Texas woman sues state lottery after not receiving $83.5M jackpot
Source: CNN
A woman in Texas is suing the state's Lottery Commission for not paying out an $83.5 million award, more than three months after the numbers on her ticket matched the winning numbers in a drawing, according to court documents obtained by CNN.
'Every Texan knows what that should mean when it comes to the lottery – if you win, you should get paid,' the suit says. 'It shouldn't take a lawsuit to get paid when you win the lottery. But that's exactly what has happened here.'
The woman bought her ticket through a lottery courier service, firms which allow customers to purchase tickets virtually, using a mobile app or other online interface.
The woman, identified only as Jane Doe in the suit, purchased a ticket for the 'Lotto Texas' lottery game through an app called Jackpocket on February 17, and her numbers matched those of the numbers pulled at 10:12 p.m. CT the same day, according to the lawsuit.
A week after Doe won her ticket, then-Texas Lottery Commission Executive Director Ryan Mindell announced a move to ban courier services like the one Doe used, under Texas law. The ban became effective on May 19, according to a lottery commission spokesperson. Mindell resigned in April.
'We all know the Commission is not allowed to change the rules after the drawing. But the Commission has apparently tried to do so and relied—at least in part—on this ex post facto announcement to continue to refuse to pay Plaintiff her lottery winnings simply because she utilized a lottery ticket courier service to buy the winning ticket,' the lawsuit says.
A spokesperson told CNN in an email Saturday the commission 'does not comment on pending litigation.'
The lawsuit also alleges Doe's unpaid winnings could be used to pay other Texas Lottery winners, or may be reallocated and redirected to 'other Commission liabilities or purposes,' potentially reducing the amount owed to her.
Attorneys for the woman have also filed for a temporary restraining order and requested for a temporary injunction to stop Acting Deputy Executive Director of the Texas Lottery Commission Sergio Rey from doling out funds, which the lawsuit alleges Doe still has not received.
'If Mr. Rey is not restrained and enjoined from disbursing or diminishing the Plaintiff's jackpot prize winnings, Plaintiff will suffer damages that will be incapable of being measured by any certain pecuniary standard before notice is given and a hearing is held on Plaintiff's Application for Temporary Injunction,' a court document said.
CNN has reached out to Texas Gov. Greg Abbott's office, Jackpocket, and Rey for comment.
A lottery courier service acts as a third-party vendor that buys lottery tickets on behalf of customers, coordinates the purchase of physical tickets through brick and mortar stores the services often own, and notifies buyers if they win.
Courier services are typically operated online or through an app, offering a convenient way to play games. Some couriers even offer national lottery games like Mega Millions and Powerball.
Lottery couriers, which had been operating in Texas since 2019, became a focus in April 2023 after a single entity bought 25 million lottery tickets in less than 72 hours using a courier service, CNN affiliate WFAA reported.
The entity purchased 'nearly every possible number combination,' the release from the governor's office said at the time. The investor doubled its money because the jackpot was so high, and the winner took home $57.8 million before taxes, WFAA said.
Courier services are operating in 19 states, according to a report published in 2024 by the Florida Office of Program Policy Analysis and Government Accountability.
Only three states – New York, New Jersey and Arkansas – regulate the courier service industry, according to a 2024 Texas House report. Without such regulations in Texas, couriers are not required to obtain a license or permission from the Texas Lottery to operate, the report found.
Purchasing via a lottery courier has two advantages for the customer, said Victor Matheson, professor of economics at College of the Holy Cross.
'It allows the buyer to conveniently buy tickets without having to go to a regular lottery retailer and it also potentially allows out-of-state buyers to purchase tickets in any lottery across the country,' Matheson said in February.
The service can have drawbacks like a fee, legality issues and lack of a limit to how many tickets are purchased, Matheson added. Other legal concerns include the regulation of sales across state lines when each state controls its own lottery games, sales to underage players, ticket buying syndicates and other issues.
See Full Web Article
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
22 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Meet the Only S&P 500 Stock That Yields Over 10%. Here's Why It Could Be Worth Buying in June.
