10 N.J. co-workers will split $216M lottery jackpot

Comment #52

edge — Thu, 12 Mar 2009 23:13:58 GMT

there are computers right now somwehere in the world, running constant pattern detection against world lottery games (search is similar to SETI in its methodolology) similarly there are massive data centers packed with supercomputers doing the same thing against currency/commodity and stock exchange systems (very few of them like to be vocal about what they do, occasionally one is caught beeing featured on national TV, rare event...), utilizing anything from game theory to Markov random walks, a... [ More ]

Comment #51

Stew12 — Thu, 12 Mar 2009 19:34:56 GMT

Just because you spent $100 and only won $3 does not mean the lottery is rigged.

If it makes you feel any better, our lottery pool has purchased 2633 tickets over the past 6 months and the most we've won on a ticket is $7.

Do you know how many people would be glad to figure out the lottery is rigged? I sure would. If you could prove how the lottery was rigged, you could use that to your advantage to get an edge on the house and win some $.

Comment #50

OldSchoolPa — Thu, 12 Mar 2009 11:01:52 GMT

ricky p, I as well as the majority of the folks on this forum want to win the jackpot just as badly as you do, but I must say that one thing is very clear from your post...U DON'T GET IT!!!! The lottery doesn't have a stake in CHOOSING who or what state wins the jackpot...only the luck, or as some would say, blessing of the balls and the ticket you happen to have bought that matches those numbers. Now you are right that the lottery does want to take our money...hell that is the design and purpos... [ More ]

Comment #49

psykomo — Wed, 11 Mar 2009 00:58:57 GMT

with DAT ThatScaryChick:::::::::::::::::::::::!!!!!!!

ALSO $500 worth of ticket's only gives you 500 plays outta MILLION'$$$$$$$$

DAT's how many ticket's D MADAWG's buy per

MONTH !!!!!

BUT our BUTT's R hanging in DARE$$$$

wish us LUCK all U LUVLY^

Lottery Post member's!!!!!!

WOW congrat's U-Chubb's

PSYKOMO

Comment #48

ThatScaryChick — Wed, 11 Mar 2009 00:16:02 GMT

$100 worth of tickets only gives you 100 plays out of millions of choices. It shouldn't be a shock that you didn't win.

Comment #47

GamerMom — Tue, 10 Mar 2009 23:44:39 GMT

seems to me if it was fixed as you say they would want a Florida winner so as to encourage more states to join in as Florida just recently joined. Why New Jersey

Comment #46

ricky p — Tue, 10 Mar 2009 21:44:15 GMT

They are not lucky winners. The lottery official chose New Jersey in advance to win the jackpot. I purpose tried $100 quick pick and I didn't get snip . As a matter of fact, I won back only $3. This is clearly seen that the lottery officials knows what they are doing. Why don't they choose NY state, which never have a megamillion jackpot winner for such a longtime. I think the lottery just want to take people money with the hope that they will win the jackpot. The truth is clear

This post ha... [ More ]

Comment #45

pumpi76 — Tue, 10 Mar 2009 12:24:02 GMT

There is no WAY IN THE WORLD that someone with that name [Space], will win MegaMIllion or Powerball jackpot...There is no way...I say that guy won it on purpose...If the name was Spacey i wouldn't have said anything but Space .....There is no way....

do not tell me he won it by quick pick....

Comment #44

savagegoose — Sun, 08 Mar 2009 14:57:51 GMT

yeah my point i ws trying ot make is that it sounds like the sort of pool you wanto be in. not one where you say you'll be in and because you whern't there you lose out. thats old school honour. the sort you read about in books because you dont see it in real life. :|

story cheered me up no end.

Comment #43

TheGameGrl — Sat, 07 Mar 2009 01:02:13 GMT

I personally admired the poster who said Thank you to all who contributed to help the lottery winners. Sometime in my life I sincerely hope a person from Lottery Post wins and does the gracious thing by Thanking the contributors. We are the reason the jackpot got so high and Lady luck was simply there to open the gates of good fortune.

It neednt be a lottery pool to make the odds of winning. It takes but one line and one dollar.

THe folks do seem nieve in annoucing it before officially cla... [ More ]

Comment #42

dingo — Fri, 06 Mar 2009 18:55:43 GMT

Another Pool winning. It's on the Trend.

