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'Ohio Lottery's frequent winners grab top prizes amid improbable odds'

http://www.cleveland.com/metro/index.ssf/2017/09/ohio_lotterys_frequent_winners.html

Updated on September 13, 2017 at 12:16 PM. Posted on September 13, 2017 at 6:06 AM.

By John Caniglia, The Plain Dealer

With special reporting by Daniel Simmons-Ritchie of PennLive. (simmons-ritchie@pennlive.com)

CLEVELAND, Ohio - Rickey Meng is the king of Ohio Lottery winners, taking home more prizes than anyone in the state.

Meng, of Cleveland, won 342 tickets and pocketed $956,717, in a span of seven years. He attributed his streak to a feel for numbers.

"I would see a number on a license plate or an address, and it would just jump out at me,'' Meng, 63, told The Plain Dealer.

Others called his run improbable.

"It is inconceivable to me, as a statistician, that someone could win 342 times,'' said Ronald Wasserstein, the executive director of the American Statistical Association in Alexandria, Va.

In Ohio, Meng is far from alone in his lottery success. The state has one of the highest numbers of frequent winners in the country, according to a national report on frequent winners released today by PennLive, a news organization in Harrisburg, Pa. PennLive is a sister company of The Plain Dealer and cleveland.com.

All of Meng's 342 winning tickets are for prizes of at least $600. The report by PennLive and collaborator Columbia University found that, from 2010 - 2016, Ohio had 112 players with 50 or more wins of at least $600. The state ranks behind Massachusetts with 384 winners, New York with 319, Illinois with 245 and Georgia with 167.

Reporters analyzed more than 11 million lottery claims from 35 states and the District of Columbia. Nine states were unable to provide data or were unable to provide it in a form that could be analyzed. A half dozen other states, including Nevada and Alabama, do not have lotteries.

The Ohio Lottery is one of only 10 in the nation that does not systematically monitor frequent winners, according to PennLive.

Marie Kilbane Seckers, a spokeswoman for the Ohio Lottery, said that the lottery only monitors frequent winning by lottery retailers. However, she said the agency had begun to discuss broadening its investigations to non-retailers.

"We focus our resources on retailers,'' Kilbane Seckers said. "We found that's the best place to spend our time.''

Asked about the high number of Meng's winnings, Kilbane Seckers said: "He's definitely an outlier. It's astounding. I agree.''

She said the Ohio Lottery asks every person who wins a cash prize to disclose whether they are a lottery retailer, employee or relative of a retailer when filling out a claim form. Lottery investigators review anyone who meets that criteria and wins often.

Lottery investigation reports acquired by The Plain Dealer and PennLive show that the Ohio Lottery investigated its second most-frequent winner, Samuel Sliman, the president of Meyer's Lake Beverage & Drive Thru in Canton, in 2014.

PennLive's analysis found that Sliman has won 268 prizes of $600 or more between 2001 and 2016, collectively worth $775,430.

The report shows that investigators were aware that Sliman had won more than 200 prizes but other details of the investigation were redacted by the Ohio Lottery.

Kilbane Seckers confirmed that no violations were found during the 2014 investigation but said Sliman's lottery license was cancelled the next year after he violated the lottery's policy on making prompt, accurate payments.

Sliman declined to comment.

Bill Hertoghe, a former chief investigator at the California Lottery, said investigating retailers who win frequently is not enough. He said California investigates frequent winners, as well.

"You have to look at the people with the high volume of wins,'' Hertoghe said. "We call them 'frequent fliers.' They all give the same reason for their success: 'They're lucky.' ''

Ohio's other most frequent winners include: James Bennett of Polk, in Ashland County, with 257 claims for $252,135; Manojkumar Patel of Highland Heights, with 195 claims for $685,676; and Edward Blain of Nova, also in Ashland County, with 171 winning tickets for $693,799. All of those tickets were for prizes of $600 or more.

Bennett declined to comment, while repeated attempts to reach Patel and Blain were unsuccessful.

Playing the lottery daily

Meng, who subsisted on Social Security Disability for back issues, told The Plain Dealer that he formerly spent about $100 per week on lottery games.

"The money from the winnings helped me live,'' he said. "I just wasn't getting enough from Social Security. It was like a second income. It let me do stuff I couldn't.''

Meng added, however, that he spent most of his winnings on buying more lottery tickets.

"I made a lot of money but I spent a lot, too,'' he said. "People don't realize that. I didn't win every time I walked into a store.''

Claims data shows that 67 percent of Meng's winnings were for Pick 4, a twice-daily game that requires players to choose four numbers. He claimed tickets across Northeast Ohio, from Westlake to Willoughby.

In one stretch from Nov. 8, 2008, - March 15, 2009, according to claims data, Meng won $74,800 on 21 Pick 4 tickets.

"Wherever I went, I would play,'' Meng said. "You name it. Keno, Pick4 and all the higher payout scratch-off games. The key was to keep buying more tickets.''

