Results were all divisible by 9
By Kate Northrop
The Philippines government Charity Sweepstakes Office is hearing calls for an investigation after 433 lottery winners split a 236 million pesos (US$4 million) jackpot on Saturday.
Lottery enthusiasts in the Philippines are split over whether an official investigation should take place over a $4 million lottery jackpot being split by 433 winners.
On Sat., Oct. 1, the 6/55 Grand Lotto Draw drew the winning numbers 9, 18, 27, 36, 45, and 54 — all numbers divisible by nine.
Each winner received 500,000 pesos (US$8,500) after the jackpot was divvied up.
Players and non-players alike took to social media with mixed views, with some saying that it's not unheard of for people to pick particularly popular number combinations like the one drawn. Others are voicing concerns over the integrity of the draw.
One of the individuals calling for an official review is Senate Minority Leader Aquilino "Koko" Pimentel, who labeled the results "strange and unusual."
"These lotto games are authorized by the Republic of the Philippines," Pimentel said in a statement. "Therefore, we need to maintain and protect the integrity of these gambling games."
In a hypothetical Senate hearing, statisticians would be asked to provide their perspectives, and the Philippines Charity Sweepstakes Office (PCSO) would have the floor to explain its operations, Pimentel said on Filipino radio.
PCSO General Manager Mel Robles said in a press briefing they "found nothing wrong" with the Saturday draw, and that it was a "natural occurrence." If anything, Robles said, the office was happy that the jackpot was split by more winners in time for the upcoming holiday season.
Senator Risa Hontiveros had a take similar to Pimentel's, but she explained that her motivations for an investigation are not to imply foul play, rather to put the public's mind at ease.
"We just want rule out any doubts in the public mind that the results have been manipulated," Hontiveros said. "While we recognize that people tend to bet in patterns, we also want to make sure the system is secure, free from glitches, and trustworthy."
Thanks to dannyct for the tip.
Maybe the rucky numbers were printed on the fortune in the fortune 🍪 cookie.
Sounds like Eddie Tipton moved to the Philippines?
* As Teddy " KGB" said in Rounders: Pay the Man his money."
People use to play patterns. The fact that all numbers are divisible by 9 might explain the high number of winners. Same happens with pick 4, with combinations such as 0000, 7777. When those combinations are drawn, the number of winners is very high. Each of those 433 winners surely thought they hit it big. Just imagine their disappointment once they heard about the other 432 winners!
Why is it " strange and unusual "? I trust "no one" should've won ( in your opinion ) ? Asking for a friend
Winning Combination=9, 18, 27, 36, 45, 54
1x9=9, 2x9=18, 3x9=27, 4x9=36, 5x9=45, 6x9=54
What's to Investigate?
In addition to the 9+9+9+9+9+9 result, which is likely the preeminent factor that resulted in so many winners, I suspect the play card design may also be a contributing factor with the filled in cards representing some sort of distinguishable pattern i.e. diagonal line, straight line, cross, et al. I don't consider the number of winners suspicious given these factors. (If the number 9 has special significance in the Philippine culture, this would further bolster the multiple plays.)
"What's to Investigate?"
"hearing calls for an investigation" is exactly what would happen in any US lottery simply because players don't know how many tickets have identical combos unless a jackpot is won.
Lots of lottery system makers like Howard, Player, Z, Serotic, and even Richard Lustig all mentioned commonly played combinations and how that could effect winnings. And the all numbers "divisible by nine" Philippines drawing is a prime example.
Most players would be disappointed only winning $8,500 from a $4 million jackpot but it's much better than trashing losing tickets.
It would be the same way if 01,02,03,04,05,06 came up here in the states. People play it just as a "what if" combo, or just as a goof, and then when it actually hits...
"I suspect the play card design may also be a contributing factor with the filled in cards representing some sort of distinguishable pattern i.e. diagonal line "
I'm surprised there weren't 10 times as many winners. The play slips have columns of 10 numbers (except the last, of course). There are no diagonals that move over and down and there are only 5 that move over and up, which doesn't offer a lot of choice for people who want to play diagonals. The last digit of each diagonal results in a countdown, so for some people that might be a second reason to play a diagonal pattern. Because starting at 9 also results in a diagonal where each number is a multiple of the starting number I'd figure that's a 3rd reason for some people.
I've seen lots of commentary on various news sites that Filipinos are dumb for not realizing how popular "pattern plays" are, and that there's no need for an investigation because the popularity of pattern plays completely explains why so many won.
What Filipinos know, and most internet commenters don't, is that the PCSO has been plagued by corruption and mismanagment for a long time -- so much so that Duterte even shut the lottery down for a few day in 2019. In this case, I'm not surprised so many players are suspicious of the result and assume it was fixed.
This is an example of why when picking numbers, one shouldn't pick patterns, common sets of numbers, birthdays, etc. It doesn't decrease the chance of winning but it increases the chance of having to share if all the numbers hit.
One well known example of this is Mega Millions in January 2011 when the jackpot was $380million ($240million cash). 25,587 players played a set of numbers that appeared in the TV series lost and matched 3 numbers plus the Mega Ball and won $150.
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1344539/How-26-000-fans-Lost-actually-WON-copying-lottery-numbers-used-TV-series-cash-Mega-Millions-draw.html
https://www.usamega.com/mega-millions/drawing/2011/1/4
If all the numbers had hit and the jackpot was divided amongst all the winners, out of a potential $240million, each player would have only gotten $9,379.76 before taxes. Not a bad sum of money, but a drop in the bucket to what could have been.
I also recall a story from some years ago about how there were multiple lower tier prize winners in multiple states with the same numbers matched. It turned out these numbers came from came from a fortune cookie. Apparently, the same fortune had been shipped to several Chinese restaurants and people played it and won a small prize.
The only time I play a date is in May around my wedding anniversary. One time it won me $400 on Powerball, one digit off from $40,000. Other than that, I avoid dates, patterns, etc. so I don't have to share too much in the unlikely event I win.
Exactly, I was also thinking of the TV show lost. Thousands of people have been playing Hurley's lottery numbers for years and finally won $150. This is why I try and stay away from popular patterns and TV lottery numbers. Sharing the prize with so many people would be a bummer.
I read somewhere that the numbers 1-2-3-4-5-6 are played by 10K people daily in the U.S. So if this number ever does come up in the MM or PB, these people will not be getting the money they expected. I read the story in Dec. 2020, in the South African Powerball. The numbers 5-6-7-8-9-10 came out and 20 people hit the jackpot. A lot of people were angry and cried fraud. An investigation was launched but no fraud was found. Each of the 20 winners received $370K