19/01/2016

16schemeslotterylegendJoanGintherlikelydidntuse
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16schemeslotterylegendJoan
Gintherlikelydidntuse

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LOTTERY

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Sheprobablydidntcrackthescratchlotterycodeorreverseengineera
prizedistributionalgorithmtowinfourhugeprizes.

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1to2feetofsnow
possiblethisweekend

Schwartz:Whatwe
knowaboutpossible
snow
JoanGintherwasfaroffthemarkbeforeandafterwinning$10millionin$140,000,000ExtremePayoutin2010.Asingle
packof20$50ticketscost$1,000,showingthat10timesshemissedbymorethan$3millionworthoftickets. PETER
MUCHA/Philly.comStaff

Peter Mucha, Philly.com

Cops:Elattacker
yelled,'Kill!Kill!Kill!'

POSTED:Wednesday,July2,2014,5:00AM

GALLERY:16schemes
lotterylegendJoanGinther
likelydidntuse

JoeBennettstronglydoubtslotterylegendJoanGintherhad
insidehelp,asskepticshavesuggested.
Hesharedthenumberoflotteryworkerswhoknowwhereto
findunscratchedwinnersininstantgames.
Nobody.Zero,saidBennett,vicepresidentofgame
developmentforScientificGames,whichprintsinstanttickets
foralmosteverystatelottery.

WhatcanPhillydo
abouthighlypaid
pol?

Cosbycasecouldrise
orfallon'Bruce's
word'

Anditsbeenthatwayforalmostadecade.
In2004,WilliamC.Foreman,aHoosierLotterysecurity
official,toldtwomenwhichgrocerystorehadoneofthe$1
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16schemeslotterylegendJoanGintherlikelydidntuse

millionprizesin$2,000,000BonusSpectacular.Foreman,
eventuallysentencedtoeightyearsofhomedetention,got
theinformationfromacolleague.
ThefollowingyearbeforeGintherwonanyofherthree
majorscratchoffprizesScientificGamesswitchedtoa
patentedencryptedsoftwaresystemthatkickedhumansout
oftheloop.
Nobodycantellifaninstantticketisawinneruntilitsbeen
scratchedoff.
Thatsreallypartofmyjob,tomakesurenobodyknows,
Bennettsaid.
ThatputsquiteadamperonsuspicionsthatGinthermust
havehadinsidehelptowinfourmultimilliondollarlottery
prizes,beginningwitha$5.4millionannuityfromsplittinga

AlsoonPhilly.com
BUSINESS:

LottoTexasjackpotin1993.Herscratchoffbonanzaswere
$2millionin2006,playingHolidayMillionaire,$3millionin

Johnson&Johnson
cutting3,000workers

2008,playingMillions&Millions,and$10millionin2010,
playing$140,000,000ExtremePayout.

HEALTH:

Frankly,mosttheoriesthatGintherhadaningenioussystem,
fromcrackingthelotterycodetohightechticketscanning,

10musthavekitchen
gadgetsforahealthy
2016

witherinthefaceofscrutiny.
Shedidntneedtoknowprizedistributionandshipping

SPORTS:

patternstodeducewhenherlasttwobiginstantwinnerswere

Personnelboss
priorityforBirds

toarriveatTimesMarketinherhometownofBishop.In
effect,shemadethemcometoherbybuyingmassive
quantities,triggeringmassiveorders.TimesMarketwasNo.1

ENTERTAINMENT:

insalesfor$140,000,000ExtremePayoutamongthestates
16,000lotteryretailers.

BuzzBissingertoco
writeCaitlynJenner's
memoir

SeePart1:"HowlotterylegendJoanGintherboughta
flabbergastingnumberoftickets"
Indeed,monthsofdatagatheringandanalysis,oftenwiththe
helpofexperts,pointmoretowardatheorybasedonbasic
gamblingprinciples:Shewonmostlybecausesheboughtan
astonishingnumberoftickets,andsheboughtthatmany
ticketsatleastinpartbecausesherealizedTexasscratch
offswereamongthebestbetslotterieseveroffer.

FOOD:

SmokeyJoes,with
heart&soul,a
'Pennstitution'

JOBS:

Networkingdoesnt
happenovernight

SeePart2:"Howlotterylegendusedodds,UncleSamto
winmillions"
Skepticswillalwayswonder,though,soheresarundownof
theoriesthat,whileintriguing,seemtofallshort.
Ahistoryofcheaters
TheHoosierLotteryscandalisfarfromtheonlyexampleof
officialdishonesty.