But Meng said he no longer plays most lottery games following issues with the Internal Revenue Service.

Meng said that over the years he routinely ignored notices from the agency about unpaid taxes on his lottery winnings.

According to Meng, since 2015, officials garnish nearly all of his early retirement checks from Social Security.

Meng lives in a working-class section of Tremont. He said a relative has to help him with his rent.

He now only plays $3 scratch-off tickets, where a winning purse is less than $500.

"My lucky days are over,'' he said.

The odds of winning

But some are skeptical that Meng could win so frequently by just playing a lot.

Wasserstein, of the American Statistical Association, has studied lotteries and the odds of winning them. In general, he estimated that the average player who buys a $10 lottery ticket has a one in 5,000 chance of winning at least $500.

Therefore, Wasserstein said, a player who won 342 times would likely need to buy 1,710,000 tickets at a cost of $11.7 million.

"It's not surprising that individuals win more than once, that they can win multiple times,'' Wasserstein said. "But the chances of winning often, of more than $500 and up, are very, very small.''

There are several possible explanations for how some frequent lottery claimants are able to seemingly beat the odds.

In other states where frequent lottery winning has been probed, investigators have sometimes found unusual good fortune rooted in crime: from cheating to schemes used to facilitate money laundering.

Authorities have also sometimes found frequent winners have been ticket-cashing or discounting. In those cases, a player sells his winning ticket to another person typically at a discount of its prize value.

Winners sometimes do this to avoid having alimony, or taxes, or a lien from being deducted from their winnings. In some states, like Virginia, this is illegal but in Ohio it's in a legal gray area.

Meng said he never took part in such activity: "It was never anything like that.''

He stressed that he simply played a lot.

"But remember, you can't just spend $5 on a ticket,'' he said. "You had to play a lot of tickets.''


This story is part of a national and international report of the global lottery system involving journalists from Africa, Europe and the United States. The Fund for Investigative Journalism supported some of the data-gathering and the fact-checking for this story. Jeff Kelly Lowenstein contributed to this story.

From the article:

But some are skeptical that Meng could win so frequently by just playing a lot. Wasserstein, of the American Statistical Association, has studied lotteries and the odds of winning them. In general, he estimated that the average player who buys a $10 lottery ticket has a one in 5,000 chance of winning at least $500. Therefore, Wasserstein said, a player who won 342 times would likely need to buy 1,710,000 tickets at a cost of $11.7 million.

"It's not surprising that individuals win more than once, that they can win multiple times,'' Wasserstein said. "But the chances of winning often, of more than $500 and up, are very, very small.''

These people who won so often and so much? I'm thinking they HAVE TO have an in, a friend of a friend or relative who they agreed to split the earnings with who has some kind of access/scam to the lottery numbers and/or computer system. No one is that lucky, me thinks... No way Jose'!

While he may be up $1M, I'd bet he's put a lot of that back into the lottery system, maybe as much or more.

Like a gambler at a casino, you may win a few hundred or a grand here or there, but over time, the casino wins if you play enough.

This guy had it down:

'Mastermind of Lottery Fraud Will Tell How He Rigged Jackpots'

https://www.usnews.com/news/best-states/...xx-in-wisconsin

June 12, 2017, at 7:53 p.m.

y RYAN J. FOLEY and TODD RICHMOND, Associated Press

MADISON, Wis. (AP) — A lottery computer programmer will tell investigators how he was able to use his position to rig state jackpots for years and he and his brother will repay $3 million in prizes they improperly claimed, under a plea agreement released Monday.

Prosecutors will seek a 25-year prison sentence for former Multi-State Lottery Association security director Eddie Tipton, the mastermind of a scheme that rocked the lottery industry. His brother, former Texas judge Tommy Tipton, is expected to face 75 days in jail.

Wisconsin prosecutors released the agreement Monday after Eddie Tipton pleaded guilty to theft and computer crime charges in Madison. The plea was a surprise for Tipton, who had insisted on his innocence for 2 ½ years and was facing a trial in Iowa next month. The agreement calls for Tipton to soon plead guilty to ongoing criminal conduct in Iowa, and to confess to a civil judgment in Kansas.

"Mr. Tipton's actions defrauding the lottery were a gross violation of the public's trust and confidence," said Wisconsin Attorney General Brad Schimel, praising investigators for "their efforts to find truth and seek justice."

In his job at the Urbandale, Iowa-based association, Tipton wrote and installed code for software that picked random numbers for games sold by its member lotteries. Investigators say Tipton designed his code so that on three days of the year, he could predict winning numbers in some games. The Tiptons and friend Robert Rhodes bought winning numbers for drawings in Colorado, Wisconsin, Iowa, Kansas and Oklahoma between 2005 and 2011. Other associates were involved but haven't faced charges.

