BOMBSHELL: MUSL employee might have rigged Hot Lotto computerized drawing

Comment #85

RL-RANDOMLOGIC — Sun, 19 Apr 2015 14:17:50 GMT

I just wonder how many times it's been done and gotten away with.

RL

Comment #84

ChazzMatt — Sat, 18 Apr 2015 16:43:38 GMT

He did NOT buy a quick pick ticket. If you actually look at the convenience store security video, he handed the clerk a play slip with the numbers on it.

No news story ever said quick pick . They said the ticket was bought at Quik Trip.

He knew the numbers because he programmed the numbers in for the computer to pick in that drawing.

Investigators did not recover a program self-destructs and leaves no trace, but they have testimony he bragged about having such a program and they have ev... [ More ]

Comment #83

tony869 — Sat, 18 Apr 2015 04:52:43 GMT

I've checked it out and saw before the computerized drawings started there were many more 2nd prize Lotto winners of $1000 than there are now. Sometimes more than double the winners than they have now since they started using the computer to pick the numbers. It was more random. Now they know instantly what numbers have been issued on all the tickets bought and then they can choose to payout the least amount. In other words the Lottery has control in the outcome of winning tickets.

Comment #82

Suzy-Dittlenose — Sat, 18 Apr 2015 04:45:36 GMT

NEVER! NEVER! NEVER! Participate in a game where a computer selects the numbers. And NEVER believe those burucratic(?) jack-asses who run the games that claim the game is honest. They are lying through their smiling teeth.

They know there's a sucker born every minute and are counting on them to be wreckless. Hack, Hack, Hack.....

Comment #81

KY Floyd — Fri, 17 Apr 2015 23:21:59 GMT

I've been trying to find an article that confirms that it was a QP. I think I read it somewhere, but I'm wondering if I'm just thinking that because the ticket was bought at a place called QuikTrip.

Just because it's possible to manipulate the computer that draws the numbers doesn't mean it happened. Based on the info presented, it appears that the only chance he had to manipulate the computer was about 5 weeks before the drawing, so that means anything he did not only had to go undetected fo... [ More ]

Comment #80

msharkey2001 — Fri, 17 Apr 2015 16:37:27 GMT

I used to play this game fairly often back when it had a 5/39, 1/19 matrix. I recall thinking back then (2010-2012) that Iowa had more JP winners than any other state involved at that time. I tried to find info about where HL jackpots were won historically, but couldn't. If Iowa has indeed won the most HL jackpots it raises the question of has this type of fraud happened before

Comment #79

spartan1707 — Fri, 17 Apr 2015 15:52:41 GMT

If it was a program he used how did he buy a qp ticket and how did they recover the program that leaves no trace

Comment #78

Dead_Aim — Fri, 17 Apr 2015 14:59:01 GMT

Click here

Comment #77

txwinr — Fri, 17 Apr 2015 13:57:01 GMT

What games aren't computerized anymore?? Is there a list

Comment #76

pickone4me — Thu, 16 Apr 2015 15:49:01 GMT

Anything is possible these days. Those balls juggling around could be just for looks. Some other mechanism could be pushing the ball picks up to the surface. Their weight could be changed, so certain numbers could come up. Just too many other ways to rig it.

Comment #75

Cruzincat — Thu, 16 Apr 2015 02:49:53 GMT

So, will the money eventually go to the person or persons who won the next Hot Lotto big prize? Or will the states keep it?

Interesting. The next winner was also from Iowa and he won within 6 months of the previous drawing. What is the time limit for claiming tickets in Iowa at that time? Could the perp have been setting up a win again, just in case he got caught for the win in December, and, thinking the winnings would go to the next jackpot winner, made sure it would go to someone he knows

Comment #74

Dead_Aim — Wed, 15 Apr 2015 20:29:15 GMT

That is true, but how often could they get by with having to do something to switched out ball sets verses the SAME computers that nobody ever gets to see the inside of or the program used? Real solid balls verses a code that could be laced with rootkits (with different multiple drawing dates that would only need to be accessed once, mind you) and disappearing code? hmmmmm wonder which one has more integrity

Comment #73

Stack47 — Wed, 15 Apr 2015 20:25:07 GMT

I remember that thread too and it didn't take Bogle several days to question Shaw. But the article said nothing about Iowa law requiring the person purchasing the ticket to come forward. The article was written to make Steve Bogle look like Barney Fife and the first response verifies it.

