computerized drawings. Vote with their dollars on real lottery ball machines. 

Although the RNG can't be ruled out, these things sometimes happen even when balls are used. 

Virginia, a ball state, drew 805 in the daytime three times in seven days. Texas, another ball state, take their randomness very seriously. They even post their pre-draw results online. Still, I remember Texas drawing 277 three times in four days. I'm pretty sure it was in 2009 or 2010 - back when they were still doing only two drawings per day.

However, I do applaud Arizona for even temporarily going to ball drawings.

I don't understand.

There's repeats in live ball drawings too.

I Knew it. I complained to them multiple times and they refused to look into it. Last drawing of 804 which was drawn again back on the 10th. They are slowly getting caught at their pick the least drawn numbers for each pick3 game. But the problem is much deeper than this. I pointed out how other states who have 1 drawing a day only pick a number drawn again at less than 15% throughout the yr. Yet Arizona has multiple numbers which are drawn multiple  times through out the yr such as 804-802-319-and doubles as well. Does anyone know how to sue the state which uses MSL as their lottery drawer? There is plenty of evidence directly from them to prove that they are rigging the drawings. This article says Arizona only had 3 drawings of 804 but it is actually 4. There are other numbers as well.

l wonder if Edgar is " embarrassed" this time around? It's no different than buying the same model car twice, having problems with both, but deciding its in your best interest to stick with them. Lotterypost could sent a copy to Arizona news organization on their drive to return to mechanical drawings.l say: Let it hit the fan!

*  Going to follow the contours of the turkey, in 90 minutes.

I like RNG computers.  The numbers aren't random.

Whether electronic or mechanical drawings, ALL procedures by the lottery associations need to be open and transparent to the general public.  Thank you.

Sometime ago I emailed the Wisconsin lottery asking to receive a list of pre-draws for supercash.  They told me I had to file a freedom of information request and it could take a few weeks.  LOL

Exactly! In my view, finding and exploiting RNG flaws is a great lottery system.

I'd like to see an article on RNG machine hardware along with how RNGs typical function in detail, including specific draw procedures.

One would think with all the scandals and problems, Arizona would go ball draw indefinitely. But it's cheaper and easier to use  RNG. Presumably, AZ Lottery figures most numbers players will continue to play, regardless.

However, if these RNG problems keep happening, there may come a tipping point. It already has happened with Hot Lotto being replaced with Lotto America, which is ball draw.

Left to me I will take all thoes computerised machine and sholve it somewhere I can't type at moment on all thoes managers making decisions . I prefer that to my money back 

Yeeaah... called it.

https://www.lotterypost.com/news/315821/5294580

"

The only take away we get from this is, it appears they are desperately trying to avoid the demon that lurks within computer generated numbers.

We have our own take as to why this happened, however, it's just speculation.

In the meantime, as long as this problem is not seriously addressed, it will happen again.

Like all things these days, it will be handled by alleviating the symptoms.

At this point, word marking are the words of the day.

Everyone should Watch for it and Profit from it.

Good Luck.

"

And the problem continues...

The Arizona Lottery has taken a second computerized lottery drawing machine out of operation because it repeatedly chose duplicate numbers.

Why hasn't a third grader somebody explained to the Arizona Lottery director the problem is with the program? 

I see this all the time playing around with RNG's.  What baffles me is how the thing ever made

it into service.  I guess they forgot to test it after downloading it off the net.

RL

Just wanted to point out that DEC 7 is "a date which will live in infamy", not DEC 11.

Both draw methods have holes in them,they are predictable...if I can take the same 125 pick 4 numbers and hit 3 draws in a row..like I'm doing in LA LOTTERY right now....it can be done

Well, that was a bit.... EMBARRASSING. 

You Could Just Play 804 Straight Every Draw.

So Now They Are Temporarily Using A Ball Drawn Machine

And Yesterday 000 Hits? Makes You Wonder.....

Wonder if today's winning number will be

      001 

Also, MD throws ALOT of repeats, we have documented how bad in out pick 3 threads.  I get the feeling the PRE-TESTS also had the 804 hitting. 

Good thing 804 isn't an Arizona area code otherwise the lottery would have had to give out ALOT of money.

