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Perry first discussed his idea with Jack and Peter
Maragos, two of his partners in a vending machine business. Once committed to the plan, Perry approached local Pittsburgh lettering expert and WTAE art director Joseph Bock about creating weighted ping-pong balls that were replicas of the official
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It was later revealed that the
Maragos brothers also placed bets on the eight numbers with local bookmakers who had illegal numbers games that used the lottery drawing as the winning result. The brothers also told friends and family which numbers to play. All of this may have contributed to the
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where the brothers had bought a large number of lottery tickets. An employee remembered the brothers coming into the bar with a platinum-blonde woman and laying down a large amount of cash to buy lottery tickets, all on the eight specific numbers. The employee recalled that while he printed the
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was assembled and charges were leveled against all seven men. Plevel was convicted and spent two years in prison. Bock, Luman, and Moran pleaded guilty in exchange for lighter sentences. The
Maragos brothers avoided jail time by agreeing to testify against Perry. Much of the $ 1.8 million ($
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Perry got access to the machines and ping-pong balls, which had been kept in a room at WTAE studios, through Edward Plevel, a lottery official. The room was locked with two keys; Perry had one, and Plevel had the other. Plevel left the machines and balls unguarded for several minutes on a few
159:(one of the eight combinations of 4s and 6s that the "fixers" were hoping for) was drawn on April 24, 1980; however, the unusual betting patterns alerted authorities to the crime. The chief conspirators were sent to prison, and most of the fraudulently acquired winnings were never paid out.
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occasions. Perry also got WTAE stagehand Fred Luman to physically switch the original balls with the weighted ones twice: once before and once after the drawing. Bock then took the rigged balls back to his studio and burned them in a paint can a half-hour after the on-air drawing was done.
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on April 24, 1980, when the drawing produced the number "666" for a then-record payout of $ 3.5 million (equivalent to $ 12.94 million in 2023), including $ 1.18 million (equivalent to $ 4.36 million in 2023) that went to eight people in on the scam.
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Investigators pulled the phone records and traced the call to the WTAE-TV announcer's booth in the studio where the drawing was done. This strongly implicated Perry, and
Maragos confirmed under questioning that the conversation had been with Perry (in
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On the date of the drawing, the
Maragos brothers traveled around Pennsylvania buying large quantities of tickets containing the eight possible numbers. The investigation was broken open when an anonymous tip led to a bar near
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Lottery authorities and local bookmakers became suspicious when they noticed that a large number of tickets were purchased for the eight possible combinations, and a handful of players came forward to claim the prize.
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Perry was convicted of criminal conspiracy, criminal mischief, theft by deception, rigging a publicly exhibited contest and perjury on May 20, 1981. He was sentenced to seven years in prison. He served two years at
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section of
Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Perry remained on parole until March 1989. He held a number of jobs after prison including an unsuccessful attempt to return to broadcasting in the late 1980s. Perry died in
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who made the announcement on June 10, 1981, along with the addition of a "security chief" and background checks on all staff related to the drawings. The
Pittsburgh market broadcasting rights were given to
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After the scandal, the
Pennsylvania Lottery and other drawings began taking greater precautions to guard against rigging. The drawings for the Lottery were moved from WTAE to
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Screenshot from a video of the drawing, showing three containers each with 10 ping pong balls, just before the balls were released to be scrambled and then selected
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in 1999. It was not until July 1, 2009, that the
Lottery resumed airing on WTAE, where the drawings remained until July 1, 2015, when
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call, spoke in a foreign language, and held up the phone so the listener could hear the lottery machine printing the tickets.
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in 1958, as a staff announcer. Later, he became a news and weather reporter and was the host of local sports shows like
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6.66 million today) was recovered from the
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series about the scandal, complete with anecdotes from former WTAE and KDKA news anchor
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in 1981 as well. In Harrisburg, despite the drawings now being held at PBS affiliate
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balls used in the lottery machines. The No. 4 and No. 6 balls were chosen as the
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s sixth season is loosely based on the scandal. In 2011, a season 2 episode of
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390: in this section. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed.
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701:"The Devil Made Him Do It and Left Me There, Comfortable" by Steve May
224:. In 1977, Perry became the host of the live nightly broadcast of the
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606:"Nick Perry, 86; Radio Star Jailed for Fixing Pennsylvania Lottery"
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Case photographs, artifacts, and information can be viewed at the
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conspiracy's downfall, with the greater influx of slanted bets.
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s announcer. Perry was born Nicholas Pericles Katsafanas in the
147:. All of the balls in the three machines, except those numbered
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491:. The 2013 episode "The Good, the Bad, & the Baby" from
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Rigging of The Daily Number so certain balls will be drawn
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The plan was masterminded by Nick Perry (1916–2003),
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568:"Obituary: Nick Perry / TV bowling kingpin, dies"
307:and spent another year at a halfway house in the
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630:Perry took lottery fix winnings, court told
305:State Correctional Institution – Camp Hill
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450:Learn how and when to remove this message
109:Learn how and when to remove this message
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476:, was loosely based on Perry's story.
190:in Pittsburgh. After serving in the
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696:"Putting in the fix" by Jason Togyer
681:(DVD audio commentary). ABC Studios.
388:adding citations to reliable sources
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266:tickets, one of the brothers made a
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399:"1980 Pennsylvania Lottery scandal"
58:"1980 Pennsylvania Lottery scandal"
210:. Perry later moved over to rival
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679:The Good, the Bad, & the Baby
131:1980 Pennsylvania Lottery scandal
744:1980 crimes in the United States
651:"Lottery TV Moved to Harrisburg"
649:Cuddy, Jim Jr. (June 11, 1981).
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327:on June 29, 1981, on orders of
228:, held in the studios of WTAE.
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34:needs additional citations for
729:Lotteries in the United States
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483:aired a documentary in their
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734:Fraud in the United States
592:TribLIVE. April 27, 2008.
511:Pennsylvania State Police
200:Charleston, West Virginia
329:Governor Dick Thornburgh
323:in the state capital of
314:Attleboro, Massachusetts
180:Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
543:Hot Lotto fraud scandal
503:Mysteries at the Museum
280:Fairmont, West Virginia
739:Crimes in Pennsylvania
248:Perry was the host of
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515:Hershey, Pennsylvania
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749:1980 in Pennsylvania
677:Miller, Terri Edda.
656:The Pittsburgh Press
572:old.post-gazette.com
384:improve this article
226:Pennsylvania Lottery
222:Championship Bowling
206:, the forerunner of
145:Pennsylvania Lottery
43:improve this article
535:Pennsylvania portal
217:Bowling for Dollars
188:Duquesne University
184:Peabody High School
634:The Altoona Mirror
356:In popular culture
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714:article from 1981
574:. April 24, 2003.
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660:. Retrieved
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614:. Retrieved
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474:Lisa Kudrow
468:, starring
352:took over.
176:Morningside
723:Categories
616:2019-12-09
554:References
513:Museum in
489:Don Cannon
410:newspapers
325:Harrisburg
296:grand jury
69:newspapers
662:April 14,
479:In 2006,
290:Aftermath
268:pay phone
192:U.S. Navy
99:July 2015
610:LA Times
521:See also
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163:Planning
424:scholar
338:WITF-TV
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244:Drawing
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350:WPXI
342:WGAL
220:and
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