Lottery Post member turns up the heat on the Hoosier Lottery

Comment #44

CASH Only — Fri, 03 Mar 2006 20:35:21 GMT

And your lotto is going back to 6/54. I like that decision.

Comment #43

richwood — Mon, 06 Feb 2006 20:16:35 GMT

When people buy tickets from one State and live in another their State stands to benifit from this win fall. If letting anyone play from one state to the next is good for the overall game than why not let everyone in the United States play any State Lottery without having to travel to that State?

I heard that Michigan does not allow outsiders to win the pots, if anyone has information concerning this please write. When the money leaves America and goes to Mexico or any other country it hurts

Comment #42

konane — Mon, 06 Feb 2006 18:47:11 GMT

If someone is clever and digs hard enough they can come up with that information via public record. Same argument has been tossed around here .... winner seeking privacy, public seeking complete disclosure. People pay attorneys to protect their identities for reasons of safety to themselves and their families. Were you in a similar situation you might consider same too.

To my knowledge there don't seem to be any laws prohibiting people from other nations playing in any US state lotteri... [ More ]

Comment #41

richwood — Mon, 06 Feb 2006 18:40:16 GMT

In Texas the Lottery began in1992 and everyone who won had to give their name. Now when people win its a Trust company or corporation name and you don't really know who won. Also keep in mind that Texas borders Mexico and a lot of illegal and green card holders play the lottery. The last large pot in Texas of 145,000,000 million went across the border. While they many exploit the winners names in Indiana at least you know who won. Not so in Texas. A lot of secrecy about public pooled money... [ More ]

Comment #40

richwood — Mon, 06 Feb 2006 18:29:04 GMT

Comment #39

Uncle Jim — Mon, 06 Feb 2006 14:10:47 GMT

@richwood:

You make more than a few good points in you post. I'll just respond to one:

In Indiana it doesn't matter whether or not the winner wants his/her published. By state law the Hoosier Lottery is required to publish the winner's name and county of residence.

One of the things I complained about in my initial letter to the Hoosier Lottery is that they (the Hooseir Lottery) goes beyond that for their own purposes. They shamelessly exploit all winners because they believe it moti... [ More ]

Comment #38

richwood — Sun, 05 Feb 2006 14:01:19 GMT

Every State Representives territory is broken down by population ect, and what I would like to see by each district is, the names addresses and zip code of each vendor that sells lottery and scratch off tickets. The winners zip codes. Most who win big don't want their names published. Okay lets get their zip code before they move to that big new house and compare the information with the vendors. Do all these winners live in the district that the tickets where purchased from? If I knew wher... [ More ]

Comment #37

LosingJeff — Sat, 04 Feb 2006 18:19:39 GMT

Go Jim 695

Comment #36

csfb — Sat, 04 Feb 2006 18:01:18 GMT

It's the Jimmy Grimeses of the world that bring to the fore shenanigans. That is how shenanigans get noticed and investigations get started. Kudos

Comment #35

LosingJeff — Sat, 04 Feb 2006 17:36:48 GMT

Sorry about the mispelling above. Meant to say what in the first sentence, not watch. Its been bad lately--maybe alzheimers is setting in on me. Or maybe my brain is too overworked from counting all these losing tickets I have accumulated for years.

Comment #34

LosingJeff — Sat, 04 Feb 2006 17:21:01 GMT

Well Done Jim! Watch you have just identified is something that never ever should happen. Proper audits and internal controls, as well as vulnerability assessments would prevent these types of problems from ever occuring; however, 16 years of no audits has gave you the result you are seeing. How did the former Director keep his job if payouts on the daily games are so bad? Why didn't he investigate these low payouts?

You are right, the scratch off figures are staggering! How is that? Probabl... [ More ]

Comment #33

Uncle Jim — Sat, 04 Feb 2006 16:45:49 GMT

Once again I'd like to respond to a few things said in this thread:

First to Honorary Hoosier Lottomike...it's Ms Indiana Lottery director not Mr.

Next...to combine points made by Lottomike and WinningJeff...with regard to the numbers games many of us do believe that the Hoosier Lottery computer does indeed track the numbers played and that that information is somehow fed to the (so-called) RNG which then excludes not only the most often played combinations but also numbers that might resu... [ More ]

Comment #32

LOTTOMIKE — Sat, 04 Feb 2006 11:42:33 GMT

i'm behind you 100 percent.i hate the fact that those thugs who call themselves lottery officials in indiana can have a good conscience after stealing most of the players including you blind the last 5 years.been 5 long years or more or less a half a decade since the hoosier lottery suddenly figured out they could rob people blind and get away with it.i bet the people who got together and figured that out must be really proud of themselves.well lets see here we can get rid of the balls and have... [ More ]

Comment #31

LosingJeff — Sat, 04 Feb 2006 10:42:31 GMT

Consider this. I do not know the exact sales figures for the daily 4 games yet. But, one could reason that a minimum draw would be in the $40,000 range per draw; I dont think this is unreasonable.

