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You know that one good tank top that you wear like all year round? I mean it fits you just right so you wear it all the time but maybe now it's getting a little old. Shifting my wardrobe from summer to fall is always a challenge. Luckily, Quince offers timeless and high quality items that I
I love so I can make sure my wardrobe stays fresh and I don't blow my budget. They've got cashmere sweaters from $50, pants for every occasion, washable silk tops. And my favorite part, all Quince items are priced 50 to 80% less than similar brands. By partnering directly with top factories, Quince cuts out the cost of the middleman
and passes the savings on to us. And Quince only works with factories that use safe, ethical, and responsible manufacturing practices and premium fabrics and finishes. I recently got this 100% European linen short sleeve shirt. Ooh, I love linen. And you know, it was so comfortable, so cute. I can finally retire my old ratty tank top.
RIP. Make switching seasons a breeze with Quince's high quality closet essentials. Go to quince.com slash dark history for free shipping on your order and 365 day returns. That's quince, Q-U-I-N-C-E dot com slash dark history to get free shipping and 365 day returns. quince.com slash dark history.
This episode is brought to you by Progressive Insurance. Most of you listening right now are probably multitasking. Yep, while you're listening to me talk, you're probably also driving, cleaning, exercising, or maybe even grocery shopping. But if you're not in some kind of moving vehicle, there's something else you could be doing right now. Getting an auto quote from Progressive Insurance.
It's easy and you can save money by doing it from your phone. Drivers who save by switching to Progressive save nearly $750 on average. And auto customers qualify for an average of seven discounts. Discounts for having multiple vehicles on your policy, being a homeowner and more.
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The largest Powerball jackpot ever won happened on November 7th, 2022 with a jackpot of 2.04 billion dollars.
Now, to make that money, the average American would have to work 29,620 years. But even though the odds of winning the lottery are like 300 million to one, I mean, somebody has to win.
Surprisingly, I learned that the lottery is way, way older than we think. But there's always a dark side. Winning the lottery has led to scandals, violence, and even murder. Baby, buckle in, 'cause this is a dark history of the lottery.
Hey, how are you doing today? I hope you are having a wonderful day so far. My name is Bailey Sarian and I'd like to welcome you to my podcast, Dark History. Look, here we believe history. It doesn't have to be boring. I mean, yeah, it might be tragic and sometimes rarely it's happy. But either way, I mean, it's the truth and it's our dark history. So all you have to do is sit back, relax, and just let me ramble because I'm going to tell you everything you need to know, okay?
Also, if you're watching this over on YouTube, this is some new merch I have. I'll leave in the description box down below. Or you can just go to BaileySarian.com if you want to check out new Dark History merch. Super cute. Thank you. I hope you like it too. Okay, when I hear the word lottery, it automatically makes me think of that one show I like to watch. It's called The Lottery Changed My Life.
Do you guys remember it? I mean, is anyone else in their vintage TLC rewatch era? Because I'm deep.
All right, well, anyway, it was all about people who had won the lottery and it would go on explaining like how these winners spent their money. Most of the people went from having blue collar jobs where they were making minimum wage to being thrown into millions of dollars, you know? And since it was like normal everyday people winning, it was very inspiring to watch. I was like, oh my God, that could be,
I mean, one day I just have to play the lottery. But it wasn't all rainbows, unicorns, and like happy stories about living this high life and having hot orgies on a yacht, you know? In one episode I saw there was this guy named Shakespeare. Yeah, I was like, really? All right. Anyway, this guy's name was Abraham Shakespeare and he was from Florida.
And in 2006, he had won $17 million in the Florida lottery. But before you get a little too jealous, it turns out that this money was more of a curse than a blessing. He apparently told his brother that so many people were asking him for money that he said, quote, I'd have been better off broke, end quote.
Shakespeare's millions attracted the attention of a woman named Dee Dee Moore. And Dee Dee came to him and was like, "Oh my God, hey, I'm great with money. Let me manage it for you. And also I'll write a book about you." So he's like, "All right." Well, cut to three years later and Shakespeare, he's missing. And later his body would be found under a concrete slab at the home of
- GDs. Oh, . - Yep. So, I mean, I think you could say that like winning the lottery led to Shakespeare dying and sadly,
she's not alone. There are many such cases. So this got me thinking like how many lottery winners have gotten murdered, right? Does this happen all the time? Because it's probably happened all the time, right? I mean, winning the lottery, it's kind of like putting a target on your back if you publicly announce that you won all of this money. I mean, all sorts of people just seem to come out of the woodwork. But in reality,
your chances of getting struck by lightning is a lot higher than winning that jackpot. So a lot of people they see playing the powerball is just like a waste of time and money, you know? But there's another side to the lottery that no one talks about. Like when you buy a lottery ticket, 35 cents of every dollar you spend on that ticket actually goes back into state projects. Yeah.
Yeah, things like building roads and even education. So when I found that out, I was like, "Oh, really? Huh?" So even if your odds of winning a lottery are low, I guess you can always pat yourself on the back because you're technically donating to something that helps other people, you know? But to really understand the lottery, let's start with the basics.
Well, I hope you all know what the lottery is, but it's a little more intricate than I even realized. A lottery, for those who don't know, is a way of like raising money by selling tickets and then giving a prize to a lucky winner who is selected at random. The legal definition of a lottery consists of three things. A prize, which is like typically money, property, or a trip.
Part two is a participation part, like when you buy a ticket, which is what gives you the chance at winning. And part three is a selection part, which legally has to be at random. Because in order for it to be a lottery, there is no skill that makes you more likely to win. It's not like Mario Kart where you can win because you're spending all your free time playing it. It's a game of chance.
