Lottery Winner in Texas Denied $83.5M Win Sues for Payment

The saga with the Texas Lottery continues after the woman who won the $83.5-million jackpot in mid-February is now suing the lottery for failing to honor her payment. There is a lot to this case.

Texas Lottery in Fresh Travel as Winner Sues for $83.5M Win

For starters, the win was generated through a ticket bought through a courier service. This has been a particularly painful point for lawmakers who have riled against allowing anyone to purchase tickets by reaching out to a courier service.

The reason? A betting syndicate operating out of Europe, which bought 25.8 million tickets and won on April 22, 2023, fetching $95 million. Lawmakers have been on the offensive ever since that happened, and the latest win through a lottery courier service brought back painful memories and a swift political backlash.

The lottery’s boss has been forced out and a new bill is now dismantling the regulator, as well as limiting transactions to in-person only, and only up to 100 tickets in a single transaction, with state officials already passing the matter through the Senate with absolute majority and zero votes against.

Back to the winner of the $83.5-million jackpot, who is now suing, the woman is demanding payment after an investigation into the lottery win by the Texas Attorney General and the Texas Rangers has frozen the payout. Essentially, investigators are trying to verify whether the winner won on her own or as part of a larger group that has been gaming the system in a sense.

However, the plaintiff just isn’t buying it. Identified as one Randy Howry, the woman said that her experience with the win was the “thrill of victory” followed by “the agony of defeat.”

Lawsuit Has the Potential to Dent Lottery’s Reputation

Howry’s lawyer has challenged Texas Gov. Greg Abbott, one of the biggest critics of the win, and called him duplicitous – not in so many words – that he claimed he wanted to protect the integrity of the lottery but failed to honor a payment that was won fairly.

For its part, Lottery commissioner Steve Helm confirmed that the lawsuit has indeed been filed, and that it was subject to review. Denying payment to a lottery winner is going to undermine the future of the Texas Lottery if not handled correctly.

Even if lottery couriers are on their way out in the Lone Star, the people who play the lottery are still there.