I Think they need to replace the Lottery Commission in Arizona, instead of replacing the Lottery machine

with another computerized Machine. Holy Moly, doesn't this set off any Alarms? Do they really think they're going to gain

the trust back? Complete foolishness. 

I don't get it.  Who wants mechanical balls when you have this?  Random vs predictable.  Come on man.

I agree with voting with dollars! Now Washington state needs to do the same...They have been drawing duplicate numbers for a long time!

Missouri has the same problem too ....so many same numbers and we have told them but they absolutly assure us thats normal and nothing is wrong.

I call BS

Play the numbers then, instead of tipping off the lottery company.

That is why they want computerised drawing they don't want 000 to hit that cost them money they want to be able to program the out come 000 is a number actually a good number because people loss with 000 everyday so winning one time is fair.

Are you saying they can control the numbers drawn?  That would he highly illegal and result in prison terms for those involved IMO.  I don't think thats the case.  They use RNG's because its cheaper and it does have flaws.  Use them to your advantage.

I don't have 100 percent evidence they do but I do know it gives humans more ability to influence the number outcome and any such opportunity is not a good news to players. When I go to casino I play real roulette it's more safe and less program than say pulling slot machine. Anything computerised is not computerised naturally but difficult to hit like say 000 or 111 they don't like thoes alot lol

They probably won't realize this until someone starts winning every drawing. That will get the point across to them.

In Virginia, numbers sell out if too many people play. I attempted to play a triple once and I was told that the number sold out. 

California do pari-mutuel drawings. Therefore, if 000 hits, each winner gets less money. 

Those are two ways of resolving that issue.

According to the Arizona Lottery website these are the Pick 3 drawings that are causing all  the commotion. Now if they want to switch to ball drawings, I'm all for it. However, Maryland has ball drawings, and we see this sort of thing all the time and much, much, worse than this. So I don't know what Arizona's problem is.

Now IMO, if Arizona is going to start changing their RNG's over something like this, if I played there I would be EXTREMELY concerned about that. Why? Because you can bet your last dollar, that now the new RNG's will be programmed to not allow any Pick 3 number to be drawn again in X number of draws. X could be 5 draws, 10, 25, 50, 200, 500 draws or any number they want. Next question is, will it be only straight numbers that will not be allowed to repeat or will that include the box combos also? Now if the players can somehow figure what X is, they can just NOT play the numbers from the last however many drawings.

So now if they do program it so that numbers cannot repeat in X number of draws, they will be damaging the integrity of the game. (If they haven't damaged it already). And the fact that they are even questioning this at all, shows that they will damage it by reprogramming, or buying new computers that will do something more to their liking. 

And then they want us to believe all of their; "The lottery's are completely random" BS.

Stupid Lottery...  

By SAlessi
Nov. 22, 2017
 
STATEMENT

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Contact: Nikki O’Shea, Arizona Lottery, (480) 921-4438

Subject: November 15 – November 21 Pick 3 Draw Issue

Arizona Lottery Players:

Following standard draw operations conducted by the Multi-State Lottery Association on November 21, 2017, Arizona Lottery identified duplicate draw results for its in-state game, Pick 3. The lottery’s Random Number Generator (RNG) drew the following numbers on the following dates:

         Pick 3 Numbers:   8-0-4                      Pick 3 Numbers: 4-0-3                Pick 3 Numbers:  7-9-0

          First draw: Oct. 9, 2017                  First draw:  Nov. 1, 2017              First draw:  Nov. 8, 2017

Duplicate draws: Nov.15, 2017          Duplicate draw: Nov. 20, 2017         Duplicate draw:Nov. 17,2017

                         Nov. 21,2017

grwurston, can you please post a similar set of results for the Maryland Lottery, showing duplicate Pick 3 Straight combinations all drawn with a month's time?  You said it "happens all the time, and much, much worse", so it should be very easy to find a similar (and worse) set of drawings within a month's time.

Remember, Arizona only has one drawing per day, unlike Maryland, which has two draws per day, so to be fair you can only use midday or evening drawings, not a mix between the two.  Or else you can do a mix between the two, but only within a two-week time frame.