The conspiracy unraveled after Tipton was caught on surveillance video buying a winning $16.5 million ticket in December 2010 in Iowa that he, Rhodes and others unsuccessfully tried to claim.

The Tiptons will tell investigators "all facts related, directly or indirectly, to their actions to fix, win, and claim lottery jackpots." They won't face any additional charges based on their testimony but will cooperate with any additional legal actions related to rigged jackpots.

"There's a lot of value in confirming what we believe we know," said Iowa prosecutor Rob Sand, adding that the brothers' cooperation "is going to be helpful to lotteries around the country."

Tipton and his attorneys declined comment. They'll be free to seek a lesser sentence than the 25-year term Iowa prosecutors will seek.

Tommy Tipton's attorney, Mark Weinhardt, said his client was pleased to reach a "sensible resolution" in which he'll serve 75 days after pleading to a misdemeanor.

"Tommy takes full responsibility for his role in this affair," he said. "This agreement will allow Tommy to continue to be the hard-working citizen and loving father to his children that he has been for many years."

The brothers will repay $3 million to Colorado, Oklahoma, Wisconsin and Kansas.

Rhodes, of Sugar Land, Texas, earlier pleaded guilty, agreeing to repay Wisconsin his share of a 2007 jackpot and to testify against his former best friend. Rhodes had described how the two worked together to claim and split the $783,000 Megabucks prize in Wisconsin.

Rhodes told investigators he visited Tipton at his Iowa home in 2007. Tipton gave him index cards containing a series of numbers for him to play for the Dec. 29 drawing — one of the calendar days when Tipton could predict winning combinations. Rhodes drove around Wisconsin in a rental car, buying tickets from various stores before using a limited liability company to claim the prize.

The investigation started with a mystery in 2011. A newly created trust stepped forward hours before a one-year deadline to claim a $16.5 million jackpot. But it refused to tell the Iowa Lottery who purchased the ticket. Iowa declined to pay and launched a criminal investigation.

Investigators got a break in 2014 after releasing video of a man buying hot dogs and the winning ticket at a Des Moines gas station. Colleagues told police the man looked and sounded just like Tipton, who had access to lottery computers. He was convicted of fraud related to that ticket after a 2015 trial, where Tommy Tipton insisted that couldn't have been his brother on the video.

Investigators then looked into whether Tipton had rigged other games after receiving a tip that his brother won a 2005 Colorado lottery. Wisconsin investigators recovered an old computer from the 2007 drawing, and a forensic analysis revealed how Tipton's code worked.

The association, which fired Tipton after his arrest, faces lawsuits by players who claim they were cheated by Tipton's rigging.

___

Foley reported from Iowa City, Iowa.

Interesting.

I can't believe there isn't others who have programmed something like this as well. Lotteries, slots, etc, etc.

Has to be.

Joan Ginther, won the Texas lottery four times for: $5.4 million, $2 million, $3 million and $10 million.



The odds of that are in the 16 septillion range.

16,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000 to 1.

(1 Septillion is a lot)

Pick an atom in the observable universe.

Congratulations you picked the right one.

Hi Joan, my name is rockyhill. dawg.



Can you help me with my shirt?



Oh... that other guy's my neighbor.

Just quickly read a couple of articles about her, she is one smart lady:

'Lottery legend Joan Ginther bet flabbergasting sums on scratch-offs
Her 28 instant prizes, and another two dozen claimed by friends, suggest they bought 100,000 high-priced tickets'

http://www.philly.com/philly/news/nation...ratch-offs.html

quote by 3rd:



Actually once you win a million dollar lottery, it's smart to buy lots and lots of lottery tickets.

Why?

Lottery Winnings are considered "Gambling Winnings" for tax purposes and of course fully taxable.

Gambling losses are not normally deductible.

UNLESS, you have gambling winnings.

If you have Gambling Winnings income on your Form 1040, you can deduct all your gambling loses. Up to the amount of your gambling income. Including losing lottery tickets.

So if you have $1 million Lottery Income you can deduct every dollar you spend on lottery tickets. (up to $1 million)

And every dollar you lose at casinos.

Just need proof (receipts). Casinos will provide receipts.

So if you're in the 30% tax bracket, every dollar you spend gambling/lottery tickets, saves you 30 cents on taxes.

In other words, $1 lottery tickets only cost lottery winners 70 cents.

And every $10 bet at a casino only costs you $7.

(given this fact, if you know the basic strategy of black jack, you win every time you play - you're betting $7 to win $10 on a game that is very close to 50/50 odds)

If you win the lottery and you realize this, it's a case of the rich get richer.

Trust me. I'm a professional

A professional gambler? Tax preparer? CPA/accountant?

All of the above? None of the above? (Hmmmmmmmmm, I wonder......)

I am a tax preparer.

But not the type that would handle a lottery winners' 1040.

I mean a lottery winner is not likely to come to the tax office I work at.

It's in a bad section of town. (at least when I'm there)