Luck Hacked: The Texas Lottery Heist
Summary
When a record Texas Lottery jackpot is rigged by a tech-powered syndicate, a stubborn 74-year-old watchdog races to expose the truth before innovation and greed erase the last vestiges of luck and fairness.
In the heart of a tech-charged, morally divided Texas, the state’s lottery is rocked by an unprecedented scandal: a shadowy syndicate, powered by AI and startup muscle, manipulates the system to secure a record-breaking $95 million jackpot. At the center of the storm stands Dawn Nettler, a relentless 74-year-old lottery watchdog whose gambler’s intuition and reporter’s grit make her the first to sense that luck has been engineered—and that fairness is on the brink of extinction. As the evidence trail winds through slick Silicon Valley couriers, compromised regulators, and an international mastermind orchestrating the perfect heist from afar, Dawn battles a web of secrets, threats, and high-stakes deception.
Caught between old-guard Texas power brokers, ambitious tech disruptors, and a public hungry for answers, Dawn must decide how much she’s willing to risk to defend the soul of the lottery—and her own legacy. With allies like Rob Koller, a guilt-ridden ex-insider, and foes ranging from the ambiguous Lottery Director Gary Greaves to the ruthless Bernard Maranville, Dawn’s crusade becomes a race against time and technology. In a world where algorithms can outplay chance and truth is the rarest currency, can one woman’s stubborn integrity hold the line against a future where luck—and justice—are up for sale?
Inspired by: The Scheme That Broke the Texas Lottery - https://www.newyorker.com/news/letter-from-the-southwest/the-scheme-that-broke-the-texas-lottery