Kentucky Lottery keeps an eye on frequent winners

Nov 21, 2014, 10:44 am (34 comments)

Kentucky Lottery

LOUISVILLE, Ky. — In the last fiscal year, the Kentucky Lottery paid out $495 million, and a lot of them were repeat winners.

One man over a 12-month period cashed 25 tickets worth $77,000.

Lottery officials said one thread runs true when it comes to repeat winners.

"The last few years I've been a little lucky. It's mostly luck, I guess," said one winner, who asked only to be identified as Kevin.

Last month, WLKY's Steve Burgin met up with Kevin at lottery headquarters, where he cashed four winning Pick 3 tickets, each worth $600.

Burgin found Kevin after filing an open records request with the lottery for repeat winners over a one-year period.

The list included thousands of people. 

Kevin, who likes to play at Bowman Field Liquors, had more than 30 winning Pick 3 tickets in that year, collecting about $20,000.

"The secret to folks that win a lot, is they play a lot," said Kentucky Lottery vice president on communications Chip Polston.

Polston said players usually zero in on a particular game.

The twice daily Pick 3 and Pick 4  are among the most popular.

Polston pointed out that repeat winners don't go unnoticed.

He said people might be surprised how much data mining they do.

A single ticket includes a wealth of information.

"And with having all that data, we've got folks in our information security department that mine that data looking basically for anomalies, looking for things that are out of the ordinary," Polston said.

Data on Kevin's winning tickets showed nothing unusual, just that he plays a lot and at two different outlets.

"Probably play anywhere from $10 to $20 a day," he said.

Asked if he plays seven days a week, "Pretty much," he said. "I've come out a little ahead."

Polston said they also turn to a data base when people come in to cash winners.

"We look for back taxes that are owed, back child support, and also bad student loans," Polston said.

According to Polston, since 1992, the lottery has withheld more $2.8 million in back child support.

Through an open records request, WLKY found Friendly Food Mart and Tobacco in Pleasure Ridge Park is the third biggest seller of lottery games in the state.

"For any prize of $601 or more, we are going to give you the tax form and we are going withhold taxes as well, 25 percent federal and 6 percent state is typically what is withheld," said Polston.

The Kentucky Lottery believes the state's young people are the real winners.

Since 1999 more than $2.2 billion has gone to help Kentuckians pursue post-secondary education in the commonwealth.

Top Kentucky Lottery retailers

  • 101 Lotto — Oak Grove
  • Lotto Xpress —  Guthrie
  • Friendly Food Mart & Tobacco — Louisville
  • Dairy Mart #148 — Lexington
  • Skyline Fuel — Hopkinsville
  • Pal's of Oak Grove — Oak Grove
  • Dairy Mart #3282 — Louisville
  • Manny Mart — Radcliff
  • Jim Dandy Food Market — Louisville
  • Better Way Food Mart #4 — Louisville
  • Kroger l-327 — Louisville
  • Kroger l-385 — Louisville
  • Convenient #40 — Shelbyville

WLKY

Comments

haymaker's avatarhaymaker

Chip Polston used to post on here as Chippolston2 if I remember right, hav'nt heard from him in awhile.

LottoMetro's avatarLottoMetro

Lotteries have been monitoring repeat winners for as long as I remember. Not just for security but also out of curiosity, as Chip says, "data mining."

They can even tell when the big players play because sales will spike at certain locations in short periods of time. If someone wins frequently at a particular store and this correlates to sales at the time of the purchase, the lottery can determine how much that player is spending and how often they play.

Based on the $20K estimate, Kevin has won around 33-34 Pick 3 straights. But whether he's spending $10 or $20 a day, his odds of winning on those ~33 tickets were still pretty significant, unless he's been playing for many other years without wins (thus the reason the lottery sees it non-anomalous). The expected number of wins based on this level of expenditure would be about 7 in a year, so even 14 hits would be stretching it statistically-speaking.

str8ca$hhomie's avatarstr8ca$hhomie

Quote: Originally posted by LottoMetro on Nov 21, 2014

Lotteries have been monitoring repeat winners for as long as I remember. Not just for security but also out of curiosity, as Chip says, "data mining."

They can even tell when the big players play because sales will spike at certain locations in short periods of time. If someone wins frequently at a particular store and this correlates to sales at the time of the purchase, the lottery can determine how much that player is spending and how often they play.

