Undercover lottery investigation tests store clerks' honesty

Comment #40

rdgrnr — Wed, 15 Sep 2010 04:34:12 GMT

And just for the record massachusetts man, Sahib is a term of respect used in addressing someone.

Usually someone like a Johnson or a Smith.

But Johnsons and Smiths immigrated too, so your crusade to prevent anyone from ever being offended by anyone or anything at anytime is still valid (if it makes you feel better).

It must be a chore for you to live in fear of not being politically correct at every turn.

But at least John Kerry would be proud of you (he's a weasel too).

Comment #39

rdgrnr — Wed, 15 Sep 2010 04:02:44 GMT

Nah.

I know Sahib.

Sahib is a friend of mine.

You're no Sahib, massachusetts man.

BTW, are ya still coverin for Whitey Bulger up there?

Oh, and uh... sorry about the Kennedy seat. Progress and all that, you know. (lol

Comment #38

KY Floyd — Tue, 14 Sep 2010 01:10:21 GMT

Yeah, even if systems worked in the long run, when you just need a single winning ticket the sensible thing is to put down your $1000 and get your winning ticket for $500. The money they spent for the ticket is nothing compared to their other expenses in doing the story.

Comment #37

savagegoose — Mon, 13 Sep 2010 15:07:52 GMT

hehe nah, they spent $3000 playing a system to get that winning ticket

Comment #36

maringoman — Sat, 11 Sep 2010 13:12:49 GMT

I see it's another open season for immigrants. In this very website

I have seen Johnsons and Smiths arrested for swindling people off of their

lottery wins but nah, those do not inspire such passions as Sahib eh

Comment #35

rdgrnr — Fri, 10 Sep 2010 02:57:23 GMT

You should just mail it in, tiggs.

I'm sure everything would be fine doing it that way.

Just mark on the bottom of the envelope: Please handle with care - winning lottery ticket enclosed!

Yes, I'm sure everything would be just fine.

And look at the money you'd save on gas and the hassle of trying to understand what Sahib is saying down at the Convenience Store.

Comment #34

Daveyl — Fri, 10 Sep 2010 02:01:39 GMT

Yet another example for lottery players to contemplate: A convenience store clerk and her daughter were arrested after they conned a California Lottery undercover investigator. The scratcher ticket he handed to the clerk was a Decoy they utilize to test the honesty of lottery retailers. The woman checked the ticket, which registered on the machine as a $20,000.00 jackpot winning ticket. She informed the undercover investigator that it wasn't a winner. Her daughter then attempted to redeem the pr... [ More ]

Comment #33

tiggs95 — Fri, 10 Sep 2010 01:38:39 GMT

tiggs went in a store yesterday with a 100.00 cash 3 ticket and the clerk asked if tiggs wanted it checked..tiggs said no and he handed it to her to cash it and said it was worth 100.00...If you don't know that you have a winner and know how much that winner is worth..DON'T BUY BANY LOTTERY TICKETS!!!...Can you dig it?..

Comment #32

rdgrnr — Thu, 09 Sep 2010 20:35:47 GMT

I like you cats, you sound like you're all business. I know you ain't in East Tennessee though, cuz here it's the clerks that are the problem half the time. They'll spend five minutes making small talk with a customer while a line of 6 or 7 people waits behind them.

Comment #31

louise black — Thu, 09 Sep 2010 18:38:20 GMT

I agree with you Cutlass Bob on checking the ticket before entering the store , I will tell the clerk how much the win is before handing them the ticket. You can't trust people with your money unless their getting a cut like the lawyer. One other thing I notice the New York Lottery Official didn't want to see the cheating crooks or lazy slackers on tape, because if they let people throw away winners more money for the state.Anyway you look at it New York System stinks My hat off to Ca. for doing... [ More ]

Comment #30

RJOh — Thu, 09 Sep 2010 17:56:03 GMT

Since the Dateline investigation was done privately and didn't have the cooperation of the lottery they had to use a real winning ticket, which they presumably got by buying all 1000 numbers for the pick 3.

You bring up an interesting point, I wonder if they actually played all 1000 combinations or used a winning lottery system to buy their winning tickets. Maybe that's a story for another Dateline investigation, Winning lottery systems, do they exist? .