Using simple math, $40,000 x 24 way combo equals just under a million possible combinations. Since the odds of winning a straight or straight combo is 1:10000, wouldnt it stand to reason that dividing 960,000 by 10000 would give you the possibility for 4 straight winners a draw? Be more conservat... [ More ]

Comment #30

LOTTOMIKE — Sat, 04 Feb 2006 10:35:59 GMT

"This was a one-time situation," Thayer said.

i have a question for you mr. thayer....

are you sure

Comment #29

LosingJeff — Sat, 04 Feb 2006 10:05:48 GMT

Excellent work Jim,

This indicates to me that someone may very well know where the tickets are before distribution, and are placed in higher populated area. The key here being that someone at the Lottery may very well know what batches contain the big tickets prior to distribution. How else could so many counties be excluded? I have always said that geography is a factor. The Daily games are no different. I seriously question the validity of the security for these scratch offs and the RNG.

Comment #28

LOTTOMIKE — Sat, 04 Feb 2006 09:48:12 GMT

i think the reason this thing hasn't gotten the interest it should is because a lot of people are dismissing it without looking at all the facts.the media,police,etc. all are probably thinking..."ahh just another disgruntled loser that can't handle losing".they dismiss it without truly looking into it.that and plus the fact that a lot of them are afraid for their careers or afraid to step on someone elses toes so they just ignore it outright.it isn't right.but i still say the right person is goi... [ More ]

Comment #27

Uncle Jim — Sat, 04 Feb 2006 03:47:21 GMT

I want to respond to something four4me said earlier in this thread because I think it's important for Lottery Post members to understand why so many of us think the Hoosier Lottery is rigged.

The point four4me made (and he can correct me if I'm wrong) is that larger volume retailers can expect to have more top tier prizes because they sell more tickets. I think there is a lot of truth in that statement. It stands to reason that if tickets are distrubuted randomly someone who gets 10,000 tic... [ More ]

Comment #26

richwood — Fri, 03 Feb 2006 22:03:48 GMT

The playing people of every state do have power to force change. This change will come when we force with petitions on voting day in each state. What needs to happen is for the people of each state to force the issues on the Statewide elections. Force the State to return to machine games (I'd prefer the last winners draw the balls in a public setting like a football stadium or basketball, soccer ect.) The State does not want hand drawings? Why one might ask? Well, they said because it woul... [ More ]

Comment #25

LOTTOMIKE — Fri, 03 Feb 2006 09:51:28 GMT

i remain convinced that this is just waiting to fall into the right persons hands and then this thing will explode.they just CAN'T keep getting away with this.i think they are pushing the limits but they are doing it in a very sneaky underhanded way.using it to their advantage and bending their own rules as they go.but nothing last forever and the day of reckoning will dawn..........

Comment #24

jim695 — Fri, 03 Feb 2006 09:11:39 GMT

Great post, Uncle Jim!

Being a state agency and having a fiduciary responsibility to the taxpayers (Insert NOTE: NOT the players) of Indiana, the Hoosier Lottery does indeed limit the number of players betting on a specific sequence of numbers each draw. Again if you have properly researched individual states' websites as oppossed to reading blogs, you are aware that most states with smaller populations and lower on-line play also limit their liability.

I noticed she didn't mention the... [ More ]

Comment #23

weshar75 — Thu, 02 Feb 2006 23:34:01 GMT

I do not play Win for life because the prize is to small and the do not let you cash it out. Oregon has a lot of things they do wrong.

Comment #22

CASH Only — Thu, 02 Feb 2006 23:30:36 GMT

weshar:

So why does OR keep Lose for Life going without a cash option, since the WA scratch game Lucky for Life has a $750,000 buyout

Comment #21

weshar75 — Thu, 02 Feb 2006 23:28:08 GMT

For me what is sad about the Oregon lottery is that they took the easy way out. The lottery says the machines cost, the balls need to be cared for, the t.v. stations want us to pay to put the draws on. Every body else is going to computerization so lets join them and the players lose out. Forget the players we are only going to do what the laws says and that is if we feel like it. I only play powerball on a regular basis and if they go to a computerized drawing I will probably find the casin... [ More ]

Comment #20

Uncle Jim — Thu, 02 Feb 2006 22:43:50 GMT

After a few days I've decided to add my 2 cents to this thread. Sorry if it's a bit long.

