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A Lufkin, Texas resident claimed a top prize winning ticket worth $1 million in the Texas Lottery scratch ticket game 500X. The ticket was purchased at Kwick Korner Food Mart, located at 203 S. Timberland Drive, in Lufkin. The claimant elected to remain anonymous.
This was the 13th of 15 top prizes worth $1 million to be claimed in this game. 500X offers more than $229 million in total prizes. Overall odds of winning any prize in the game are one in 3.36, including break-even prizes.
The Texas Lottery’s functions and activities are administered by the Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation (TDLR), the state agency responsible for licensing and regulating a broad range of professions, occupations and industries in Texas. Beginning with the first ticket sold in 1992, the Texas Lottery has generated more than $42.1 billion in revenue for the state and distributed more than $95.8 billion in prizes to lottery players.
The $1 million win comes following a dark period in the Texas Lottery's history as Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton last year announced an investigation into a previous $83.5 million win that had international implications.
Many online casinos like BetPhoenix now offer state lottery options, including Texas drawings
That scandal stretched back to April 2023. It resulted in third-party courier services from purchasing or delivering lottery tickets on behalf of customers in Texas. Gambling911.com covered the scandal extensively last year.
Couriers are companies that buy and send lottery tickets on behalf of customers online. The practice bypasses state law that requires tickets to be purchased in person.
The Houston Chronicle reported details on how a parimutuel betting site from England (Colossus Bets) and a software provider from Malta (Spinola Gaming) allegedly colluded with one another to purchase 25.8 million tickets (at $1 each) for a Lotto Texas draw — resulting in the $95 million jackpot win.
From From The Houston Chronicle:
An entity called Rook TX effectively purchased the jackpot, collecting a one-time payment of $57.8 million, by acquiring virtually all of the 25.8 million possible number combinations. The operation was planned in Malta and funded by a London betting company. It was carried out by four Texas retailers, all connected to online sales companies called couriers.
The Texas Lottery Commission helped in several ways behind the scenes. Prior to the draw, it filled rush orders from the retailers requesting dozens of extra terminals — even though three had sold few, if any tickets in the previous months.
The agency also did not challenge organizers’ method of rapidly entering millions of ticket orders into state terminals. Their use of personal iPads and preprogrammed QR codes appeared to skirt lottery regulations.
“Texas citizens deserve far better than bad actors getting rich off of a lottery system that is open to exploitation, and we will hold anyone who engages in illegal activity accountable,” Paxton said in a statement at the time he launched the investigation.
- Chris Costigan, Gambling911.com Publisher
