I don’t think there’s any way he could hope to get the full payout–there have to be indemnities in place for that kind of error or no one could insure them–
If, say, instead of 1 ticket, 10000 misprints had gone out, they certainly wouldn’t be expected to pay 10000 x $500,000.
Still, a lawyer managing to get considerably more than that measly “$100.00 in tickets” for the emotional “pain and suffering” seems possible.
How about a refund in cash or what the ticket cost? I realize that’s not likely to be more than a few bucks, but that’s probably worth more than a bunch of lottery tickets. And there should be some payout for a mess like this.
As someone who has played scratch-off tickets before, I’d like to say that the letters underneath a number also say what the number is supposed to be. From that information, neither of those ‘winning’ numbers is a ‘1’/‘ONE’.
You can see to the right side of the 1 (I would guess the top number is a 15 and the bottom number a 12) where part of a number either didn’t get printed, or was possibly intentionally removed.
Sorry to rain on the bandwagon parade.
They offered him $100 dollars in tickets, for what appears to be a $2 losing scratch off.
They looked at the alphanumeric code under each number and noted none of them are ONE. It’s obvious those aren’t ones. While the misprint gets worse down the ticket, there is clearly the start of an 8 following his first “winning” number.
Also, second clue is that this lottery is reported to have a published top prize of $250,000. Him claiming that he won 500k in a 250k game just silly.
[quote=“77x, post:23, topic:49522, full:true”]As someone who has played scratch-off tickets before, I’d like to say that the letters underneath a number also say what the number is supposed to be. From that information, neither of those ‘winning’ numbers is a ‘1’/‘ONE’.
You can see to the right side of the 1 (I would guess the top number is a 15 and the bottom number a 12) where part of a number either didn’t get printed, or was possibly intentionally removed.
Sorry to rain on the bandwagon parade.[/quote]
And if you follow the link in the linked to article, or check the NM Lottery website, it mentions that the maximum prize for this particular game is supposed to be $250,000. Even ignoring the bits of other numbers that you can spot, scratching off double the maximum payout should have sent a signal that something was wrong.
Edit: The misprinted numbers are apparently “12” and “18”, according to other reports of this story.
That’s not $100 in tickets. That’s tickets of dubious printing quality for which they are known to come up with excuses for not paying out on. They’re not even good as bum-wipes.
Monday
Yeeeee-fucking-haw! 500 grand!!! I’m quitting this job. Fuck you Jim, fuck you Sue, and fuck you too Mr. Douche-Bag-Daddy’s-kid Boss. You can kiss my tush. In fact, here it is! [Drops pants]
Tuesday
[Walks in without making eye-contact. Sits down at desk and hope no one says anything]
And if they are, they may be in need of reconstruction.
I’ve been staring at this ticket pretty confused.
The only scratchcards I’ve ever played worked on the basis that you get say nine numbers printed on the scratchcard, and if three of them match you win that amount. (I.e. if your card says £10, £1, £2, £25, £10, £25,000, £500, £10, £25,000… you’ve won £10).
So I’m staring that this card thinking he’s won $250k (because it clearly shows 3x$250k), so why does the article say he thinks he’s won $500k? Hmm.
Evidently the smaller numbers above the $250k’s are important… perhaps it says $250k in each position, even the ones he’s not really uncovered yet. So he “matched” two red 1s (which are actually a misprinted 13 and 18)… and that makes him think he’s won $250k + $250k? But then some people are saying the maximum prize these tickets could show is $250k? I’m lost!
Not only that, but the letters under each number clearly state what number should be there. I know it is written in code, but it is quite easy to read if you use your imagination.
This is a non-story.
For this type of ticket he received two “Your Numbers” which were a 1 and a 2. If any of the numbers above one of the prizes matched “Your Numbers” then you win that prize. He is claiming that the numbers above the two $250,000 prizes are 1’s, but they clearly aren’t.
I’d argue that in that case that after the first 5 or 6 $500,000 claims, the NM lotto would be negligent in not removing them from stores.
At a family gathering for the holidays a few years back gifted a relative, who is on my financial plane (meaning poor), like ten lottery ticket scratch-offs. Well one of them came up with a $15,000 prize and to watch the look on the face of a person for whom fifteen-thousand dollars is a life changing sum of money as it changes when they hear their family member, who got them the gift, say “look at the back! It’s a fake ticket. Gotcha!” is one of the most gruesome visuals a human with empathy can experience.
I’ve had no respect since for the family member who bought that fake ticket. Fucking crass douchebags.
How cruel. Presumably those things are stocked in the same aisle as the gag EpiPens and fake pregnancy tests.
I’m not a violent type by any means, but I think this would be just about enough to make me punch them. Or at least grab them warmly by the throat and explain their error.
You have far more patience than me.
A more dramatic result than usual for people who finally realize that the lottery is a tax on innumeracy.
This one is “lottery error not in your favor, collect $100 in lottery tickets that could amount to $0 or more”. Might not even fit completely on the Community Chest card.
Must not have been in Las Vegas. In Vegas I believe you can call for an audit of the machine that doesn’t pay out.
Q: What do I do when a slot machine I am playing malfunctions?
A:
The first thing you do is contact a casino employee. If there is a question of whether or not you have won a jackpot and you dispute the casino’s response you may telephone the Gaming Control Board’s Enforcement Division. An agent will arbitrate the dispute. If your dispute with the casino is for $500 or more, and cannot be settled, the casino is required to notify the Gaming Control Board.
http://gaming.nv.gov/index.aspx?page=70
Slot machines in Las Vegas are more tightly regulated than electronic voting machines, though, unfortunately, that doesn’t really say much given the extremely lax regulation of electronic voting machines.
I believe the second number is 12.
I came to this post prepared to be indignant on behalf of the ticket holder. However it’s clear from the photograph that he did not have a winning ticket as the non matching, redundant text abbreviations under the numbers show.
In this case getting $100 worth of lottery tickets is a gift - customer service above and beyond - not an insult.
