[TheConservativeParty]

Geesh, don’t let Obama read words like “quadrillion and septillion”!

[AZLiberty]

Maybe this woman was an heiress and spent $50M on scratch-off tickets — just to get her name in the paper every couple of years.

[Mike Darancette]

When I computerized a customer back in the early 80’s we tracked each batch of scratcher tickets. You would pay say $60 bucks for 100 tickets where there would be $35 of instant winners in each batch ($5 was the store profit). The store would report sold tickets and instant winners. Had I been so inclined I could tell you which stores had the greatest chance of selling an instant winner. I’m sure the store managers had figured this out too.

[NonValueAdded]

it wouldn’t be too difficult to then determine where the tickets would be shipped, as the shipping schedule is apparently fixed, and there were a few sources she could have found it out from.

Say no more

[kidd]

She won three of her wins off of scratch-off tickets from the same convenience store in Texas.

There is NO way that the process is random. There is, at a minimum, a serious flaw in how Texas distributes its scratch-off games. There is a possibility of a serious flaw in the Texas lottery security. There is a possibility of a some serious insider information.

But there is no way that the simple possesion of a thorough knowledge of statistics would help you win scratch-off games that are ran fairly and randomly.

Here’s a hint: she is a Las Vegas resident. Why is she buying scratch off games in Texas?

[ozzymandus]

I’d rather be lucky than smart, but there are exceptions to every rule.

[aruanan]

Mr Rich proceeds to detail the myriad ways in which Ms Ginther could have gamed the system - including the fact that she may have figured out the algorithm that determines where a winner is placed in each run of scratch-off tickets.

He believes that after Ms Ginther figured out the algorithm, it wouldn’t be too difficult to then determine where the tickets would be shipped, as the shipping schedule is apparently fixed, and there were a few sources she could have found it out from.

If so, good for her using her skills to devise a system to win. Nearly everyone who plays thinks he has a system that will give him an edge.

[mad_as_he$$]

Predicting the loto is way different than beating a casino. There is a fixed edge and no ability to “cheat”. How much of her winnings did she spend trying to win another one? I know a guy who has hit twice and spent just about all of it trying for a third.