Lottery Complaint Investigators don't investigate anythingPrev TopicNext Topic

• KatRob

  

  Hoffman Estates
  United States
  Member #184,968
  October 9, 2017
  1 Post
  Offline
  Oct 9, 2017, 5:55 am

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  Twice I have contacted the Illinois Lottery about stolen tickets, both times they found "no wrong doing", or words to that effect.

  The last time I contacted the Illinois lottery it was because I played a whole card of Lucky Day with EZ Match.   The cashier handed me three tickets instead of five.  I asked where the other two tickets were and he said they didn't print.    When there is something wrong, too few numbers, etc., the machine will tell the cashier.   I know this thief stole the last two tickets because they had EZ Match winners on them.   I contacted the Lottery and I was put in contact with a person by the name of Rick.   First of all he sounded like he was high on cocaine, talking a mile a minute and not letting me fully explain what was going on.   He asked me to scan and send him the three tickets I received.   I told him it was the play card he needed, which would show the two game slips I did not receive, no he just needed the tickets I received.   I asked him if he would be able to tell if when I bought those three tickets, the other two printed and if so were they EZ Match winners?   Oh, yes, he was going to check it.    A month goes by I hear nothing, I texted him and asked what was going on with the investigation, no reply.    A texted every few weeks, no reply.   I texted him one last time to tell him the same employee stole a Mega ticket from me which turned out to be a $10.00 winner.   I got home and my Mega ticket was missing from the pile of Lucky Day and instant tickets I bought.   No reply.   I finally called the complaint line again to complain that this investigator is not responding.    The next day I get a text from him that he had been trying to call me and got no answer.   The man never called me and obviously did no investigation.   In any event he found no wrong doing.    Here's a man collecting a pay check and not doing his job.   I hope his karma is someday somebody steals something from  him and he gets no justice.   

  The moral of the story is we're on our own.   Be mindful, watch the cashiers like a hawk, especially if you're playing EZ Match, it's too tempting for them to steal winning tickets.   Forgot the Lottery's complaint department, they're worthless.

  I no longer buy my lottery at the 7/Eleven where this thief works.
• Teddi

  

  United States
  Member #142,493
  May 13, 2013
  1,394 Posts
  Offline
  Oct 9, 2017, 7:33 am

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  1. How exactly does a cashier steal a MM ticket from you and how do you know its value after the fact when it was a QP
  2. Why would he steal a ticket before knowing a drawing and before knowing its worth?
  3. Why not complain to the supervisor/manager about the issues when they occurred? Why not first file a direct complaints against the cashier to 7 Eleven? 

  A month ago I was waiting in line directly behind the guy being checked out. After the cashier was done, the guy then chose to add cigarettes and scratch offs to his purchases. I remember rolling my eyes at how long he was taking. When he was finally done and had walked away, I noticed a scratch off on the ground where he'd been. I hadn't seen him drop it, he hadn't seen him drop it, but as I knew for a certainty it hadn't been there before and no one else had passed between the two of us, it had to be his. Now I wonder if I had chosen to keep it instead of chasing him down in the parking lot, if that cashier could so easily be accused of theft.

  I don't know whether or not the cashier in your situation is a thief or not, but what I do know is that there isn't enough information to make the case that he is, so can't really fault the lottery commission for coming to the same conclusion.

  I too would prefer Cersei Lannister to Tiny Hands. She always pays her debts, hasn't filed 6 bankruptcies and is educated enough to know Nambia isn't a country.
• Ron5995

  

  Wyomissing, PA
  United States
  Member #161,043
  November 15, 2014
  481 Posts
  Offline
  Oct 9, 2017, 10:51 am

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  Buying any type of instant lottery game (ie. EZ Match, Fast Play, etc), in which the play area is fully visible, from a retailer is very risky. Always buy such tickets from a machine or subscription.

  Pennsylvania Lottery introduced Fast Play several months ago so I gave it a try. Usually I play at self-service machines, but also bought some from some small mom&pop convenience stores. In some of those instances, it was clear the retailer was looking at the tickets. Fortunately, in my case, I was lucky and they didn't cheat me (I watch very carefully, and make that obvious), but they certainly could have, if they'd chosen to. Needless to say, I only buy such games from self-service machines now. Point is, some lottery clerks are overly tempted to cheat a player when they know the ticket(s) they're handing over are already winners.

  In the situations you described, since, presumably, you had already paid, you were cheated. However, in situations in which the player hasn't yet handed money over to the clerk, who owns the tickets? For regular numbers games, it doesn't matter. The tickets have no additional value beyond their face value until after the drawing. Player hasn't lost anything. However, for EZMatch, Fast Play, etc, it does matter. And as of now, it's an open question.

  Far as I can tell, many, if not most, lotteries don't clearly outline the ownership transfer of a ticket:

  1. Does the player own it when requesting it?
  2. Or when proceeding to pay?
  3. Or when clerk has received the money?
  4. Or when tickets have been physically handed to the player?

  Many players assume when the clerk has received payment (#3 above), the tickets now belong to the player. However, that may not be so, since the clerk could refuse payment and hand it back. Far as I can tell, from the various lotteries I looked at, there's nothing to say a clerk can't do that.

  As instant play tickets, in particular Fast Play (PA, NJ, and various other lotteries), feature ever higher prizes, the temptation for clerks to cheat players will become too much. Hopefully, lotteries make more clear the ownership transfer process along with not allowing clerks to buy tickets at their own location, or better yet, restrict such games to self-service machines and subscription only.

  On the bright side, it doesn't sound like you lost much. IL EZMatch prizes are highly concentrated in $2, $5, and $10 range with higher prizes having far more difficult odds; ~60% overall payback. Chalk it up as a learning experience and spread the word to other players to use self-service and/or subscription when buying such tickets. Personally, if and when Pennsylvania Lottery gets on-line subscriptions, I'll rarely ever buy tickets in person again except for scratch offs.