Comment #29

cats1girl1973 — Thu, 09 Sep 2010 17:22:28 GMT

These types of investigations should be done more frequently, imo. I work in a convenience store, our lottery machine is situated to face the customers, the screen can be seen by them. Also, when any ticket gets validated as a winner, the machine makes a sound depending on the type of winner, which can be heard clear to the back of the store. As a rule (for myself at least), I always hand back any losing tickets to the customer....specifically because of this type of situation. If the customer t... [ More ]

Comment #28

KY Floyd — Thu, 09 Sep 2010 16:42:44 GMT

Shady appearing Gordon Medenica indicates that when lottery retailer ticket clerks/owners are given winning tickets by someone who didn't actually buy the ticket that the situation is magically transmuted to entrapment

That's the part that's really screwed up. Motives aside, sending out the warning should have a deterent effect by letting clerks know that the person they're trying to steal a ticket from may be a reporter who's filming them. Describing it as entrapment, OTOH, is incredibly st... [ More ]

Comment #27

GiveFive — Wed, 08 Sep 2010 15:53:17 GMT

I wasn't going to weigh in on this article because I didnt think I could add anything that hasn't already been said by others.

After watching the video's I'd like to add something that I'm aware of. I live in New York State. While they dont confiscate past due parking tickets from lottery winnings, The State of New York will definitely confiscate any child support or NY state income taxes in arrears. I'm aware of those two things, but there could be more that I'm not aware of. Prior to cuttin... [ More ]

Comment #26

sully16 — Wed, 08 Sep 2010 12:37:59 GMT

I agree, come to Michigan.

Comment #25

Coin Toss — Wed, 08 Sep 2010 04:38:53 GMT

dpoly1,

Some of those stores in the report had those scanners, too, people could see them if you they what you were looking at.

Sometimes the ones the public can use don't work or are shut off, but when they're not, you do have to wonder why people ask the clerks to scan their tickets. Maybe they just want attention or a conversation.

Maybe we should do a Ten Commandments of Lotto thread:

1. Thou shalt always check your own tickets.

Comment #24

rdgrnr — Wed, 08 Sep 2010 03:16:57 GMT

That was dam good advice too, larry.

Comment #23

rdgrnr — Wed, 08 Sep 2010 03:14:40 GMT

reading tea leaves to determine what ticket to select LMAO.

I've been behind some that took so long they could have built a sweat lodge and hung from hooks through their chests in a Vision Quest.

Comment #22

larry3100 — Wed, 08 Sep 2010 03:11:39 GMT

Ronald Reagan once said Trust but verify .

Comment #21

Daveyl — Wed, 08 Sep 2010 03:01:34 GMT

I watched this segment on Dateline, and I was surprised they didn't mention the store clerks (and even some managers!...) scratching-off tickets they don't buy until a winning ticket is scratched that will pay for the non-winners, and they pocket the difference. This is one problem among many I have with playing scratcher games. Other irritating aspects of this type of gaming include store clerks not refilling the machines, tickets displayed on the machine that are different than the tickets dis... [ More ]

Comment #20

rdgrnr — Wed, 08 Sep 2010 02:45:32 GMT

A brain. Don't leave home without it.

Comment #19

starchild_45 — Wed, 08 Sep 2010 01:18:59 GMT

wow. i check all my own tickets on line. i should sign them but they don't leave the house until i check them.

Comment #18

tiggs95 — Wed, 08 Sep 2010 00:35:17 GMT

Very smart Bob..You could make money teaching people how to read numbers..

Comment #17

CutlassBob — Wed, 08 Sep 2010 00:11:47 GMT

Remember this was a Sting Operation.

I agree with Tiggs on the issue if you don't know you got a winner you should not be playing!

Personally i check all my tickets here on Lottery Post. Then i go to the store and tell the clerk how much i have won. Then i also ask them for the Players Copy of the pay-out.

If i'm cashing in a Scratch-off i do the same. Even if it's a loser i ask for my losing ticket back the slip that shows it's not a winner.

So easy a cave man can do it.

C... [ More ]

Comment #16

ttech10 — Tue, 07 Sep 2010 23:59:16 GMT

Don't the stores have the machines that play a certain tone whether the ticket is a winner or a loser, or is that not for scratch-offs? Just stay there at the register whenever you have them check it and problem solved.

If it's a number draw ticket then most places should have slips of paper with the winning numbers printed out (or you can ask for one) that you can check against your numbers (if you don't have internet, of course, otherwise there are numerous ways of checking).

Nobody... [ More ]

Comment #15

dpoly1 — Tue, 07 Sep 2010 23:46:41 GMT

I recently went into the store where I purchase my tickets and scanned my ticket at the ticket scanner to find out that I won $7.

Here in PA we can scan our own tickets

Comment #14

CutlassBob — Tue, 07 Sep 2010 23:29:11 GMT

I payed special attention to the ethnicity of the majority of the RIP-OFF clerks. How sad. They say they come to America to better themselfs, ya at our expence. Devious snips

The dude that ripped of the million in Texas is proubly living it up in Mexico! Granted he's only got $300,000 but he can live like a king for a while down there.

