I-Team: Lottery Losers Pt. 2

ATLANTA (MyFOX ATLANTA) - When she spotted trouble with a lottery drawing her company was conducting, Clarissa Jones notified her bosses at Scientific Games. But when the company claimed it conducted a thorough investigation and found nothing wrong, Jones called the FOX 5 I-Team.

If you’ve ever wondered what might go on when a lottery drawing is not publicly broadcast, the I-Team has an audio recording you’ll want to hear.

Jones worked for a year and a half as a drawing assistant for Scientific Games in Alpharetta. The publicly-traded company is responsible for selecting winners of dozens of contests for states across the country, including one time for Georgia.

People who scratch off a losing ticket can still mail them in for a second chance at a prize. Scientific Games has been picking those second chance winners for years inside a secure room on the Alpharetta campus.

But did you ever imagine those official drawings would take place during a debate over the value of using multiple sperm donors? Or bad restaurant service? Gossip about current employees? Whether a boyfriend is good in bed?

“There was some goofing off,” said Jones. “A lot of laughing. I think that also is the reason for people to become distracted and not pay attention to what it is that they’re disqualifying people for.”

Last year, wearing a blindfold, Jones selected hundreds of winners for the New York Lottery second chance baseball game. Winners got either $10,000 or $600 worth of Yankees or Mets gear.

But according to her complaint to the New York Lottery, Scientific Games staff incorrectly disqualified people who should have won. During the fifth and final second chance drawing for the New York Lottery last year, Jones says she secretly brought an audio recorder into the room.

That recording, provided to the I-Team and state lottery investigators, is full of examples of questionable behavior on the part of Scientific Games employees. During one part of the drawing, some workers leave the room in search of birthday cake. During the validation process, when winners are checked to make sure they followed the rules in their entry, several Scientific Games employees can be heard laughing about the hottest TV shows. One even belts out portions of a Britney Spears song.

“All the while we’re trying to count and validate tickets,” complained Jones. “So it can be very distracting.”

Shortly after making her allegations to Scientific Games, the company fired Jones, accusing her of inappropriate conduct. But the Georgia Department of Labor disagreed and awarded her unemployment benefits.

According to her complaint, Jones says Scientific Games wrongly disqualified players because they didn’t sign their card or mailed their entries from a state other than New York. Like Angie Mooney of Stratford, Connecticut.

“That’s not very scientific if they’re not playing fair... not by the rules,” said Mooney. “Making their own rules as they go along apparently.”

Scientific Games also disqualified Lisa Vigna for not having a New York postmark. “Where do they find these people?” she asked.

Nowhere on the back of the ticket does it require an in-state postmark. The New York Lottery is investigating why Scientific Games made that decision. A spokesperson promises a thorough investigation.

Scientific Games declined to answer many of the I-Team’s questions or provide anyone to speak on camera. The company did release this statement:

“We take our role in second chance drawings very seriously and are committed to maintaining the integrity of those games for our lottery customers. We have reviewed this matter and confirmed that we have conducted these drawings ethically and fairly. The issues raised as to the alleged inconsistent interpretation of whether an entry required a signature and in-state postmark for a second-chance drawing has been subject to internal and external reviews.
"We have identified a handful of instances of inconsistent rule interpretation out of thousands of entries handled during the drawing process. Working with our lottery customers, we have taken steps to ensure the ongoing consistent application of game rules."

But lottery players in New York who say they should have won want to know what’s going to happen to them.

“Imagine in Georgia if there was a Braves sweepstakes and you’re a die-hard Braves fan and you sent in your ticket,” said Vigna. “You read the instructions on the back and you find out later on that you won. Put yourself in my shoes.”