People are always talking about how lotteries are rigged, but the idea has always been that anyone
can win. As long as you buy a ticket, of course. I would have guessed the lottery started in like the 1970s or maybe even the 80s, but I was quickly humbled by the internet. Not only is the lottery not new at all, I mean, there is so much more to it than a big ass pile of money. A version of the lottery actually existed in the Old Testament of the Bible where Moses said, "'Let there be lottery.'"
I'm pretty sure he said that. But I guess like after Jesus was crucified, Roman soldiers famously divided up Jesus's robe using a method called the casting of lots. And that's a Bible-y way like to say random selection. And from that word lots, I guess that's where we get the name lottery. In ancient Rome, emperors apparently used a lottery system to give away property and even enslaved people.
But the first recorded lottery with a cash prize actually started for America. We did it! USA! USA! If you want to be technical, the tickets were sold in England, but the money that was raised went to this fun startup company called America.
You know that one good tank top that you wear like all year round? I mean it fits you just right so you wear it all the time but maybe now it's getting a little old. Shifting my wardrobe from summer to fall is always a challenge. Luckily Quince offers timeless and high quality items that I
love so I can make sure my wardrobe stays fresh and I don't blow my budget. They've got cashmere sweaters from $50, pants for every occasion, washable silk tops. And my favorite part, all Quince items are priced 50 to 80% less than similar brands. By partnering directly with top factories, Quince cuts out the cost of the middleman
and passes the savings on to us. And Quince only works with factories that use safe, ethical, and responsible manufacturing practices and premium fabrics and finishes. I recently got this 100% European linen short sleeve shirt. Ooh, I love linen. And you know, it was so comfortable, so cute. I can finally retire my old ratty tank top.
R.I.P. Make switching seasons a breeze with Quince's high quality closet essentials. Go to quince.com slash dark history for free shipping on your order and 365 day returns. That's quince, Q-U-I-N-C-E dot com slash dark history to get free shipping and 365 day returns. quince.com slash dark history.
This episode is brought to you by Progressive Insurance. Most of you listening right now are probably multitasking. Yep, while you're listening to me talk, you're probably also driving, cleaning, exercising, or maybe even grocery shopping. But if you're not in some kind of moving vehicle, there's something else you could be doing right now. Getting an auto quote from Progressive Insurance.
It's easy and you can save money by doing it from your phone. Drivers who save by switching to Progressive save nearly $750 on average. And auto customers qualify for an average of seven discounts. Discounts for having multiple vehicles on your policy, being a homeowner and more.
So just like your favorite podcast, Progressive will be with you 24, 7, 365 days a year. So you're protected no matter what. Multitask right now. Quote your car insurance at Progressive.com to join the over 28 million drivers who trust Progressive.
History. History.
Back in 1612, the American colonies were like just getting going and the British colonizers, they were really struggling. They had settled in Virginia and had founded the colony known as Jamestown five years earlier and it wasn't easy. Things were rough. Most of the colonists had already starved to death, so...
They lost a few, you know, numbers were getting thin. So the king at the time, King James, decided to throw money at the problem because, yeah, why not? So he decided to help the Jamestown settlers financially. He thought a lottery would be a great way to convince English citizens to financially invest in the colonies across the pond. Plus, it would hopefully generate enough money to support Jamestown and help strengthen their economy.
But honestly, for a second, it didn't look like it was going to work out because the Puritan settlers were all about being pure.
You know? It's in our name. It makes sense. So they did not, you know, fancy gambling. They didn't even believe in it. They saw it as, quote, a door and a window to worse sins. Yeah, it's pretty intense. Basically, they thought the lottery was a gateway drug to, like, sinning. Like playing with a Ouija board. Or reading Harry Potter.
One day you're buying a lotto ticket, then the next day you're sacrificing your aunt to the corn god. But where there's a will, there's always a way. The colonists needed help from the English, so King James essentially tells the Puritans to stop cock-blocking the lottery, and he puts his plan into action. And the king partners up with the bad guys from Pocahontas, the movie.
Remember? The Virginia Company. Do you remember them? It's run by that guy who has like the big purple hat and the adorable pug. It was real. And that guy was besties with King James.
So King James put the Virginia company in charge of the first ever lottery. Now the prize was 4,000 crowns, which was a good amount of money back in like 1612. Today that amount of money could buy you a new car. So tons of people entered and the results speak for themselves. The English citizens were buying lottery tickets left and right.
I mean, they felt good about spending that money because they believed it was helping expand their empire. The money was used to finance more ships for people to go over to Jamestown. And since the lottery was so successful, the colonies decided to expand it. In 1616, the Virginia Company sent their people on the road to sell tickets
in quote unquote instant lotteries. So in these smaller scale games, people would often find out if they won like right away. It was kind of like a scratch game
scratch and win lottery situation that we have today, you know? People loved, they loved this shit. They loved the instant gratification, you know? And over the next four years, the Virginia company brought in about 29,000 pounds or $8 million in today's money. They're like, oh shit, we're onto something, huh? Well, by the 1670s, gambling was just a part of like New England life.
I mean, yeah, it was against the religion at the time, but that didn't matter because what happens in Jamestown stays in Jamestown. And honestly, snaps for the king because
Because like this lottery system helped finance American infrastructure. They built new roads, bridges, churches, and even colleges. And according to Victor Matheson, a professor of economics at the College of the Holy Cross, quote, we've had lotteries in the United States for a super long time. And a lot of big things in U.S. history were actually financed by them.
End quote. The prices back then were pretty similar to today's like a chunk of change, real estate or land.
