Posted on 03/21/2025 12:43:03 PM PDT by Responsibility2nd
Last month, one Texas lottery winner got lucky, scoring an $83.5 million Lotto Texas jackpot. Maybe a little too lucky, in Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick's opinion.
The winner purchased her ticket Feb. 17 through Jackpocket, a third-party lottery "courier" service that sells tickets to customers through an app online and processes them at a brick-and-mortar storefront called Winner's Corner. The Texas location sits at 7817 Rockwood Ln #101b in Austin.
Here's a rundown of the legal issues preventing this Texas lottery winner from claiming her prize.
Patrick's investigation On Feb. 18, Patrick conducted an in-person investigation at the Winner's Corner store front.
"We're not suggesting anything illegal, but this is not the way the lottery was designed to operate," Patrick said in a video update to X. "It was designed to operate by someone coming into a store, giving someone cash, and getting a ticket back."
The lottery winner says she played by the rules.
"I literally spent $20. I didn't spend $26 million to run every single possible combination of numbers," she told the Austin-American Statesman. "If (the Lottery Commission) didn't do an investigation into the (April 2023 jackpot winner), that's on you. That's not my fault."
According to Patrick, the fault may lie within the lottery game's legal loopholes.
During his investigation, the store would not allow Patrick's team to film beyond the front room. However, Patrick claimed he saw "terminal after terminal after terminal" processing lottery tickets purchased by customers through Jackpocket.
"The bottom line is, if people are going to have confidence in the lottery, we have to be sure that no one has an advantage."
How it works Winners Corner is owned and operated by Jackpocket, which is a DraftKings subsidiary. According to Jackpocket CEO Peter Sullivan, the purchasing process is straightforward, KXAN reported.
"Jackpocket receives the order from the customer and then that Jackpocket employee goes into the retailer and purchases the ticket — a physical ticket — from that retailer," Sullivan told KXAN. If it's a winning ticket, the prize is either credited to the customer's account or given to the customer physically, depending on the amount."
The Texas Lottery Commission states that licensed lottery retailers "cannot be in the sole business of selling Texas Lottery tickets" in order to legally operate in the state.
Sullivan says Winners Corner is operating within the bounds of that law.
"Winners Corner is a licensed lottery retailer ... We are not in the sole business of selling lottery tickets," he added. "We are open to the public, so someone can go in and order an official lottery ticket directly in the store."
The Texas Lottery Commission ban In a Feb. 24 news release, the Texas Lottery Commission stated that — under mounting pressure from state lawmakers — it would move to ban third-party lottery couriers like Jackpocket to ensure "the integrity, security, honesty and fairness of lottery operations."
"Ticket courier services are not allowed under Texas law," the agency wrote, noting that they "will move forward with proposed rule amendments prohibiting lottery courier services within the state" and that any "retailer that works in concert with a courier service would have their lottery ticket sales agent license revoked."
On Feb. 27, the Texas Senate voted to approve Senate Bill 28 which would ban online lottery ticket sales and prevent third-party services from operating in Texas.
According to the Statesman, the ticket winner's lawyers said Texas Lottery officials did not give a timeline on when, or if, she may be able to claim her prize money. As of Friday, the Texas Lottery's "Lotto Texas" winning number details page says "there was no Lotto Texas jackpot winner for drawing on 03/17/2025."
"The holder of the Feb. 17 Lotto Texas jackpot-winning ticket has come forward," the Texas Lottery said in a statement. "The claim is being reviewed under the Commission’s claim validation requirements and is the subject of external investigation."
So... Is the State trying to weasel out on the payout? Was Jackpocket a legitimate retailer?
The State does admit Winners Corner is a licensed lottery retailer.
What do YOU think is going on here?
My state has an online lottery subscription system. If Texas does, that seems like it would be safer than this outfit.
Winners Corner has been in the news a couple of times recently:
https://www.themirror.com/news/us-news/store-called-winners-corner-under-987095
“Sullivan says Winners Corner is operating within the bounds of that law.
“Winners Corner is a licensed lottery retailer ... We are not in the sole business of selling lottery tickets,” he added. “We are open to the public, so someone can go in and order an official lottery ticket directly in the store.”
Cheapskate govt doesn’t want to pay.
From when it happened:
It’s like the frequent casino trick — everything is fine when you pump quarters into the machine and come up a loser. It’s just the way it goes. BUT if the lights flash and the bells ring and it says you’ve won the $1M jackpot ... well ... at that point they decide the machine is broken and they don’t have to pay.
Government’s way of not having to pay off, just like casino’s where you win big on a slot machine and they renege saying it had faulty software.
1. The state allowed this vendor to connect to their system and produce lottery tickets.
2. This woman bought one of those tickets.
3. She won.
4. The state’s dispute is with the vendor, not her. If it gets to the point where there is a legit dispute, then the state needs to terminate point #1. Failing that...
5. Profit! (Pay her)
“”We are not in the sole business of selling lottery tickets,” he added. “We are open to the public””
Then it should be easy to say WHAT else they sell besides lottery tickets..Open to the public for what? What on earth kind of explanation is that?
I'm curious, though. What if the retailer got orders for 20 tickets from 20 different people and one of the tickets won the jackpot? Which one of the 20 was the winner? Why?
i won 14,000 on a dollar slot in Detroit about 10 years ago...when it came time to pay me, they treated me like Al Capone. Did everything but call me a flat out cheater.
“”(April 2023 jackpot winner)””
Why must every article leave out pertinent information? What does April 2023 have to do with the current issue?
“What if the retailer got orders for 20 tickets from 20 different people and one of the tickets won the jackpot? Which one of the 20 was the winner? Why?”
The answer is on their site.
When you make the purchase, the ticket is scanned and you can view it in the app.
“Why must every article leave out pertinent information? What does April 2023 have to do with the current issue?”
They didn’t.
They need to pay up. They can pass future laws banning the process the winner used...but the winner did nothing illegal or unethical. They have to pay up!
The video at the link states - LICENSED RETAILER not a “licensed lottery retailer” which is how it was described in the article. It looks like a store full of games. Guess that was too much information to put into the article.
Nothing was explained about how the person buying the lotto ticket PAID for it...credit card over the phone, what?
Order and pay for it (HOW?) through the “courier” and the “courier” goes into the store and buys the ticket. When does the buyer - ticket holder SEE the ticket?
Doesn’t make any sense at all. Why would anyone deal with a third party instead of going into a store themselves and purchasing a lottery ticket? It’s done thousands and thousands of times a day throughout the country.
We must all live pretty boring lives to be caught up in something like this...makes the world go ‘round, I guess!
I believe that the prize goes back into the pot, if not lawfully claimed, within the time allowed.
AND just what does April 2023 have to do with the story?
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.