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Here is a more detailed version of the story
From Globe & Mail
Lottery family's 167 wins legitimate, probes show
JOSH WINGROVE
July 31, 2008
The Ontario Lottery and Gaming Corp. and the Ontario Provincial Police, looking into suspicious "insider wins" by lotto retailers, have each closed investigations without charges after one retailer's family racked up 167 wins - worth $1,279,328 - in just nine years, documents show.
Barry Jackson, his wife Corrie, and sons Rob, Trevor and Barry Jr., together claimed the wins between 1995 and 2004, at which point they sold their small convenience store in Jellicoe, Ont., about 200 kilometres north of Thunder Bay.
The hot streak prompted an OLG review in 2000, and an OPP investigation this year. No charges were laid. The family says they were just lucky.
"Aw, my dad's always been lucky, no matter what," said Rob Jackson, 34. "Basically, he's had a whole herd of horses up his arse. That's what he said."
Print Edition - Section Front
The Globe and Mail
Barry Jackson, who died last year, owned the store for 32 years and bought the family's tickets there, but they only started winning in 1995. First, a mere $576 on Aug. 28, claimed by his son, records show. Then, on Oct. 16 that year, Barry himself won $138,630 on one ticket. Five years later, a $1,011,350 prize. They continued to win regularly until selling the store in 2004, and insist the wins were all legitimate.
"No, we never turned the music off," Rob Jackson said, alluding to a practice by which retailers silence the winning chimes of a lotto machine, swap a customer's ticket for a fake, and later claim the prizes themselves. "There's no dirt [on the family], actually. We just got lucky. That's all."
The family's two big-ticket purchases were a new SUV and a 32-foot motorhome.
Documents of the OLG investigation reveal the elder Mr. Jackson and his wife both played Pick 3, Lotto 6/49 and the Super 7 regularly.
"Jackson and his wife, Corrie, are probably their best purchasing customers, as they both purchase tickets daily," the OLG investigation reads.
Many of the family's wins are small, and some tickets count as multiple wins. Excluding the two big prizes in 1995 and 2000, the family's 159 remaining wins netted $129,348. All five claimed wins.
Given the family's winning record, the OLG ran its mandatory Insider Win audit in 2000, when Mr. Jackson stepped forward to claim his million-dollar prize, but concluded after nine days there was "nothing to indicate" the big ticket wasn't his.
Last year, Ontario Ombudsman André Marin slammed the OLG, citing $15-million in sham winnings by "internal fraudsters." That prompted the OLG to audit its files from 1995 to 2006. It handed over the Jacksons' case to the OPP this year. On June 8, that investigation also closed, citing a lack of evidence to warrant charges.
"The allegations have been unfounded," OPP Sergeant Pierre Chamberlain said.
In response to repeated media requests, the OLG announced only this week that it handed the Jackson file to the OPP and "recently" hired audit firm Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu to review its winners.
After Mr. Marin's report, several new OLG regulations were introduced to prevent ticket theft, including mandatory signing of tickets and self-serve kiosks. The OLG continues to investigate. In December, a Mississauga retailer was charged with stealing a $5.7-million prize.
Opposition leaders called yesterday for an independent investigation of the OLG
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they must of been great pick 3 players..... i wish some of the family members would post on here .........i sure could use the tips!
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