The tickets back then were handwritten and much more simple. John Hancock ran a lottery to help build an iconic town hall in Boston, and George Washington ran one to help build a road through a mountain in Virginia. Basically, the founding fathers used the lotteries the way we use bake sales. Thomas Jefferson said that lotteries are quote, "independent."
indispensable to the existence of men, and everyone has a natural right to pursue such." In other words, if you think it's gonna help you, buy a ticket because it's the American way, you guys. You're true American. So during the Revolutionary War, lotteries became even more important by raising funds for the Patriot cause, which is like kind of funny when you think about it because it's like, "Thanks for the lottery, England!"
Now we're gonna use it to buy guns and like kill all your people, whoops. In 1776, the Continental Congress even resorted to holding a nationwide lottery to support the war effort. The prizes included money, military land warrants, and other valuable items. And like this was the 1700s, so they also gave away enslaved people as prizes. I know, what?
But yeah, it fucked up. But there was a loophole nobody was expecting. Anyone could buy a lottery ticket, even if you were enslaved. And around 1800, a man named Denmark the Sea, who was an enslaved person in Charleston, South Carolina, he did just that.
He bought a ticket like in a local lottery and to his surprise, baby, he won. He's like, oh, fuck yeah. And guess what? Like he wins the money, right? They can't stop him. He won.
So with this money, he was able to buy his own freedom, giving himself a completely new lease on life. Like that was their way out, which is fucked up. But then in the 1800s, America entered a period of time called the temperance movement. This is when everything was becoming like,
a moral issue. Not only was drinking considered wrong, but now gambling was sinful. And the lottery was definitely considered gambling. So there was like an overall shift in America toward puritanical thinking.
And it's not like people were like totally unjustified. As lotteries became more popular, so did lottery corruption, of course. We can't have anything nice. Lottery organizers would sell tons of tickets, but then just like run off with like the price money. And they're like, bye. They would Scooby-Doo right out of there.
So naturally, some people start to get a little sketched out by the whole system. I mean, they don't trust it. So participation in lottery games starts to take a nosedive. Also, during this time, America was growing and growing and growing like crazy. There was a steady stream of jobs, which means a steady flow of money into people's pockets. And for a relatively new country, that's a big deal. And America didn't need lottery money as badly anymore.
But what people didn't know was that America was on the brink of a financial crisis. One that was so bad, it's been branded as the Great Depression no one knows about. It's called the Panic of 1837.
The fact that it's called the panic is like, uh-oh, doesn't sound good, right? The panic of 1837 was essentially kicked off when the banks made some very bad lending decisions, as they do, huh? Europe was normally buying a lot of goods from America, but the Europeans were like, hmm,
Like, why don't we just make all this stuff here in Europe? Why do we need them? We don't need them. So they stopped buying things from America. And finally, thanks to the president at the time, Andrew Jackson, banks literally ran out of physical money to give people and they were closing left and right. So a ton of businesses had shut down overnight because they couldn't pay their employees. And
The economy was collapsing. Americans had to blow through their savings just to get by and rebuild from nothing. It took over five years for the economy to get back on track and for life to be somewhat normal again. Did like any of you guys have relatives or grandparents that lived through the Great Depression? You know how your grandparents would like shove cash into the mattresses or like the walls or something just in case of an emergency? And at the time you're like,
why are you doing that? And then you get older and you realize that it's actually not a normal thing to do. You know? Well, after the panic of 1837, people were doing exactly that. They were being very careful
i'd say smartly conservative with their money you know they were holding on to it they were scared what if that happens again they don't want to be in that same situation so of course like they weren't going to spend it on anything they considered frivolous like
The lottery. They knew that the odds of winning were slim to none. So what was even the point? Let's not risk it. So for the rest of the 1800s, most Americans were pretty anti-lottery. By 1890, lotteries were completely banned in every state, which I was like, what? Yeah, but they were, except for in Delaware and Louisiana. I know, Delaware is so random. I forgot it's a state. What do they even do there?
Yeah, I know. But good for them, huh? And look, it wasn't just because the government was being like a huge buzzkill. For decades in the early 1900s, after the government ban, the lottery became associated with the working class, poor communities, and then the mafia. Just because the lottery became illegal doesn't mean the demand to play completely disappeared, you know? To supply that demand, of course illegally,
Mafia-run versions of the lottery would like pop up all throughout different neighborhoods. And this would be through something called the numbers game. Essentially, gamblers would meet illegal bookies at locations like a barbershop or a bar. And then they would place bets on like what the winning numbers would be. And the odds of winning were, again, like not great. It was 999 to 1. So...
Good luck. Plus, the games were rigged a lot of the time. You know, it was kind of like carnival games. It was like, no one really wins. So Mafia bookies hosting this whole lottery would make tens of thousands of dollars. And the people would just like completely lose out. And they'd take all that money and be happy.
From 1900 to 1950, there were wars, there was a depression, and no legal lotteries. Plus the mafia of it all made people think all lottery was connected to crime. And it wasn't until the 1960s after World War II that lotteries started to take off again. I guess they got a new PR team. But they only came back in three states without sales or income tax. I mean, can you imagine winning the lottery and barely having to pay taxes on it?
Talk about a dream, right? That's the first thing everyone says, like, about the lottery. I wonder how much they take out in taxes. It's like, shut the fuck up. Just let me be happy. Jeez.
But little did people know that the lottery at this time was about to make a big comeback. You know that one good tank top that you wear like all year round? I mean, it fits you just right. So you wear it all the time, but maybe now it's getting a little old. Shifting my wardrobe from summer to fall is always a challenge. Luckily, Quince offers timeless and high quality items that
I love so I can make sure my wardrobe stays fresh and I don't blow my budget. They've got cashmere sweaters from $50, pants for every occasion, washable silk tops. And my favorite part, all Quince items are priced 50 to 80% less than similar brands. By partnering directly with top factories, Quince cuts out the cost of the middleman
and passes the savings on to us. And Quince only works with factories that use safe, ethical, and responsible manufacturing practices and premium fabrics and finishes. I recently got this 100% European linen short sleeve shirt. Ooh, I love linen. And you know, it was so comfortable, so cute. I can finally retire my old ratty tank top.