The people demanding pay the man are obviously not very lottery savvy and/or believe the lotteries have money trees.

Comment #72

Stack47 — Wed, 15 Apr 2015 19:58:25 GMT

You're probably right for the lotto type games, but the pick-3 live ball drawing in PA was rigged several years ago. So far Tipton was not accused of rigging the drawing, but that could change.

Comment #71

tony869 — Wed, 15 Apr 2015 19:30:23 GMT

I think it is time for a ballot to be written up for WA Lottery to go back to ball system drawing.. So i would like to get this started and i have no idea where to start. The goal is to get this on the ballot for Nov election and see if this passes... It's time to get WA Lottery to get rid of the computerized drawings for good. So what you guys think about it

Comment #70

ChazzMatt — Wed, 15 Apr 2015 16:01:08 GMT

Well at least you apologized. :) Many don't.

I remember this story vividly, and I remember some people couldn't understand why the state wouldn't pay the New York lawyer trying to claim the ticket for his anonymous client. A lot of people were saying Pay it! Pay it!

Here's the original news story from 3 years ago. Look at the first page of comments. Before MY extensive comment near the bottom, only one other person even said there was something up. Everybody else was slamming the Iowa Lo... [ More ]

Comment #69

Goteki54 — Wed, 15 Apr 2015 14:22:17 GMT

When people lose faith in the integrity of the game, the game is over! In lottery, balls CAN'T be hacked! but computers can

Comment #68

RJOh — Wed, 15 Apr 2015 05:08:23 GMT

That would be a trick trying to predict which balls are going to roll down the chute of a live drawing of a ball machine. I'm sure someone is working on software to do just that but a ball machine is as random and unpredictable as it gets.

Comment #67

darthfury78 — Wed, 15 Apr 2015 04:32:23 GMT

I sometimes feel that Powerball and Mega Millions are computerized as well because whose to say that the balls are not computer generated ahead of time

Comment #66

RJOh — Wed, 15 Apr 2015 02:04:58 GMT

I doubt it. I remember a few years back when Tennessee first used a RNG in its number game, it was almost a month before anyone at the lottery headquarters noticed it wasn't generating any double or triples even thought some of the players were complaining. This was just one drawing so even a combination like 1 2 3 4 5 would look normal.

Comment #65

RJOh — Wed, 15 Apr 2015 01:56:33 GMT

There was a case in Indiana a few years back where a security person got hold the distribution list for the scratch-off tickets and sent two of his buddies to buy the whole roll of tickets that had a million dollar winner. He would have gotten away with it if his buddies hadn't got mad about how he split the winnings among them. It make you think there had to be a time when every thing went well and were never detected.

Comment #64

WesternRedDoug — Wed, 15 Apr 2015 00:52:07 GMT

From a completely unrelated angle, does anyone with a Lottery System have anyway to breakdown the Hot Lotto draws from back then and show that this particular draw was an anomaly and doesn't fit with the other draws? I'm naive when it comes to Lottery Systems and admittedly don't know much about how they work and what they can show. Do they even work with computer draws

Comment #63

WesternRedDoug — Wed, 15 Apr 2015 00:47:27 GMT

I didn't!!

I initially thought that someone who really wanted to live off the grid sold the ticket on the black market for a few million dollars. Then I thought someone who either wasn't eligible or thought they weren't elegible to claim was trying to claim through some legal entity.

Didn't see this coming. My apologies. In thought many people on this broad were off base talking about conspiracies and rigged drawings.

