Lao lottery officials are rigging the system and manipulating winning numbers to avoid large pay-outs, sources in the communist country tell RFA’s Lao Service. Several times this year, tickets purchased for the national drawing had the number 509 which then mysteriously vanished from the winning ticket during the day of the drawing, a source said. Those responsible for the state lottery are private business interests with ties to the nation’s ruling elite, the source added. The office of the prime minister has sent a directive to reduce state lottery drawings from two to one per week and handle winnings more transparently, the source added.