By Christie Duffy
Correspondent
Good luck or something else? 10 out of 20 top lottery winners in the state are retailers who sell lottery tickets or are related to the retailers. That’s according to an investigation by the Asbury Park Press.
Is it all a coincidence?
“Players who seem to be winning a lot, when in fact they might be just cashing in other peoples winning tickets a lot,” said Asbury Park Press Staff Writer Shannon Mullen.
Now that’s against the rules.
“I’m not sure what’s taking place here. Lottery is supposed to be a fair game,” said Assemblyman John Burzichelli.
Burzichelli sponsored a bill to keep winners names private for one year. But some may not want their names known at all.
“Is there a network out there set up that if you win the lottery and you don’t want to be known, the lottery agent has something in place to say okay your coming in with the ticket, you don’t want to sign for it, you don’t want to be known. My cousin will do it for you and they’ll charge you accordingly,” said Burzichelli.
It may not be the fame of winning but debts that keep lotto winners mum. The state says they’re constantly investigating winners to make sure they are deserving of the prize. But whether they owe child support, back taxes, or fines.
“If I don’t want to deal with that or I want to stay under the radar. I might strike a deal with the retailer or someone else,” said Mullen.
“Did that same person buy the ticket or is that person suddenly a vehicle for an individual that doesn’t want to be tracked,” said Burzichelli.
It’s unclear if that’s the case but the app has found the state’s top winner won 134 times, claiming 275,000 in prizes. And the reports says she’s also the mother of a lottery retailer.
Players and retailers I talked to today would sure like to know her secret.
When asked if they have won, a 7-11 employee said, “No I’ve never won but I’ve given a winning ticket to customers.”
When a lottery player was asked how much they have won so far, he said, “$300, $500.” He also said that he has not won any Mega Millions.
Cashing out a ticket that doesn’t belong to you can cost you upwards of $10,000 a piece. And for those who sell lottery tickets, if they’re caught doing the wrong thing behind the counter, well they can lose their license to sell lottery tickets at all.