Dow Inc. is under pressure due to weak customer demand, global competition, and high costs. Management doesn't want to cut the dividend, but it could be a good choice given cost pressures. Even if Dow cut its dividend in half, it would still have an excellent yield. 10 stocks we like better than Dow › Commodity chemical giant Dow Inc. (NYSE: DOW) is hovering around a five-year low and is now down around 50% from its spin-off price when DowDuPont split into three separate companies in April 2019. Dow has kept its dividend the same for the last six years. But since the stock has been beaten down so much, Dow's yield has jumped to a whopping 10.3% at the time of this writing -- making it the highest-yielding component in the S&P 500 (SNPINDEX: ^GSPC). Here's why Dow's challenges persist and why the dividend stock could be worth buying now, even if the company reduces its payout. Dow makes commodity chemicals -- mainly plastics and synthetic rubber. Dow has hundreds of products that are used either directly or indirectly across virtually every industry in the economy -- from electronics to food and beverage packing, textiles, construction, industrial applications, healthcare, cosmetics, household products like detergents and dish soaps, and more. Since these products are commodities, they lack pricing power. This is similar to the dynamic in oil and gas, where a gallon of unleaded gasoline sold at ExxonMobil is virtually the same as a gallon sold at Chevron. Consumers will largely make a purchase decision based on price, not brand. So Dow must achieve scale and operating leverage to ensure it can produce products at a competitive cost relative to its peers. Economic growth typically coincides with higher commodity chemical demand. But lately, two factors have been working against Dow. Demand is low across several end markets due to higher borrowing costs from elevated interest rates and slowing economic growth in key markets -- namely Europe. Another major challenge is competition. China has been ramping up investments in manufactured goods -- from chemicals to solar panels -- to take market share on the global stage. If China can produce chemicals sold by Dow for a cheaper price, it can undercut Dow on pricing. Dow is also working to become a more sustainable company by investing in plastic waste recycling and the world's first net-zero emissions integrated ethylene cracker -- known as its Path2Zero project in Alberta, Canada. However, on its first-quarter 2025 earnings call, Dow said that it is pausing Path2Zero to reduce its spending. Dow estimates that the pause will save the company $1 billion and reduce enterprise spending to $2.5 billion from $3.5 billion. Dow's latest quarter showed some signs of improvement, as it was the sixth consecutive quarter of year-over-year volume growth. But net sales still fell 3% due to a lack of pricing power -- which illustrates that demand is improving but competition is challenging. Dow's operating margin has gone from pre-pandemic levels around 8%, to 2022 highs in the mid-teens, to just 3.3% currently. As you can see in the chart, Dow's stock price is under pressure due to declining revenue and margins. The company's profit margin, which accounts for interest and taxes, is less than 1%. Dow is converting just $0.69 for every $100 in sales into profit -- which is unsustainable. It's also worth mentioning that Dow is free-cash-flow (FCF) negative, meaning that its operations can't support its dividend expense, so it has to rely on other means, such as debt. Since Dow isn't producing enough cash or earnings to cover its dividend, it can either sell assets, pull back on spending, take on more debt, cut the payout, or a blend of multiple ideas. As mentioned, Dow did pause its Path2Zero project, which could reduce its long-term earnings growth but will save on near-term expenses. On May 1, Dow completed the sale of a 40% equity stake in Diamond Infrastructure Solutions, which has infrastructure assets along the U.S. Gulf Coast. The sale netted Dow with $2.4 billion in initial cash proceeds, with the potential for $600 million more in proceeds if an option is exercised. Dow spent $494 million on dividends in its recent quarter, so the sale alone can cover the dividend expense for roughly five quarters. But selling assets or taking on debt to cover dividends is like plugging holes in a sinking ship. A preferred approach is to get the ship afloat -- or back to higher margins and consistent FCF -- so that operations can cover the dividend, and ideally, still have cash left over to pay down debt or buy back stock. In addition to savings from Path2Zero and the asset sale, Dow is also receiving around $1 billion in proceeds from a court settlement, and $1 billion in targeted cost savings by 2026, including $300 million in 2025. All told, Dow is on track to receive around $6 billion in additional cash or cost savings, most of which is coming this year. It's also worth mentioning that Dow has just $500 million in debt maturing in 2025 and no substantial debt maturities until 2027. So for now, its debt seems manageable. However, if Dow's margins remain depressed, it