Agreed, it's taxpayer money, but then the lottery is a voluntary tax. IMHO, it's far more important for a state lottery to have the appearance of being fair and honest than it is being transparent about mining the data. If players don't think the lottery is fair and honest, then a large portion of players wouldn't play. Players may not like the fact that the state is mining the data, but I doubt that'd be a reason why very many players would stop playing. Kentucky has freely admitted they mine the data and I'm willing to bet ticket sales haven't suffered much at all.

I completely disagree with regard to "giving up your rights." Players aren't giving up their right to anything. They have no right to the states property, just as they don't have any rights to their next door neighbors property. The state owns the data. It's just that simple. What the state chooses to do with it is their business, not the players.

And yes, it is assumed by many employees that employers spy on or track their employees. I always get a huge laugh out of somebody getting fired because they used the company's property for purposes other than company business, yet the terminated employee is outraged because "they were listening in on my phone!" I cant tell you how many times I heard somebody say something like that, because it happened more than you'd think it would or should. G5

The problem with that, if they're keeping track of certain people, then that crosses over into something else. Since when Am I or anyone else state property?

Hey Chris! I'm in KY, and to think a smaller WIN of $600 over 4 tickets is under scrutiny??? I thought the smaller wins as u stated did stay under the radar??? Unless he cashes in at Lottery headquarters, which I don't advise... This article is very suspicious! You play to win and that's what Kevin did??? Unbelievable!!! Now I wonder when I cash out who's monitoring my winnings... Not even JACKPOTS just lil nickel and dime plays.... $77K!!! You go boy! That's what I'm talking about, I hope he gets EM again! Like the slogan says, Somebody's gonna WIN, might as well be you!!! Me or Kevin! Lolololol....

"Any hit is a good hit! get 'em, get 'em, get 'em! I'm gonna Hit 2 nite!!!"

Hummm.... Now I wonder if KY Lottery trolls the Lottery Post KY forum??? I'm done! Not posting anymore numbers! Since we're being watched...... Probably HOLDING certain numbers I'm sure that we post.... I'm done! Will just troll as they do.... Honestly with the money from non winning tickets compared to what Kevin's won, it just does not add up! Just pure GREED! $77K, on a Billion dollar industry??? Are you kiddin me???

"Any hit is a good hit! get 'em, get 'em, get 'em! I'm gonna Hit 2 nite!!!"

In the last fiscal year, the Kentucky Lottery paid out $495 million, and a lot of them were repeat winners.

One man over a 12-month period cashed 25 tickets worth $77,000.

Lottery officials said one thread runs true when it comes to repeat winners.

"The last few years I've been a little lucky. It's mostly luck, I guess," said one winner, who asked only to be identified as Kevin.

Last month, WLKY's Steve Burgin met up with Kevin at lottery headquarters, where he cashed four winning Pick 3 tickets, each worth $600.

Burgin found Kevin after filing an open records request with the lottery for repeat winners over a one-year period.

The list included thousands of people.

Kevin, who likes to play at Bowman Field Liquors, had more than 30 winning Pick 3 tickets in that year, collecting about $20,000.

"The secret to folks that win a lot, is they play a lot," said Kentucky Lottery vice president on communications Chip Polston.

Polston said players usually zero in on a particular game.

The twice daily Pick 3 and Pick 4 are among the most popular.

Polston pointed out that repeat winners don't go unnoticed.

He said people might be surprised how much data mining they do.

A single ticket includes a wealth of information.

"And with having all that data, we've got folks in our information security department that mine that data looking basically for anomalies, looking for things that are out of the ordinary," Polston said.

Data on Kevin's winning tickets showed nothing unusual, just that he plays a lot and at two different outlets.

"Probably play anywhere from $10 to $20 a day," he said.

Asked if he plays seven days a week, "Pretty much," he said. "I've come out a little ahead."

Polston said they also turn to a data base when people come in to cash winners.

"We look for back taxes that are owed, back child support, and also bad student loans," Polston said.

According to Polston, since 1992, the lottery has withheld more $2.8 million in back child support.

Through an open records request, WLKY found Friendly Food Mart and Tobacco in Pleasure Ridge Park is the third biggest seller of lottery games in the state.

"For any prize of $601 or more, we are going to give you the tax form and we are going withhold taxes as well, 25 percent federal and 6 percent state is typically what is withheld," said Polston.

The Kentucky Lottery believes the state's young people are the real winners.

Since 1999 more than $2.2 billion has gone to help Kentuckians pursue post-secondary education in the commonwealth.

Top Kentucky Lottery retailers

101 Lotto — Oak Grove

Lotto Xpress — Guthrie

Friendly Food Mart & Tobacco — Louisville

Dairy Mart #148 — Lexington

Skyline Fuel — Hopkinsville

Pal's of Oak Grove — Oak Grove

Dairy Mart #3282 — Louisville

Manny Mart — Radcliff

Jim Dandy Food Market — Louisville

Better Way Food Mart #4 — Louisville

Kroger l-327 — Louisville

Kroger l-385 — Louisville

Convenient #40 — Shelbyville

Data mining, I have believe was used to improve the Lottery product when sales drop below a expected level. The Lottery such know & expect repeat winners. Any person who play a lot & has numbers in each day sooner or later become your repeat winner. Kentucky Lottery player go slap this lottery in the face with back to back wins . Become the repeater. Get the money!

I located a video with Kevin's interview and he definitely plays a lot.

He plays $10 per ticket (full board) and uses the same numbers on every ticket, i.e. all 111-999 for each ticket. So like many of the predictors here on LP he uses the multiplier effect, which results in higher variance between wins but also larger prize amounts when hits do come.

The article is also ambiguous as to who stated that Kevin plays $10-$20 a day, and it turns out that Kevin is actually the one who claims this. Knowing this, and the statistical likelihood I mentioned in my first post, he is probably underestimating his daily expenditures. I recall an academic study performed a few years ago which found that frequent lottery players often underestimate how much they really spend.

Buying more lottery tickets increases your chances of winning, but you lose the most money in the short run.