Here you go Todd, not all straights but a heck of a lot of repeats.

This is a ball drawing state.  Maryland loves repeats.

7/31 eve  271

8/1   eve  712

8/8   mid  941

8/8   eve  914

8/9   mid  642

8/10 eve  426

8/18 mid  590

8/19 mid  950

8/20 mid  287

8/20 eve  872

8/28 eve  095

9/1   mid  095

9/18 mid  426

9/19 mid  462

9/26 eve  484

9/29 mid  484

10/3 mid  897

10/4 eve  978

10/13 eve 358

10/14 mid 538

10/10 mid 072

10/11 eve 027

10/11 mid 907

10/19 eve 970

11/3  mid  079

11/8  eve  097

11/22 eve 079

Also, sum 16 has hit on. 

10/11 mid  907

10/12 mid  925

10/13 mid  358

10/13 eve  439

10/14 mid  538

How about this?

1/21/17  eve  672

1/22/17  eve  627

1/23/17  eve  726

Or this? A year ago.

11/9/16   eve 6475

11/14/16  eve 5746

11/15/16  eve 7546

11/19/16  eve 7456

By the way, guess what hit 2 days ago?

11/24/17 mid 4675

Like I said, please only show Straight duplicates, drawn within one month for either mid or eve only, or within a 2-week period for both.  Box combinations are not duplicates.  (They may be for your analysis, but not for checking if a RNG is operating properly in this case.)

This is easy, because you said it happens "much, much worse" in Maryland.  Please do not post a bunch a box combinations, sums, or anything other than straight duplicates.  The examples I see from you are not duplicates.

like i said couple years ago, they try to fool you all the time. 

On Nov 23, 000,  ARIZONA 

I already explained 000 on my thread,

ITS THE RESET, ( GO AND LOOK FOR MY THREAD  I HAVE POSTED YEARS AGO)

On Nov 25, 388 (  remember this is new system as they said after Nov 21)

Remember but on Nov 18, 133 

Dr Miracle said, digits follows dr.miracle's pattern 3,5,8, 

end of the day, they haven't done anything, its the same software they are using before and after Nov 21

No, DrMiracle, Arizona is not using software or a "system" right now.  They are using a ball machine.  It is a good thing.  Too bad it can't be permanent.  Believe it or not, 000 is sometimes drawn in a ball machine.

Repeats are common in random number sequences. Many players utilize strategies with repeats in mind, so it would seem risky for a lottery to intentionally cause them. Many lottery pre-test procedures call for machines and/or ball sets to be exchanged and/or excluded in the event of excess digit repeats.

What I can't understand is what is causing the AZ Lottery RNG problems. Is the memory not being cleared (procedural problem; skipping steps) or something more serious, such as a faulty RNG seed allowing for repeat patterns. Until Arizona Lottery explains what happened in detail, best to assume all AZ Lottery RNG drawings are suspect.

On the bright side, the various RNG glitches are opportunities for players. Sure, one should complain, but if AZ Lottery continues to insist on RNG, take advantage!

Figure on repeats. Plus, look for excess and/or lack of duplicate digits. From what I recall, TN Lottery RNG had such issues. For players who noticed, they could have improved their payback percentage to better than 70% or maybe even 80%; greatly reduced lottery house margin. Nearby repeats are even more promising with potential of over 100% payback; having an advantage over the house.

Bottom line, AZ Lottery should stay with ball draw indefinitely. Would build player confidence and protect the lottery from excess payouts.

We downloaded all MD Pick 3 draws for both Mid and Eve from the Lottery Post.

We did not find anything unusual with the picks as it relates to both Straight and Boxed numbers, in both cases of Mid and Eve separate or combined.

It may be caused by a poor RNG or a poor random seed -- or a combination of both.  The lottery has stated that they will publicly announce the findings once they have finished their investigation, so hopefully we'll find otu for sure at some point.

That's what I was getting at and what I was seeing myself.  Thanks for your independent confirmation!

"Box combinations are not duplicates."