Comment #41

Nise04 — Fri, 06 Mar 2009 18:22:00 GMT

I totally agree, congratulations to all of you, I am so glad it was a group of people that is so cool, and I also play in Upstate New York with 36 people, so I guess you all give me hope. And the story on the person who had someone float him 5.00 - was a riot, my group does that all the time, I certainly don't want anyone left out. I wish you Health and Happiness.

Enjoy and have fun, we are so happy for all of you.

Comment #40

mjwinsmith — Fri, 06 Mar 2009 13:01:07 GMT

Yes, I just love this part myself, it is what I would have done. As a matter of fact, it is what I did when I ran an office pool in New Jersey for an Insurance Company. We did'nt win the Big one, but we did hit for smaller prizes several times. As far as I was concerned, if you did'nt pay up, you had no claim on the winnings.

Great story, I am very happy for this group.

A side note, NO STATE INCOME TAX on Lottery winnings, so they do get a break there on taxes.

Michael

Comment #39

KY Floyd — Fri, 06 Mar 2009 10:05:03 GMT

It amazes me that so many pools have trouble over the small amounts that are normally involved. If they're collecting $10 per person, the administrator would only have to kick in $20 if 2 players aren't at work or don't have the money that day. If they're normally in the pool, then you've already agreed that you're okay with the number of people who will share any prizes you win. That means you really don't have much to lose. If you front the money for somebody for the first time and you win, yo... [ More ]

Comment #38

KY Floyd — Fri, 06 Mar 2009 09:52:15 GMT

By including the player who didn't pay, but asked to be included, he demonstrated that he was willing to take care of the people whom he thought had a legitimate claim. That would make me think that if anybody else came forward, the guy charged with finding out who wanted to be in it for that draw truly didn't believe that person had intended to participate. It's certainly isn't proof that somebody else wasn't unfairly or accidentally excluded, but in a case that is likely to turn on claims that... [ More ]

Comment #37

barbos — Fri, 06 Mar 2009 08:01:53 GMT

I'm betting that before moving they got to fight a bunch of claims from those who wanted to participate in a pool but somehow missed the opportunity.

Comment #36

MaddMike51 — Fri, 06 Mar 2009 03:24:07 GMT

I'm betting that at least 1/2 of the winners tell their boss to take this job and shove it and move to warmer climates.

Comment #35

maringoman — Fri, 06 Mar 2009 02:30:30 GMT

One regular buyer, Oscar Oviedo, had asked Space to count him in and promised $5 for his share. Space rushed over to him early Wednesday morning and demanded the money.

Space is one helluva guy and I'm really happy to see many people splitting the loot instead of just one guy. This way, the group will help keep each other grounded.

Comment #34

LckyLary — Fri, 06 Mar 2009 01:57:28 GMT

- The Big O I was referring to is not the person from Chubb, but THAT ONE who wants to put higher taxes on high incomes... meaning Take the money and run vs. an annuity that might be a much higher tax rate in a few yrs.

- With all the hype about HDTV, I prepared for Feb. 17th (now June) by getting a HD antenna and USB tuner. When the man waved the ticket at the camera, I clicked Freeze Frame. The winning set was on line E. They were all QP, but the other numbers look good so guess what, I'm p... [ More ]

Comment #33

larry3100 — Fri, 06 Mar 2009 00:09:32 GMT

This is not rocket science.10 players times $5.00 =$50.00.End of story.

Comment #32

RJOh — Thu, 05 Mar 2009 21:04:38 GMT

It nice to hear about a lottery pool that players can go out on the limb and cover other players not around or a little short when the money is collected and know win or lose they will get their money back.

There are too many lottery pools with players who don't pay but want to be covered if they win but have the option of not being in if they lose.

Comment #31

Perfecttiming2 — Thu, 05 Mar 2009 18:51:27 GMT

Yes, I totally agree!!!!!!

And those that opted out could have just as easily said Yes instead of No ........

You ask the people if they want to be in and leave the choice to them.

Comment #30

Perfecttiming2 — Thu, 05 Mar 2009 18:38:49 GMT

One regular buyer, Oscar Oviedo, had asked Space to count him in and promised $5 for his share. Space rushed over to him early Wednesday morning and demanded the money.

I thought: 'How rude!' Oviedo said with a laugh, recalling how he handed over $5, unsure why Space was being so insistent. Then he said, 'OK, thanks you're a millionaire.'

Hi!

