So much for the Lottery...

[Wing Nut]

Fla. Lottery says ticket may be misprint
Thu May 17, 2:49 PM ET

OCALA, Fla. - The Florida Lottery is refusing to pay a $500,000 prize until it can inspect the $20 scratch-off ticket, which officials said Thursday appears to be a misprint.

Joe Curcio, 56, says he got the ticket at a service plaza Sunday on Florida's Turnpike.

The Gold Rush ticket has the numeral 1 on the top row and a numeral 1 above the $500,000 scratch-off piece, making the ticket appear to be a winner. But when Curcio had it scanned, the ticket's bar code indicated it wasn't.

Curcio, who owns a used car dealership, said lottery officials told him the top number actually was a "13" that was misprinted.

"They're saying it's a misprint. How do I know it's a misprint?" he asked. He has hired an attorney to press his claim.

Lottery spokeswoman Jacqueline Barreiros said Curcio still needed to turn over the ticket for a full inspection.

"We can't say whether we will pay the jackpot or not until we go through the process," she said.

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Personally, I can't stand it when someone gets in front of me in a line and wants to buy lottery.  It's one of my biggest pet peeves, alongside the phone company and people named Rex.  In this case, Right or wrong, they should have to pony up the dough.  They entered into an unofficial contract with the guy, and they need to hold up their end of the bargain...

[H]

You know the difficulty government has with complementing 'prodedure' with 'proper', Kevin: it's like drawing lots -- a gamble.

8-)

[Chris_F]

Well, the government makes the rules and the government enforces the rules.  Who do you go to when the government decides to change the rules at the last minute?

[Steve-O]

Well, the government makes the rules and the government enforces the rules.  Who do you go to when the government decides to change the rules at the last minute?

Being the good ol' US of A, I believe that's why they have the second amendment.

[ozzy72]

If they made the mistake then I think they'll have to pay the guy. It isn't his fault afterall.....

[Stormtropper]

The guy probably scratched off the three himself, and is trying to squeeze some money out of his thing...

...the lottery is one of the major sources of revenue for most states, I doubt they'd let a misprint go off the production line like that.

[murjax]

The guy saw the number so he should get the money. Some computer shouldn't tell him weather he wins or loses. If the numbers are visible then that should be a winner.

[H]

The guy probably scratched off the three himself, and is trying to squeeze some money out of his thing...
...the lottery is one of the major sources of revenue for most states, I doubt they'd let a misprint go off the production line like that.

Not intentionally but many coins are misprint (or mismint) recipients.
The reason for the scan code is to flag any tampering which they, evidently, couldn't find.

8-)

[Wing Nut]

Now I have to wonder how many winning tickets are misprinted as losers?