Bombshell indeed. I am stunned. Looking forward to the details coming... [ More ]

Comment #62

Artist77 — Tue, 14 Apr 2015 23:56:11 GMT

Now I know why I never won hot lotto

Comment #61

eddessaknight — Tue, 14 Apr 2015 21:33:43 GMT

MADDOGG

Machines can all be rigged. AMEN

Additionally, anytime there is great chance @ a great amount of money available in all forms of speculation - then this creates great opportunities for scamming scheming on both sides of the table.

Eddessa_Knight

Comment #60

dallascowboyfan — Tue, 14 Apr 2015 21:30:12 GMT

Wow just wow! This is really messed up.

Comment #59

JoeBigLotto — Tue, 14 Apr 2015 21:07:13 GMT

When this report first came out here on lottery post I did express my concern with Iowa lottery officials for spending the money quickly b4 releasing video for public help. Now we know why it is one of them with the fat ugly face in the video really really crazy stupid even a moron can steal better at least not 14million at a time.

Comment #58

Stack47 — Tue, 14 Apr 2015 20:31:02 GMT

It will become a National story if there is enough evidence that Tipton rigged the drawing, but for now he is only accused of fraud for buying a lottery ticket.

Comment #57

addai1516 — Tue, 14 Apr 2015 17:56:41 GMT

I always believe that computerized drawings are not fair to lottrey players..

Comment #56

joshuacloak — Tue, 14 Apr 2015 17:10:04 GMT

Being honest, I think lottery has a right to know who winner is, to prevent lottery employee or an vender(theyu make the instant tickets)claiming a lottery prize or some other banned player by law.

The real issue is when the state lottery knows it then becomes a public record and PUBLIC should not know period, they have no right to know is my key point.

Just like Public does not have a right to know how much anyone wealth is form the IRS department.

The irs knows everyone wealth, but al... [ More ]

Comment #55

RedStang — Tue, 14 Apr 2015 16:11:35 GMT

Never trusted the RNG machines until a friend hit 9 out of 10 numbers. Still not a fan of them.

Comment #54

RJOh — Tue, 14 Apr 2015 13:05:20 GMT

This is probably more a local story than national, only big lottery jackpots and the people who win them make national news.

Comment #53

rcbbuckeye — Tue, 14 Apr 2015 12:16:20 GMT

That had crossed my mind also.

Funny thing is that I haven't seen or heard anything about this on tv or online anywhere else. This is pretty newsworthy.

Comment #52

fja — Tue, 14 Apr 2015 11:46:48 GMT

Now it makes you wonder what would have happened if this was a state where you could claim anonymously! Hope they have the right wording in those rules...

Comment #51

Seattlejohn — Tue, 14 Apr 2015 08:05:44 GMT

I remember when that idiot attorney tried to claim the ticket for his clients , but couldn't provide verification of anything. Then he said he wanted to claim it to give it to charity; at that point, I knew something was fishy, as no one walks away from a $14.3 Million prize. Turns out it was completely fishy; the boneheads deserve what they get...

Comment #50

TnTicketlosers — Tue, 14 Apr 2015 02:18:09 GMT

Tennessee has been doing it for years,,yes it can....a lottery thats been running for years and still no payouts,,,last week with the 1011 hit,large payout,,lets see if it is posted in the weekly payout draws and where it was hit,,,I bet not

Comment #49

Stack47 — Tue, 14 Apr 2015 02:13:42 GMT

I always wondered why Tipton would even buy a ticket considering he could only cash the $100 prize and under without getting caught and it didn't matter if the ticket was a QP if Tipton knew he could manipulate the drawing and find someone to cash it. The real questions is Can the drawings be manipulated and even if Tipton didn't, there is still the possibility. Those who play lottery games with computer generated numbers should ask their state lottery officials what they are doing to prevent th... [ More ]

Comment #48

gr8ter — Tue, 14 Apr 2015 02:06:07 GMT

Comment #47

slurpee — Tue, 14 Apr 2015 01:57:05 GMT

the guy messed up by purchasing the ticket himself. Think about how many times this may have been pulled off by just getting someone else to buy the ticket and split the winnings.