Based on the $20K estimate, Kevin has won around 33-34 Pick 3 straights. But whether he's spending $10 or $20 a day, his odds of winning on those ~33 tickets were still pretty significant, unless he's been playing for many other years without wins (thus the reason the lottery sees it non-anomalous). The expected number of wins based on this level of expenditure would be about 7 in a year, so even 14 hits would be stretching it statistically-speaking.

Keith Price is a well known celebrated Pick 3 player from Kentucky. I'm sure he's on their radar and perhaps might even be conveniently disguised as "Kevin".

LottoMetro's avatarLottoMetro

I located a video with Kevin's interview and he definitely plays a lot.

He plays $10 per ticket (full board) and uses the same numbers on every ticket, i.e. all 111-999 for each ticket. So like many of the predictors here on LP he uses the multiplier effect, which results in higher variance between wins but also larger prize amounts when hits do come.

The article is also ambiguous as to who stated that Kevin plays $10-$20 a day, and it turns out that Kevin is actually the one who claims this. Knowing this, and the statistical likelihood I mentioned in my first post, he is probably underestimating his daily expenditures. I recall an academic study performed a few years ago which found that frequent lottery players often underestimate how much they really spend.

dr65's avatardr65

So what. He had 30 tickets worth about $600 each in a year. There are 365 days in a year and they're
watching him?
They allow you to play as many tickets as you want along with as many games as you want to play
and the scoff at repeat winners or feel the need to keep data on them? I think the state lottery has
too many employees. If they've been keeping track of repeat winners for years is that then just a
safety put into place to prevent them from being 'had' or ripped off? I think they need to reassess
exactly who is ripping off who here. The monster can set the rules and the village has to abide by
them, who is watching the monster? Nobody. Nobody who will enforce any right or wrong anyway.
Their radar goes up when what I consider a little guy in the business wins 30 times. Who else are
they watching - just the mid-level guys? BS.
There are people on the PA website who have many winnings on p4 alone...10 tickets @ $5k is $50k.
There are people who are very, very good at winning. Whether it's pure luck or hard study, I think
they deserve to be left alone. The lottery takes in enough money. I'd be very angry to know I'm
being watched in a game where I am dealing with rotten odds and have to rely on sheer luck alone.
Instant tickets require a claim form over $600..so do other games. Tell me I'm being watched too,
I guess so because I have enough forms in to raise a red flag if their red flag goes up for multiple
wins of non-life changing amounts.
Will someone come knocking at my door one day to question my multiple wins? They better get
ready to have the door slammed in their face.
An organization who is edgy about repeat winners in games where WINNING is key and over advertised
needs to examine their books again or slash a whole lotta useless positions in their workforce.
Watching frequent winners says something to me.....the money is so important to them that even the
little guy that makes some money out of it is suspected in taking more than he/she deserves.
Shouldn't that be the OTHER WAY AROUND??

Freedom777's avatarFreedom777

I like your post dr65. It's crazy....Why can't the lottery just admit some people are really lucky.

Also, what they don't realize is, many of us study hard. We spend hours coming up with numbers. If that results in a win, we EARNED it.

I dream of the day I'm winning constantly. I have been putting in my time for years studying and hopes it pays off.

ThatScaryChick's avatarThatScaryChick

Quote: Originally posted by dr65 on Nov 21, 2014

So what. He had 30 tickets worth about $600 each in a year. There are 365 days in a year and they're
watching him?
They allow you to play as many tickets as you want along with as many games as you want to play
and the scoff at repeat winners or feel the need to keep data on them? I think the state lottery has
too many employees. If they've been keeping track of repeat winners for years is that then just a
safety put into place to prevent them from being 'had' or ripped off? I think they need to reassess
exactly who is ripping off who here. The monster can set the rules and the village has to abide by
them, who is watching the monster? Nobody. Nobody who will enforce any right or wrong anyway.
Their radar goes up when what I consider a little guy in the business wins 30 times. Who else are
they watching - just the mid-level guys? BS.
There are people on the PA website who have many winnings on p4 alone...10 tickets @ $5k is $50k.
There are people who are very, very good at winning. Whether it's pure luck or hard study, I think
they deserve to be left alone. The lottery takes in enough money. I'd be very angry to know I'm
being watched in a game where I am dealing with rotten odds and have to rely on sheer luck alone.
Instant tickets require a claim form over $600..so do other games. Tell me I'm being watched too,
I guess so because I have enough forms in to raise a red flag if their red flag goes up for multiple
wins of non-life changing amounts.
Will someone come knocking at my door one day to question my multiple wins? They better get
ready to have the door slammed in their face.
An organization who is edgy about repeat winners in games where WINNING is key and over advertised
needs to examine their books again or slash a whole lotta useless positions in their workforce.
Watching frequent winners says something to me.....the money is so important to them that even the
little guy that makes some money out of it is suspected in taking more than he/she deserves.
Shouldn't that be the OTHER WAY AROUND??

