Thief steals $27,000 worth of Pennsylvania Lottery tickets from gas station

Comment #16

dickblow — Tue, 26 Aug 2025 01:29:28 GMT

he wont get far plus he wont be able to cash them

Comment #15

KY Floyd — Sun, 24 Aug 2025 06:57:12 GMT

I think they need to mix up the distribution a little better, because if they keep doing it the same way- guess what the jackpot winners continually wind up in the same area

Most of the tickets go to population centers, because thats where the most tickets get bought. For the most part, the big winners will also end up in the same population centers simply because that's where the rest of the tickets will go.

The chance of any particular box being put on a truck headed for NYC is higher... [ More ]

Comment #14

Tony Numbers — Sat, 23 Aug 2025 12:11:21 GMT

Thank You KY Floyd for clarifying my posting.Its pretty much what I suspected. That part about not knowing where the tickets go, I think they need to mix up the distribution a little better, because if they keep doing it the same way- guess what the jackpot winners continually wind up in the same area

Comment #13

KY Floyd — Sat, 23 Aug 2025 05:49:23 GMT

It's double blinded in the sense, Scientific Games knows which batch has winning tickets but they're not in charge of where the tickets go. PA lottery is in charge of where the tickets go but they're not told which batch contains the winning ticket.

That's the basics of it, as I understand it. Quite a while back somebody from the security department of a lottery (Indiana, I think) was able to determine where a big winner had been sent and (again, IIRC) sent someone else there to buy all of... [ More ]

Comment #12

johnnyBlaze — Fri, 22 Aug 2025 23:15:11 GMT

I can't with 100% confidence say the state lottery doesn't know where the winning tickets are but retailers controlling their inventories is not that.

Each ticket has three sections.

XXXX-YYYYYYYYY-ZZZ.

X : Game number

Y : Batch number

Z : Ticket number which runs from 000 to 300 depending on the value of the ticket.

This is what they meant by controlling their inventories. They know exactly where a specific ticket is located cuz it's in the system when sent out... [ More ]

Comment #11

Tucker Black — Fri, 22 Aug 2025 20:43:50 GMT

The barcode on the back of the ticket is there just to tell the cash register what this is and how much it costs. The vending machine doesn't do that because it already knows what you're buying and how much it costs. The same is true for vending machines that sell anything else. When you buy a Coke from a vending machine, it doesn't scan the barcode.

Comment #10

adamc224 — Fri, 22 Aug 2025 20:32:56 GMT

Thief steals $27,000 worth of Pennsylvania Lottery tickets from gas station

Only won $2750, mostly free tickets.

Comment #9

Tucker Black — Fri, 22 Aug 2025 20:28:20 GMT

That is incorrect. Inventory means a unique barcode on a pack of tickets. What's underneath the scratch coating on any one of those tickets is a mystery, to be revealed by the ticket buyer.

Comment #8

noise-gate — Fri, 22 Aug 2025 19:15:16 GMT

* It's quite possible that this thief or thieves attempted to cash a ticket or tickets at a place they frequent quite often when the teller informed them : Dude, this ticket is from a stolen batch, my suggestion, burn them all, like right now, it's that or prison!

* Have a good weekend people win something, anything

Comment #7

Brock Lee — Fri, 22 Aug 2025 17:29:52 GMT

now we wait and see if the thief is dumb enough to try to cash them.

Comment #6

Tony Numbers — Fri, 22 Aug 2025 17:09:07 GMT

Retailers carefully control Thier inventories With these protocols in place they know where the big winnings tickets are. That's why winners typically all come from the same place

Comment #5

johnnyBlaze — Fri, 22 Aug 2025 16:47:52 GMT

In PA, you have to scan the pack twice. Once to confirm receipt of the pack and another to activate.

Comment #4

PrisonerSix — Fri, 22 Aug 2025 16:37:16 GMT

The staff member at the customer service desk at a grocery store scanned a barcode on a pack of tickets and told me the have to be activated before she can sell them. If they aren't activated, they are worthless.

Comment #3

mypiemaster — Fri, 22 Aug 2025 15:12:44 GMT

POINTLESS. Cash a winner get arrested.

Comment #2

billybucks — Fri, 22 Aug 2025 13:39:00 GMT

You are better off stealing the stale 2.69 bags of chips that used to sell for .25 or the stale 3.69 candy bars that used to sell for .29 than the lottery tickets when you go into a convenience store when it is closed.

Comment #1

Bleudog101 — Fri, 22 Aug 2025 12:29:46 GMT

Though it has been years since I purchased a scratch ticket, cashier would flip it over and scan the barcode on the back. Like I said a few weeks ago watched the Manager load the self service machine. She scanned one barcode to activate the whole package. Mistakenly before that thought the machine activated them @ purchase.

Thief steals $27,000 worth of Pennsylvania Lottery tickets from gas station

Lottery Post — Fri, 22 Aug 2025 11:34:51 GMT

Police still trying to find person who burglarized small store in June

By Kate Northrop

State police are looking for the thief who stole over $27,000 worth of Pennsylvania Lottery tickets from a small gas station convenience store.

In June, an unidentified individual burglarized a rural retailer and took thousands of dollars' worth of Pennsylvania Lottery tickets.

On June 1 at around 6:00 a.m., State Police in McConnellsburg received a report of a theft that took place at 522 Pit... [ More ]