Its clear with fantasy 5 the randomization sucks. And furthermore seems to keep the game (ca lotto books) balanced. Seems when not enough people are playing nobody wins (crazy combos), then jackpot gets higher, bringing more people into a game they don't always play, sales figures get met,and so on... once enough ti... [ More ]

Comment #46

Think — Tue, 14 Apr 2015 01:45:36 GMT

There is a reason as to why they are called RNGs. It is because RNG stands for Rigged Numbers Game.

Once the Michigan Daily Keno went from ball draws to RNGs the number of top prize winners was cut about in half

Comment #45

Technut — Mon, 13 Apr 2015 22:48:44 GMT

i figured sooner or later there would be a story involving hacking computerized drawings. I have never been a fan of them and glad that Texas is a 100% ball machine drawings state.

Comment #44

gra8*2win — Mon, 13 Apr 2015 22:44:26 GMT

well he could not pull this off without a helper.......camera guy.....was in on it too! he was just a dumb dumb......

his plan was not well thought of....and he is busted......i hope all states get this story, and try to at least keep some

security measures in place......i do wish all states would go back to ball drawings.......and give us at least a sense of

random.......tennessee which is the worst lottery can not afford ball drawings......people there just don't play and if

they p... [ More ]

Comment #43

TnTicketlosers — Mon, 13 Apr 2015 22:40:23 GMT

Tennessee would shut down before they would let that happen,you could win some money if it was balls,,,no wait they would rig that too.

Comment #42

casino crawler — Mon, 13 Apr 2015 21:57:14 GMT

Ha...you are correct. Even though I have heard of shaved or weighted balls and yes I mean that seriously... Gotta keep your eye on everyone and everything when that much money is at stake.

Comment #41

Guru101 — Mon, 13 Apr 2015 21:45:38 GMT

I just hope Indiana brings back ball drawings for Hoosier Lotto.

Comment #40

Drenick1 — Mon, 13 Apr 2015 20:42:16 GMT

They need to look into TN computerised lottery games as well. From what I have heard, many of their games have veered from the straight and narrow road.

Comment #39

temptustoo — Mon, 13 Apr 2015 20:34:52 GMT

Iowa is a crooked state when it comes to the lottery a week or so ago they showed the number as 600 and 2 hours later they changed it to 900.............

pretty sad when they steal from the public. They are making plenty of money it is just GREED

Comment #38

ThatScaryChick — Mon, 13 Apr 2015 20:19:54 GMT

I'm sure it would get mentioned in the media and other news sources and Todd would post an article about it. It would be a pretty big deal for them to go from computers to ball drawings

Comment #37

Cruzincat — Mon, 13 Apr 2015 20:14:03 GMT

I always preferred Hot Lotto over Powerball, because of the better odds of winning. Nevermind that the top prize is small. It would still be life changing money to me and it costs half as much to play now.

However, I will likely never buy Hot Lotto tickets again, until they switch to balls for number selection. Only proble is, how will I ever know that they have switched

Comment #36

lakerben — Mon, 13 Apr 2015 20:04:24 GMT

i think more than one game is rigged.

Comment #35

rj6speed — Mon, 13 Apr 2015 18:59:19 GMT

This article needs to be sent to every state lottery that's using computerized draws...

Comment #34

duckman — Mon, 13 Apr 2015 18:23:02 GMT

Not only are computerized random number drawings a bad idea because of this intentional rigging, there are also the unintentional problems that have been reported before with defective software not being truly random or not allowing certain number combinations to be picked (example - Tennessee's Cash3 and Cash4 problems reported here).

Although it is possible ping pong ball drawings can be rigged or skewed toward certain numbers, it is more difficult to do than rigging, or hacking, compute... [ More ]

Comment #33

ThatScaryChick — Mon, 13 Apr 2015 18:19:27 GMT

I didn't know Indiana actually went back to balls. That's great. I wish Idaho would do ball drawings but I don't see that ever happening.

