The Virginia lottery, which promised to give winners the chance to buy four hard-to-find liquors, left some participants with a bad taste in their mouths.
The Virginia ABC lottery, held between April 19 and April 23, gave participants the chance to buy four rare liquors — George T. Stagg Bourbon, Thomas H. Handy Sazerac Rye, William Larue Weller Bourbon and Sazerac Rye 18 Year Old.
The odds of winning, based upon the number of entries and the number of bottles for sale, ranged from 1 in 48 for the Stagg to 1 in 739 for the Sazerac 18 Year Old.
But the odds seemed to tip toward statistically impossible, as the same people kept winning: Two entrants won all four products, 50 entrants won three products and 229 entrants won two products.
In a statement, Virginia ABC acknowledged the results were “statistically abnormal.”
After an internal audit, the liquor board said its staff had followed established procedures, with entrants being assigned random numbers and the drawings being viewed by witnesses.
Eventually, Virginia ABC said the problem was “an issue in the sorting of the lottery entry data in our software.”
The agency said it’s honoring the results, and selling the liquors — including to the repeat winners — in line with the lottery terms.
Virginia ABC said it’s “adding additional layers of review to the lottery sorting process,” and testing an electronic lottery system.