The way I read this was that Oviedo owed the ticket buyer the $5 dollars because he covered him due to the fact that he (Oviedo)was working... [ More ]

Comment #29

DC81 — Thu, 05 Mar 2009 17:11:10 GMT

Well, to be fair, Bunky wasn't the sole winner of that jackpot, he was one of four. We never did hear much from those other winners, they should be glad Bunky hogged the spotlight.

Comment #28

rcbbuckeye — Thu, 05 Mar 2009 16:34:31 GMT

According to the article the O guy did tell Space before the drawing to count him in. So Space did the right thing going to O after the win to give him the chance to pay up.

If the others opted out before the drawing, tough luck. REAL tough luck. LOL.

Comment #27

RJOh — Thu, 05 Mar 2009 16:12:24 GMT

If the O guy had said nah im not in. Then he would have owned an extra share since he bought $50 worth of tickets and the other contributers only gave him $5.

Comment #26

OldSchoolPa — Thu, 05 Mar 2009 15:10:28 GMT

MaddMike51, I like and totally agree with your signature. Here's hoping WE all hit a lotter jackpot this year as if we don't, we are going to be struggling under the pending taxation tsunami...a few million under the belt will at least keep many heads above water

Comment #25

OldSchoolPa — Thu, 05 Mar 2009 15:06:43 GMT

BUT ONLY when it is NOT my ticket that matches the winning numbers. I figure if the jackpot is hit and I am not the winner, I feel better knowing that a multiple of other people won some loot and not just one person or a couple like some of those mega jackpot wins a couple of years ago by the Georgia folks, those NJ folks, and that MD wiccan dude. $8Million for each is just like they won a decent state lottery jackpot...nothing special. I want to be special in reeling in a huge $100M plus jackpo... [ More ]

Comment #24

GamerMom — Thu, 05 Mar 2009 14:24:37 GMT

i agree. more chances for a lawsuit. I sure wouldn't have done press until forced to, either.

Comment #23

time*treat — Thu, 05 Mar 2009 11:33:45 GMT

That Oviedo guy is lucky a different kind of person wasn't over the pool; the kind who would have said you snoozed, you lose.

Still, my favorite way is the collect and play long in advance method used by the California people.

Comment #22

leonpeoples — Thu, 05 Mar 2009 11:32:57 GMT

Congrats for winning the BIG one. Just don't go back to broke please.

Comment #21

sirbrad — Thu, 05 Mar 2009 10:42:51 GMT

The article actually implies that the worker did not know, and was unsure why he was being rushed for $5.00. He was then told he was a milionaire afterwards.

Comment #20

savagegoose — Thu, 05 Mar 2009 08:36:39 GMT

If the O guy had said nah im not in. then he would have only split it with 9 im guessing, shessh he gave the guy a chance to buy in after knowing it won. sounded like O was oblivious. nice to give the guy the option

Comment #19

kikideenyc — Thu, 05 Mar 2009 08:36:25 GMT

A big congratulations to the winners of the $212 Mega Millions draw! I'm always happy when other people win. I guess it's gets me into practice for the moment I win. I just hope I don't get to old to enjoy it! Oh well, I'll be at it again Friday...

Comment #18

sirbrad — Thu, 05 Mar 2009 07:23:26 GMT

Wow, another lottery pool wins a large jackpot. Been a lot of these the last few years. Especially the very large jackpots. So I guess quantity is important. But they have played for years, so that is a lot of losing as well. But that does not matter now. I can't believe they actually collected $5 from a guy and then said he was a millionaire. I guess he knew there was plenty to go around and did not want to deal with potential lawsuits and hard feelings.

Comment #17

libra926 — Thu, 05 Mar 2009 07:14:28 GMT

Justxploring........if you go back to the beginning of this Story/Thread..I was Actually the FIRST PERSON to suggest that the other co-workers who usually play and contribute to the office pool may challenge SPACE regarding not being included this time around....re-read my post/thread.....

Space said there were some colleagues who had opted out of this ticket buy

Now thats the sticky part.......I hope those who opted out of this ticket buy, don't become insensed or jealous and... [ More ]

Comment #16

libra926 — Thu, 05 Mar 2009 07:12:19 GMT

Comment #15

Halle99 — Thu, 05 Mar 2009 06:59:34 GMT

Congrats to the winners...Now lets start filling the pot once again.

Comment #14

diamondpalace — Thu, 05 Mar 2009 06:11:54 GMT

Awesome wins by many

Comment #13

ThatScaryChick — Thu, 05 Mar 2009 05:10:15 GMT

I agree. It gives more people to chance to experience a big win. Congrats to the winners

Comment #12

justxploring — Thu, 05 Mar 2009 05:04:05 GMT

Yes, it's a great story. However, it might also open up the door for other coworkers to say they also wanted to play and would have given Space the money on Wednesday.

