[BITLOTTO] Mar 1 draw over $2000 or 50BTC! Tickets now 0.1 BTC for Apr 5

[Otoh]

This still doesn't appear to have been paid  

http://blockchain.info/address/1AUpr2SssWgz6zyvxDDHEEZRVX7QjCvfsd

funds still sitting in the entry addresses  

http://blockchain.info/address/12fxpYHWfoBNtZk2oMcbuBNvyJtVmL9KTF
http://blockchain.info/address/1NfRi27U5wV3GF7VyfurkuN5Mmx1s6WDmj
http://blockchain.info/address/1MEjrYadGN41detAUionHC6iU15K7Ydmva

results announced over 1 week ago, draw made over 2 weeks ago

Edit: I've sent him a reminder PM.

[Stephen Gornick]

Not really cool

Yes, this is an uncharacteristically long delay, especially with no further updates since the 7th. 

The funds are still unspent though, so don't lose hope:
 - http://blockchain.info/address/12fxpYHWfoBNtZk2oMcbuBNvyJtVmL9KTF
 - http://blockchain.info/address/1MEjrYadGN41detAUionHC6iU15K7Ydmva
 - http://blockchain.info/address/1NfRi27U5wV3GF7VyfurkuN5Mmx1s6WDmj

[ErebusBat]

I would wonder more if something has happened to him.  I hope he is ok.

Maybe he got picked up for running an illegal lottery?

[BurtW]

Yes, he has been slow in the past but never this slow.  I am worried about him.  Does anyone know him in real life?  If so can you check on him and report back?

Funny, he has exactly 1234 posts...

[Otoh]

I'd guess that there's something/s going on in his rl that has just made keeping up with BitLotto impractical this month, I know that he was very busy & overstretched recently, I believe that he's honest & will make payment when he's dealt with whatever immediate things that are taking all his attention, sometimes stuff happens, most importantly it doesn't seem to be a money issue as the funds have stayed put & in $ terms are having a ball, I'm sure that goat will get them eventually & the $ value has doubled since the draw so all is/will be good if he's been put on enforced no sales hold though I expect goat is a long term stacker mostly anyways.

I see that sales of the April BitLotto have ground to a halt for a while now at just 5.81 btc so ppl obviously are following this lapse & wisely not playing atm until it is resolved with sufficient explanation as to why it happened.

[Stephen Gornick]

Does anyone know him in real life?

There is an address and phone number in the whois for the domain.  I've not called it or texted to it, but that is an option.

Incidentally the domain is set to expire in a couple weeks.  It is hosted with Kalyhost, which means to probably get started on renewing that ASAP so that it has renewed before expiry.

[BurtW]

owner-name: Mike Spitzer
owner-street: 167 Main St.
owner-city: Calgary
owner-state: Alberta
owner-zip: T4A 1N7
owner-country: CA
owner-phone: +1.4034568767
owner-fax:
owner-email: bitcoinlotto@yahoo.com

I expect this is all fake (it would be if I owned the site)

Sent an email to the yahoo address, we will see if it bounces.
Called the number.  It is not valid.
As far as I can tell Calgary Alberta does not have a Main street at all.
Have not checked the name but expect it is fake.

[Stephen Gornick]

I expect this is all fake (it would be if I owned the site)

Ya, operating a direct competitor to a State-run lottery would be something you would pretty much need to do anonymously.

There were concerns right off the bat, of course:

Or running away with.  

Ok. I admit that made me laugh. Seriously though, I'd be nuts to run with the money, I'd be better off making a small share honestly over a long period. Sure 246 BTC would be nice but I'd rather run a successful lottery in the future. I intend on running this for a very long time and with time people will see I'm doing exactly as I said.

And the use of an escrow was discussed here:

Lottery guy bets entire BTC fortune and ... loses?
 - http://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=18049.msg238619#msg238619

And there was the claim of having a partner, to keep the bus factor at two (i.e., if bitlotto operator gets hit by a bus someone else has the keys.)  Of course, there is no confirmation this exists, but if this delay is due to challenging circumstances there was supposed to be a backup to deliver the winnings. Being March 22nd and neither the normal payout nor the backup alternate having occurred has things looking worse though.