Not that there aren't other flaws with the examples posted, but how are box combinations not duplicates if you're looking for evidence that an RNG isn't random enough? Perhaps it's possible to program an RNG's to select a 3 digit number from the 1000 possible numbers, but as the issue with no duplicate digits in Tennessee demonstrated the usual method is to sequentially, and randomly (one hopes), choose 3 single digits.

In that case any single digit being drawn more than is statistically reasonable could be viewed as evidence that the RNG is favoring that digit for some reason. Similarly, 804, 408, and 480 could be viewed as evidence that selecting one of those digits somehow increases the chance that one of the other digits will be selected as he 2nd or 3rd digit. I'm sure that it would require rather bizarre programming for that to happen, but in a world where the lottery doesn't have access to the source code how do you rule out the possibility other than a statistical analysis that looks at both straight and box results?

A box combination repeating has very low odds compared to a straight repeating, so there is no comparison.  A simple calculation will show that box combinations SHOULD repeat regularly within a given time period, whereas not so much with straights.

If you want to show that a single digit is drawn more frequently than others, that would be a fine test to make.  Lottery Post provides digit statistics on all games for premium members, so you can see that kind of information effortlessly. 

However, looking at some similar box combinations -- and worse, looking at sums -- has nothing to do with certain digits coming out more frequently.  That's just chasing things down a rabbit hole and completely missing the point.  And looking a gift horse in the mouth.

Random:  Without definite aim, direction, rule or method.  By this definition, can any lottery draw be truly random regardless of method?  IMO nothing man-made can be random.

You asked for straight duplicates,  ...within a 2 week period for both. I did that.

8/28  eve 095

9/1    mid 095

9/26  eve  484

9/29  mid  484

11/3  mid  079

11/22 eve 079   Yeah I know, the last one is 19 days later.

In the first paragraph of the article it says, ...because it repeatedly chose duplicate numbers.  Then later on it references the 804. And that was it. It doesn't even mention the 403 or 790.  I included the Arizona website post to provide more info about it to every one.

Now let's just say I had not posted the Arizona lottery info about the other two numbers.

The article leads one to believe the Arizona lottery was upset because one number, the 804, had repeated three times between two dates, Nov 15, and Nov. 21. (Those dates actually. The first hit was Oct. 19). At that point, I'm thinking, They're crying about one number? You want to see repeats, look at Md. I finished the story and that is when I made my post about repeating numbers. Then I went to the Arizona site and included the rest.

What you're showing is most certainly not even close to what happened in Arizona.  Arizona has three sets of numbers repeat straight within one month -- with one combination repeating a third time.  You have shown numbers repeating months apart, which is what you would expect over time.

Plus, you're forgetting that this is the SECOND TIME this has happened in Arizona within a month.  The first machine did the same thing across all games, then the second machine did what is described in this news story.

The reason I am taking pains to monitor and reply to this story is that the subject of computerized drawings is absolutely terrible for the lottery industry, and I would not want statistically legitimate outcomes in a ball drawing to cloud or minimize the horrendous errors, mistakes, and glitches that continue to surround computerized drawings.

When you made the statement about the "same" thing happening in Maryland (and "much, much worse"), that is just wrong.  It has not happened in Maryland, and most certainly not worse.  There may be some statistical anomalies that you would want to discuss, but it's not even in the same league.  I am not minimizing what you're saying, or in any way trying to discourage you from discussing the topic.  But it's not the same thing as this horrendous computerized drawing fiasco in Arizona, and it should be discussed as a separate topic.

Well, there is 186 thousand of us here at LP. Is there anything we can do collectively to try and convince Arizona (or any state) to get rid of computer draws and go to ball drawings? They have Facebook, twitter, instagram. Maybe we should just bombard them with negative comments about the RNG's. It couldn't hurt. What do you think?

We analyzed the MD Pick 3 Mid/Eve combined, using a round figure of 20 draws between straight repeats.

The table below shows all the straight repeats for 20 draws or less.

If the First Draw date is the same as the Repeat Draw date, it's a repeat during a Mid/Eve same day draw.

Everything appears to be about what we would expect for a Pick 3 game.

The relative frequency of events appears to be nearly equal and homogeneous year to year; meaning, they have about the same number of occurrences and are spread throughout the year.