First kudos to Jim for his efforts. (By the way...how did they cut the numbers off the bottom of that mug shot?)

(IMHO) Jim is entirely correct with regard to Ms Schneider's intentions. (Again IMHO) She has no intention of reforming the Hoosier Lottery which she herself admits needs reforming. She has every intention of mounting a public relations campaign aimed at (1) making it seem the H... [ More ]

Comment #19

konane — Wed, 01 Feb 2006 18:47:56 GMT

If anyone has any questions regarding security measures, pre and post drawing tests, rotation and retirement of ballsets and machines, all they have to do is inquire from their state lottery as to how and when it is done. Each state varies as to how that information is disseminated but it should be available as a matter of public disclosure.

Yes, I believe that ball lottery draws are random and that just because someone doesn't win it doesn't mean that they were purposefully excluded from t... [ More ]

Comment #18

richwood — Wed, 01 Feb 2006 18:35:29 GMT

While I appreciate the Lottery Post and Dawn Nettles of the Lottoreport,

everyone who donates their money should have a fair shot at the pot. This is not the case in America. When the people of the District of Columbia went to the press and said if we don't have a winner (meaning the black people who had been supporting their lottery but never won the big money then quess what the pot hit in a black community!) Honest and fairness is not the lottery games of this country. Lie corruption and... [ More ]

Comment #17

konane — Wed, 01 Feb 2006 18:18:28 GMT

Lottery players don't need a union to support which allegedly gives us a voice.

We already have a very loud lobbying voice here on Lottery Post and a means to get the information out to the public which is the internet.

As individuals we are no longer helpless as we may have been lead to believe we are.

Dogged persistence and hard work are getting press attention, attention by authorities ...... because the voice is loud enough that it will not be shushed.

Comment #16

richwood — Wed, 01 Feb 2006 18:07:33 GMT

Winning scratch off according to whose record for sales? Gtech records that the State is given. Enron gave impressive information, Arthur Anderson gave accounting information, and the law Firm Vinson and Elkins gave information. Was the information truthful. Aruthur Anderson is out of business. You nor I can prove what the acutal sales of one vendor over

another really is. Giving some retailers the big tier scratch offs because we are told they sell more tickets is another make believe st... [ More ]

Comment #15

jim695 — Wed, 01 Feb 2006 17:43:16 GMT

Lottolady24:

Your question is certainly a logical one. We've wondered the same thing many times, and the answer is just now becoming clear.

You might have read the story about William Foreman's upcoming sentencing hearing, where he's looking at a possible fifty-year term for his part in the scratch-off ticket scandal. He's charged with violating a state law which prohibits disclosing confidential lottery information.

In this particular instance, the charge is likely justified. The sen... [ More ]

Comment #14

lottolady24 — Wed, 01 Feb 2006 16:41:09 GMT

Why haven't any of the lottery higher-ups stepped up to admit that computerized drawings have way too many loopholes? Whether they are secure or not or corrupt or not, the fact of the matter is that RNG's can be manipulated and hacked. And no one will know, and there will be no way to prove it. It's the computer age! Jeez!

Plus we all love to see the little ping pong balls bouncing around...so much more fun

Comment #13

four4me — Wed, 01 Feb 2006 15:04:21 GMT

There seems to be some misconception about scratch offs ticket being distributed equally among states. Granted that is a problem but places that sell or get more larger winning tickets than other places boils down to sales. Some places might sell 100,000 scratch off a week while other places might not sell 300 scratchers a week. It stands to reason that the places selling the larger amount of tickets might get more top tier winning packets than places that sell fewer tickets because the bigger s... [ More ]

Comment #12

Todd — Wed, 01 Feb 2006 14:21:50 GMT

richwood,

I understand your concerns about the fairness of lottery drawings, but I totally disagree with you that Gtech somehow controls all the mechanical ball drawings. I'm not saying that they can't be rigged (and they have), but to say that all the mechanical drawings are systemmatically rigged defies logic and reason.

Comment #11

richwood — Wed, 01 Feb 2006 14:10:24 GMT

The people of these United States don't really have anyone to lobby in their state for them concerning the Lottery Games, rules and regulations. If you want honest and fair games, you need to form a Lottery Union to represent the people. Your dollars are donated to your state and you really don't have the say as to what games, computerized or machines, what the payout will be. There also needs to be a tracking system by each congressional representive to how many vendors in their district, ho... [ More ]

Comment #10

fja — Wed, 01 Feb 2006 13:49:20 GMT

This is going to get ugly really quick, or its going to stall and disappear......Hopefully someone will want to follow the money trail...

