Federal authorities investigating illegal NJ 'lottery' pool, sources say

Comment #15

Stack47 — Mon, 29 Jul 2019 01:24:45 GMT

A spokesman for the U.S. Attorney's Office in Newark did not return a call for comment. Asked to comment on the probe, a spokeswoman for the FBI in Newark said, The FBI can neither confirm nor deny the existence of investigations.

And

Despite knowledge of the pool and how it works, everyone who spoke with the Journal said they are not aware of who manages it or where it is based. Also, they all claimed to be unaware if the organizer takes a percentage of the pool.

Something seriously... [ More ]

Comment #14

zephbe — Sun, 28 Jul 2019 23:36:34 GMT

Thank you for explaining it--I see why people would play it.

Comment #13

Stack47 — Sun, 28 Jul 2019 03:05:53 GMT

I was in a similar type pool that was $5 a drawing and when the jackpot reached a certain level, QPs were bought with part of the pool money. The guy running the pool gave us a list of the 30 participants and the six numbers each of us played. Nobody thought about the legality, but I'm guessing because the NJ pool is government employees, someone got ticked off and told someone they knew working for the Feds.

Despite knowledge of the pool and how it works, everyone who spoke with the Journal... [ More ]

Comment #12

grwurston — Sat, 27 Jul 2019 16:59:06 GMT

Ain't that the truth.

Comment #11

Coin Toss — Sat, 27 Jul 2019 00:56:34 GMT

grwurston,

Seems to me like the only thing making it illegal is that the state isn't getting a cut of the $$$.

Remember the TV series Wiseguy with Ken Wahl and Ray Sharkey?

Wahl was an undercover cop sent into Sharkey's organization........as the series went on there's an episode where Sharkey finds out Wahl is a cop and can't believe it because they got along so good.

Wahl says, You kill people and Sharkey says, I don't send teenagers to some jungle to do it for me.

Then as the... [ More ]

Comment #10

grwurston — Fri, 26 Jul 2019 23:08:40 GMT

Super Bowl box pools are illegal gambling!!! Are you kidding me??? That's like half the country.

Seems to me like the only thing making it illegal is that the state isn't getting a cut of the $$$.

Comment #9

cottoneyedjoe — Fri, 26 Jul 2019 22:43:03 GMT

I gather it works like this: At the start of the game, everyone buys in at $20 and picks 6 numbers from 1 to 49. Say you pick (1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6). The next official lottery drawing for the NJ 6/49 game comes out as (1, 6, 7, 8, 20, 30). You got two numbers right (1 and 6) and now you've got four more to go.

The next lottery drawing comes out as (2, 3, 5, 40, 41, 42). You got three more numbers right (2, 3, and 5) and now you've got one more to go.

The next lottery drawing comes out (4, 10,... [ More ]

Comment #8

zephbe — Fri, 26 Jul 2019 18:59:27 GMT

Help me understand this game--Are there people playing and winning this game who are not winning the legal Pick 6 game?

And what does no matter how many drawings it takes mean? If someone picks a number on July 1 and it hits on July 10 they win

Comment #7

Bleudog101 — Fri, 26 Jul 2019 15:35:49 GMT

I feel there are bigger fish to fry as far as crime in this country goes and FBI resources could be better utilized elsewhere.

Not condoning the legality of their alleged actions; and a good point was made earlier that the State of New Jersey doesn't like that.

Large jackpots---would love to know how much the winner got. Oh, we have good old tax evasion here too. Shame shame.

Comment #6

Lottery Playa — Fri, 26 Jul 2019 12:37:31 GMT

Of Course... the State HATES competition

Comment #5

sully16 — Fri, 26 Jul 2019 10:04:13 GMT

Back in the late 70's I worked in a warehouse and our Union Steward ran a pick 3 pool out of the ladies room.

Comment #4

cottoneyedjoe — Fri, 26 Jul 2019 05:54:36 GMT

For sure! The organizers of this pool most likely took a 10% cut, far less than the state's massive 50% cut. It sounds like a fun game and I can see why so many played it.

Comment #3

music* — Fri, 26 Jul 2019 02:32:07 GMT

Would organized crime be interested in this game? You never know.

Comment #2

Coin Toss — Fri, 26 Jul 2019 01:07:45 GMT

Maybe, maybe not Sully...........this goes back a long time before NJ even had a lottery but the bookies used to pay less for 'the number' (now Pick 3) if the middle digit was 1.

When you've got the only game in town................

I grew up in Bayonne, borders Jersey City.

Comment #1

sully16 — Thu, 25 Jul 2019 23:46:22 GMT

Racketeering, tax evasion, someone is in trouble.

The prize payouts are most likely better then the States.

Federal authorities investigating illegal NJ 'lottery' pool, sources say

Lottery Post — Thu, 25 Jul 2019 23:35:02 GMT

Multiple people, including one county employee, have been called to testify in a federal probe into an alleged illegal lottery contest that hundreds of Hudson County employees pay a $20 fee to enter, multiple sources told The Jersey Journal.

The feds are looking into whether the organizers of the game, based on numbers drawn in the state lottery's official Pick 6, are taking a cut of the total pool money.

A spokesman for the U.S. Attorney's Office in Newark did not return a call for commen... [ More ]