Lottery fever (for conspiracies)

If you were in New Jersey yesterday, you might’ve had the opportunity to buy a “Mega Millions” ticket. The jackpot was up to $267 million, and, unfortunately for us, the winning ticket was sold in Ohio.

Northwestern Ohio, huh? Sounds pretty rural. Seems like this letter in the Daily News a few days ago might be on to something:

If you look at large winnings in these mega-lotteries, why is it always a white person in a rural or suburban town who wins the big money? With today’s technology, you can’t make me believe that this isn’t fixed.

Why is it that no one in an urban area like Philadelphia has ever won the huge jackpot? Blacks make up a large part of the participation in these mega-lotteries, and we never, ever win. Black America, we need to stop playing THEIR game and take our money and invest in our future the right way. Now, that’s the big payoff!

The advice to stop playing lotteries is probably a good thing — since the lottery is just a tax on people who can’t do math. And our letter writer is correct, no one in the city has ever won the mega-lottery. With today’s technology, you can’t sway me with facts!

The mega lotteries [DN, fourth letter]
Philadelphia Retailer Sells Winning Powerball® Ticket Worth $52 million [PA Lottery]
Winning Mega Millions Ticket Sold in Ohio [AP/WSAV3]