Unconventional petitions to the Texas Lottery from suppliers eager to increase ticket processing machine capacity will receive more careful examination. That occurred after a group from New Jersey secured a $95 million jackpot by purchasing 25.8 million tickets from temporary vendors. 

Going forward, requests from suppliers for substantial amounts of processing equipment will be directed to the Texas Lottery’s executive director for further scrutiny, particularly when those suppliers lack a prior history of selling large ticket volumes. 

State Senator Tan Parker (R-Flower Mound) stated that the lottery's integrity was "lost in the process" due to the jackpot victory. 

Jackpot Manipulated 

Following 93 rollovers, the lottery drawing on April 22, 2023, was one of the uncommon instances when the game became mathematically advantageous. The jackpot was set at $95 million, indicating that purchasing every conceivable combination of numbers – or 25.8 million tickets at one dollar each – would nearly ensure winning not just the jackpot but also most of the other awards. And that’s precisely what the enigmatic syndicate accomplished. 

Since the prize amounted to $57.8 million post-taxes, the syndicate realized it could anticipate a probable $22 million gain from just the jackpot. 

Even if it were unfortunate enough to split the first prize with another winner, it would still net a profit of about $3 million. That's not counting the extra prizes, which it is more probable to share with fellow winners. 

A three-way division would have been catastrophic, but it was an improbable result and a gamble worth pursuing for the syndicate. 

The actual issue was logistical. How do you approach purchasing 25.8 million tickets for a drawing that generally sells only one to two million tickets weekly? As per the state legislature, it was all far too simple. 

Lottery 'Cooperated' in Scheme 

According to an investigation by The Houston Chronicle, all tickets purchased by the syndicate were handled at only four locations, three of which had not sold any tickets at all prior to the draw. 

This indicated that every outlet had to request sufficient equipment from the Texas Lottery to handle millions of tickets during the three days between the drawings. The state agency was more than willing to comply. 

Lottery officials have stated that there is no regulation prohibiting the purchase of all possible ticket combinations. However, legislators made it clear this week that the syndicate's plan contravened the essence of the lottery, and they had some stern remarks for the Texas Lottery. 

State Representative Matt Shaheen (R-Plano) claimed that the agency is "colluding" with a "network of skilled individuals." 

“A significant percentage of lottery sales in Texas is to lower-income individuals, and I think they were taken advantage of,” he said, as reported by The Chronicle.