A woman paid hundreds of dollars to test a lottery scratch-off theory. The hypothesis? If you buy an entire book of lotto tickets, you’ll at least get your money back. This means that you’re only ever going to have the chance to turn a profit off of entire Scratcher book purchases.
TikToker Mrs. Tink (@mrs_tink) realizes that, if true, this could be a revolutionary new way to gamble. So she went and tested out this theory by dropping $50 on 25 different $20 lottery cards, all from the same book. Then, she recorded her results in a viral TikTok that garnered over 392,000 views as of Friday.
$500 worth of scratch-offs
“Somebody told me you buy the full book of lotto tickets like these scratchers,” she says, holding up a scratch-off lottery ticket. “You’re guaranteed to win your money back, if not more.”
“These are $20 apiece. There’s 25 in a book. $500,” the TikToker says, looking into the camera. “You’re telling me if I spend $500 I’m guaranteed to win $500 if not more? You got me, I’m gonna do it.”
@mrs_tink #lotto #scratchers #texas #gambling #loteria #slots #casino #gasstation #scratchoff #scratchoffticket #flabergasted ♬ Old Disney Swing Jazz – Nico
Next, to show that she’s putting her money where her mouth is, Tink records herself walking in a store. Splayed out in front of her, in her left hand, are five, crisp $100 bills.
Her video then cuts to her face. “I did it. I bought a full book of $20 tickets,” she says, holding the lottery scratch-offs.
“It is completely sealed still. So it’s $500,” she holds the plastic sealed booklet in front of her at the store. She then cuts to herself sitting in her parked vehicle and she shows off a different type of scratch-off. As it turns out, her husband wanted to get in on the action and he bought another kind of scratcher.
She says, “It’s the 500 times Loteria.” This one’s $50 for one ticket.
The scratch-off is massive, with tons of different boxes folks can take a penny to test their luck.
Testing the theory
“Let’s get to scratchin’,” she says into the camera. Turns out, the huge Loteria one her husband dumped $50 on was a bust.
“This ticket was a loser,” she says. However, the first one she purchased from her pack—$20. So she at least made her money back on it. Then, there were two more “losers” followed by another $20 winning ticket. Then, there were three more duds, and after that, a $30 winner in the pack.
Four more losers showed up in a row, but then, victory struck—Tink proudly showed off a $100 winning ticket to the lens. Next up, another loser, followed by another $20 winner. Then she had six losing tickets in a row until she got hit with a $50 win. She hit another loser and then made her money back on some of the tickets with two consecutive $20 victories.
By the end of the video, Tink tallied up her earnings versus how much she spent: “I am flabbergasted, $280.”
So she paid $220 for the privilege of sitting down and scratching 20 different lottery cards. “That crackhead lied to me!” she shouts at the end of the video.
Scratch off theories
Many have shared their different theories when it comes to playing with scratch-off tickets. One gas station worker shared his experience with customers’ winning cards. According to him, some types of lotteries have more constant payouts than others. He also said just because the cards cost more money, doesn’t necessarily mean you have a higher probability of winning, too.
In another video, he explained how many of these lottery ticket types change from month to month. And while he doesn’t recommend purchasing an entire roll, as Tink did, he does endorse buying multiple ones. Only if they’re being purchased from the same roll, however. According to him, this will give you slightly better odds at hitting a jackpot.
For instance, if one customer bought those particular three tickets in Tink’s video, the $20, $20, and then $100 hit, they would’ve made an $80 profit.
TikTokers were thankful to Tink
One user was grateful she decided to test the theory out. “I’m so sorry you got got! Thanks for taking one for the team and reminding me why I don’t gamble,” they wrote.
Another simply shared a time-honored adage that almost always seems to ring true when it comes to gambling: “House always wins.”
Someone else said they tested the buy the entire book theory and lost even more money than Tink did. “Bought a book of $30 tickets for 600,” they said. “And i only won 175. So def not worth it for me.”
However, another TikTok user thought that she needed to just stick it out a little more: “90% of gamblers quit just before they hit big.”
The Daily Dot has reached out to Tink via TikTok comment.
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