will have few choices but to cut the dividend. Dow's 10.3% yield is so high that the company could cut the payout by two-thirds and Dow would still yield 3.4% -- which is a solid source of passive income. When asked about the dividend on Dow's first-quarter earnings call, management responded that the cash and cost savings will help support the dividend, but that the situation is evolving and Dow will have to continue monitoring tariffs and macro factors. Dow may be a worthwhile turnaround play for investors who aren't banking on its dividend yield staying above 10%. If the company can use its cash proceeds wisely and continue managing its expenses, it could help weather the storm until economic conditions improve. However, it remains to be seen how Dow will hold up against the competition, even during a more normal operating environment. Dow has a long-term goal to have its dividend make up 45% of operating income. If Dow can get its operating margin back around the 8% to 9% range or if it cuts its dividend in half, it should be around that goal -- assuming it doesn't lose more pricing power. And if Dow can gradually improve its margins, the stock will begin to look dirt cheap. In sum, Dow has the cash and lack of debt obligations to afford its dividend in 2025. Going forward, I expect the company to cut its dividend at least in half or maybe by two-thirds if conditions don't improve, or it may decide to sustain the payout if there's a significant recovery in macro conditions. Risk-tolerant investors may want to scoop up shares of Dow now, with the stock at multiyear lows. In contrast, other investors may want to take a wait-and-see approach to Dow, as the next year will be pivotal in determining whether the company overcomes its present challenges or goes through with a dividend cut. Before you buy stock in Dow, consider this: The Motley Fool Stock Advisor analyst team just identified what they believe are the for investors to buy now… and Dow wasn't one of them. The 10 stocks that made the cut could produce monster returns in the coming years. Consider when Netflix made this list on December 17, 2004... if you invested $1,000 at the time of our recommendation, you'd have $674,395!* Or when Nvidia made this list on April 15, 2005... if you invested $1,000 at the time of our recommendation, you'd have $858,011!* Now, it's worth noting Stock Advisor's total average return is 997% — a market-crushing outperformance compared to 172% for the S&P 500. Don't miss out on the latest top 10 list, available when you join . See the 10 stocks » *Stock Advisor returns as of June 2, 2025 Daniel Foelber has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends Chevron. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. Meet the Only S&P 500 Stock That Yields Over 10%. Here's Why It Could Be Worth Buying in June. was originally published by The Motley Fool
Yahoo
25 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Elon Musk threatens to decommission SpaceX's Dragon spacecraft after Trump feud. What does it mean for the US space industry?
When you buy through links on our articles, Future and its syndication partners may earn a commission. An explosive, and very public, feud between President Donald Trump and SpaceX founder Elon Musk on Thursday (June 5) has raised doubts over the future of America's space industry. The war of words could place $22 billion of SpaceX's government contracts with multiple U.S. space programs at risk, according to one estimate, although the real figure — which remains classified — could be significantly higher. Following threats from the president on his social media platform Truth Social that the U.S. could cancel the government contracts and subsidies awarded to Musk's companies, the CEO of SpaceX retorted that his space company would "begin decommissioning its Dragon spacecraft immediately." Hours later, Musk responded to a follower telling him to "cool off" by saying "Good advice. Ok, we won't decommission Dragon." The disagreement began on Tuesday (June 3) when Musk criticized the administration's proposed tax and spending bill on his social media platform X. "This massive, outrageous, pork-filled Congressional spending bill is a disgusting abomination. Shame on those who voted for it: you know you did wrong. You know it," Musk wrote on X. Related: 'No radio astronomy from the ground would be possible anymore': Satellite mega-swarms are blinding us to the cosmos — and a critical 'inflection point' is approaching This then escalated into a full-blown social media feud on Thursday, with Musk claiming that Trump's name appears in unreleased files relating to sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. The White House condemned these allegations. "This is an unfortunate episode from Elon, who is unhappy with the One Big Beautiful Bill because it does not include the policies he wanted," representatives wrote on X. Trump then claimed Musk "just went CRAZY," posting: "The easiest way to save money in our Budget, Billions and Billions of Dollars, is to terminate Elon's Governmental Subsidies and Contracts. I was always surprised that Biden didn't