All news

Minnesota authorities charge duo in connection with illegal Thai lottery ring

Illegal lottery gambling ring taken down!

A police car from the Minnesota, St. Paul police force parked on the street.
Todd Betzold

An illegal gambling ring in Minnesota has been taken down, according to authorities.

Mimicked a lottery in Bangkok

Police in St. Paul have arrested two people in an attempt to thwart an illegal Thai gambling ring that mimics a lottery held in Bangkok, according to police reports obtained by KMSP-TV.

While the game is legal in Bangkok, officials said it isn't legal in Minnesota. Because of that, King Thao, 57, and Choua Yang, 61, were both arrested and are facing four counts each of various acts of illegal gambling.

The investigation started in 2021

In June 2021, an investigation began when special agents with Minnesota's Alcohol and Gambling Enforcement Division started looking into an illegal gambling operation located at 995 University Avenue in St. Paul.

Investigators previously looked at this same location and found several people who were associated with the illegal lottery.

How did the illegal lottery work?

For this illegal gambling ring, it was based on playing the Thai lottery, which is conducted on the 1st and 15th of each month. The bettor would place cash bets with a seller on several numbers.

From there, the seller would then record the bets and give the bettor a yellow, handwritten, paper receipt. The receipt included the date, numbers, and book number of the bet. If the bettor happens to match their numbers, the receipt would then be used to claim any winnings.

The operators would sell tickets or betting slips, collect the money tax-free from these bettors, and then pay out any of the winning bets. Officials said the yellow receipt is a distinct characteristic of the system.

Search warrant executed

After doing some investigating, authorities executed a search warrant in November 2021 of the St. Paul address where they observed people selling yellow lottery tickets.

During that search, police said they found around 18 receipt booklets (with multiple yellow receipts), three suspected Thai lotto booklets, two envelopes containing yellow receipts, and several notebooks with writings in them.

Officials said Yang was the owner of the store where the search warrant was executed. Police also found yellow Thai lottery receipts in a register in the store.

Legal and record-breaking

On the flip side of things, one lucky Minnesota Lottery player recently broke some records in the state — legally, of course. The highest-ever Gopher 5 jackpot was recently won by a player in Baxter.

The record-breaking jackpot was won on Wednesday, June 26, and made it up to $2.05 million. One lucky ticket matched all five of the numbers drawn to win the jackpot. Those winning numbers happened to be 16, 29, 35, 43, and 46.

The winning ticket was purchased at Orton's Baxter Holiday, located at 5610 Fairview Road in Baxter, which received a $5,000 bonus from the Minnesota Lottery for selling the winning ticket.

The $2.05 million jackpot was the biggest Gopher 5 jackpot in the state's history. The previous biggest Gopher 5 jackpot was $2.03 million, which was won by a group of 22 co-workers from the Watonwan County Highway Department/Public Works Department on November 8, 2005.

Enjoy playing the lottery, and please remember to play responsibly.

Comments

0
Loading comments

Related articles

A lottery station at a local retailer in New Zealand.
Lottery age rules: From no limits in New Zealand to 21+ in other places

Some countries allow 16-year-olds to play, while others ban tickets until 21. Where's the line?

Todd Betzold profile pic

Todd Betzold

Cash Pop tickets from Georgia, Maryland, South Carolina, and North Carolina over a yellow background.
Cash Pop: The odds-friendly lottery

Cash Pop lottery players win something every 15 tries—here's how it actually works.

Dr. Catalin Barboianu profile pic

Dr. Catalin Barboianu

The drawing of a camera filming a lottery winner holding their check.
Top 9 documentaries about lotteries and sweepstakes

Binge-watch some epic real-life stories about the lottery and games.

Halley Bondy profile pic

Halley Bondy

The moment the announcement was made. The attendees at the Iowa State Fair had broken the "Most people scratching scratch tickets simultaneously" Guinness World Record.
Iowa Lottery players beat bizarre world record at state fair

Over 1,300 people gathered in Iowa to scratch off lottery tickets for a shot at a Guinness World Record.

Halley Bondy profile pic

Halley Bondy

Recent articles

View All
The Responsible Gaming Education Month 2025 logo over a white background.
States step up responsible gaming efforts as September campaign starts

States launch targeted messages to protect at-risk gamblers during Responsible Gaming Education Month.

Samantha Herscher profile pic

Samantha Herscher

GIANT Food Stores, 3175 Cape Horn Road, Windsor Township.
Three states strike it rich with Labor Day Cash 5 jackpots

From $349K to nearly $875K, three lucky tickets turned the holiday into a jackpot.

Todd Betzold profile pic

Todd Betzold

A  New Jersey Lottery billboard displaying a $1 billion Powerball jackpot, and a $277 Mega Millions jackpot.
Powerball jackpot soars to $1B for Labor Day

Powerball's 39-drawing streak climbs toward a stunning jackpot.

Samantha Herscher profile pic

Samantha Herscher

The Texas Commission of Licensing and Regulation, during a July 8, 2025, meeting.
The Texas Lottery is changing management on Labor Day

A new managing body will take over on Monday. Here's what this means for lottery players in the state.

Halley Bondy profile pic

Halley Bondy