AUSTIN, Texas — Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick is questioning the integrity of a jackpot-winning lottery ticket purchased at a North Austin store earlier this week.
Patrick posted a video on social media of him in front of the store, Winners Corner TX LLC, where a Lotto Texas ticket was purchased that won a $83.5 million jackpot on Monday night–the fifth largest jackpot in the game’s history.
According to the Texas Lottery’s website, the person who purchased the winning ticket selected the cash value option and did not use the “quick pick” option, which would have randomly generated a set of numbers.
In the video, Patrick said he had questions about the store after he discovered it was affiliated with a courier service, Jackpocket, which purchased the winning ticket. Jackpocket is an app for ordering lottery tickets and is owned by DraftKings.
Patrick is seen in the video talking with an employee of Winners Corner, who identifies himself as the manager. He confirmed the winning ticket was purchased by a courier service.
Patrick then said he talked to one of the store’s attorneys on the phone. The attorney is heard saying that Winners Corner is a “licensed retailer” by the Texas Lottery Commission, and a picture of the license was seen in the video.
“[Jackpocket] take the orders and then purchase from Winners Corner, I don’t know if they purchase from other retailers,” the attorney said.
During their conversation, Patrick asked the attorney whether he sees an issue with the courier service’s purchase of the winning ticket from a location it is affiliated with. The attorney said he understood the concern, but the ticket was purchased on behalf of the individual who won.
Patrick said he was allowed into the back of the store, but he wasn’t allowed to film it. He said he saw a lot of terminals in the back room and concluded by saying there are “a lot of questions and there are a lot of answers that we need. Because the bottom line is if people are going to have confidence in the lottery, we have to be sure no one has an advantage.”
Despite his investigation, Patrick did say he wasn’t suggesting anything “illegal” happened, “but this is not the way the lottery was designed to operate. It was designed to operate by someone coming into a store, giving someone cash and getting a ticket back.”
The Texas Legislature is currently reviewing the state lottery commission under the Texas Sunset Act, which requires periodic evaluation of state agencies. The Legislature will decide whether the agency continues to operate in the state.
Patrick ended the video by saying he wants to see the Legislature take a deep look at lottery courier services.
