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Inside Job!!! - $258.5 Million lottery winner

NeoConMan

By NeoConMan
in The Gibson Lounge

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NeoConMan

NeoConMan

Posted
Posted

He works at the store that sold the ticket!

 

IT'S AN INSIDE JOB!!!!!

 

 

www.powerball.com

 

 

Missouri Man Claims State’s Largest Jackpot: $258.5 Million

 

A Marshall man came forward to claim the largest jackpot ever in the Missouri Lottery’s

24-year history – a Powerball jackpot worth $258.5 million. Christopher “Chris” Shaw, 29,

said he hardly ever buys Lottery tickets, but he decided to buy a couple after he

completed his shift at Break Time, 1000 W. College St. in Marshall, around 7 p.m. April 21.

The drawing he won was only a few hours later that evening.

 

“I thought somebody is going to win; there are too many people buying tickets,” said Shaw,

who has been a cashier at the Break Time for the past month. He previously worked as a

semi-truck driver, but decided to take a pay cut to “come home and be with family.”

After work, Shaw purchased a soda, cigarettes and $5 worth of Powerball plays using Quick Pick.

The very last combination on his ticket was the winner.

 

Shaw said a friend sent him a text Thursday morning, saying that the winning ticket was

bought at the Break Time where he bought his ticket. So he retrieved his ticket from his

wallet, checked it on the Lottery’s Web site and discovered he held the winner.

“Holy smokes!” he recalled. “I’ve got it! I won!”

 

Next, Shaw headed to Break Time to check his ticket. When he arrived, he saw his boss outside

putting up a sign announcing the store sold the winning ticket.

“I was like, ‘I need to check my ticket,’ and she was like, ‘Well, you know, take it inside.’

And I was like, ‘This is the one! I am pretty sure that I won the Powerball.

I just need to know the numbers,’” Shaw said. “She was like, ‘What? Are you kidding me?’”

Shaw says he is a “day-by-day type of person,” so his thoughts about what he will do with

the money are simple. “I’ll take care of debts,” he said. “I need to get all of that squared away first.”

 

Shaw mentioned that in his previous job as a truck driver, he was able to travel to most states,

but not Florida. He said he may now take him, his friend, Tosha Ewry, and her two boys to

Walt Disney World in Florida. He also plans to buy a new pick-up truck and maybe a “hot rod.”

“I’ve never had a new car,” he explained. Shaw added that he likes to fish, and he recalled telling

Ewry on the way to Jefferson City that, “I feel a boat comin’ on.” In addition to Shaw’s win,

Break Time will receive a bonus check for selling the winning Powerball ticket.

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Silenced Fred

Silenced Fred

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I have to agree with Jocko, it wouldn't really change my life. The things I have would change, but not much else.

 

I'd pay off a decent house, have a kick *** guitar room, soundproofed and the whole shebang, collection would be off the wall, probably build an outdoor range, but my life wouldn't change. I don't even know if I would want something like a Maserati or anything out of the ordinary like that. Probably a Camaro.... but why am I going on and on about this? Not gonna win it...

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dbreslauer

dbreslauer

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I have an uncle who won on a lottery ticket a long time ago, not millions but a significant amount. He and his brother then fought over who actually bought the ticket, vs. who paid for the ticket ($1), etc., and literally haven't spoken for decades. Winning ruined their relationship.

 

Its amazing what money can do to people. Actually, maybe it's more what money can bring out in people.

 

(queue Pink Floyd song)...

 

Personally though, of course, i would LOVE to find out what it would do to me... [bored]

 

Cheers,

Don

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ShredAstaire

ShredAstaire

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Posted
How does working at the store he bought the ticket give him any edge in winning a multi state lottery where the numbers are picked randomly?

 

I'm with you...he did Quick Pick too which is random...how could this be an "inside job"? I guess the Lottery Corp doesn't have any rules around "sellers' not being eligible to win so it feels legit!

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Silenced Fred

Silenced Fred

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Posted
I'm with you...he did Quick Pick too which is random...how could this be an "inside job"? I guess the Lottery Corp doesn't have any rules around "sellers' not being eligible to win so it feels legit!

 

Did they prove he did quick pick? Did he just say he did quick pick? I don't play the lotto, so I don't know how that works. The only thing I can think of is all the disclaimers that say that anyone related or deals with the corporation can't win. I don't know how it would work, but I imagine he might be able to have an edge. I need more facts

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ShredAstaire

ShredAstaire

Posted
Posted
Did they prove he did quick pick? Did he just say he did quick pick? I don't play the lotto' date=' so I don't know how that works. The only thing I can think of is all the disclaimers that say that anyone related or deals with the corporation can't win. I don't know how it would work, but I imagine he might be able to have an edge. I need more facts[/quote']

 

Either way Fred - are you saying that convenience store clerks get insider info on what the numbers WILL be when they randomly are picked? [bored]

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Silenced Fred

Silenced Fred

Posted
Posted
Either way Fred - are you saying that convenience store clerks get insider info on what the numbers WILL be when they randomly are picked? [bored]

 

See, I'm not saying that. All I'm saying is that there could be a possibility of something. I need more facts to support either side.