I agree. There are some people who will win more because they drop more money on the games. It doesn't mean they are shady. Now, if a store clerk were to come into a lot of winning tickets maybe I could see them keeping an eye on them because they might be stealing tickets from people who don't realize they have winners or buying other peoples winning tickets or something.

LottoMetro's avatarLottoMetro

They watch everybody. It has nothing to do with monitoring paranoid system players, more to do with identifying fraudsters. When it comes to the lottery, probability is king. If Bill works for the lottery vendor and his sister's grandson has collecting a bunch of prizes without spending very much, that raises red flags.

On the other hand, as Chip says about Kevin, those who spend a lot are expected to win a lot. But just because you win a lot doesn't mean you're luckier than the average joe. After all, I can spend $1000 and guarantee a Pick 3 win, but that doesn't change the fact I spent $2 to make $1 back. People like to think optimistically, that they are ahead, but in the long run this usually turns out false. I used to think I was coming out ahead until I actually started tracking my play. I am ahead this year in the lottery, but I wasn't ahead last year (or the year prior) so am I really ahead? Nope. You can't really come out ahead in a negative expectancy proposition.

chris-chase

I don't get how he cashed 4 tickets worth $600ea. and they knew it was him. It states they don't have to make a claim form unless it is over $601. I thought those "smaller" hits helped us stay under the radar.

VenomV12

Quote: Originally posted by chris-chase on Nov 21, 2014

I don't get how he cashed 4 tickets worth $600ea. and they knew it was him. It states they don't have to make a claim form unless it is over $601. I thought those "smaller" hits helped us stay under the radar.

Anywhere I have ever played $500 is the threshold and even if it was $600, that would be the amount you would have to come in to the office to cash a ticket, not $601, that's not how it works.

chris-chase

Ok then the other question would be, for a seasoned player such as this guy why not play as such you don't have a $600 win on one ticket. Break up your numbers on 2 tickets. $300 on ea.  Avoid the claim form as much as possible.

LottoMetro's avatarLottoMetro

Quote: Originally posted by chris-chase on Nov 21, 2014

Ok then the other question would be, for a seasoned player such as this guy why not play as such you don't have a $600 win on one ticket. Break up your numbers on 2 tickets. $300 on ea.  Avoid the claim form as much as possible.

Since he plays straights, this would require filing out twice as many playslips (in order to bet 50 cents each and still end up with $600 per hit). Based on his frequency of play I imagine he would get pretty tired of filing out that many slips even with advance play. Maybe Kevin just likes playing fewer tickets and taking them all at once to cash them.

He redeems his tickets at the claim center. The lottery issues a check. That is how they track him. So even if they weren't required to withhold taxes from his winnings, he is still logged into the system.

chris-chase

Quote: Originally posted by VenomV12 on Nov 21, 2014

Anywhere I have ever played $500 is the threshold and even if it was $600, that would be the amount you would have to come in to the office to cash a ticket, not $601, that's not how it works.

I don't know then...a direct quote from the article reads as follows:

 

"For any prize of $601 or more, we are going to give you the tax form and we are going to 

withhold taxes as well, 25 percent federal and 6 percent state is typically withheld," said Polston.

 

what am I missing then??

chris-chase

Maybe. But if you are trying to skirt some tax issues filling out some extra slips is worth it I would think.

chris-chase

Quote: Originally posted by LottoMetro on Nov 21, 2014

Since he plays straights, this would require filing out twice as many playslips (in order to bet 50 cents each and still end up with $600 per hit). Based on his frequency of play I imagine he would get pretty tired of filing out that many slips even with advance play. Maybe Kevin just likes playing fewer tickets and taking them all at once to cash them.

He redeems his tickets at the claim center. The lottery issues a check. That is how they track him. So even if they weren't required to withhold taxes from his winnings, he is still logged into the system.

You wouldn't have to fill out any more playslips. You fill it out at .50cents. You just run the slip through the machine more times is all.

LottoMetro's avatarLottoMetro

Quote: Originally posted by chris-chase on Nov 21, 2014

You wouldn't have to fill out any more playslips. You fill it out at .50cents. You just run the slip through the machine more times is all.