The combos appear to be random and the repeat combos don't repeat themselves or appear in clusters of the same combo.

We'd have to say MD is doing a pretty good job of random selection using ball drawn numbers.

Absolutely -- direct but respectful feedback is always best.  Real-world examples of not playing computerized games, or how you in some way purchase fewer tickets as a result of the loss in confidence in the drawings makes an important point to the lotteries using computerized drawings. 

State lotteries are basically marketing companies, so if it finally gets through to them that computerized drawings turn away sales they might do something about it.

One state -- Indiana -- in fact went back to real ball drawings, and used it as an opportunity to get some good marketing value out of the switch.  It dumbfounds me that other lotteries have not yet done the same thing.  A big. loud push by players may help!

Does anyone know when AZ began using computer generated numbers?

Or, have they always used computer generated numbers?

All l know is that,  l am not a fan of the word : Temporary!  Imagine your gf,bf, spouse telling you that they are temporary leaving you. Losing your job, temporary. Your family disowning you,  Temporary.  Not good, not good! 

If anyone can verify, the AZ Computer Generated Numbers switch date appears to be 2007-05-02.

I wonder if the lottery still has two old ball machines hiding in the warehouse in a cage?  Ready and waiting to be used or surplused.

I was just wondering...   What every one's reaction to all these repeat drawings would be if Arizona was a ball drawing state?

"looking at sums"

Is numerology, not statistics.

"That's just chasing things down a rabbit hole"

I know that RNG's occasionally produce flawed results, but I figure most of the worry about them is chasing things down a rabbit hole.

Still, looking at box results would be part of an analysis of whether or not results are random. The probabilities are different and it would take a lot more repeats when including box results, but why would that make them totally irrelevant?

"8/28  eve 095

9/1    mid 095

9/26  eve  484

9/29  mid  484

11/3  mid  079

11/22 eve 079"

You do know that 3 different numbers repeating twice has a far different probability than one number repeating 3 to 6 times in the same period, right? What do you think the probability is for what you've posted? Bear in mind that you probably didn't select random 2 week periods, but cherry picked them from the 12 weeks since the end of August.

What I posted as far as the repeats in Md, is only what we experienced here in the last 4 months. The boxes were all the ones that repeated draw to draw or day to day.

What I'm currently doing is taking all of the clean numbers and running an all history search to see just how often numbers repeat straight within 20 days. So far I've only done 6 combos  015-016-017-018-019-025, with the requirement of straight only repeats within 20 days only.

Just in these 6 combos, I've found three instances of straight repeats by 2 combos in a month. There may end up being more for these months. We'll see.

205 10/22/01 Eve        205 5/10/01 Eve      108 1/23/01 Mid

205 11/3/01  Eve         205 5/25/01 Eve      108 2/3/01  Mid

061 11/9/01  Eve         180 5/16/01 Mid      109 2/20/01 Eve

061 11/16/01 Eve        180 5/20/01 Eve      109 2/26/01 Mid

As I continue I have a feeling it may happen more often then we think. Just these 6 combos have repeated straight a total of 20 times. There were several more times where numbers repeated within 21 to 25 days of each other but I am not including those.

Wait are you kidding me, this is over 'three'? exact repeats in a month. All this complaining as if you're complaining about the fact that a straight repeated number can't come more than once in a certain period of time? Based on what? Supposed odds? Please I hope that's not why people are complaining. Because that wouldn't make any sense as to why you are playing. It's not like 3 in a row the exact same three in a row twice happened. What the heck is everybody complaining about? Like it can't happen. You're making it easier for them to take your money by trying to set rules on the game.

It was more than just Pick 3.

It was also Fantasy 5, All or Nothing, and 5 Card Cash; all of which have even greater odds of repeating than just Pick 3.

Oh okay excuse me then, I didn't know that as well. The dates of those i suppose would need to be checked and all , I haven't done that. My understanding with RNG's is that the seed needs to be changed. They are pseudo random at best which imo changes the game because there's no extra variable and all, the seed will pick the number and that number depends on the seed. Anyways, ok or not. I guess it should be looked into, but I'm sure they're more than capable of finding out the reason because they should know exactly what and how and when.