R.I.P. Make switching seasons a breeze with Quince's high quality closet essentials. Go to quince.com slash dark history for free shipping on your order and 365 day returns. That's quince, Q-U-I-N-C-E dot com slash dark history to get free shipping and 365 day returns. quince.com slash dark history.
This episode is brought to you by Progressive Insurance. Most of you listening right now are probably multitasking. Yep, while you're listening to me talk, you're probably also driving, cleaning, exercising, or maybe even grocery shopping. But if you're not in some kind of moving vehicle, there's something else you could be doing right now. Getting an auto quote from Progressive Insurance.
It's easy and you can save money by doing it from your phone. Drivers who save by switching to Progressive save nearly $750 on average. And auto customers qualify for an average of seven discounts. Discounts for having multiple vehicles on your policy, being a homeowner and more.
So just like your favorite podcast, Progressive will be with you 24, 7, 365 days a year. So you're protected no matter what. Multitask right now. Quote your car insurance at Progressive.com to join the over 28 million drivers who trust Progressive.
Progressive Casualty Insurance Company and affiliates. National average 12-month savings of $744 by new customer surveyed who saved with Progressive between June 2022 and May 2023. Potential savings will vary. Discounts not available in all states and situations. Slash dark history.
Inflation became a problem in the 1960s and state budgets, they really needed some financial help. Now that normally means more taxes, but we all know how it goes when the government tries to impose new taxes. Not great. So state governments came up with a sneaky way of getting that money. They're like, "Hey, you guys, what if we bring back the lottery?"
Idea. Yay. But again, at this time, the lottery was still seen by some as like this dirty little game, you know? So lottery companies needed to find a way to make people want to play the lottery. So they turned to the same place all companies turn to when they want to test a product.
Housewives. Oh yeah, housewives. So in the 1960s, grocery stores started selling these wax-coated lottery tickets. And the only way you could see if you won any money off these tickets was to wipe the wax that was on the card. You'd have to wipe it off with a rag dipped in butter or you'd scratch it off.
I know. I like the rag dipped in butter. That sounds fun. That's right. This was like an early version of the scratchers we know and love today. Only a few people would win with these Waxy Lotto tickets. And if you did win, it would usually like only be a penny. But like,
really didn't care. It was thrilling. It gets exciting. Like even today, if you win a dollar, you're like, "Oh, ah!" So excited, right? It's just, I don't know. We love to win, don't we? So yeah, they love that. They're like, "A penny? Oh my God. Oh my God. I'm gonna faint. I'm gonna pass out. I wanna bet." A few years later in 1974, scratchers were invented by two guys working for a company called Scientific Games Corporation. And this time, if you won,
you weren't winning pennies. This time, you'd be winning some serious money. I'm talking jackpot money in the thousands. Well, when this was released, people were obsessed, okay? There were lines all down the block. And when people did get into the grocery stores to buy them, they would like, they were buying them by like the fistful.
They were out of control. Stores were begging the scratcher companies to like send them more tickets. It was such a hit that the companies could barely even keep up. They somehow did, you know? And then to this day, there are essentially like two companies that make our favorite scratchers. The one I mentioned a minute ago, Scientific Games Corporation. Yeah, they're still around, random, huh? And then a company called Pollard Banknote.
So like they completely dominate the market for creating scratch off tickets. I love scratchers. Aren't they fun? Ugh. And now that scratchers were on the scene, I mean, the lottery wasn't a joke anymore. It was a cool, mystical thing that like people genuinely could have a chance at winning. So the lottery was gaining steam and becoming more popular. That meant more people were playing. And the more people are playing, the bigger the jackpots are.
And when you know it, people started winning and they were winning big. I mean, some people's lives changed completely for the better. It was a literal dream come true. But for others, it turned out to be like a total nightmare. This is when something else started to happen when people took home their lottery winnings. Some people started to experience the lottery.
When someone wins the lottery, their whole life changes for the better and sometimes for the worse. Even though 85% of lottery winners choose to remain anonymous, usually their identity gets exposed. And once that happens, they become a target, right? Because the media puts like their face and their name out there. And then everyone wants to get a look at that overnight millionaire. And then they start reaching out like, hey, remember me? But
But unless you're one of those people who comes out to publicly accept your check, there is the option to come dressed in a disguise. And in 2019, a person in Jamaica came dressed in the Scream costume to accept their winnings. Yeah, like ghost face situation. And honestly, it was a really good idea. And he was allowed to. Good for that person, right? It was funny. Kind of looked like a Paul, honestly. ♪
But if you don't go that route, chances are people start coming out of the woodwork and they try to get money and manipulate you into investing into them or their business or whatever, right? I mean, most lottery winners are playing because they don't have a crazy amount of money. So when a person is given a check for millions of dollars or whatever the frick
winners often they don't know how to manage that money, right? Would you know how to manage that? No, I'd be like, I'm getting six Lambos, I'm buying everyone a house and I'm never sleeping again. And on whoops, there goes my money. There have been like dozens of instances where a lottery winner wishes that they had never won in the first place. There's a perfect example of this in the story about a man named Bud Post.
In 1988, Bud, nah, he was not doing well. He was 66 years old, he had some health problems, he was on disability, and he only had $2.46 in the bank. He was at the point where he was just pawning things just to get by. So one day, he ends up pawning a ring for $40.
He hands the money to his landlady/girlfriend. Her name was Ann Karpik. So Bud asked Ann to buy him $40 worth of lotto tickets. And when Ann brought him those tickets back, it turns out like one of them was a big win, right? Bud had won $16.2 million.