You're right had a brain fart but that doesn't change the fact that you have twice as many tickets to keep track of. For someone playing a lot of tickets very often this can be inconveniencing. And if you keep losses to offset wins, this means potentially twice as many boxes. Many players like Kevin probably don't think of the bet sizing strategy anyway; again, it comes down to whether you want to intentionally evade taxes or not go to the trouble and just pay your dues.

TnTicketlosers's avatarTnTicketlosers

This happens in all states.Certain few can win it all,what does it matter????.All states have crooked people running the games.

TnTicketlosers's avatarTnTicketlosers

It took me 7 years to figure it out and I did,I can hit Kentucky and Georgia pick 4,,,,,,,,,,now  wait a minute,If I drive to exit 2 in Franklin and play everyday and hit,just because I know the system I wont be able to keep the money,win the money???????????....yea well I'll show you all.I hit Tennessee last night straight last night,,,,,,,,,did I play???????? no way......those computers will kick it out.....IM not stupid to her...But I know how to play.

Stack47

Quote: Originally posted by str8ca$hhomie on Nov 21, 2014

Keith Price is a well known celebrated Pick 3 player from Kentucky. I'm sure he's on their radar and perhaps might even be conveniently disguised as "Kevin".

I don't know it to be fact, but I believe Keith cashes his tickets at lottery headquarters for the publicity. An LP member paid Keith a buck for six pick-3 numbers that were "good for a week" and one of his numbers hit straight.

In KY the most common bet is the back-up and why there are so many $700 and $800 winners shown on the website. I usually play a number multiple times and the local cashing agent assured me they will pay up to $6000 with zero paper work.

TnTicketlosers's avatarTnTicketlosers

Keith wins alot ..........they never change or do an update.

grwurston's avatargrwurston

Quote: Originally posted by haymaker on Nov 21, 2014

Chip Polston used to post on here as Chippolston2 if I remember right, hav'nt heard from him in awhile.

haymaker, You are are 100% correct!!!  He has been here before as a member.

grwurston's avatargrwurston

Quote: Originally posted by haymaker on Nov 21, 2014

Chip Polston used to post on here as Chippolston2 if I remember right, hav'nt heard from him in awhile.

Yes, you are 100% correct. He was here as a member as chip p. The last time I remember chatting with him was when

G-Tech was going to take over Kentucky. I was going to reference that with a link, but my posts on that news story have

been deleted.

haymaker's avatarhaymaker

Quote: Originally posted by grwurston on Nov 21, 2014

Yes, you are 100% correct. He was here as a member as chip p. The last time I remember chatting with him was when

G-Tech was going to take over Kentucky. I was going to reference that with a link, but my posts on that news story have

been deleted.

OHH, Chip p, OK thanks.

That explains why I couldn't find him on the search.

I guess I was only 99% correct. LOL

pickone4me's avatarpickone4me

They must not like paying out all that money on pick 3.  Two Thumbs UpThumbs Up's up for those people that have deciphered the pick 3 system.  I find it funny the lottery is paranoid, they sure come off "stasi like" if they're that concerned about people winning a lot.

pickone4me's avatarpickone4me

Quote: Originally posted by dr65 on Nov 21, 2014

So what. He had 30 tickets worth about $600 each in a year. There are 365 days in a year and they're
watching him?
They allow you to play as many tickets as you want along with as many games as you want to play
and the scoff at repeat winners or feel the need to keep data on them? I think the state lottery has
too many employees. If they've been keeping track of repeat winners for years is that then just a
safety put into place to prevent them from being 'had' or ripped off? I think they need to reassess
exactly who is ripping off who here. The monster can set the rules and the village has to abide by
them, who is watching the monster? Nobody. Nobody who will enforce any right or wrong anyway.
Their radar goes up when what I consider a little guy in the business wins 30 times. Who else are
they watching - just the mid-level guys? BS.
There are people on the PA website who have many winnings on p4 alone...10 tickets @ $5k is $50k.
There are people who are very, very good at winning. Whether it's pure luck or hard study, I think
they deserve to be left alone. The lottery takes in enough money. I'd be very angry to know I'm
being watched in a game where I am dealing with rotten odds and have to rely on sheer luck alone.
Instant tickets require a claim form over $600..so do other games. Tell me I'm being watched too,
I guess so because I have enough forms in to raise a red flag if their red flag goes up for multiple
wins of non-life changing amounts.
Will someone come knocking at my door one day to question my multiple wins? They better get
ready to have the door slammed in their face.
An organization who is edgy about repeat winners in games where WINNING is key and over advertised
needs to examine their books again or slash a whole lotta useless positions in their workforce.
Watching frequent winners says something to me.....the money is so important to them that even the
little guy that makes some money out of it is suspected in taking more than he/she deserves.
Shouldn't that be the OTHER WAY AROUND??

