It could be that, it happened to me once before that I was playing a $10 game, and it looked like it was at the end of the roll, I started on 007 and purchased my way down to 002 and asked for the last two, and he said that I had the last two. I informed him that the last two were 001 and 000, not 002. Rolls do not end on 002. $10 tickets go from 000 to 029.
He admitted that the owner liked to take the first few tickets of the roll, and I informed him that it was fraud, and reported him to the lottery commission on the grounds that it harmed the public trust in the lottery, was unfair, and it ruined the overall odds. I had seen the pattern before, and I figured there was a good chance that I could have won a decent prize, probably $50 or $100. He was probably selling from both ends of the roll, and that is not right, and I do not think it is legal. I pursued it half-heatedly, but I should have seen it through. It has pissed me off again thinking about it and maybe I will call GLC security. We missed each other several times on the phone, and he only said to call him on my email exchanges.
Now, after getting that off my chest, I would ask the clerk the numbers onall of the tickets that were loose, and the next number left on the roll. They should be in order, if not there is a problem. Sometimes people ask for a few tickets, and change their mind at the last moment. Here in GA you are not supposed to be able to purchase lottery tickets with anything but cash, but not every retailer follows this policy. Some take debit cards. I have ordered tickets, the clerk tore them off, and then I went to pay with a card and they said no, so they put the tickets back up. So long as they are still in consecutive order, I would not worry about it too much. If they are out of order, you have to make your own decision. Sometimes I have had two winners in a row.
