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FBI missed rigged jackpot in 2006 before lottery scheme grewNews Story
Investigators were suspicious in 2006 when they heard that a rural Texas judge was trying to exchange $450,000 in consecutively marked bills. But Tommy Tipton, a Fayette County magistrate, told the FBI that his actions were innocent, if odd: He won the Colorado lottery but couldn't tell his wife because gambling was against their Christian faith. The FBI accepted the story and dropped its inquiry of Tipton, who soon bought a new truck and more property around the town of Flatonia, 110 miles (
Jun 19, 2017, 8:51 am - Lottery News

Woman sues casino that offered her steak dinner instead of $43 million jackpotNews Story
Katrina Bookman captured national attention last year when she played a Sphinx Slot Machine at Resorts World Casino in Queens, New York, and it appeared as though she'd won $43 million which would have been the largest jackpot ever won on the slots in U.S. history. She excitedly snapped a selfie with the screen, believing her life was forever changed. But when Bookman came to collect her prize, a casino worker told her she hadn't actually won anything and offered her nothing but a complimenta
Jun 16, 2017, 6:45 pm - Lottery News

Mastermind of lottery fraud will explain how he rigged jackpotsNews Story
Lottery Post's warning to the lottery industry about computerized drawings, issued more than a decade ago, is about to be confirmed as fact by Eddie Tipton, a former Multi-State Lottery Association (MUSL) security director. A lottery programmer will tell investigators how he was able to use his position to rig state jackpots for years and he and his brother will repay $3 million in prizes they improperly claimed, under a plea agreement released Monday. Prosecutors will seek a 25-year priso
Jun 12, 2017, 9:21 pm - Lottery News

Iowa Lottery investigation highlights difficult balance between security and profitsNews Story
For more than a year while he worked at the Brick Street Market in Bondurant, Iowa, Matthew Hinrichs quietly stole lottery tickets, cashing in at least $28,000 in illegitimate prize money, prosecutors say. When he was finally caught in 2016, Hinrichs pleaded guilty to two felony counts of fraud and was ordered to pay back those winnings, plus nearly $5,000 more. Lottery officials say their layers of security allowed them to track Hinrichs' activity, providing data that was invaluable to pr
Jun 6, 2017, 2:48 pm - Lottery News

Best friend to testify against Tipton at July lottery rigging trialNews Story
It took Texas businessman Robert Rhodes more than a year to turn against his good old boy best friend after he realized that Eddie Tipton would not do a deal and tell prosecutors about how he had created an elaborate system to rig lotteries in five states. But despite fear for his safety, Rhodes is poised to give testimony at a trial scheduled for July 10 in Des Moines that prosecutors hope will finally put Tipton behind bars a decade after launching a scheme that netted $2 million in jackpot
Mar 31, 2017, 7:48 am - Lottery News

Kansas files lawsuit against accused lottery riggerNews Story
A lawsuit by the state of Kansas accuses the man at the center of a multi-state lottery number-fixing scam of working with two others to redeem two rigged lottery tickets for $44,000. Kansas Attorney General Derek Schmidt announced Tuesday he filed the Shawnee County lawsuit against Eddie Tipton and two others who Schmidt says turned in the tickets to the Kansas Lottery. Schmidt alleges Tipton used software manipulation to rig the tickets. Tipton, 54, of Flatonia, Texas, once worked as the
Mar 16, 2017, 6:26 am - Lottery News

Iowa Supreme Court hears lottery rigging caseNews Story
The Iowa Supreme Court heard arguments Monday on whether purely circumstantial evidence was enough to convict a former lottery employee of rigging Iowa's Hot Lotto game to win a $16.5 million jackpot. Eddie Tipton was convicted of tampering with Iowa's Hot Lotto game and attempting to cash a ticket in early 2015, but an appeals court reversed his conviction on the charge of attempting to redeem the lottery ticket, finding it was barred by the three-year statute of limitations. The Iowa Sup
Feb 14, 2017, 4:47 pm - Lottery News

Texas man pleads guilty to fraud in lottery scandal caseNews Story
A Texas businessman has pleaded guilty to fraud and admitted to helping lottery computer technician Eddie Tipton cash jackpots in a multi-state number-fixing scheme that netted $2 million. Robert Rhodes pleaded guilty in a Des Moines courtroom Monday. Iowa prosecutors will seek two years of probation. Rhodes says he helped Tipton try to cash a $16.5 million 2010 Iowa Hot Lotto ticket but suspicious officials never paid. Rhodes agreed to testify against Tipton and his brother, Tommy Tipt
Jan 11, 2017, 4:18 pm - Lottery News

Former MUSL official received severance amid lottery jackpot scandalNews Story
A prominent lottery official who was stripped of power after a subordinate allegedly carried out a prolonged jackpot-rigging scheme received a $284,000 severance payment, a recent tax filing shows. The Multi-State Lottery Association (MUSL) made the payment to its longtime executive director Chuck Strutt as part of a voluntary termination agreement signed March 31, according to its 2016 tax return. The filing, released by the group in response to a request by The AP, also reveals that its leg
Jan 10, 2017, 10:04 pm - Lottery News

Trials for Tipton brothers charged in lottery scandal delayedNews Story
Trials for brothers charged with ongoing criminal conduct in Iowa for allegedly fixing lottery games to collect jackpots have been delayed. District Court Judge Bradley McCall entered an order Wednesday moving the trial for Eddie Tipton to July 10. His trial had been scheduled to begin Feb. 13. His brother, Tommy Tipton, a former Texas justice of the peace, was facing trial Jan. 23. His trial date was moved to Sept. 11. Attorneys for both sides agreed to the rescheduling. Eddie Tipto
Jan 8, 2017, 10:58 am - Lottery News