I Agree!

GiveFive's avatarGiveFive

Quote: Originally posted by LottoMetro on Nov 21, 2014

Lotteries have been monitoring repeat winners for as long as I remember. Not just for security but also out of curiosity, as Chip says, "data mining."

They can even tell when the big players play because sales will spike at certain locations in short periods of time. If someone wins frequently at a particular store and this correlates to sales at the time of the purchase, the lottery can determine how much that player is spending and how often they play.

Based on the $20K estimate, Kevin has won around 33-34 Pick 3 straights. But whether he's spending $10 or $20 a day, his odds of winning on those ~33 tickets were still pretty significant, unless he's been playing for many other years without wins (thus the reason the lottery sees it non-anomalous). The expected number of wins based on this level of expenditure would be about 7 in a year, so even 14 hits would be stretching it statistically-speaking.

While I do realize some people do not like the fact that state lottery's are "mining" the data, the fact of the matter is the data is their PROPERTY.  Therefore, they can do whatever they want with it, and they don't have to tell a soul what they're doing with it.  They certainly don't have to justify their actions to anyone.

It's a lot like 'your' computer or telephone at work.  You don't own it, your employer does. That's why employers can monitor (listen in on) your calls, watch what websites you visit, all without the employees knowledge.  Same goes for a company vehicle.  Employers can place a tracking device in their vehicle (a GPS) and tell exactly where the vehicle has been driven.  Some can even tell how fast the vehicle is travelling.  I'm aware of an employer that called an employee's cell and told them they were doing 85 MPH and to slow down.  G5

pickone4me's avatarpickone4me

Quote: Originally posted by GiveFive on Nov 23, 2014

While I do realize some people do not like the fact that state lottery's are "mining" the data, the fact of the matter is the data is their PROPERTY.  Therefore, they can do whatever they want with it, and they don't have to tell a soul what they're doing with it.  They certainly don't have to justify their actions to anyone.

It's a lot like 'your' computer or telephone at work.  You don't own it, your employer does. That's why employers can monitor (listen in on) your calls, watch what websites you visit, all without the employees knowledge.  Same goes for a company vehicle.  Employers can place a tracking device in their vehicle (a GPS) and tell exactly where the vehicle has been driven.  Some can even tell how fast the vehicle is travelling.  I'm aware of an employer that called an employee's cell and told them they were doing 85 MPH and to slow down.  G5

While I do realize some people do not like the fact that state lottery's are "mining" the data, the fact of the matter is the data is their PROPERTY.  Therefore, they can do whatever they want with it, and they don't have to tell a soul what they're doing with it.  They certainly don't have to justify their actions to anyone.

They're involved with taxpayer money,  having transparency in their operations will make them less scrutinized.   Trying to bring in an excuse like the computer and phone at work isn't a reason to give up your rights for everything else.  Getting back to the employer spying on computer and telephone, or tracking the where abouts of the vehicle(s)  that is just assumed.  However it more then likely states this when you're applying for the job,  if not at that point,  then it is when you're hired.

JAP69's avatarJAP69

Quote: Originally posted by pickone4me on Nov 22, 2014

They must not like paying out all that money on pick 3.  Two Thumbs UpThumbs Up's up for those people that have deciphered the pick 3 system.  I find it funny the lottery is paranoid, they sure come off "stasi like" if they're that concerned about people winning a lot.

They do not like paying out to one person on a regular basis. I remember one story I can not remember when a Missouri lottery player kept being questioned by the lottery how they were winning regularly.

GiveFive's avatarGiveFive

Quote: Originally posted by pickone4me on Nov 23, 2014

While I do realize some people do not like the fact that state lottery's are "mining" the data, the fact of the matter is the data is their PROPERTY.  Therefore, they can do whatever they want with it, and they don't have to tell a soul what they're doing with it.  They certainly don't have to justify their actions to anyone.

They're involved with taxpayer money,  having transparency in their operations will make them less scrutinized.   Trying to bring in an excuse like the computer and phone at work isn't a reason to give up your rights for everything else.  Getting back to the employer spying on computer and telephone, or tracking the where abouts of the vehicle(s)  that is just assumed.  However it more then likely states this when you're applying for the job,  if not at that point,  then it is when you're hired.

