Great story on cracking lottery scratch-off tickets

I assumed while reading that many of the details of the story were exaggerated. Once it's made into a film, it will become even more cartoonish, I'd assume. I don't see this as a big deal.

I just wish Richard Linklater had gotten his hands on this story first. A Bernie-esque film from him would've been amazing.

 

Here's my thought: $350,000 for an option on a piece of narrative journalism is fucking enormous.

 

My question is this: Where I live, you don't get to grab the tickets and look at them before buying. The clerk (or machine) gives them to you. So how can this "system" work if you're not allowed to look at the tickets before purchasing them?

 

That's what I was wondering. The ones where I live are on a roll in a lucite case, and you can't see the roll because they have a display ticket in the front panel. Simple anti-fraud system, but effective.