Money For Nothing? Iowa Lottery Screws Up Winning Numbers

IOWA POSTED THE WRONG POWERBALL WINNING NUMBERS

I was thinking about our lottery system the other day, and I was wondering; how often do mistakes happen with the lottery? Could the lottery produce a lotto ticket or a scratch-off that shows you won a large amount of money, but when it is scanned at the store,  it shows that you only won a dollar; or $10?  As I'm pondering this question, I haven't yet found the answer; but something strange did just happen with the Powerball drawing for the state of Iowa.

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Just as I'm contemplating this question, one of our neighboring states had this little mishap the other day. This wasn't a mistake made on the printing of a ticket, this was a mistake of humans announcing the wrong numbers.

WHAT HAPPENED

The wrong Powerball numbers were posted from about 12:30 am to about 7:am according to Iowa lottery officials before they were finally taken down. Due to the error, cashing and checking of tickets from the drawing were suspended on Tuesday while officials worked to correct the mistake.

Finally, by around 3 pm on Tuesday, the correct winning numbers were posted, and the real winners of the drawing could cash in.  The correct Powerball numbers WERE posted by other states.

WHAT HAPPENED TO THE MISTAKEN WINNERS?

So what happened to the people who saw their numbers posted as winners for the Powerball?  Winners who presented their tickets in those early morning hours were able to cash in on their tickets, but there were no mistaken millionaires. According to the New York Times, the prizes that went out ranged from $4 up to $200.

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