[Otoh]

If Mr BitLotto hasn't surfaced & paid the winnings by April's draw date of 4/4 I will release a PM from him that though it won't help at all to track him down does give a little info on his plans & thinking at the time it was written regarding how he saw BL going forward, there was nothing about it that personally made me any nervous about continuing to play, in fact I bet all told 18 btc on it in March's draw but it may as well go in to the public domain if he's AWOL still then or if the coins move before then which I doubt - I still hold out hope that the situation will resolve itself.

[Stephen Gornick]

WARNING - THE MARCH WINNER HAS NOT BEEN PAID OUT

DO NOT PLAY BITLOTTO AT THIS TIME

[ErebusBat]

Poor poor goat.

[Otoh]

Poor poor goat.

Indeed, if he has some dodgy karma with this one then I can at least report that him recommending Litecoins to me last year earns him a few chilled Singha beers or more next time I find myself in Thailand if he'd like, Kob Khun Krap Goat !!!

http://www.bitlotto.com/index.php ~ ppl are still adding to this, 8.04 BTC so far @ $115 = $9,246 + unless it's just bitlotto himself pumping/trolling it.

  STOP!       STOP!       STOP!       STOP!       STOP!  

 !!! DANGER ~ DO NOT PLAY !!!  

[ErebusBat]

I would almost bet that something happened to him.  I hope it wasn't serious like a car accident.  I do wonder if the US Justice system caught up with him for running an illegal lottery

Still sucks for goat.

[Otoh]

I would almost bet that something happened to him.  I hope it wasn't serious like a car accident.  I do wonder if the US Justice system caught up with him for running an illegal lottery

Still sucks for goat.

He was very tech savie & always most careful about being anon, totally no way the US or any jurisdiction could/would have closed him down, being hit by a bus can happen to anyone but don't forget we are in crypto/bitcoin world here & it has a lot of form. (as in UD 1.)

[GoWest]

Removed from the directory until this is resolved.

[ErebusBat]

I would almost bet that something happened to him.  I hope it wasn't serious like a car accident.  I do wonder if the US Justice system caught up with him for running an illegal lottery

Still sucks for goat.

He was very tech savie & always very careful about being anon, totally no way the US or any jurisdiction could/would have closed him down, being hit by a bus can happen to anyone but don't forget we are in crypto/bitcoin world here & it has a lot of form. (as in UD 1.)

I wouldn't say no way. That server has a .com not a .onion so there is a way to find him,if you have the resources.  It only takes one slip up.

[Otoh]

As I'm traveling tomorrow for a couple of days I'll release Mr bitlotto's PM now, for what it's worth:



I see it arrived after a couple from that tosser Hashking (which I've included in the screeny for your amusement), maybe I should have paid more attention to that synchronicity of that & the help from me that he refers to here was a donation of 3% of my winnings that I gave him a couple of times to help support his site & project, these were sent to his address:

https://blockchain.info/address/1JQdiQsjhV2uJ4Y8HFtdqteJsZhv835a8J

My sending address: 1G5apmPvo2iTtmkNWAHTCET7Y842Ufijs8

Rather than being so broke as he claimed to be there's still a balance of about 50 btc = $6,450 atm on it, though no movements since the 11th Feb, he also likes to SatoshiDice a bit it seems.

[kbroadfoot]

Wow... good god....
Peerbet then...

[Otoh]

I would open a scammers tag thread for bitlotto, I can't see how it's not an open & shut case & he had said that a deadman's switch was in place too I believe.

How about all those who enjoy playing BitLotto organize a monthly Peerbet as suggested & promote it here, I would suggest a modest start of say a 10 to 30 BTC pot & for it to close on Wednesday the 1st of May, any suggestions welcome - different pot size, close at weekend, etc, if not all bets are placed someone/s would need to buy up the remaining ones - so a couple of higher rollers would work well for that & also as we are saving the 1% rake perhaps this could be escrow-ed for an annual New Years or something bumper competition bet or given to charity (I have a good one that I founded) or whatever ppl may prefer.

Goat, if what I hear is in the works for Litecoin materializes (not just Mt. Gox) & all goes well this year then I may well buy you those Singhas before the end of this year.

[Zaih]

This guy really needs a scammer tag :@