Been There, Got The Tee-Shirt

BY LLOYD GORMAN

MOST PEOPLE DREAM OF WINNING THE LOTTO, BUT ONLY A LUCKY FEW EVER EXPERIENCE THE HIGH OF BECOMING AN INSTANT MILLIONAIRE.

So when the news broke (on 6PR’s Rumour File) that a large group of women who all went to the same gym had won the $80million Powerball prize in the Thursday night draw after putting in $5 a head into a last minute syndicate, there was a swell of excitement. The story was quickly picked up and followed by every other local radio stations and media outlet, with everyone keen to speak to a winner. Even better again, they were all battlers for whom their $1.5m windfall just before Christmas would touch a lot of lives. Reporters swarmed around Curves Gym in Beldon like flies around a picnic. One of the women said on live radio that they would be going into the Lotterywest HQ in Subiaco to register and claim the win! As the Subiaco reporter for the POST newspaper I knew I needed to get to the Lotterywest offices to cover the story. By the time I got there on Friday morning (December 3) there were of course other media (mainly TV crews) already waiting outside the Station Street entrance to the Lotterywest offices. While the media were hanging around, the women were escorted into the offices through a carpark entrance at the back. But the patience of the press pack was rewarded. One couple emerged first and were happy to talk to the media. One of their sons had gone to school that morning with holes in his shoes, they said. Before long, a big group of the women and some of their partners emerged from the offices. They were only too happy to celebrate and cheer on demand for the cameras and speak to journalists hungry to find out more about them. In the throng I noticed a happy looking lady wearing a black Guinness top. “As an Irishman I love your tee-shirt,” I said over the noise and confusion. She mentioned something about her dad and then “Paddy’s” in Joondalup and that her name was Linda. “It’s a good pub, I drink there,” she told me. “We’ll (Linda and her husband Darryl) be there tonight and Sunday celebrating,” she said. Lotterywest Acting CEO Jeremy Hubble said it was a history-making moment with the largest win ever experienced in WA. “It’s always incredible to meet our winners and to meet such a large group of syndicate winners, who can all share in the magic and joy, is just wonderful,” he said in a media release issued that day. “This record-breaking win for WA shares the title of third highest on a national level.” There was the light touch of Irish fingerprints on the Lotterywest press release. Media enquiries were directed to one James Mooney, whose family are originally from Dublin. It was a great day for Lotto watchers. Indeed, on my way into Subiaco that morning, I got a whisper of another even more heart warming Lottery jackpot involving an Irish couple in Perth, ordinary people

with a large family, for whom the windfall would make profound difference. I won’t say more than that for now as I am hoping to convince them to share their story (anonymously if they like) with Irish Scene readers. Watch this space!

IS THE IRISH LOTTO BROKEN?

The Irish Lotto has been going through the worst streak of bad luck imaginable. A $19m jackpot – the biggest in the history of the Irish state – has not been won since June 6th 2021. The drought continued through to the Christmas day draw and beyond (at time of writing). In at least 62 televised bi-weekly draws the windfall – which has been frozen at $19m for six months – has gone unclaimed. During 2020 some 1.3 million players hoped their numbers come up and despite the bizarre drought of good fortune the sales of Lotto tickets has held steady, for now. But steps are being taken to get the state based game out of its bad patch, the likes of which it has never seen before. “[The chances of winning] seem so remote that punters must be thinking Shergar would have a better chance at winning Squid Game,” Fine Gael TD (Irish MP) Bernard Durkan told the Dail (Irish Parliament) in November. “I’m not saying anything odd has happened, but it’s the longest Bernard Durkan run in the history of the game so we need a bit of reassurance.” A “full investigation and audit” would help restore people’s faith in the country’s Lotto he argued. The politician suggested a quick and easy way to win back the confidence of people and increase their chances of winning. “Drop a couple of balls as a mark of good faith,” he suggested to the Premier Lotteries Ireland CEO. “Mr (Andrew) Algeo, tear down those balls,” he said. Opposite: Winner Linda in her Guinness tee-shirt Left: 55 women aged between 17 and 84 each contributed $5 to the Powerball ticket

(Photo source: Lotterywest/Powerball)

