Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: TUESDAY, March 10, 1992 TAG: 9203100335
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: A1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: From The Washington Post and Landmark News Service
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
Lottery Director Kenneth Thorson has scheduled a news conference for this morning to announce that the prize will be awarded to the trustee for the Melbourne-based International Lotto Fund, the sources said.
Thorson declined to comment Monday night.
According to sources quoted by The Washington Post in today's editions, Thorson plans to portray his decision as preliminary. The decision will not be final until the agency is able to confirm information with Australian securities authorities and the Internal Revenue Service about the lottery fund and how its prize will be distributed, state officials said.
Meanwhile Monday, Stefan Mandel, the Australian lottery wizard, acknowledged for the first time that he was the brains behind the scheme to corner Virginia's $27 million jackpot. He promised that his group would try to buy other jackpots across the world.
Mandel reportedly has made $3 million (in Australian funds) in commissions selling shares to the International Lotto Fund, the pool of money that was used to buy several million lottery tickets.
Thorson has decided on the key issue that had cast the lottery prize in doubt: whether the winning ticket purchased at a Farm Fresh grocery store in Chesapeake was issued properly.
Lottery officials had considered disallowing the winning ticket because of reports that it was paid for with a cashier's check at Farm Fresh's corporate offices in Norfolk rather than at the Chesapeake store.
State lottery rules say tickets must be sold at the location where the lottery computer issues them.
But Thorson steered away from a challenge on such grounds. According to sources, lottery officials decided it would have been difficult to prove exactly how the winning ticket was purchased.
In an interview on a "A Current Affair" broadcast on Australia's largest TV network, Mandel said of his motives: "Obviously, money has something to do with it. But there is more than the money. There is the challenge involved, the fact that we did something that's never been done before. It's more of a kick."
The television station said Mandel's wife, Kathleen, held several shares in the International Lotto Fund, meaning the couple will take part of the Virginia purse, as well as a commission.
About 60 employees, aided by American agent Anithalee S. Alex Jr. in Norfolk, bought at least 5.6 million tickets in an effort to cover all 7.1 million possible number combinations for the Feb. 15 Virginia drawing.
Mandel, interviewed by a reporter in Melbourne, said he hopes to repeat the feat up to six times a year in lotteries around the world.
He appeared relaxed in the interview. Three weeks ago, he denied that he had anything to do with the Virginia lottery scheme. He said he knew of no one who might be involved. Now, he wants to try to corner another lottery.
"We definitely will win the draws because we will cover all combinations," Mandel said. "The question is: How many people will [split] it, and that's a punt we're willing to take." (The word "punt" is Australian slang for "gamble.")
The Virginia State Police and the FBI continue to look into the lottery scheme. The FBI is trying to determine the source of the $7.1 million, published reports said.
Australian officials are investigating the International Lotto Fund, trying to determine whether it made clear to investors the risks involved and the taxes they might have to pay upon winning, securities investigators in Melbourne said.
Mandel refused to confirm the names of any of the investors in the International Lotto Fund. He said only that they were a select group.
"You couldn't just come in from the street," he said. "The only way you could come into the International Lotto Fund is if you knew someone in ILF or knew me."
Thomas Huang of Landmark News Service contributed to this story.
by CNB