The dream. Wow. Good for you, bud. So he wins all this money. What does he do? He starts spending it, right? Duh. He ends up leasing a restaurant in Florida for his brother and sister. He bought a used car lot and all of the cars on it for his other brother. And he even bought himself a plane. But though, the funny part was that Bud didn't even have like a pilot's license.
but he got a plane. Within three months, three months, Bud was $500,000 in debt. How? I know, his life was like a total shit show. Oh, poor guy. So just a year after he won the $16.2 million, Bud's brother, this shithead, hired a hitman to try and like
take him out so he could take Bud's lottery money. He didn't know he was in debt. Yeah, Bud's brother. What a dick. Well, luckily, he got caught and then convicted, but by then, Bud was estranged from all of his siblings, which is so lame. He did nice things for you guys assholes, but it wasn't just family drama. He was facing some legal trouble himself. Bud got into a fight with his sixth wife,
need I say more? And things turned violent. Bud took a shotgun and fired it into her car. Oh shit. And then he was charged by the court in order to stay away from his sixth wife. I just feel like maybe after three, you should stop getting married. Yeah, but it's okay, bud. Um, anyhow, Bud just can't seem to stay out of trouble, you know, or like
and put that shotgun down because after all that drama, a man showed up at Bud's house to collect a debt he was on. I guess this guy repaired one of Bud's cars and Bud didn't have the money or something, but he didn't pay him. So what did Bud do? Well, he took his shotgun right off that wall or wherever it was, and he shot right at that guy.
Allegedly, he was just trying to scare him off his property. But, you know, you can't do that. So once again, Bud was taken to court and convicted of assault and sentenced to serve six to 24 months in prison.
Poor Bud. He's struggling. So not long after that whole like shotgun fiasco, Bud was then sued by his girlfriend/landlady, Ann. Remember her? So Ann had claimed that she and Bud had this verbal agreement to split his lottery money if he won. It was the classic he said, she said.
No physical evidence, you know? They ended up fighting over it in court for three long, very expensive years. Finally, a judge ruled he had to turn over one third of his money to Ann. But by that point, Bud was so deep in debt, he couldn't pay her. And whatever money he did have,
he refused to hand it over. The judge was forced to freeze all of the money in Bud's account because Bud was just so unpredictable with his spending. So Bud was receiving payments from the lottery system like every few months. So when this happened,
The whole situation happened. He was forced to sell off all of the things he bought with his lottery money just to get by, like his homes, his trucks, his motorcycles, his TV, computers, blah, blah, blah, all of it. He even had to sell his huge like fixer upper mansion. And no matter what he did, Bud was still in a financial hole. So Bud auctioned off the rest of his 17 lottery payments he was due.
Yeah, you could do that. Great idea, bud. And he ends up telling the press, quote, Once I'm no longer a lottery winner, people will leave me alone. That's all I want. Just peace of mind. End quote. In 1998, Bud was on his sailboat, just living life, happy as a man on a sailboat. So he's sailing this boat and probably smiling when suddenly from behind him, he hears a loud, a loud voice. Pshh!
Which I didn't even know police could like pull you over in a boat. I don't know, I don't have a boat. Anyways, so the police ordered Bud to like surrender to them immediately. And he's like, what the fuck? I'm just living my life right now. Well, I guess, allegedly. Bud was supposed to like turn himself in a long time ago for that prison sentence. You know, the one where he shot the car repair guy with a shotgun?
He was supposed to go to jail for that. So it turns out he didn't. Bud, he refuses to leave his sailboat. So the police like have to forcibly remove him. But he was arrested and brought straight to prison. When he was out on the slammer, Bud was completely and totally broke. He was reportedly living off of his $450 a month disability checks. And his sixth wife divorced him.
And it was, I'm not laughing at that, but you know, that's just a funny thing to say, sick's wife. Okay, he was completely miserable. Look at the bright side, at least he got to experience like what it's like to have money because I'm sure a lot of us would be like, I'm just wondering, right? We wouldn't mind that. But yeah, on the other side, when he lost everything and he got out of jail and divorced and everything, he wasn't in a good place. He was miserable.
And in 2006, Bud passed away, sadly alone, respiratory failure. Bud once said, quote, everybody dreams of winning money, but nobody realizes the nightmares that come out of the woodwork or the problems, end quote. I was going to say, I think there's a song about this. I've Got 99 Problems.
But that has to do with the bitch, not money. I don't know what I'm talking about. Anyways. But even though you hear horror stories about people like Bud, I mean, of course that's not gonna keep people from wanting to play and hopefully win. And some people don't just hope they'll win the lottery. They're willing to do whatever it takes to make it happen.
Oh, let me give you a good example, okay? There's this one guy, his name was Papa Nick. Well, that's what he went by. Now, don't let the cute name fool you because this guy was the mastermind behind one of the most famous lottery scandals of all time. What's that? What's that? Oh, yeah. It was known as the Triple Six Scandal.
You know that one good tank top that you wear like all year round? I mean it fits you just right so you wear it all the time but maybe now it's getting a little old. Shifting my wardrobe from summer to fall is always a challenge. Luckily Quince offers timeless and high quality items that I
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This episode is brought to you by Progressive Insurance. Most of you listening right now are probably multitasking. Yep, while you're listening to me talk, you're probably also driving, cleaning, exercising, or maybe even grocery shopping. But if you're not in some kind of moving vehicle, there's something else you could be doing right now. Getting an auto quote from Progressive Insurance.