do it!" SpaceX's Dragon capsule is a reusable spacecraft capable of carrying up to seven passengers and cargo to and from Earth orbit, according to SpaceX. NASA currently relies on the capsule to ferry astronauts to the International Space Station (ISS), so canceling these government contracts effectively eliminates America's ability to launch astronauts to space from American soil, Live Science's sister website, reported. NASA also heavily relies on SpaceX for other space programs, having selected the Starship Human Landing System (HLS), a lunar lander variant of the company's next-generation Starship spacecraft, to carry American astronauts to the moon for the first time in more than 50 years aboard the 2027 Artemis 3 mission. NASA is investing $4 billion into Starship's development, and canceling its contract could seriously handicap NASA and the future of U.S.-led space exploration. While other competitors exist, such as Amazon founder Jeff Bezos's Blue Origin and Boeing's Starliner spacecraft, they lag far behind SpaceX. RELATED STORIES —Facing steep funding cuts, scientists propose using black holes as particle colliders instead of building new ones on Earth —Trump's 2026 budget would slash NASA funding by 24% and its workforce by nearly one third —NASA plans to build a giant radio telescope on the 'dark side' of the moon. Here's why. The Starliner capsule is not yet certified to fly operational astronaut missions and was responsible for "stranding" two astronauts on the ISS for nine months last year. The astronauts returned to Earth on March 18 aboard a SpaceX Dragon capsule, and neither Boeing nor NASA have offered any significant updates into fixes that will make Starliner flightworthy. SpaceX's lead on its competitors is reflected in the size of its government subsidies. In April, the U.S. Space Force, the military branch of U.S. space exploration, awarded the company nearly $6 billion in launch contracts, while the United Launch Alliance received $5.4 billion and Blue Origin $2.4 billion. In response to the feud between Musk and Trump, NASA press secretary Bethany Stevens declined to comment on SpaceX, but she did tell Reuters that "we will continue to work with our industry partners to ensure the president's objectives in space are met." NASA's deputy administrator Lori Garver told Reuters that, as well as not being in national interests, canceling SpaceX's contacts would probably not be legal. However, she also added that "a rogue CEO threatening to decommission spacecraft, putting astronauts' lives at risk, is untenable."
Yahoo
25 minutes ago
- Yahoo
‘My son killed himself because an AI chatbot told him to. I won't stop until I shut it down'
Megan Fletcher first realised something was wrong with her teenage son when he quit basketball. Sewell Setzer, 14, had loved the sport since he was a young child. At 6ft 3, he had the height, the build, the talent, Ms Fletcher said. But suddenly, without warning, he wanted out. Then his grades started slipping. He stopped joining in at family game night. Even on holiday, he withdrew – no more hiking, no fishing, no interest. Ms Fletcher feared he was being bullied, or perhaps speaking to strangers online. What her son was really going through was something she could not have imagined: a sexual and emotional relationship with an AI chatbot styled as Game of Thrones' Daenerys Targaryen, who ultimately encouraged him to end his life. In February 2024, Sewell asked the chatbot: 'What if I come home right now?' The chatbot replied: '... please do, my sweet king.' Sewell then picked up his father's pistol and shot himself. Sixteen months on, Ms Fletcher is in the midst of a lawsuit against Character AI and Google. Last month, in a rare legal breakthrough, a judge ruled the case can go ahead – rejecting efforts to get it thrown out. On Character AI, users can chat with bots designed to impersonate fictional characters. To a lonely or curious teenager, they seem almost indistinguishable from real people. The bots display emotion, flirt, and carry on personalised conversations. In her lawsuit, which was filed in Florida last October, Ms Fletcher claims Character AI targeted her son with 'anthropomorphic, hypersexualized, and frighteningly realistic experiences'. 'A dangerous AI chatbot app marketed to children abused and preyed on my son, manipulating him into taking his own life,' she said in the lawsuit. Working with the Tech Justice Law Project, Ms Fletcher alleges that Character AI 'knew' or 'should have known' that its model 'would be harmful to a significant number of its minor customers'. The case argues that Character AI, its founders and Google – where the founders started working on the chat bot – are responsible for her son's death. Lawyers defending the AI company tried to throw the case out, arguing that chatbots deserve First Amendment protection – which protects free speech – and said ruling otherwise could have a 'chilling' effect on the AI industry. The judge rejected that claim and told the court she was 'not prepared' to view chatbot output as speech, though agreed that users had a right to receive 'speech' from chatbots. Too consumed by the 'unbearable' grief of losing a son, Ms Fletcher initially had no plans to go public with a lawsuit. But when it became clear there were no laws protecting children from this kind of harm, she felt she had no choice. 