Cutla$$Bob

Comment #13

tiggs95 — Tue, 07 Sep 2010 22:07:08 GMT

Sign your ticket before you go into a store if you don't check the numbers on your ticket with the winning numbers ...and if you don't check your numbers before you try to cash your ticket...Good luck you will need it...ask Willis Willis..

Comment #12

Coin Toss — Tue, 07 Sep 2010 22:03:27 GMT

Anyone else notice how many of those clerks were foreigners?

They mentioned one guy may get deported.

Also, how they refused to admit they did what they did or said what they said despite the news crew having it all on tape.Diffeent cultures, different values I guess.

The one guy that rold the lady who won that the government would collect anything owed to them, even parking tickets if she went to Manhattan to cash the winner- the news team said that is called discounting (charging a fe... [ More ]

Comment #11

CutlassBob — Tue, 07 Sep 2010 21:49:55 GMT

I think it's Awesome that they mention Lottery Post in the article in a most positive way!!!

Excellent Job Todd!!

California has a bad track record, New York lottery commission should of welcomed DATELINE it would of saved New York money in the investigative area. I think what the New York lottery commissioner did by sending out the warning was totally wrong.

As far as the guy in Texas that had that million dollar winner stolen. I'm glad he got some of the cash and i hope they recover t... [ More ]

Comment #10

tiggs95 — Tue, 07 Sep 2010 21:36:58 GMT

Move out of Tenn into the USofA so you can watch the videos ridge..You need a loan to do that??..

Comment #9

tiggs95 — Tue, 07 Sep 2010 21:28:46 GMT

When you buy a lottery ticket and go in a store so see if it's any good and don't know before hand you are just stupid..You should not be allowed to buy lottery tickets of any kind or gamble..Play checkers you big dope's...

Comment #8

savagegoose — Tue, 07 Sep 2010 19:04:55 GMT

right on handing a winning ticket to a lotto agent is entrapment in NYC

Comment #7

HaveABall — Tue, 07 Sep 2010 18:27:03 GMT

I'm grateful to NBC's Newsline program employees for taking the long amount of time to collect this news data last into earlier this year.

New York Lottery Executive Director, Gordon Medenica appears to be a confused person, too, on film. A serious filming by Newsline, is offered to be shown to him. He says that he doesn't care to watch ... he and the New York Police don't need help and rather are enforcing to an acceptable degree ... that he KNOWS what is going on with lottery retailers in... [ More ]

Comment #6

liberal47 — Tue, 07 Sep 2010 17:23:22 GMT

When I was in Cailfornia a year or so ago. The store clerks almost always tried to scam you out of the smallest of prizes. Every time I won entry into the TV show entry pool, the clerk would tell me it wasn't a winner. I could'nt imagine why they would try to cheat me out of such a miniscule chance of winning until I realized if this were done to 100 people a week, they would have 100 entries or more a week to send in. I was happy to see that California discountinued their TV show a few months a... [ More ]

Comment #5

savagegoose — Tue, 07 Sep 2010 16:27:08 GMT

lol so the chances of being scammed oput of a winning ticket is higher than actually wijnning in the 1st place! interesting

Comment #4

savagegoose — Tue, 07 Sep 2010 16:01:30 GMT

also it states on vid the stores get a comission of %5 , stealing a $1k win would take $20k of sales to equal. seesm to me a retailer risks a lot 20k in sales should be done on a weekend id immagine. imagine losing your rights to sell them! big risk for a retailer

Comment #3

savagegoose — Tue, 07 Sep 2010 15:37:22 GMT

wow , guess thats an argument against min wages for store clerks.

personally i would stop playing in NY. see how their lotto officials like it with no job the scamming

Comment #2

rdgrnr — Tue, 07 Sep 2010 15:26:26 GMT

I can't watch the videos but if the statements in the article concerning the New York Lottery's actions in relation to this sting are definitive of the situation then heads should roll in the upper echelons of the New York Lottery.

It is unfreakingbelievable and unconscionable that the New York Lottery would give potential crooks, cheats and thieves in their network a heads-up on someone trying to catch them in the act. They should have welcomed and been actively involved and participating in... [ More ]

Comment #1

jeffrey — Tue, 07 Sep 2010 14:04:34 GMT

I think this should be done by the police regularly. When the clerk steals, imprison the clerk and fine the store a lot. That will cut it down. Even better, put in scanners that print winning receipts.

Undercover lottery investigation tests store clerks' honesty

Lottery Post — Tue, 07 Sep 2010 13:32:13 GMT

If you end up with a winning lottery ticket, you'll end up with the cash... right?

Includes video report

A television investigative program recently traveled to various states testing the honesty and integrity of lottery store clerks in correctly informing customers of their winning lottery tickets.

What they discovered was a mixed bag: although some clerks correctly identified wins for their customers, many did not. In fact, several attempted to basically steal their customer's winn... [ More ]