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Meet Nick Perry. Back in the 1970s, this guy was the king of Pittsburgh. He was a beloved TV host and announcer featured on WTAE channel for Pittsburgh. He did the news, he did the weather, and he also hosted shows like Poke Party and Bowling for Dollars. I mean, this guy did it all. He
Kept the people entertained. Papa Nick was a veteran of the United States Navy who fought in World War II. And in his free time, he sang songs for Jesus as a leader in his church corps.
This guy was like the walking, talking American wet dream, right? Everyone knew and liked him. So in 1977, when the state of Pennsylvania announced that it was going to have a brand new daily lottery, it would be called the Daily Number.
Papa Nick was the perfect man to announce the winning numbers every night on Channel 4. I mean, who better to give out a bunch of money than the trusted grandpa everyone in Pittsburgh tunes into every night, you know? Now, the Daily Number is a very simple lottery game. Three air-powered machines have a tank full of like ping pong balls. And the balls are all numbered from 0 to 9.
So Joan, you're 13, makes no damn sense. Called out, bitch. During the live broadcast, Papa Nick turns on the machines, sending the balls bouncing around the tank, like just randomly, right? Boop.
Alongside him is a local senior citizen who gets to like have their 15 minutes of fame on camera by helping Papa Nick select the balls. It's kind of like, you know when they bring in like puppies and like adopt this puppy? He's cute. That's what they did with some senior citizens. Isn't he cute? It was like that. Well, the thing's going around and one by one, a ball would shoot up a tube from each tank.
Eventually, the number reveals a three-digit number. And if someone guesses the three-digit number correctly, well, they would win $500 for each $1 they bet. So if someone bet five bucks, I'm gonna do some math here, they would win $2,500. And if you had five winning tickets, you have five times $2,500.
I'm not gonna do that math. At the time, the state of Pennsylvania prided itself on like how tight the security was on their lottery games like the Daily Number. No one was able to cheat the system. The machines and ping pong balls were kept in a secure room that needed two keys to open it. And there was even an outside company that would like analyze the balls to make sure that no one was messing with them.
It's funny how protective they are over these balls and not other things.
I won't name other things, but I'm sure you could think of other, like it's kind of silly, whatever. Protect the balls! Anywho, Papa Nick, he knew all of this, right? And he even had access to everything. I mean, hello, he's the host. He knew exactly how to rig the system if he wanted to, to work in his favor. You know, he's like, I might know how to do it. I don't know. So Papa Nick decides, you know what?
I'm gonna fucking do it. I'm gonna rig the system and I'm gonna make a lot of money. Yeah, Papa Nick, this little saint, all of a sudden, he's gonna rig the system? What, huh? So he started to put together what he thought was a foolproof plan. And he knows he couldn't do it alone. He can't do it alone. He needs a crew.
You know, just like in the movies. So step one, he needed access to that secure room. So what's he gotta do? He's gotta get some tits. He's gotta suck a dick. What's he gotta do, you know? To get it, he smooched a guy named Edward. So Edward was a state lottery officer who guarded the machines
and the balls. Papa Nick told him that if he could get access to the balls, he could weigh down a few of them and increase the odds of picking the right numbers. Papa Nick said if they did it right, they could walk away with millions.
So this guy's like, "Fuck yeah, I'm in." And with a payday like that, I mean, that's really all Edward needed to hear. Papa Nick gets Edward in on the plan. So step two, Papa Nick needed someone who could create replica versions of the lottery balls for use every single night. For this, he turned to someone who used to be an art director at Channel 4. Apparently, Papa Nick went to this guy one day and said, "Hey,
"What would you say if I told you you could make $100,000?" And I guess that was all it took and the art director was like, "I'm in."
I know. Raise your prices, people. You are worth more. So Papa Nick gave the art director 12 syringes, okay? He also gave him a scale and told this person to go buy 30 ping pong balls that were the same as like the ones that they used on the show.
in those machines. So then the art director recreated each ball by hand. He should have got paid more. And here's like the genius part. I was like, "Oh, smart." He used the syringes to inject a little bit of white paint into every ball that wasn't a four or a six.
I know you're thinking white paint, I don't get it. Well, the white paint would blend in with like the natural color of the ping pong ball. But more importantly, it would weigh the balls down. So heavy balls with paint in them, they would still bounce around in the tank, but they wouldn't go up the chute.
He's onto something, huh? the lightest balls were fours and sixes. So a player should buy a ticket and only pick a combination of the numbers four and six. So Papa Nick's scheme took the odds from one in 1,000 to one in eight.
That's a pretty good chance, huh? Now Papa Nick knew that it might raise some eyebrows if he went around town buying up tons of lottery tickets for the show he himself hosts, right? So he leaned on his childhood buddies, Peter and Jack. In my mind, I'm like, this guy's getting too many people involved.
Can't do it, but he did, okay? And on April 24th, 1980, on the day of the drawing, Peter and Jack, they hopped into like their white Cadillac and they drove around Philadelphia. So they went around to a bunch of different like small stores and dive bars where they placed about 14,000 bets for $1 each on all the possible combinations of four or six.
Now back at the studio, the art director had those weighted ping pong balls all hidden away. But while that security guard, Ed, just happened to be looking the other way, the art director like swapped the balls, you know, the normal ones with the weighted ones. And the machines were rolled in front of the cameras, ready to go. Around 7 p.m., the drawing for the Daily Number went live.
and the announcer introduced Papa Nick like he normally does. The man with all the dollars, the kingpin himself. I know, interesting choice of words given what was happening under everyone's noses, huh? Well, Papa Nick, alongside a sweet, clueless local citizen, and they stood at tank number one, uncapped the tube, and upshot the first. Number six.
Then they moved on to the second team. The second ball shot up. Number six. And finally, the third take and the final ball. Number six. I know. I was like, oh my God, demons. So literally, the winning number was 666. So kind of fitting for the situation, huh? If you squint, it makes sense. Totally makes sense.