Edit: Coincidentally, KY Floyd I commented at the same time, quoting the same post. Anyway, please explain what you mean that it makes it harder for others to sue. Couldn't they say I said I wanted in, but he forgot to write down my name. If I were in a pool, I'd want the rules to state that anyone participating in the poo... [ More ]

Comment #11

KY Floyd — Thu, 05 Mar 2009 05:03:18 GMT

Their usual ticket buyer, Alan Mooney, always stops by colleagues' desks to collect ticket money, asking Are ya in?

When I first read that I figured they had a 100% chance of being sued if anybody wasn't included in this one. I'll presume that Space had already bought the tickets that Oviedo owed the money for, but it's also possible that he figured they woul dbe sued otherwise. Whatever the reason, tthat he took care of Oviedo could make it harder for anyone else who wants to claim that the... [ More ]

Comment #10

MaddMike51 — Thu, 05 Mar 2009 04:56:52 GMT

If it works for them its cool.

Personaly,I'm not crazy about sharing so I don't join pools.

Comment #9

myturn08 — Thu, 05 Mar 2009 04:54:34 GMT

i agree

Comment #8

SmoothJuice — Thu, 05 Mar 2009 04:18:11 GMT

I think it's really great when there's more winners. The more the better.

Comment #7

MaddMike51 — Thu, 05 Mar 2009 04:09:31 GMT

Congratulations to the LUCKY winners

Comment #6

bytheshore — Thu, 05 Mar 2009 04:01:46 GMT

Comment #5

konane — Thu, 05 Mar 2009 03:53:59 GMT

Huge congratulations to all the winners

Comment #4

LckyLary — Thu, 05 Mar 2009 03:02:25 GMT

Ironically...I think the best way to get a roll to 400M is with less tickets played per drawing..it would take a long time to GET there but the more play per drawing the more different numbers are in play and more coverage and thus more likely a winner at the higher amount. 145 to 171 meant what, 60 million sets of #s or so that drawing? 12 to 18 adds about 16 million # sets. The other way is to add more balls to keep up with the Powerballers but nobody likes that. How many did it take when it g... [ More ]

Comment #3

Perfecttiming2 — Thu, 05 Mar 2009 02:37:41 GMT

Congrats to the winners!

So happy for them and it has got to feel sooooooooooooooooo good right now!

I do have one questions:

It took 13 rolls for MM to reach $216 Millions ( I love the jump from $145m to $171m....that was cool)

If it had rolled 5 more times....Do you think it would have reached the much anticipated $400 million?

(It was so close...LOL!)

I know it is going to happen....its only a matter of time....

Comment #2

libra926 — Thu, 05 Mar 2009 02:36:03 GMT

Space said there were some colleagues who had opted out of this ticket buy

Now thats the sticky part.......I hope those who opted out of this ticket buy, don't become insensed or jealous and challenge the group and the kitty .....this is what causes wars among co-workers and colleagues.....when members of the usual players' are alleging refraining fron contributing to the office pool .......then the office pool wins......lets just wait and see......I hope they do not end up in Court over thi... [ More ]

Comment #1

LckyLary — Thu, 05 Mar 2009 02:26:00 GMT

Congrats to the winners. SPECIAL thanks to the PLAYERS across the USA who contributed to their joy. Claim it quick before the big O. raises your taxes! Buy some erl now and buy some gold. Buy a GM vehicle and subscribe to some newspapers, and eat out more often. Something how the winning ticket sold in Toms River, far away from the Chubb locaton, and during a snowstorm yet! I'd be giving up that commute.

I heard a winner in nj.. so being that's where I live and where I play, I figured I had n... [ More ]

10 N.J. co-workers will split $216M lottery jackpot

Lottery Post — Thu, 05 Mar 2009 02:01:50 GMT

Winners work in the Chubb IT Department

Includes video report

Robert Space got into work at the Chubb Insurance company at 6:30 a.m. Wednesday, realized the lottery ticket he was holding matched the winning numbers, and fired off a one-line e-mail to his nine co-workers who had pitched in to buy it.

We won the big one, it read.

The replies came back instantly: Hahahaha wrote one. GREAT. Where do I pick up the cash? joked another. Then they saw the ticket for themselves.

Space and... [ More ]