Comment #32

jojosurf — Mon, 13 Apr 2015 17:40:00 GMT

I always said that rng hackers can do anything today, drawings can be rigged and by some of the day results in PA it can be a reality I hope they ban them all and go to live drawings like most other states

Comment #31

increase — Mon, 13 Apr 2015 17:35:40 GMT

Sounds like a big mess. Bottom line: Some people lack integrity

Comment #30

spartan1707 — Mon, 13 Apr 2015 17:23:30 GMT

You've made all good points,I would add that here in AZ, you can not even be a witness for the drawing is not even held here in the state. The company running the Powerball does it. Machines stop allowing you to play at 7pm then you wait till after 9pm to see the results. Hell they have taken a hole day to show results. I do believe this is why here in AZ you have more second place prize winners than other states. 666 has yet to come out here in AZ since the lottery became legal here.

Comment #29

Todd — Mon, 13 Apr 2015 17:16:17 GMT

Personally I think that's a bit extreme, but I don't blame you. As long as the states keep using computers for their drawings, they are playing with fire. Thank goodness there are still many games out there using real lottery drawings. I hope events like this will keep them aware that switching to computers is too big of a risk. The more events happen like this, the lower consumer confidence will be, and they will absolutely bleed revenue as a result. It's not worth the risk.

Comment #28

numbergirly — Mon, 13 Apr 2015 17:09:24 GMT

I think I'm gonna stop everything and just deal with the casino. I do have one last dream number which is 0404. I'll keep that in and pray they let it come out one day.

Comment #27

numbergirly — Mon, 13 Apr 2015 17:04:58 GMT

I know I'm done with hot lotto....thanks for helping me save money

Comment #26

Ron5995 — Mon, 13 Apr 2015 16:59:43 GMT

The challenges of maintaining integrity and auditing computerize randomizers brings to mind similar issues with computerized voting machines.

Lottery randomizer computer code is often closed-sourced, procedures not fully documented, lack of testing (there have been numerous documented problems with lottery computer randomizers in the past favoring some numbers over others; search forums here for details), and the fundamental problem, due to the complexity of randomizer programs, there's often... [ More ]

Comment #25

Bleudog101 — Mon, 13 Apr 2015 16:33:50 GMT

Phew!

Relief...both Lucky for Life and Cash 4 Life are drawn with mechanical ball machine...so glad to have seen this on your website. No to RNG

Comment #24

Dead_Aim — Mon, 13 Apr 2015 16:21:01 GMT

I am surprised it took this long for one to finally surface. How many have went undetected? The laughable third party watching over things. How many of the computer glitches were overseen by 3rd parties that went on for months and only discovered by the players, and still denied after players complained. The Tennessee fiasco comes to mind right away quick.

I seriously hope they find hard evidence of tampering that way the dismissal of computers in the lottery games is truly considered. And k... [ More ]

Comment #23

noise-gate — Mon, 13 Apr 2015 16:03:38 GMT

l wish California could bench their Fantasy 5 computerized drawings as well. Their spokesman loves to show their integrity videos on how This unit needs certain keys or whatever / Surveillance cameras in all areas to ensure that No one messes with or looks inside the computerized machine unsupervised . Right.

Comment #22

Todd — Mon, 13 Apr 2015 15:44:09 GMT

Actually, Indiana actually did that for their Daily 3 and Daily 4 games back in 2013. (Three cheers to Indiana!) They switched from computerized drawings back to real ball drawings, hired a television personality, etc. Very good move!

Computerized drawings is one area where advanced technology is NOT a good thing. This is being spoken by a technologist (me).

Comment #21

joshuacloak — Mon, 13 Apr 2015 15:36:52 GMT

I always said they should put jackpot money if not claimed, back into next draw possible.

It's good thing lottery stopped this guy and crew form claiming the jackpot. but that money belongs to players who built that jackpot and give them a other chance at it.

as for employee might have

am with the facts of this case.

This guy has access to comp network running the show.

This guy played and WON. beating millions to 1 odds.......

and was barred form ever playing.................. [ More ]

Comment #20

Todd — Mon, 13 Apr 2015 15:35:36 GMT

The information can be found in two places:

Go to the Results menu above and click State Lottery Report Card . That shows each state's games and whether they are computerized or not. Go to the lottery results page for any state and click the game's logo on the left side. That brings up the Game Information page, which includes the type of drawings used in the game.