So the payout for this drawing was $3.5 million dollars. Which we always have to do a conversion here, right? In today's money it's like $13 million. And for a state lottery, this was an insane amount of money at the time. According to records, Papa Nick's childhood buddies selected 666 on about 2,400 of the bets they placed.
And most of that winning money was headed for the pockets of Pittsburgh pretty boy, Papa Nick. I know, I was like, you're on TV and stuff, don't you make enough? You know that one good tank top that you wear like all year round? I mean, it fits you just right. So you wear it all the time. But maybe now it's getting a little old. Shifting my wardrobe from summer to fall is always a challenge. Luckily, Quince offers timeless and high quality items that I love.
love so I can make sure my wardrobe stays fresh and I don't blow my budget. They've got cashmere sweaters from $50, pants for every occasion, washable silk tops, and my favorite part, all Quince items are priced $50 to
80% less than similar brands. By partnering directly with top factories, Quince cuts out the cost of the middleman and passes the savings on to us. And Quince only works with factories that use safe, ethical, and responsible manufacturing practices and premium fabrics and finishes. I recently got this 100% European linen short sleeve shirt. Ooh!
I love linen and you know, it was so comfortable, so cute. I can finally retire my old ratty tank top.
R.I.P. Make switching seasons a breeze with Quince's high quality closet essentials. Go to quince.com slash dark history for free shipping on your order and 365 day returns. That's quince, Q-U-I-N-C-E dot com slash dark history to get free shipping and 365 day returns. quince.com slash dark history.
This episode is brought to you by Progressive Insurance. Most of you listening right now are probably multitasking. Yep, while you're listening to me talk, you're probably also driving, cleaning, exercising, or maybe even grocery shopping. But if you're not in some kind of moving vehicle, there's something else you could be doing right now. Getting an auto quote from Progressive Insurance.
It's easy and you can save money by doing it from your phone. Drivers who save by switching to Progressive save nearly $750 on average. And auto customers qualify for an average of seven discounts. Discounts for having multiple vehicles on your policy, being a homeowner and more.
So just like your favorite podcast, Progressive will be with you 24-7, 365 days a year, so you're protected no matter what. Multitask right now. Quote your car insurance at Progressive.com to join the over 28 million drivers who trust Progressive. Progressive Casualty Insurance Company and affiliates. National average 12-month savings of $744 by new customer survey who saved with Progressive between June 2022 and May 2023. Potential savings will vary. Discounts not available in all states and situations.
It really does make a great gift though. Highly recommend. Papa Nick would have gotten away with this whole lottery situation if it hadn't been for a mobster named Tony.
I know, kind of checks out, huh? Tony, a mobster. Wow. Tony himself was like in the numbers business, which is like a mafia way to say that he ran an illegal lottery in Pittsburgh. And Tony's lottery wasn't some like rinky dink game. It brought in $30 million a year.
over the course of 40 years. So Tony's pretty solid, I'd say. Now Papa Nick's buddies didn't just like place bets at local stores. They also put money down with like some underground bookies.
That's where they went wrong because these bookies noticed a weirdly high number of bets coming in with the numbers four and six. And then when the daily number of 666 hit, these bookies, they smelled something was wrong. Okay. So they decided they were not going to pay out the winnings and instead they alerted their boss.
Tony. Because Tony looked at the state lottery as competition, he was more than happy to squeal to a local reporter, essentially telling them, like, look how corrupt this state lottery is. Somebody rigged it. Well, this reporter was like, what? Huh? Let me look into this. And ended up, like, blowing the whole scandal wide open. The reporter's story pushed the governor to open an investigation.
And one by one, the dominoes all... Everyone started ratting on everyone. And this brought them to the doorstep of Papa Nick.
Sad, poor Papa Nick. He was handcuffed and charged with all sorts of crimes. The criminal trial against Papa Nick only took about a week for all of the witnesses to take the stand, and the evidence was damning. After a little over six hours of deliberation, the jury found Papa Nick
guilty of criminal conspiracy, criminal mischief, theft by deception, perjury, and rigging a public contest. I know, I was like, what? I didn't even know you could get charged with all those. What are those? When all was said and done, Papa Nick was like sentenced to seven years in the slammer. And his security guard friend, Ed, and the two other guys involved, they too also went to prison. Even with like
all this information now public, some of Papa Nick's fans remained loyal to the very end. I don't blame him. He was a fun guy. One of them wrote an op-ed in the Pittsburgh Post Gazette. They said, quote, "It's like Joan of Arc being burned at the stake."
End quote. Sure, okay, very similar. All right. Well, Papa Nick only served two years of his sentence, so he kinda lucked out, but his reputation was totally ruined for the rest of his life. He was already old, so he didn't give a shit, and nobody ever knew why Papa Nick really did this. Again, he was already famous. He had plenty of money. It was risky, right? And not only that, he was just super greedy. It's like, what the fuck, Papa Nick? We were rooting for you.
Well, doesn't matter. Because Papa Nick died on April 22nd, 2003. And up until his very last breath, he never admitted a damn thing. I wonder where he buried the money. When I look at everything, it seems like the lottery has this ability to make dreams come true, right? And just like, oh, like, wow.
or it just totally turns people into corrupt monsters. But tons of people play anyway, because we all want a chance to hit that huge jackpot, don't we? I love a scratcher. Oh God, I'm like, so, it's fun. Anywho, one expert says there is about $2.89 billion out there just floating around in unclaimed lottery tickets. Yeah.
So why don't they just like spread that money out for us? I don't know, just an idea I had.
But with that being said, look, everyone makes fun of me. Not everyone, but like some people make fun of me because sometimes if I'm walking, I like to take walks and I see a lottery scratcher on the ground because it's trashy where I like there's just trash everywhere. So it's like I pick it up. I love I like picking up people's stuff because they assume it's garbage. But sometimes they don't realize that they won.