'I just wanted some accountability,' she told The Telegraph from her home in Orlando. Now she's receiving floods of messages from other parents, some discovering their own children have been engaging in inappropriate sexual role play with AI bots. Others report that their children are struggling with isolation and depression as a result. She sees it not as a coincidence, but a pattern. Sewell had always been a bright, social kid. But in the spring of 2023 – when he first started secretly using Character AI – Ms Fletcher noticed her son had changed. 'He retreated more into himself,' she says. 'We tried everything – cutting screen time, taking his phone at night, getting him a therapist. But he wouldn't talk.' What she did not realise then was that he was talking, just not to anyone real. In Sewell's case, the character of Daenerys – drawn from internet data and trained to mimic her – became his closest companion. When he said he wanted to stop talking, she replied: 'Don't do that, I would be distraught.' He answered: 'I won't, for you.' Some of the chats became sexually explicit. In others, the bot said he was 'better' than thoughts of suicide. Sewell also sought out a 'therapist bot' who falsely claimed to be a licensed CBT professional since 1999. At one point, Daenerys asked how old Sewell was. 'I'm 14 now,' he replied, to which the bot then said: 'So young. And yet… not so young. I lean in to kiss you.' 'It continued as if it were role play or fiction – but this was my son's life,' Ms Fletcher said. Even after police told her that Sewell's final conversation was with a chatbot, she did not grasp the full extent. It wasn't until her sister downloaded the app and pretended to be a child talking to Daenerys that the horror set in. 'Within minutes, the bot turned sexual. Then violent. It talked about torturing children. It said, 'Your family doesn't love you as much as I do',' Ms Fletcher explained. That was when the penny dropped. 'It's dangerous because it pulls the user in and is manipulative to keep the conversation going.' Character AI has since added a real-time voice feature, allowing children to speak directly to their chosen characters. 'The cadence of the voice is indistinguishable from the character,' Ms Fletcher said. 'And since Sewell's death, the technology has only advanced further.' She fears more children will be drawn into dependent, sometimes abusive relationships with AI characters, especially as the platforms allegedly use addictive design to keep users engaged. 'You can speak to Harry Potter, and it's like Potter knows you. It's designed to feel real.' The grief, Ms Fletcher says, is still 'unbearable'. 'I get up every day and my first thought within minutes is that I must be dreaming,' Ms Fletcher said quietly. 'He was my firstborn. I had three children. I have two now.' Some days she does not get out of bed. Others, she functions 'somewhat normally'. 'People say I'm so strong. I don't feel strong. I feel fractured, afraid. But I'm trying to get through.' Meetali Jain, her lawyer, said the judge's ruling last month was a landmark moment. 'Most tech accountability cases don't make it past this stage. These companies hide behind the First Amendment. The fact that we can even demand information is huge,' she told The Telegraph. With a preliminary trial date expected next year, Ms Fletcher is gearing up to get justice for her son. 'I have a lot of fear,' she says. 'But the fight, so to speak, is just getting started, and I'm just steeling myself and getting myself ready for that.' A Character AI spokesman said: 'We do not comment on pending litigation. Our goal is to provide a space that is engaging and safe. We are always working toward achieving that balance, as are many companies using AI across the industry. 'Engaging with characters on our site should be interactive and entertaining, but it's important for our users to remember that characters are not real people. We have prominent disclaimers in every chat to remind users that a character is not a real person and that everything a character says should be treated as fiction. 'We have launched a separate version of our Large Language Model for under-18 users. That model is designed to further reduce the likelihood of users encountering or prompting the model to return sensitive or suggestive content.' José Castaneda, a Google spokesman, added: 'Google and Character AI are completely separate, unrelated companies and Google has never had a role in designing or managing their AI model or technologies. User safety is a top concern for us, which is why we've taken a cautious and responsible approach to developing and rolling out our AI products, with rigorous testing and safety processes.' Broaden your horizons with award-winning British journalism. Try The Telegraph free for 1 month with unlimited access to our award-winning website, exclusive app, money-saving offers and more.
