‘LOYALTY PAYS’ | Winning bettors of Grand Lotto loyal to their numbers, says PCSO

October 3, 2022 , 09:48 AM

By Beatrice Puente

(October 3, 2022) – After hundreds of individuals won in the 6/55 Grand Lotto, the Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office (PCSO) on Sunday said many bettors tend to stick to a common pattern when picking numbers, offering an explanation to ease some doubts about the controversial result.

Melquiades Robles, the general manager of the PCSO, said the 433 individuals who picked the winning combination of 09-45-36-27-18-54— all multiples of nine—drawn on Saturday were “loyal to their numbers.”

“Kaya maraming nanalo kasi ang daming nag-aalaga,” said Robles in a press conference. “Loyalty pays. It’s not only good to be loyal to your wife or husband. It’s also good to be loyal to your numbers. And this shows, loyalty to the chosen number pays.”

Each of the winners will get P545,000, subject to a 20% tax, as their share from the P236 million jackpot prize. The majority of the winners, 152 to be exact, were from Metro Manila.

Arnel Casas, the assistant gaming manager of the PCSO, admitted that they were also shocked because it was the first time in their history that hundreds of bettors won the jackpot. He, however, said it’s not impossible.

“We checked the system kung may mga ganito bang odd numbers na pine-place ang mga players natin. May playing habit o betting habit ang ating players,” said Casas.

In their review, Robles pointed out that some people even chose 1-2-3-4-5-6 as their combination while others chose multiples of five.

“We have found nothing wrong. Actually, it’s natural occurrence na may mga nag-aalaga ang maraming nananalo ‘pag tinamaan ‘yun. So, wala kaming nakikitang babaguhin doon. We are in fact pleased na marami ang nanalo lalo na at magpa-Pasko,” said Robles.

Despite this, he said they will welcome any investigation into the result because it indicates vigilance on the part of lawmakers.

Sen. Koko Pimentel III plans to file a resolution to audit the gaming activities of the PCSO, noting the “strange and unusual” result of the recent lotto draw. His proposal was backed by Sen. Risa Hontiveros as she stressed the need to “rule out any doubts” regarding the issue.

“Katakataka ‘yung result na ‘yan,” said Pimentel. “Marami ang nagtataka, medyo nagulat because statistically speaking, this is a very rare event. Let us take this opportunity to investigate so that and purpose natin is to ensure the integrity of our lotto games.”

Prof. Jomar Rabajante of the University of the Philippines noted that the combination with multiples of nine was common even in the Netherlands, citing a study in 2016. He added that the diagonal pattern may have also played a factor in picking the numbers.

“This is the reason why maraming tumaya roon sa lucky nine. Nagkataon, ‘yun ang combination na lumabas. It’s really possible. The probability is not zero,” said Rabajante on the ABS-CBN News Channel.

(PM)

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