Comment #9

richwood — Wed, 01 Feb 2006 13:40:46 GMT

Gtech has most lottery contracts in the United States. They have in each state 2 large computers that runs the lottery in each State. Everyone is concerned about computerized drawing and want the old drawing machines back. I don't want any of them really. Why? They are all controlled, by Gtech. I live in Houston, Texas and can tell you its all corrupt. The trial for Enron is finally starting here in Houston where the Enron Headquarters went bust. Gtech ought to be the next company to go... [ More ]

Comment #8

LOTTOMIKE — Wed, 01 Feb 2006 11:46:29 GMT

believe me if i was there i would be helping.i think jim,jim and jeff know this.i think these things are happening...........

1-the computerized drawing is manipulated to bring in maximum profit

2-the winning numbers on pick 3 and pick 4 are the ones no one bet on

3-lotto jackpots are driven up to big amounts to increase sales

4-winning scratch offs are bought by lottery insiders

5-a lot of player money is being embezzeled by indiana lottery personnel

6-the surprise changes with the annu... [ More ]

Comment #7

four4me — Wed, 01 Feb 2006 03:39:24 GMT

After reviewing a lot of what the Jim's and LosingJeff have said. And doing a little research on my own I think the reputation of the incumbents is the bigger part of the picture. People in Indiana might have high regards for these people and not want to bring them to justice. I thought the governor appointed the people to the lottery commission bringing charges to bear on the acting lottery officials will most likely filter back all the way to the state house. And that group of people will defi... [ More ]

Comment #6

dvdiva — Wed, 01 Feb 2006 03:10:42 GMT

I would hope it would send a message to state lotteries that for sales and for a perception of randomness that they would use ball drawings. I don't think most lotteries will hear that message though. Both the state I live in (Washington) and the next state over, Oregon are computer drawn. The only thing the legislators want is more cash from the lotteries as a lower percentage goes to the players. One wonders if it's money from Indian casino's driving it or just plain greed and stupidity.

It... [ More ]

Comment #5

jim695 — Wed, 01 Feb 2006 02:21:02 GMT

Geez! What a mug on that guy!

That picture should be hanging in the post office ...

Comment #4

JimmySand9 — Wed, 01 Feb 2006 00:13:07 GMT

This calls for another edition of What Would Jimmy Do With The Lottery : Indiana Edition .

Daily 3, Daily 4 Lucky 5

No changes.

The return of Lotto Cash

Pick 6 out of 49.

Jackpots start at $500,000 cash, and should grow by $100,000 by each drawing without a winner.

Drawings Tuesdays and Fridays.

Tickets are $1 each.

Prize

Odds

Match 6

CASH JACKPOT

1 : 13,983,816.0

Match 5

Avg. $3,486

1 : 54,200.8

Match 4

Avg. $66

1 : 1,032.4

Match 3

$5 G... [ More ]

Comment #3

DoubleDown — Tue, 31 Jan 2006 23:39:07 GMT

We've been railing against computerized drawings on here for a very long time...

Please sign the petition against this manipulative method of number selection.

DD

Comment #2

JimmySand9 — Tue, 31 Jan 2006 23:37:36 GMT

I'm sure when the common player turns on the TV when and if the balls are back, he or she will say A lottery drawing. I haven't seen a lottery drawing in years. I'm gonna go buy a ticket . A thus will begin a resurgence in sales. And when other lotteries see that, they'll do the same. And a whole cycle of ball drawings coming back will begin.

Comment #1

lmatlaw — Tue, 31 Jan 2006 23:28:59 GMT

I think Grimes is onto something here that I hadn't even considered with computerized drawings.

It would be possible to skew the results of a drawing if it were known which combinations were picked, thus preventing a jackpot from being won.

Especially if some unscrupulous person had this knowledge.

Computerized drawings should be banned outright.

Lottery Post member turns up the heat on the Hoosier Lottery

Lottery Post — Tue, 31 Jan 2006 23:06:00 GMT

Is the Indiana Lottery vulnerable to inside tampering?

By Kevin Leininger

Fort Wayne News Sentinel

You'd think Jim Grimes would be happy.

After all, the retired Noble County engineer, whose concerns about the integrity of the Hoosier Lottery were the subject of a column in June 2004, helped spark an investigation that led to three indictments in an alleged million-dollar scam. But, if anything, Grimes is even more frustrated than he was when we first talked nearly two years ago - even... [ More ]