I distrust RNGs in lotteries because they have the potential to be hacked in ways that can be invisible. I would prefer all lotteries to use physical devices.

However, the technology itself is sound. If the machine was properly set up and protected, it would produce viable random numbers. Intel chips, for example, use thermal noise to generate a seed. From the "RdRand" Wikipedia article:

"The entropy source for the RDSEED instruction runs asynchronously on a self-timed circuit and uses thermal noise within the silicon to output a random stream of bits at the rate of 3 GHz."

You're excused.

Seeding can be hard coded using a system timer or some other event such that when an application, subroutine, or object is initiated the pseudo generator is seeded.

It is likely this has been done.

We work with this kind of programming standard in various languages.

It is possible the Pick 3 repeat this last go around was normal.

However, it was a good move on part of the Arizona Lottery to return to Ball Drawn Numbers in an effort to boost player confidence that the numbers are truly random.

Again, if anyone knows the date AZ started using Computer Generated Numbers other than the one we've come up with, please post.

Otherwise, we'll run with 2007-05-02.

You're doing some good work Jade, thanks.  I'd recommend sending an e-mail to the Arizona Lottery directly for verification of the date of switch-over to computerized drawings.  Unfortunately the switch back to real ball drawings is only temporary, as they are scheduled to go back to computerized drawings on Dec. 11.

Here is the Arizona Lottery's Contact Us page: http://www.arizonalottery.com/en/contact-us

Yep, that would be our last resort.

Was hoping to get your readers engaged, more specifically, Arizonian Lottery patron(s) who are most affected.

I'm here in Az and I caught. But the issue is much more deeper. They have more multiple numbers with one drawing a night than any other state with one drawing. just last night 152 that makes the 25th number to come out multiple times this yr alone.

I'm here in Az and I've been complaining and trying to get them to change there ways. The more amazing issue is people don't realize the drawings are not done in Az anymore they are done by MUSL in Iowa. But the charter for the state states the lottery to conduct all drawings with in the state. They are using a loop hole for lottery scratchers  to allow the drawings. More people need to know this. Since switching to machines for drawings the amount of pick3 winners has gone down almost 90%. Plus the drawings happen at 8pm but results don't come out till 850pm -915pm. That to me means they are picking the least chosen number picked per night. They also would print out the machine which conducted the drawing. Not any more.

We may contact the Arizona Lottery, however, we did find this on the Lottery Post; that which led us to think the switch date is 2007-05-02.

Posted LP Topic - From the Arizona Lottery Site...

ArtVandalay Thread Starter Arizona United States Member #52803 June 10, 2007 88 Posts Offline

