Winner of $877,800 Idaho Cash jackpot is infamous bulk buyer

Comment #18

justAndy1970 — Wed, 04 Mar 2026 00:38:07 GMT

You are right about giving state lottery's a bad name. It is also the reason most don't play at all. We did it here in Texas, and some are still crying about it.

Comment #17

GreyGreen — Sun, 01 Mar 2026 00:12:52 GMT

The state is wrong here. Buying is buying and when you have the money to go and TRY to find the winning ticket -ITS THE PLAYERS LUCK not yours.

The state already tips the scale to their favor...aka the house always wins and when it doesnt it makes money back more quickly than its earned.

Bravo, winner

Comment #16

Think — Sat, 28 Feb 2026 18:56:16 GMT

Don't forget that at the federal level, as of this year, you can only deduct 90% of your gambling losses.

Comment #15

KY Floyd — Sat, 28 Feb 2026 08:22:53 GMT

How is this any different than an investment group buying stocks to gain an advantage over time in the marketplace?

Because anyone else can also buy the stock, and the investment group buying the stock doesn't reduce the value of shares owned by others. It's not rocket science.

That's not true. Every ticket has the same chance of winning.

In the case of the scratchers nobody else had a chance to buy the winning ticket. In the case of draw games the prize value is reduced if a bulk... [ More ]

Comment #14

lottobrain — Fri, 27 Feb 2026 14:31:51 GMT

Yes, but even if they had bought every combination which doesn't promise much profit, all the 4/5 prizes would only amount to $40,000.

Comment #13

JohnGalt3 — Fri, 27 Feb 2026 13:24:19 GMT

Trump is a billionaire - he doesn't need to buy lottery tickets.

Also he's president of the US and it is state law that applies here not national law. Read the entire article that indicates that at least some states are doing something about bulk purchases.

In that vein, This has been going on for a spell and Sleepy Joe Biden and Kamala the Drunk did nothing.

Comment #12

JohnGalt3 — Fri, 27 Feb 2026 13:19:54 GMT

lottobrain,

There are the secondary prizes they also won that are not taxed.

Comment #11

Clarkejoseph49 — Fri, 27 Feb 2026 00:45:42 GMT

I agree.

Where's Trump to put a ban on it when you need him?

Jackpocket should switch to digital tickets and set limits to combat issues like this.

Comment #10

lottobrain — Thu, 26 Feb 2026 04:13:23 GMT

I don't know how many tickets they may have purchased, but it doesn't seem like a very good plan to try to buy the jackpot with complete game tickets since that would have been 610,880 tickets at a $1 per ticket and they only received $620,604. I would think they probably took a chance on buying a certain percentage and hoped they got lucky, allowing for a chance at a decent profit if they won. But still seems like a bad bet if that is what happened as in that case they could have easily lost...... [ More ]

Comment #9

lakerben — Thu, 26 Feb 2026 02:35:32 GMT

There is always Bingo

Comment #8

Think — Wed, 25 Feb 2026 20:47:51 GMT

There's a horse right here his name is Paul Revere and he knows how much the bulk players will clear can do...

Comment #7

Todd — Wed, 25 Feb 2026 20:42:33 GMT

One of the few times the lotteries and the players are in alignment, despite the difference in reason.

Comment #6

Tony Numbers — Wed, 25 Feb 2026 20:28:41 GMT

Racetracks were earning the takeout from the retail gamblers since 1940. Then in 2020 the COVID greed phenomenon took over and now the racetracks have joined forces with CAWs (computer assisted wagering) syndicates, allowing them access to the tote system whereby they make multiple bets last second and enjoy the benefits of rebates, retail gamblers will never see. These bulk purchasers are gaming the system by betting amounts that most individuals cannot match. The difference here is that the lo... [ More ]

Comment #5

Brock Lee — Wed, 25 Feb 2026 18:58:39 GMT

they want to ban bulk purchases not because the lottery loses money, but because the existence of bulk buy groups turns off normal players. and that leads to money lost in the long term.

Comment #4

Tucker Black — Wed, 25 Feb 2026 18:28:38 GMT

When you buy a ticket for a progressive jackpot game, you have no right to receive a refund of the progressive jackpot contribution. Anyone who expects to get their lost money back should never play this game.

The entire point of the game is that your ticket price includes a contribution to the jackpot which will go to the winner. Whether it's your neighbor or an out-of-state visitor is irrelevant.

If the state lottery doesn't want someone to win a progressive jackpot who didn't buy any... [ More ]

Comment #3

Todd — Wed, 25 Feb 2026 17:28:44 GMT

These bulk ticket purchasers of in-state games are really the worst of the worst, when you look at what they're doing.

For some in-state games it takes weeks or months to build up the jackpot, and all those dollars that make up the jackpot are from people in the state who play the game even when the jackpot is low.

For this particular jackpot, it took seven months of people buying lottery tickets for the jackpot to build to that level ($877,800).

Then, some entitled wealthy dude come... [ More ]

Comment #2

Rigged50 — Wed, 25 Feb 2026 17:11:23 GMT

But they won, their strategy won and yours didn't

Comment #1

Tucker Black — Wed, 25 Feb 2026 14:55:55 GMT

When they come in and play, average players like me have less of a chance to win.

That's not true. Every ticket has the same chance of winning.

Winner of $877,800 Idaho Cash jackpot is infamous bulk buyer

Lottery Post — Wed, 25 Feb 2026 11:42:40 GMT

Idaho legislation moves along bill to ban bulk lottery ticket purchases

By Kate Northrop

The Idaho Lottery's initial suspicions that a bulk purchaser was at play during a jackpot run that resulted in an $877,800 Idaho Cash win were correct when it was confirmed that an entity known for executing jackpot buyouts came forward to claim the prize.

In response to restless national sentiment surrounding the nature of jackpot buyouts and a recent $877,800 Idaho Cash win, Idaho state legisla... [ More ]