$5 Million Lottery Jackpot Won in Texas Following Massive Scandal
A lottery player recently won a life-changing prize in the Texas Hill Country, according to lottery officials.
The Boerne resident bought a $400 Million Mega Bucks ticket and scratched it off to reveal they won a $5 million jackpot, the state lottery said in a June 23 news release.
The lucky winner, who chose to be anonymous, bought the ticket at 1415 E. Blanco Road in Boerne, the release said. A Metro Stop gas station is at that address.
According to the lottery, the odds of hitting one of the jackpots are 1-in-1,290,000, though there are also prizes ranging from $150 to $50,000.
But those odds didn't stop some from exploiting the Texas Lottery.
It was the story that rocked the world of state lotteries in the US. The scandal involving the Texas Lottery actually had tentacles reaching Europe.
Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton announced in March he was launching an investigation into the matter.
The Crux of What Transpired
Two major lottery drawings in Texas that put nearly $180 million in the pockets of winning ticket holders set off widening state investigations over concern that ticket sellers and buyers may have exploited the rules. There were reports that millions of dollars worth of lottery tickets were purchased.
The Texas Lottery, one of the largest in the U.S., faced mounting scrutiny from state leaders over how the winners of an $83 million jackpot this month and a $95 million prize in 2023 purchased their odds-defying tickets. Both are among the largest jackpots in the history of the Texas lottery.
At the heart of the issue, Texas officials say, is whether the games were on a level playing field. The companies that purchase lottery tickets for customers remotely, also known as couriers, are at the heart of the investigation.
In late April, the Coalition of Texas Lottery Couriers provided a statement to Gambling911 after the Texas Lottery Commission decided to ban couriers.
"The Texas Lottery Commission (TLC) decision to approve a ban on lottery couriers is the most recent in a series of actions that have undermined the accountability and credibility of an agency whose operations are under investigation."
How it All Allegedly Went Down
The Houston Chronicle had been covering the Texas Lottery scandal throughout the last few months.
An entity called Rook TX effectively purchased the jackpot, collecting a one-time payment of $57.8 million, by acquiring virtually all of the 25.8 million possible number combinations. The operation was planned in Malta and funded by a London betting company. It was carried out by four Texas retailers, all connected to online sales companies called couriers.
The Texas Lottery Commission helped in several ways behind the scenes. Prior to the draw, it filled rush orders from the retailers requesting dozens of extra terminals — even though three had sold few, if any tickets in the previous months.
The agency also did not challenge organizers’ method of rapidly entering millions of ticket orders into state terminals. Their use of personal iPads and preprogrammed QR codes appeared to skirt lottery regulations.
“Texas citizens deserve far better than bad actors getting rich off of a lottery system that is open to exploitation, and we will hold anyone who engages in illegal activity accountable,” Paxton said in a statement.
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