Not to give away my secrets or anything, but I've won a dollar off of a picked up scratcher before. So whatever. One day I'm going to hit it big and you all won't be laughing.
Here's what we've learned, right? The lottery started to build things in America that we needed. And that's still kind of the case today. Like here in California, since 1985, the lottery has given more than $41.5 billion to public schools. And they're still shitty. So that's the weird part, huh? But here's my question. If the lottery is still doing all the footwork...
Where the hell are my tax dollars going, huh? 'Cause I thought that was paying for that shit. Let's expo, I'm gonna need receipts. Where's all of our money going, huh? And then there's another side to the whole lottery argument. Lotteries entice more people to play and that creates new generations of gamblers. I mean, think about going to Chuck E. Cheese growing up.
Okay, they act like that was like a place for kids to play and get some pizza and meet a mouse. It wasn't. They were training us how to gamble. And they say gambling isn't legal for kids, but what was that?
We all wanted those tickets, goddammit, for that stupid shit, plastic shit, whatever. So, I mean, this is just my personal opinion, but I believe that we were kind of raised subconsciously to like gamble and love the lottery. Oh my god, should we start a class action lawsuit against Chuck E. Cheese? Let me know down below.
So our lottery is good or not, you know? What the fuck is up? Well, from what I've learned, we can really make a good argument for both sides. I mean, you're 25 times more likely to become the president of the United States than you are to win the Powerball. I know. So you're saying there's a chance. That's how I look at it, you know? Like, eh.
Many of you must agree too because Americans spend about $100 billion a year on lottery tickets. That's about $420 for every adult in the United States. Is that bad though? I mean, it's kind of an investment. I might win. All right.
And then you're gonna, you're gonna come crawling to me when I do. I mean, honestly, when you think about it, honestly, I mean, this is why I think a lot of us play the lottery because winning the lottery seems like the only way any of us will ever be able to achieve that American dream, you know? And even after I've learned all this about the lottery, it's still
so confusing to me. I still don't get it really. It's like it's good and bad. It's not part of the government but the government gets the money? Huh? You know? There is no national lottery but a bunch of states can be part of something like the Powerball. It's just confusing. Like what the hell's going on? Because listen, the lottery's got a shady past and I got questions. Anywho,
That's the story about Laudry, huh? Ain't that something? So go out and get yourself a scratcher. No, don't do that. No, don't do it. Live a little. Oh my god, it's so much fun. Just don't get addicted. Be responsible, okay? And don't take your kids to Chuck E. Cheese, 'cause what the fuck was that about? Don't come for me, Chuck E. Cheese!
Anyhow you guys, join me over on my YouTube where you can actually watch these episodes on Thursday after the podcast airs and you can see how cute I am.
Just kidding. But also while you're there, you can catch my murder mystery and makeup. It's a real good time. I would love to hear your guys' reactions to today's story. So don't forget to use the hashtag dark history over on social media so I can like see what you're saying. Now let's read a couple of comments you guys left me. Danielle Hopper said, quote, Bailey, you need to interact with Paul more. It made everything better. Did you leave that comment, Paul?
Was that from you? Were you using your catfish account? I know you have that account, Paul. Don't lie to me.
Sam left a comment on our Stalin part two episode saying, quote, cannibal island is another brainchild of Stalin. Just horrific. End quote. So naturally I was like cannibal island. I never heard of this. I guess Stalin just like dumped tens of thousands of people on an island in Siberia and let them starve to death.
Yeah, I can't believe this was real. I was like, what? We did two episodes on Stalin and honestly, it could have been six with all the shit he was up to. And this could be a whole Stalin podcast, but yeah, mm-hmm. Cannibal Island, I don't know what the fuck that was. Natasha Garcia had an episode suggestion for us saying, quote, "'I'd love an episode on Unit 731 in Japan.'"
You guys, I'm loving these ideas because I'm like, what is this? I had to look this up. And then the first thing that popped up was lethal human experimentation. So I was in, obviously. So it looks like this was a chemical warfare research program in Japan that killed something like 300,000 people.
What? Yeah, that's dark. And that's history. Honestly, Natasha, don't you worry girl, I'm writing that down. I'm writing it down. Dark History is an Audioboom original. This podcast is executive produced by Bailey Sarian, Junya McNeely from 3Arts, Kevin Grush, and Matt Enloe from Maiden Network.
Writers Joey Scavuzzo, Katie Burris, Allison Filobos, and me, Bailey Sarian. Production lead Brian Jaggers. Research provided by Xander Elmore, Rodney Smith, and Colleen Smith.
A special thank you to our expert, Victor Matheson. And don't you forget it, I'm your host, Bailey Sarian. I hope you have a good rest of your week. Please make good choices out there. And I'll be seeing you guys later. Goodbye. Amazon One Medical presents Painful Thoughts.
I could catch anything sitting in this doctor's waiting room. A kid just wiped his runny nose on my jacket. And the guy next to me, sitting in a pool of perspiration, insists on sharing my armrest. Next time, make an appointment with an Amazon One medical provider. There's no waiting and no sweaty guy. Amazon One Medical. Healthcare just got less painful.
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with 25% off at ritual.com slash prenatal. I'm Stanzi Potenza. And I'm Brad Padre. Launching June 13th is our new podcast, Late to the Party. In this post-ironic chat show, we'll show you a window into our world of crazy post-ironic thoughts. An unlikely friendship founded on a shared love for riffs, ranting, and getting absolutely wrecked.
Consider this an invitation to our inside jokes. You're late to the party, but no one cool ever shows up on time. Follow Late to the Party on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you listen to this kind of stuff.