Comment #19

Bleudog101 — Mon, 13 Apr 2015 15:32:47 GMT

Todd,

Is Lucky for Life and or Cash 4 Life both RNG or ball games

Comment #18

noise-gate — Mon, 13 Apr 2015 15:28:46 GMT

This is about Computerized Drawings- Open your eyes expand your brain. MM PB use the balls or can't you tell the difference?

Why am l not surprised.

Comment #17

Goon — Mon, 13 Apr 2015 15:22:36 GMT

I knew it

Comment #16

dpoly1 — Mon, 13 Apr 2015 15:21:07 GMT

TODD VADER SPEAKS THE TRUTH

Comment #15

dpoly1 — Mon, 13 Apr 2015 15:19:39 GMT

UH OH

Comment #14

pickone4me — Mon, 13 Apr 2015 14:50:22 GMT

Singing a different tune.....How unsurprising.

Comment #13

pickone4me — Mon, 13 Apr 2015 14:48:35 GMT

HA! I knew it! Bad day for my haters with this news

Comment #12

MADDOG10 — Mon, 13 Apr 2015 14:39:56 GMT

Never trusted a game that was produced by a computer..

Comment #11

ThatScaryChick — Mon, 13 Apr 2015 14:34:45 GMT

Ugh, after this mess they should go to ball drawings.

Comment #10

haymaker — Mon, 13 Apr 2015 14:32:16 GMT

Will they offer refunds on this game ?

Don't hold your breath.

On the way to Florida I bought an advance draw of Hot Lotto, in Delaware, no winners.

Then checked LP's state report card and found this was a computer game.

Last trip to Delaware only bought PB and MM.

Comment #9

JAP69 — Mon, 13 Apr 2015 14:11:46 GMT

WHATT

NOOO, say it aint so.

Comment #8

noise-gate — Mon, 13 Apr 2015 14:07:21 GMT

l am willing to bet that this is not a one time occurrence. If thieves can physically break into safe deposit boxes in the UK...

Comment #7

cbr$ — Mon, 13 Apr 2015 13:23:12 GMT

I have always been against, computerized drawings. This story is every players nightmare for any game of chance.

Comment #6

CTNY — Mon, 13 Apr 2015 13:08:48 GMT

Well lookie here

Comment #5

jarasan — Mon, 13 Apr 2015 13:05:18 GMT

Balls are the best way.

Comment #4

mrbg — Mon, 13 Apr 2015 12:55:07 GMT

This is so ridiculous.

Comment #3

rcbbuckeye — Mon, 13 Apr 2015 12:51:12 GMT

Well.

I was actually considering driving to OK to buy Hot Lotto tics just for the heck of it.

Guess I'll just stay home.

Comment #2

Todd — Mon, 13 Apr 2015 12:37:48 GMT

Look at the link I posted in the first paragraph, which leads to the Petition for True Lottery Drawings.

I wrote the text on that page 12 years ago.

The second bullet point describing why computerized drawings are bad is:

Computer hacking is a term that has entered the daily lexicon because of its prevalence within every aspect of computers. Hackers can produce code that goes undetected for long periods of time, and causes unseen problems. Why do the state lotteries think that they are... [ More ]

Comment #1

maringoman — Mon, 13 Apr 2015 12:32:16 GMT

They try to convince us that Hot Lotto draws are audited and yet this guy was able to work around that. I hope people boycott computerized games.

BOMBSHELL: MUSL employee might have rigged Hot Lotto computerized drawing

Lottery Post — Mon, 13 Apr 2015 12:14:08 GMT

Lottery Post has been warning of the dangers of computerized drawings for over a decade, and now prosecutors of the mystery Hot Lotto winner from Iowa are looking at the possibility that those warnings have come true.

Prosecutors believe there is evidence indicating a former information-security director for a lottery vendor in Iowa tampered with lottery equipment before buying a Hot Lotto ticket that would go on to win $14.3 million, according to court documents filed Thursday.

The trial