There’s a problem with the Maryland lottery this year. Too many people are winning.
Revenue from the lottery has fallen $27 million below projections since July.
Some players of the Pick 3 and Pick 4 games have been hitting the jackpot by using repeating digits. One day in August, the number 1-1-1-1 hit, resulting in a $7 million payout to about 1,400.
One day in July, a Pick 3 drawing came up 6-6-6, and the lottery had to pay out $1.6 million dollars, which was three times the revenue the lottery took in that day.
In four months’ time, a series of repeating digits won 10 times, surprising Maryland lottery officials, who also said that the recession has hurt lottery sales. Sales of instant game tickets are flat.
