Mass. Lottery game was sure-thing for a few groups

Comment #20

rdgrnr — Fri, 21 Oct 2011 02:42:56 GMT

Oh, the state always does well in TN.

Even if they have to make sure the computer doesn't let any doubles win for a while.

It's like Malcolm X said: By any means necessary.

Comment #19

JonnyBgood07 — Mon, 17 Oct 2011 23:48:27 GMT

my thoughts exactly

Comment #18

PERDUE — Mon, 17 Oct 2011 22:21:26 GMT

I admit that I am so slow, I'm going backwards.......

Does this mean that if I follow my gut instinct on 4 key numbers in my number crunching and decide to drop somewhere between $500 to $10,000 following a hunch, that I am doing something wrong?

I understand that these whales had a larger budget to work with.

But does that mean when the non-whales go for it we are going to be denied the opportunity to see if we were right or wrong?

Does this mean that if we are right on the money wi... [ More ]

Comment #17

Stack47 — Mon, 17 Oct 2011 16:59:30 GMT

The state lottery allowed this to go on because it made 40% to 50% profit from all the wagers. The integrity of the game became an issue when it was discovered small groups of people were winning the majority of the secondary prizes. And because of the size of the bets, it diluted the amount of payoffs expected by regular players.

Because the larger secondary prize payoffs were a result of the rollback of the jackpot, the lottery had already made its profit. The lottery did alert all the play... [ More ]

Comment #16

time*treat — Mon, 17 Oct 2011 15:15:31 GMT

This story contrasts well with the one about the TN lottery. https://www.lotterypost.com/news/237608

State does well, it's all good.

Players do well, throw a fit end the game.

Comment #15

CLETU$ — Mon, 17 Oct 2011 14:48:37 GMT

Yep,makes perfect sense to me.Now go change the rules so nobody can win.

Comment #14

rdgrnr — Mon, 17 Oct 2011 14:48:08 GMT

Re RJOh's Post:

...they should have designed a game that was easier for everyone to win...

That's a concept beyond the capacity of government bean counters to grasp.

They could no more do that than accept the fact that lowering taxes can increase revenue.

Does not compute.

Comment #13

mjwinsmith — Mon, 17 Oct 2011 13:47:54 GMT

Pure plain and simple the idiots in Massachusetts got beat at their own game, so they blame the Group of players. Give me a snip break, it's YOUR game, you make the rules, if someone comes in and wins pay 'em and shut the f #$ UP!

Michael

This post has been automatically changed by the Lottery Post computer system to remove inappropriate content and/or spam.

Comment #12

RJOh — Mon, 17 Oct 2011 07:49:11 GMT

fact is if you reward match 4 out 6, 5 out of 6, at cost of jackpot, stuff like this is bond to happen

I agree, if the point was to design a game with larger payouts and jackpots won at $2M-$2.5M then they should have designed a game that was easier for everyone to win, not just the big spenders.

Comment #11

RJOh — Mon, 17 Oct 2011 01:32:37 GMT

True if you're only looking at the jackpots, but the overall odds of winning a prize playing MM and PB are 1:40 and 1:35 while the overall odds of winning a Classic Lotto prize are 1:54 and that prize is likely to only $2.

It's only the jackpot size that makes it more attractive than the other two games. Still with a jackpot of $105M, PB may attract more players Wednesday. Fortunately, OCL has no competition on Monday.

Comment #10

maringoman — Mon, 17 Oct 2011 00:42:43 GMT

If I lived in Ohio I'd only play the Classic Lotto especially with a JP that high. The odds are much lower than those of pb and mm.

Comment #9

Genome — Mon, 17 Oct 2011 00:40:21 GMT

Yeah I want that MB jackpot too. 7.9 million. Someone has to win that soon, if its not me, I hope its you.

Comment #8

maringoman — Mon, 17 Oct 2011 00:37:51 GMT

Good luck man. I think its great to do that. I myself I'm still chasing the MegaBucks JP to the point that I'm blind to the other games.

I hope you hit big.

Comment #7

Genome — Mon, 17 Oct 2011 00:33:25 GMT

Im going to buy $100 worth when it hits that $2,000,000 mark in 1 or 2 draws. Hopefully I can match 4 once and Ill be good with an $800 win instead of the $150 win.

Comment #6

joshuacloak — Sun, 16 Oct 2011 22:57:43 GMT

dont blame the players

blame the game

jackpot caps, and share the wealth that is the idea behind 'rolldowns is the enemy

a rolling jackpot game should never have cap

powerball getting rid of the cap come 2012 changes

the fact is, the state designed a major design fall, the rundown, and these groups did the math, and and came out on top. cease lower prizes paid will NOW.

as to what , RJOh , your spot on

the fact is, these groups can't buy all 14M possible combi... [ More ]

Comment #5

RJOh — Sun, 16 Oct 2011 22:51:07 GMT

These people are continuously referred to as very smart when anyone with lots of money and a little knowledge could have done the same thing.

If they were really smart enough to beat a lottery that hadn't been set up to favor them, then they would be in Ohio trying to win its Classic Lotto(649) which has a jackpot of $50M and odds of 1:14M of winning it.

Problem is the only way to guarantee winning the jackpot is to buy all 14M possible combinations and hope no one else does the same with... [ More ]

Comment #4

temptustoo — Sun, 16 Oct 2011 22:36:41 GMT

OFF WITH THEIR HEADS

Comment #3

truecritic — Sun, 16 Oct 2011 22:35:01 GMT

Hey...Gerry Selbee from Michigan...if you are a member here, CONGRATULATIONS!

Likewise, Yuran Lu, congratulations!

If another excellent opportunity opens up somewhere, I have an extra $20 I can chip in, be sure to get a hold of me

Comment #2

dpoly1 — Sun, 16 Oct 2011 20:40:16 GMT

Wow, must have been evil Republicans in charge, oh wait .............. this was in The Peoples Democratic Republic of Massachusetts.

Can't wait for the next Powerball Drawing

Comment #1

rdgrnr — Sun, 16 Oct 2011 20:18:42 GMT

Typical Government CYOA (Cover Your Own Azz) by lottery officials.

Deny, deny, deny, punish some low level nobody somewhere and move on.

Same as it ever was.

Mass. Lottery game was sure-thing for a few groups

Lottery Post — Sun, 16 Oct 2011 19:10:11 GMT

Massachusetts Lottery officials this summer said they were surprised to learn that a handful of high-stakes gamblers had taken over one of their $2 games, with just three groups of bettors accounting for most of the winning tickets statewide at certain times. The lottery disciplined two sales agents who allowed the high-rollers to run the ticket machines themselves and announced new rules to limit the dominance of sophisticated bettors.

But the Globe has found that lottery managers for years