While players most often choose numbers related to their birthday or address, gamblers also, for whatever reason, frequently pick identical-number sequences, says the lottery's Patrick Morton, and they do so repeatedly. Whenever triples and quads are seen popping up in abundance, lotto officials start sweating.
Around Morton's office, which is responsible for drawing the winning numbers at random, they joke that anyone pulling a same-number series had better start dusting off the resume. "When we see those numbers drawn, we know it's going to break the bank," he says.
In fact, the state protects itself by capping its liability at $7 million. And whenever the volume of same-number ticket sales indicates the potential for a monster payout, computers automatically cut off sales of that sequence.
Despite the occasional blow from a mega-jackpot, however, the Maryland Lottery isn't heading for the losers' table anytime soon. Officials estimate that its games have added about $390 million to state coffers in the past year.