Posted: August 18, 2007, 10:19 pm - IP Logged Favorites The following is from the FAQ section of the Arizona Lottery Site.  Tell me what you think.   Drawing Information Q: What types of future capabilities does this system offer? A: The digital drawing system technology will eventually enable us to distribute the winning numbers in an animated package to a statewide audience. Beginning May 2, the animation package can be seen at approximately 10:25 p.m. during the KPNX-TV Channel 12 newscast. Q: Why didn’t you just replace the old machines with new ones? A: The decision was based on cost effectiveness and improved technological capabilities. The Lottery purchased three Origin™ System machines for a total of $70,000. It would have cost nearly $100,000 to replace the two drawing ball machines – the one used for The Pick and Fantasy 5 and the one used for Pick 3. The costs for replacing the ball sets would have been in excess of $28,000 ($2,000 to $3,000 per set for four sets of Fantasy 5 and The Pick balls and five sets for Pick 3). In addition, the Lottery would have continued to fund costs for ongoing maintenance of the mechanical drawing ball machines and the ball sets, as well as personnel required to manage the mechanical drawings that were conducted at Channel 12, where the machines were housed. The decision to move to a digital draw system wasn’t made in haste. We sought counsel and ideas from other state lotteries, conducted research regarding the drawing process of online games and surveyed our players. Overall, people supported a change to a digital draw after they learned about future opportunities for communicating the winning numbers, its cost-effectiveness and its security and integrity. Q: How will the new system affect game odds? A: It has no effect on the odds. Q: How much will it cost to maintain a Digital Drawing System machine? A: Because it isn’t a “mechanical” system, like a drawing ball machine, maintenance for a digital draw machine is minimal and entails bi-annual cleaning and servicing by Smartplay to ensure that all cooling vents and fans operate correctly. We no longer have to worry about ‘mechanical’ malfunctions (loose doors, loose screws, low suction in the shafts etc.) or the maintenance of the drawing balls (managing 13 sets of balls included weighing them, washing them and submitting them to the Department of Public Safety for certification before use). Q: If this system is better, why wasn’t this implemented earlier? A: As stewards of the Arizona Lottery, we are accountable to our beneficiaries and to the public in general. Therefore, a change in our process had to be evaluated carefully, and this takes time. However, once the decision was made to move to a digital draw system, the implementation was timely and efficient. Q: What other lotteries have converted from drawing machines to digital drawing technology? A: Other North American lotteries that have already converted from mechanical drawing machines to digital drawing systems are Colorado, Delaware, Idaho, Indiana, Kansas, Louisiana, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, New Mexico, Oregon, and South Dakota. Washington is in the process of conversion. Integrity is the cornerstone of a successful lottery organization. To ensure the highest ethical and technical standards, these and other lotteries worldwide have independent laboratories perform various statistical tests for randomness. Q: Will you keep a file of the drawings? A: Yes. As soon as the Origin™ System is activated, a log starts to record all keyboard input and activity for the console. Once the drawing process is complete, the log is automatically saved onto the system and archived. The file can be viewed or printed. Users cannot alter it. In addition, the computer’s video images created by the draw are saved. All activities are monitored by closed-circuit camera. Q: How will the winning numbers be selected in the event of a catastrophic incident? A: A third back-up machine will be located off-site in case of a disaster. Q: Couldn’t the vendor or a Lottery user pre-program the system? A: Pre-programming is impossible because there are an undetermined number of pre-draws before an actual drawing is conducted. The number of pre-draws is unknown to the vendor or Lottery personnel until the drawing night. For example, on any given draw date there could be one, two, three, four or more pre-draws prior to the real draw. Therefore, programmed results for a real drawing would be impossible. Q: What is a Digital Drawing System? A: The Origin™ Digital Draw System (DDS) by Smartplay offers a new way of selecting and broadcasting winning lottery numbers. It replaces the mechanical drawing machines with a state-of-the-art random number selection device and a graphic display computer for presentation of the winning numbers. Q: Why did the Arizona Lottery change to a Digital Draw System? A: Our current drawing ball machines were nearing the end of their life cycle, and the digital drawing system was selected as a replacement because: It opens future ways of communicating the winning numbers to a wider audience. It is cost-effective. It maintains the integrity and security of the games, including reducing liabilities associated with aging equipment. Q: Won’t this new system be susceptible to computer hackers? A: No. There is no connection to any Lottery network or the Internet. Q: What if there is a power failure? A: First, each console has its own independent power supply which allows it to run on batteries for approximately 30 minutes. Second, the Lottery has a generator which could supply power for 1½ hours. Finally, in the event these backups fail, there is a third machine at an off-site facility. Q: How will this affect people who play the Lottery? A: There will be no effect on our players other than the future potential for a wider broadcasting of winning number results. The system has no effect on the odds and the games will maintain their integrity and security. Q: Is this system as secure as the drawing machines? A: Yes: • The computer that generates the winning numbers is contained in a secure console. • Only a SMARTPLAY technician, in the presence of authorized Lottery personnel, can access the locked console. • A security seal rated by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security as “high-security compliant” protects the console from tampering. • The seal has a unique number and a bar code for audit confirmation. The system records any opening of the console. • The computer requires logon validation from two different people prior to startup. To ensure checks and balances, the logons are unique confidential codes that are independently entered by authorized employees from different departments. • After the system is powered up, every keystroke is written to a log. The system also runs a self-diagnostic check during startup. All procedures must balance and match before drawing results are made official. • All drawing results are subjected to regular internal and external audits. • Additionally, all Arizona Lottery drawings are open to the public for viewing and monitoring. Advance requests are necessary because of after-hours access to a secured facility. Q: Is the Digital Drawing System a computer? A: Yes. It is a custom-built computer installed in a secure console. The Origin™ system is housed at the Lottery in a secure (card-access only) draw studio monitored by a closed-circuit camera. Q: How often does a Digital Draw System have to be replaced? A: This is more a question of technological upgrade than replacement. Just as computer software improves with upgrades, so will the Origin™ system. We are fortunate in that we had access and purchased the latest technology in digital draw systems. This system provides a solid platform from which we can upgrade. Q: How was the system vendor selected? A: Through a competitive bid process. We solicited bids from qualified vendors and the evaluation panel concluded that Smartplay’s Origin™ Digital Draw System was the most advantageous for us. Established in 1993, Smartplay is a leading lottery supplier of drawing equipment, including the drawing machines currently used by the Arizona Lottery, whose clients include lotteries around the world. It does not sell its products to the general public. Q: How are the winning numbers selected? A: The Origin™ system generates billions of numbers. When a particular game is selected, the Origin™ system first runs a series of tests to check for randomness. Next, the Drawing Manager pushes a button to select the particular game. The system then identifies the play numbers for that game (e.g., 1 though 41 for The Pick) and runs a series of tests to ensure randomness. If it passes all tests, the next step is to select the winning numbers for the game. The system is programmed to allow or prohibit selection of duplicate numbers. If the game is The Pick, all the billions of numbers will range from 1 through 41. The program selects the first number. If it is 41, no more 41s can be selected. The process continues until all seven numbers have been selected. The same holds true for Fantasy 5. The play numbers range from 1 through 35. If the first number selected is 5, no more 5s can be selected and the process continues until all five numbers have been selected. For Pick 3, duplicate numbers from 0 through 9 are allowed. Q: How do we know the numbers generated by the Digital Draw System are random? A: Each Origin™ system contains two separate random numbers servers. The system randomly selects one prior to each drawing. Each of the random number servers independently performs its own set of randomness tests and each has been put through a battery of scientific tests for randomness conducted by an independent testing lab, Secure Software of Chantilly, VA. Independent tests of the random number servers have been conducted by the Arizona Lottery. The system has passed all tests. Money can't buy you happiness, but I sure could afford the misery that it brings!

