读者文摘:美国历史上最大的彩票骗局(1)（在线收听）

The video was grainy, but it showed enough to possibly crack open the biggest lottery scam in American history.

这个视频画面有颗粒感，但这足以破解美国历史上最大的彩票骗局。

A heavyset man walks into a QuikTrip convenience store just off Interstate 80 in Des Moines, Iowa, two days before Christmas 2010.

2010年圣诞节前两天，在爱荷华州得梅因80号州际公路旁，一名身材魁梧的男子走进一家QuikTrip便利店。

The hood of his sweatshirt is pulled over his head, obscuring his face. He grabs a fountain drink and two hot dogs.

他运动衫的兜帽拉过头顶，遮住了脸。他买了一杯饮料和两个热狗。

“Hello!” the cashier says brightly. Head down, the man replies in a low-pitched drawl: “Hell-ooooh.”

“你好!收银员兴高采烈地说。那人低下头，慢吞吞地低声说：“见鬼!”

They exchange a few more words. The man pulls two pieces of paper from his pocket.

他们又交谈了几句话。这名男子从口袋里拿出两张纸。

The cashier runs them through the lottery terminal and then hands over some change.

收银员使它们通过彩票终端机，然后递交了一些零钱。

Once outside, the man pulls off his hood, gets into his SUV, and drives away.

一到外面，这名男子就脱下兜帽，钻进他的SUV，开车离开了。

The pieces of paper were play slips for Hot Lotto, a lottery game that was available in 14 states and Washington, DC.

那两张纸是热乐透的投注单，这是一种彩票游戏，在美国14个州和华盛顿特区都可以买到。

A player (or the game’s computer) picked five numbers and then a sixth, known as the Hot Ball.

一个玩家(或者游戏的电脑)选择了5个数字，然后选择了第6个，这就是热球。

Players who got all six numbers right won a jackpot that varied according to how many tickets were sold.

所有六个号码都答对的玩家将赢得头奖，头奖金额根据售出的彩票数量而定。

At the time of the video, the jackpot was approaching $10 million. The stated odds of winning it were 1 in 10,939,383.

在拍摄这段视频时，头奖金额接近1000万美元。据说中奖的几率是10939383分之一。

Six days later, on December 29, the Hot Lotto numbers were selected: 3, 12, 16, 26, 33, 11.

六天后的12月29日，热乐透中奖号码被选中：3，12，16，26，33，11。

The next day, the Iowa Lottery announced that a QuikTrip in Des Moines had sold the winning ticket.

第二天，爱荷华州彩票机构宣布，是得梅因市的一个QuikTrip便利店售出了该中奖彩票。

But no one came forward to claim the now $16.5 million jackpot.

但没有人站出来认领金额为1650万美元的头奖。

After a month passed, the Iowa Lottery held a news conference to note that the money was still uncollected.

一个月过去了，爱荷华州彩票机构召开新闻发布会，宣布这笔钱仍未领取。

The lottery issued another public reminder three months after the winning numbers were announced,

在中奖号码宣布三个月后，公司又向公众发出提醒，

then another at six months and again at nine months, each time warning that winners had one year to claim their money.

然后又在六个月后和九个月后分别发出提醒，每次都提醒获奖者有一年的时间领取奖金。

In November 2011, a man named Philip Johnston, a Canadian attorney, called in with the correct serial number from the winning ticket.

2011年11月，一位名叫菲利普·约翰斯顿的加拿大律师打来电话，提供了中奖彩票上正确的序列号。

But when asked what he’d been wearing when he bought it, his description of a sports coat and gray flannel dress pants did not match the QuikTrip video.

但是，当问到他买彩票时的穿着时，他回答的运动外套和灰色法兰绒西裤和便利店的视频不相符。

Then, in a subsequent call, the man admitted he had “fibbed”; he said he was helping a client claim the ticket so the client wouldn’t be identified.

然后，在随后的电话中，该男子承认自己“撒了个小谎”；他说，他是在帮助一位客户认领彩票，这样就不会透露这位客户的身份。

This was against the Iowa Lottery rules, which require identities of winners to be public.

这违反了爱荷华州彩票机构的需要公布获奖者身份的规定。

Lottery officials were suspicious: The winner’s anonymity was worth $16.5 million?

彩票机构官员对此表示怀疑：获奖者的匿名身份价值1650万美元?