Sutherland's conceptualization of professional crime, while hailed as a milestone in criminology, has been criticized as excessively narrow, and its applicability to modern criminal activity has also been seriously questioned. Using qualitative data developed during an 18‐month investigation, this paper demonstrates that modern‐day stoopers, who retrieve discarded winning racetrack tickets, manifest criminal behavior that closely resembles Sutherland 's characterization of professional crime. The characteristics of this small group of determined thieves are delineated by using the j v e criteria of professionalism established by Sutherland. This delineation demonstrates that the Sutherland model remains viable and shouId not be relegated to the status of an historical footn