News writer
For most lottery winners, hitting the jackpot is a dream come true. But when an $83.5 million Lotto Texas ticket was sold at a North Austin store with a history of big wins, it didn't just spark celebrations — it also raised eyebrows.
With the store serving as a hub for an online lottery courier service, and Texas officials already scrutinizing the industry, Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick decided to step in and investigate.
Lottery courier in Austin sells jackpot-winning Lotto Texas ticket
The Lotto Texas jackpot had been growing since June 2024, and on Monday, February 17, 2025, one lucky ticket matched all the winning numbers to win $83.5 million, the fifth-largest jackpot in the game's history. The winning numbers for that drawing were 19, 21, 25, 45, 47, and 52.
The winning ticket was purchased at the Winners Corner TX LLC store on Rockwood Lane in North Austin. The lucky winner picked their own numbers and chose the cash option when buying the ticket.
Winners Corner primarily handles lottery courier picks from the app Jackpocket. While lottery officials announced that the winning Lotto Texas ticket was purchased at this location, the bet wasn't placed in person. Instead, it was purchased through the Jackpocket app, so a courier purchased the ticket for the online buyer at this location.
This win also coincides with the Texas Lottery Commission asking the Texas Attorney General on February 14 to regulate courier services.
Texas Lt. Gov. launches an investigation
Since this new lottery win has raised some suspicions among Texas residents, Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick decided to conduct his own investigation into the matter.
Patrick went to Winners Corner on Tuesday and talked to a store employee, asking:
Do you not see an issue where the public might lose confidence if the courier service somehow happened at this one location in the entire state of Texas sold an $83 million winning ticket, and they also own the location that printed the ticket?
Winners Corner happens to be a storefront for the courier service, which operates out of the back of the store. Patrick was able to go into the back of the store but without any cameras or photos. He said the area had multiple lottery terminals, more than any regular lottery retailer would have.
Patrick said:
It's time we take a deep look at these courier services and these retail units, especially when they are owned by the same company.
Highest-selling retailer in Texas
To add to the mix, Winners Corner also happens to be the highest-selling lottery retailer in the state of Texas. In 2023, the store sold $127.6 million worth of lottery tickets.
To put that into perspective, the second highest-selling retailer happened to be Round Rock's Luck Zone. In 2023, they sold $28.2 million worth of lottery tickets, so less than a quarter of what Winners Corner sold.
This isn't the first big win at Winners Corner, either. Someone bought a winning lottery ticket worth $2 million in December 2024.
They also sold a winning Texas Two-Step ticket in March 2021. That ticket was worth over $2 million.
Lottery courier controversies
A recent investigation determined a courier service helped an organization place bets for nearly every number combination in an April 2023 Lotto Texas drawing. This ensured that they would win the $95 million jackpot.
The jackpot was paid to a limited partnership based in New Jersey but was formed in Delaware just two weeks before the drawing took place. Delaware has strict corporate secrecy laws, so the members' identities are unknown. Investigations have tied the winning money to Europe, officials said. However, the Coalition of Texas Lottery Couriers (CTLC) denies any courier helped with the operation.
While lottery couriers have been legal in the state since 2019, they have been under fire recently. There is an active lawsuit involving the Texas Lottery Commission.
In that lawsuit, former executive director of the Lottery Commission Gary Grief and a lottery courier are being accused of money laundering, fraud, and manipulating the outcome of lottery games. All parties have denied their involvement.
With this latest Lotto Texas jackpot win taking place at a lottery courier service, many players are worried about who won the jackpot and where exactly they're located. However, officials say the apps have ways to prevent sales to out-of-state players.
Enjoy playing the Texas Lottery, and please remember to play responsibly.
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