Ohio Lottery loser must make good on bad bets
Murray, 42, wasn't the only one gambling. Chris Simon, the owner of Worden Road Mini Mart, processed those bets without getting any money from Murray, lottery officials say.
Murray apparently did not have the money for those Pick 3 bets, or for $79,000 in wagers processed at Simon's store the previous Saturday. Simon later would learn that a check Murray wrote to him for the Saturday bets bounced.
Murray and Simon plunged ahead Nov. 11, hoping for a big winner. The odds were not in their favor.
Given the 129 numbers Murray played that day, his chances of winning were 1 in 8. He needed the pingpong balls in the lottery hopper to bounce his way.
On the morning of Nov. 11, the lottery machine at Simon's tiny beverage store spat out $79,000 in Pick 3 tickets covering Murray's numbers in the midday drawing, lottery records show. But none of them were winners.
Murray then bet $161,000 on the same numbers in the evening drawing. Again, he did not win. So in a final splurge, he bet $237,000 on the same numbers in the next day's midday drawing. Once again, the pingpong balls refused to cooperate.
Murray's $477,000 in wagers on Nov. 11 ended an eight-day spree that saw him bet $1.5 million on Pick 3 games.
When it was over, he had lost $632,000.
Murray has been charged with passing bad checks to Simon and two other lottery agents who took his bets on credit.
Lottery officials say Simon has until mid-February to come up with $453,000 he owes the lottery, or face the no-nonsense collection efforts of the Ohio attorney general's office. The security bond that all Ohio lottery agents are required to have will reimburse the state a maximum of $30,000. Lottery records show Simon's business is on the hook for the balance.
The other two agents don't owe the lottery any money.
The Ohio Lottery removed its machines from all three businesses and could yank their licenses permanently. Lottery officials contend the three agents violated rules covering the "safe handling" of ticket sales and prohibitions against taking bulk orders of Pick 3 tickets.
None of those involved would comment for this report. Their attorneys did not return calls.
State officials say they are fortifying the lottery's early-warning system on big bets and re-educating agents on the dangers of dealing with compulsive gamblers.
Lottery agents receive a 5.5 percent commission on all lottery bets and either 1 percent or 1.5 percent on the amount they pay out in winnings.
Murray had been a familiar and welcome sight to lottery agents in the area, several of whom said he never had problems paying off his debts before the November spree.
"The word on the street was the guy was like gold," said Don Nastasi, owner of Imperial Beverage in Wickliffe.