When the Lottery started in Ireland in 1988, players picked their numbers from 36 balls but since 1988 that has increased to 47 balls. Many Irish Scene readers might recall from their time in Ireland watching the Lotto draw on TV (RTE). There was always some dull looking accountant in a suit from one of the large financial firms who was there to ensure there was no foul play. The only thing we ever got to hear them say was “Evening Ronan”, or whoever else was the host. Perhaps they should have been given another line at the end, to say the results were valid in their opinion. In any case their presence must have been removed from the process because Deputy Durkan also called for the return of an independent observer as another needed step to ensure everything was above board. Mr Algeo had some suggestions of his own for the politicians about how they could help fix the lottery. In late December the Lottery CEO admitted to a hearing of TDs and Senators it was “highly unusual” the Lotto jackpot was not won in more than six months. He proposed a change to the rules – which would need the politicians to introduce new legislation – and move to a “must be won” jackpot. So for example, if all six numbers were not matched after a period of time then it would go to a player with five numbers.

Andrew Algeo “[This] would also allow us to provide certainty to Lotto players, as to the latest date on which this record €19 million jackpot will be won by,” Mr Algeo said. It was also important jackpots would be “large enough” and “won frequently” to attract and retain customers.

WHAT ARE THE ODDS OF THAT?

“It is very, very unlikely indeed,” was how one mathematician summed up the six month spell in which there were no matching winning numbers for the Irish lotto jackpot. Dr Brien Nolan, an associate professor in mathematical science was interviewed about the improbable episode on News at One, on RTE Radio, on December 15. He said there were 10.7 million options for filling out a Lotto ticket but there were other factors to take into consideration. “There is a 12% chance somebody will win the jackpot on any given draw, but it depends entirely ho how many tickets are bought for each draw. So there’s an 8% Dr Brien Nolan chance of a roll over, but the odds of a roll over 54 times in a row, which we’ve seen over the last six months, is very low indeed. I think the National Lottery itself has quoted about 850 to one, so pretty long odds of this happening, so very, very unlikely indeed.”

TOP END CASHES IN ON IRISH LOTTO

For some years now a mirror version of the Irish lottery has been run out of the Northern Territory. “You don’t have to live in Ireland to play,” the Lottery Office website says. “You don’t have to be an Irish resident, you can play to win from the draws of the Irish National Lottery’s Lotto from right here in Australia. You can purchase tickets in our own ‘Irish Lotto’ draw here in Australia and we’ll buy matching tickets in the Irish National Lottery’s Lotto draw in Ireland. Pick just 6 numbers from 1-47 and if your numbers match those drawn you can win a minimum of over $3 Million (€2 Million) from Irish Lotto! It’s that simple! No betting on the outcome and no gimmicks, you’ll receive a real ticket from our own government approved and licensed lottery and go in a matching draw to win!” Lotto betting and “synthetic lotteries” websites have been banned since January 1, 2019 as a result of laws brought in by the Federal government in 2018 to curb the influence of overseas lottery providers and schemes. GPN says its services – for up to 10 international jackpots – are totally legitimate and legal. “The Lottery Office is operated by Global Players Network Pty Ltd, and licensed and regulated by the Northern Territory Government of Australia. All of our lotteries are approved, conducted and drawn in the Northern Territory under the supervision of Licensing NT. Our processes and financials are audited annually as required by our Regulator. The Lottery Office is unlike other companies. Our unique business model allows you to enter our own Government approved lotteries. When you enter one of our lotteries, we will then purchase a matching ticket in a major overseas lottery and we will claim any prize that is won from the overseas ticket and pay you the exact same amount. This ensures we are able to pay out any prize and not have to rely on an insurance policy like other companies. It also allows our players to have the chance to win from matched tickets with major overseas lotteries having prizes reaching into the billions”. GPN says it does not offer ‘lottery betting’. “Lottery betting companies operate under a Sports Betting licence and are not approved to run their own lotteries. Most lottery betting companies are headquartered overseas and rely on an insurance policy to pay out large prizes in the case that they have a major winner. They don’t purchase matching tickets in the overseas lotteries. In June 2018 the Australian Federal Government passed legislation to ban Lottery Betting under the Interactive Gaming Act. The Lottery Office is a safe, licensed, reliable way for you to win from some of the biggest lotteries in the world. We are proudly Australian owned and operated and our profits stay right here in Australia.” The company says a “percentage of our revenue” goes into local community groups and charities, but not what that percentage is. ☘