 

Something I have learned from journalism is not to believe anything until you see it in print, and then still doubt it.

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Silenced Fred

Silenced Fred

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Well I guess since the Lottery Corp is ok with him winning' date=' there is no issue. If they have a way to not give away the money, they'll take it i'm sure....[/quote']

 

See, that's what I'm saying. If the lottery is fine with it, its all good. The only thing is that if Neo's point of him not winning fairly to be true, I would need more evidence to prove that fact.

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Jeff-7

Jeff-7

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It isn't plausible that he would be able to determine the winning numbers by being an employee at the convenience store where he purchased the ticket. He works at a convenience store, he's probably not a scheming genius who can hack into the lottery database to affect the outcome of the numbers drawn or to change the time stamp in the system.

 

However if you do play the lottery check your own tickets or scan it yourself under one of the machines. Unfortunately many people who work at these places will scan your ticket and tell you it's not a winner even when it is and offer to "throw it away" for you.

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Silenced Fred

Silenced Fred

Posted
Posted
It isn't plausible that he would be able to determine the winning numbers by being an employee at the convenience store where he purchased the ticket. He works at a convenience store' date=' he's probably not a scheming genius who can hack into the lottery database to affect the outcome of the numbers drawn or to change the time stamp in the system.

 

However if you do play the lottery check your own tickets or scan it yourself under one of the machines. Unfortunately many people who work at these places will scan your ticket and tell you it's not a winner even when it is and offer to "throw it away" for you.[/quote']

 

That is the only reason I can think of for him "cheating" the system to win

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NeoConMan

NeoConMan

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All retailers selling lottery/games are supposed to train their employees in that regard.

Problem is, the customer can't be bothered to let the clerk do it right - too big a hurry.

A clerk who wants to try that game has several ways of going about it if the customer allows it.

 

That's why the Powerball machines play the little tune for "We're In The Money" when a winner is scanned.

The customer hears it, and knows to pay attention - supposedly.

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TommyK

TommyK

Posted
Posted

I worked a gas and smokes station and sold lotto tickets as a cashier. Here is what I know.

 

"The Lottery Corp." is not a private entity like Coca-Cola. The Lottery is a State of Illinois run operation to generate revenue for the state. Specifically, it was set up to "...make money to support the schools... It's for the kids, [crying]" we were told. Yeah,.. that never happened. Anyways, at one point governor Blasonofab*** toyed with the idea of 'selling' the lottery, but it never happened as he has since been arrested and subsequently thrown out of office.

 

Not sure about Missouri, but in Illinois, cashiers are fully capable of legally participating in the lottery by purchasing tickets. If the state precluded the store's employees from purchasing tickets they would markedly reduce the number of tickets sold. So, it is in the state's best interest to allow them to participate in the lotto. It is not the store who is running the lottery, it is the state. The store receives no mark-up on lottery tickets, they are only a selling agent. Their incentive is generating traffic and a percent of the winners' payouts. I'm not sure of the percentage, but if it's 1%, then a $1 winning scratch-off garners $.01 to the store. A $1,000,000.00 winner awards the store's owner $10,000.00.

 

Each ticket has a bar code on it which identifies it to the state's database and the corresponding picks. Any attempt to alter the numbers on the ticket is useless. The scanners scan the bar code and if the picked numbers for that ticket are losers, it is identified as a loser.

 

If the holder of a ticket with the winning numbers, that the state computers identify as a loser, wants to file a claim, he must do so in writing and present the original ticket for examination. Any alteration of the numbers will be discovered and the petitioner will be prosecuted for fraud.

 

The owners of the store might be a different story. Since the selling establishment gets a percent of the winning tickets, the owner might be precluded from purchasing tickets from his own store.

 

Employees of the state's Lottery Commission are probably denied participation in the lottery.

 

Scratch-off tickets are another matter. I heard rumor that one cashier had figured out the pattern of winning tickets. When he sold a winner, he knew that the next winner would be the nth ticket on the roll after that. When the nth-1 ticket was sold, he bought the next one. Illegal? I don't think so. Unethical? you bet. If I were the store's manager, and I noticed my employee winning a high percentage of scratch-offs, I would have a sit-down with him. If word of this got out his customers would stop buying scratch-offs.

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TommyK

TommyK

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Oh, for the un-initiated; It is impossible to make up or buy a ticket with fore knowledge of the winning numbers.

 

The winning numbers are determined by a mechanical selection of numbered balls, much like a bingo machine. This is done AFTER the deadline for sales of tickets for THAT day's / week's lottery. There is no way anyone knows ahead of time what the numbers will be until after sales of that day's / week's lotto have been suspended.

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