Agreed, it's taxpayer money, but then the lottery is a voluntary tax.  IMHO, it's far more important for a state lottery to have the appearance of being fair and honest than it is being transparent about mining the data.  If players don't think the lottery is fair and honest, then a large portion of players wouldn't play.  Players may not like the fact that the state is mining the data, but I doubt that'd be a reason why very many players would stop playing.  Kentucky has freely admitted they mine the data and I'm willing to bet ticket sales haven't suffered much at all.   

I completely disagree with regard to "giving up your rights."  Players aren't giving up their right to anything. They have no right to the states property, just as they don't have any rights to their next door neighbors property.  The state owns the data.  It's just that simple.  What the state chooses to do with it is their business, not the players.

And yes, it is assumed by many employees that employers spy on or track their employees.  I always get a huge laugh out of somebody getting fired because they used the company's property for purposes other than company business, yet the terminated employee is outraged because "they were listening in on my phone!"  I cant tell you how many times I heard somebody say something like that, because it happened more than you'd think it would or should.  G5

pickone4me's avatarpickone4me

Quote: Originally posted by GiveFive on Nov 24, 2014

Agreed, it's taxpayer money, but then the lottery is a voluntary tax.  IMHO, it's far more important for a state lottery to have the appearance of being fair and honest than it is being transparent about mining the data.  If players don't think the lottery is fair and honest, then a large portion of players wouldn't play.  Players may not like the fact that the state is mining the data, but I doubt that'd be a reason why very many players would stop playing.  Kentucky has freely admitted they mine the data and I'm willing to bet ticket sales haven't suffered much at all.   

I completely disagree with regard to "giving up your rights."  Players aren't giving up their right to anything. They have no right to the states property, just as they don't have any rights to their next door neighbors property.  The state owns the data.  It's just that simple.  What the state chooses to do with it is their business, not the players.

And yes, it is assumed by many employees that employers spy on or track their employees.  I always get a huge laugh out of somebody getting fired because they used the company's property for purposes other than company business, yet the terminated employee is outraged because "they were listening in on my phone!"  I cant tell you how many times I heard somebody say something like that, because it happened more than you'd think it would or should.  G5

The problem with that, if they're keeping track of certain people,  then that crosses over into something else.  Since when Am I or anyone else state property?

hit tonite's avatarhit tonite

Hey Chris!  I'm in KY, and to think a smaller WIN of $600 over 4 tickets is under scrutiny???  I thought the smaller wins as u stated did stay under the radar???  Unless he cashes in at Lottery headquarters, which I don't advise... This article is very suspicious!  You play to win and that's what Kevin did???  Unbelievable!!!  Now I wonder when I cash out who's monitoring my winnings... Not even JACKPOTS just lil nickel and dime plays.... $77K!!!  You go boy!  That's what I'm talking about, I hope he gets EM again!  Like the slogan says, Somebody's gonna WIN, might as well be you!!!  Me or Kevin!  Lolololol....

hit tonite's avatarhit tonite

Hummm.... Now I wonder if KY Lottery trolls the Lottery Post KY forum???  I'm done!  Not posting anymore numbers!  Since we're being watched...... Probably HOLDING certain numbers I'm sure that we post.... I'm done!  Will just troll as they do.... Honestly with the money from non winning tickets compared to what Kevin's won, it just does not add up!  Just pure GREED!  $77K, on a Billion dollar industry???  Are you kiddin me???

cbr$'s avatarcbr$

Data mining, I have  believe was used to improve the Lottery product when sales drop below a expected level. The Lottery such know & expect repeat winners. Any person who play a lot & has numbers in each day sooner or later become your repeat winner. Kentucky Lottery player go slap this lottery in the face with back to back wins . Become the repeater. Get the money!

THRIFTY's avatarTHRIFTY

Quote: Originally posted by LottoMetro on Nov 21, 2014

I located a video with Kevin's interview and he definitely plays a lot.

He plays $10 per ticket (full board) and uses the same numbers on every ticket, i.e. all 111-999 for each ticket. So like many of the predictors here on LP he uses the multiplier effect, which results in higher variance between wins but also larger prize amounts when hits do come.

The article is also ambiguous as to who stated that Kevin plays $10-$20 a day, and it turns out that Kevin is actually the one who claims this. Knowing this, and the statistical likelihood I mentioned in my first post, he is probably underestimating his daily expenditures. I recall an academic study performed a few years ago which found that frequent lottery players often underestimate how much they really spend.

Buying more lottery tickets increases your chances of winning, but you lose the most money in the short run.

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