"I have a feeling it may happen more often then we think."

Maybe it does, but the reasons c an be split into two groups: what happens and what people think. I'm pretty sure that a lot  of people (maybe most people) think repeats are less likely than they really are, even when they haven't really thought about it.

Speaking of which, you didn't answer the question about what you think the probability is that you'll find a repeated number in a random 2 week period.

Actually, Lottery Post has published many news stories about glitchy computerized drawings.  In almost all cases it was the players who identified the problems after they noticed irregularities.  In fact, I can't think of a single case where the lottery suddenly realized it has a problem on its own.

There is certainly a segment of people out there who perpetually think the lottery is rigged.  These people largely do not distinguish between real ball drawings and computerized drawings.  They just think that because they are not winning all the time it's rigged.

Nobody is referring to those people.  It is people who look at the odds of certain things happening vs. the actual outcome -- those are the people who catch these problems.  People like JADELottery, who has consistently analyzed and posted data to show what is happening, not just going around saying this or that is rigged.

The lottery itself gets rich without playing. Lol. The players are the ones playing. Not surprising. "Bolita"

Only if the hacker has hands on or can access the rng through electrical connections.  They are stand alone and not networked.

You've mentioned this before.  But, the AZ Revised Statutes do not limit it as you mentioned.

As far as your probability question, I don't know what the probability of that is, and it wouldn't matter to me in how I pick my numbers.

"I don't know what the probability of that is"

Then what does that say about your opinion on whether or not the repeats you've listed indicate a problem?

I never said that it was a problem. As a matter of fact, I questioned why the Arizona lottery had a problem with the repeats. The repeats I listed were just showing that they do happen else where as well. If Arizona was a ball draw state and someone questioned all the repeats they would have said, every thing is completely random and sometimes these things happen. Or something to that affect.

So what do you think is the probability of a number repeating in a random 2 week period?