McCormick v. Multi State Lottery Association

Opinion

WO

Mark McCormick, No. CV-23-00525-PHX-DLR

Plaintiff, ORDER

v.

Arizona Lottery, et al.,

Defendants. Pending is Plaintiff Mark McCormick’s application to proceed without prepaying fees and costs (Doc. 2), which will be granted. The Court must screen Mr. McCormick’s complaint to ensure it states a plausible claim. 28 U.S.C. § 1915(e)(2); Lopez v. Smith, 203 F.3d 1122, 1127 (9th Cir. 2000). Mr. McCormick claims the Multi-State Lottery Association, the official lottery agencies of several states, and various retailers have conspired to prevent him from winning a lottery jackpot. In particular, Mr. McCormick alleges he should have won the $2.04 billion Powerball jackpot on November 7, 2022, but was robbed of his rightful prize through a number-swapping scheme. Mr. McCormick’s complaint does not state a plausible claim to relief. See Denton v. Hernandez, 504 U.S. 25, 33 (1992) (explaining a case is frivolous if the facts alleged are “fanciful,” “fantastic,” and/or “delusional”). The odds of winning the Powerball are approximately 1 in 292.2 million. See http://www.powerball.com/powerball-prize-chart. It is implausible that an elaborate, decades-long conspiracy is the reason Mr. McCormick has 1 not won. Instead, Mr. McCormick, like the vast majority of lottery players, just didn’t beat the odds. Because no additional factual allegations will make Mr. McCormick’s conspiracy theory plausible, IT IS ORDERED that, although Mr. McCormick’s application to proceed without prepaying fees and costs (Doc. 2) is GRANTED, his complaint (Doc. 1) is DISMISSED. The Clerk of the Court is directed to terminate this case. Dated this 31st day of March, 2023. {Z, _- Ae Upited States Dictric Judge

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