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TheresthefamousTripleSixFix.OnApril24,1980,theDaily
Numbercameup666inPennsylvania,andanunusual
numberofwinningbetsarousedsuspicions.Theperps
apparentlyinjectedpaintintoallthenumbersbutthe4sand
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19/01/2016

16schemeslotterylegendJoanGintherlikelydidntuse

6s,makingthemmostlikelytorise.
In2002,asecurityauditoftheMarylandLotterycitedan
estimated$232,000worthofinstantticketsbeingimproperly
activatedovera15monthperiod,withatleast$112,000in
winningticketsbeingfraudulentlycashed.
Morerecently,theresthecaseoftheArkansaslotteryofficial
whocashedin22,710tickets.RemmeleMazyckcollected
nearlyahalfmilliondollarsfrom2009to2012bydesignating
ticketsaspromotionalgiveaways,thenredeemingthem.
Mazyckgotthreeyearsinprison.
ItshardtoseeanyrelevancetoGinther.Shedidntworkfor
thelotteryandwasntaretailer.Peoplesawherbuyalotof
tickets.Andwhatkindofconspiracycallsattentiontoitselfby
lettingathreetimewinnercollectanother$10million,
triggeringheadlinesaroundtheglobe?Afterthatwin,she
keptrightonclaimingsmallerprizesfortwoyears,suggesting
shehadnothingtohide.HerfriendAnnaMoralesalsoopenly
claimedabouttwodozenprizesworth$10,000to$10,000,as
wellashundredsofsmallerprizesthatcouldhavebeen
cashedatretailstores.
Patternsintheprizes?
PerhapstheticketsthemselvesgaveGinthercluestothe
whereaboutsofwinners.
InTheLuckiestWomanonEarth,a2011articleinHarpers,
NathanielRichspeculatedthatGinthermighthave
decipheredthealgorithm,orsetofmathematicalrules,for
howmajorprizesareseededineachgame,perhapsby
analyzinghundredsoftickets.Then,ifshehadasourceof
informationaboutshippingpatterns,shecouldpredictwhere
winnerswouldland.
WevealreadyshownGintherdidntneedtoknowshipping
routines.Playingrepeatedlygreatlyelevatedtheoddsof
winnerscomingtohertown.
Choosinghertimingwiselymighthavehelped,however.Say
Gintherthoughtthesecondofthreetopprizestendedtoshow
up60percentofthewaythroughthegame.Shecouldhave
kepttrackofremainingprizesbycheckingtheTexasLottery
websiteorstatsintheLottoReportnewsletterpublishedby
DawnNettles.Ginthercouldhavewaiteduntilsalespassed
55percent,say,tostartorderinglikecrazy.
Bennett,headgamedesignerforScientificGames,dismisses
thewholeideasheoutsmartedanyrandomnumbergenerator
(RNG).
Evenifyouhadasupercomputerandatrilliondatapoints,
youstillcouldnotpredictifthetrillionthandoneticketisa
winner,hesaid.Youstillwouldnthaveenoughinformation
topredictthenextticket.
Healsodismissedtheideaoftiming.
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Everygameisuniqueinwhatwecalltheshuffle,Bennett
said.
Ticketscanhavetipoffs
Anotherapproachistofindawaytoscreentickets.Ifyou
couldeliminateloserswithoutscratchingthemoff,costs
wouldplummetandplayingwouldturnaprofit,evenifyou
neverfoundatopprize.
MohanSrivastavafiguredoutjustsuchasystem,asdetailed
inWiredMagazinesCrackingtheScratchLotteryCode.In
somegames,theTorontostatisticiandiscovered,patternsof
symbolsprintedontheoutsideoftheticketgavecluesasto
whetherthatticketwaslikelytoyieldaprize.
Irememberthinking,Imgonnaberich!Imgonnaplunder
thelottery!hetoldWired.Hefoundretailerswhoagreedto
takebackhisunscratchedrejects,sincetheydidntbelieve
anysuchscreeningwaspossible.Soonthosedreams
dissipated....IestimatedthatIcouldexpecttomakeabout
$600aday.Thatsnotbad.Buttobehonest,Imakemoreas
aconsultant.
Sohespilledthebeanstolotteryindustryofficials.
Suchaschemecouldhavefundedasustainedsearchfora
colossalpayday.
Thetrick,though,didntworkforthegamesGintherwon.
Idon'tthinksheusedavariationofwhatIdid,Srivastava
emailed.Atthattime,itcouldn'thaveworkedinTexas...I
knowbecauseIlookedintothisspecifically,evenbeforeI
knewanythingaboutJoanGinther.
Imagesofticketsfromthegamesshewonconfirm.Allhad
thesameidenticalsetsofsymbolsoneachticket.Noclue
producingpatterns.Checkoutthiscomparisonofan
unscratchedHolidayMillionaireticketwithGinther'sactual$2
millionwinner:

Besides,suchaschemewouldgenerateamassivenumber
ofunscratchedlosingticketstofoistoffonunsuspecting
buyers.FolksinBishop,though,complainedaboutGinther
monopolizingalltheticketsforsomegames,accordingto
Rich.Further,recordsshowTimesMarketreturnednotickets
tothelotteryattheendofExtremePayout.
Still,thatsnottheonlyschemeforscreeningtickets.
Alightidea
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16schemeslotterylegendJoanGintherlikelydidntuse

AfterGinthers$10millionwinmadeheadlinesin2010,an
instrumentationexpertcalledtheTexasLotteryin2010and
suggestedsheusedhighintensitylightorXraystogeta
sneakpeekathiddenlayersofsymbols.
Itsalotteryplayersdream.Butticketsareprintedwithextra
layersandextensivelytestedpreciselytopreventsuch
attacks,accordingtolotteryofficials.
Evenduringthepressrun,ticketsundergotestinginalab.
Weresubjectingtheticketstoheat,tohighintensitylight,
weresubjectingtheticketstochemicals.Wevedeveloped
thechemistriesandtheengineeringtopreventthosethings
fromhappening,Bennettsaid.
Funkymarks
Someplayersbelievethatmarksmightbeatipofftowinning
lotterytickets.Problemis,somepointtowhitelines,othersto
blackalignmentmarks.
Thatsridiculous.Itreallyis,Bennettsaid....Theresno
connectionsbetweenamarkoracolorofanything.Itsall
computercontrolled.
Itsnotlikewinningticketsareprintedseparatelyandshuffled
in,resultingindetectablylighterordarkerink.Agamecould
haveamillionwinningticketsandmillionsoflosers,and
theyreallcreatedwiththesamelayeringsandinks,asthe
pressesrunoff1,000feetofticketseveryminute,hesaid.
Coloringmightvary,butitsnotrelatedtoanyprizes.
Theresnothinginthebarcodethatofflinedeterminesthe
value,headded.
Postwinshenanigans
Thepossibilitiescouldcontinueifwewantedaconspiracy
theoryforaplottwistonTV.
Themostcommonkindsoflotterycheatinghappenaftera
winningticketisfound.
Gintherwasntastoreowner,oraretailclerk,soitshardto
seehowshedgetinvolvedinstrategieslikebuyingtickets
afterlosingstreaks,microscratching,cheatingcustomers(like
theftsworth$12.5millionand$5.7millioninOntario,$5
millioninSyracuse,$1milliononLongIsland,and$1million
inTexas)orbootleggingU.S.ticketsinforeigncountries.
Instoreworkerscams,retailersnotplayersareusuallythe
onescashingtickets.
ProfessionalticketcashersliketheMassachusetts
individualwhoredeemed1,492ticketsvaluedat$2.6million
in2007arehired(oftenillegally)bypeoplewithsomething
tohide,includingfathersowingchildsupport,fugitives,
divorcingspouses,welfarerecipients,andundocumented
immigrants.
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Gintherprofitedfarmoreoffprizesthananysuchscheme
couldyield,andthe28prizessheclaimed,rangingfrom
$1,000to$10million,werefromjusteighthighpricedinstant
games.Aticketcasherislikelytocollectprizesfromallsorts
ofgames,includingdailydrawings.
Moraleswasevenmoreupfront.Prizesunder$600canbe
cashedbyretailers,yetsheclaimedathousandprizesof
$100orlessatlotteryoffices,makingallofthempartofstate
records.
WhileMoralescashing$88,000inprizesovereightyearsis
remarkable,thatsumpalesincomparisontowhatGinthers
speculatedbuyingspreeshouldhavegenerated.Attheprize
paybackrateforhighpricedscratchoffgamesinTexas,
anyonespending$1.7millionshouldhavewonmorethan$1
millioninsecondaryprizes.
Reachedbyphone,Morales,whoworksinthecityswater
department,declinedtocomment.
Anyillegalmoneylaunderingschemeiseventougherto
imagine,especiallysinceGintherwasneverinvestigated.Law
enforcementtendstobeonthelookoutforknownunderworld
associateswinningmajorlotteryprizes.In2003,JoseLuis
Betancourt,whowon$12millionplayingLottoTexas,was
convictedofvariousdrugchargesandorderedtogiveallhis
winningsback.
Somanypossibilitiesandyetsofewsimilaritiestothe
Ginthercase.
Moreon"LotteryLegend"series
ContactstaffwriterPeterMuchaat2158544342or
pmucha@phillynews.com.
PeterMucha
Philly.com
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