IT HAPPENED: Who got accidentally rich when the Powerball numbers went wrong?
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DES MOINES, Iowa — If the lottery numbers are printed and published incorrectly, do those winners get to keep their prizes?
Well, it actually happened this week, and the answer in this case was–yes.
It started when the Iowa Lottery posted incorrect winning numbers for Monday night's Powerball game on their website.
This led to a brief seven-hour period where actual losing tickets were thought to be winners.
The mistake, attributed to a "human reporting error," occurred early Tuesday morning around 12:30 a.m. when the wrong numbers were uploaded to the Iowa Lottery's website.
On Tuesday May 11, 2022, the Mega Millions drawing from the New York Lottery gave players the "incorrect input" of winning numbers.
This resulted in an incorrect Mega Ball number being published. According to the lottery, this was the result of "human error."
"The New York Lottery is actively working to resolve the issue as quickly as possible," the organization said in a statement.
The Iowa Powerball error was not spotted until approximately 7:15 a.m. During this time the incorrect winning numbers remained public, and prize claims were mistakenly processed.
Throughout the seven-hour window, prizes ranging from $4 to $200 were wrongly given out.
The Good News
The exact number of people who claimed these prizes was not disclosed by lottery officials.
However, they did confirm that anyone who cashed in a winning ticket based on the incorrect numbers will be allowed to keep their winnings.
The actual jackpot for Monday night's Powerball drawing was a substantial $355 million.
The correct winning numbers, which were eventually posted, were 2-21-38-61-66 with a Powerball number of 12.
Correction Made
Following the correction of the mistake, the Iowa Lottery reported that 3,998 players had won prizes with the valid numbers, ranging from $4 to $200.
The Iowa Lottery worked diligently until 3:30 p.m. on Tuesday to correct the issue in their system and continue the process of cashing in legitimate winning Powerball tickets.
It’s a rare example of an occurrence where a mistake briefly turns losing lottery tickets into unexpected winnings.
More About That Powerball
The Powerball drawing on Monday, November 27, 2023, resulted in no jackpot winners, leaving the grand prize unclaimed. The estimated jackpot for the draw was a substantial $355 million, with a cash value of $164.6 million.
The winning numbers for this draw were 2, 21, 38, 61, 66, and the Powerball number was 12, with a Power Play option of 2x.
Despite no grand prize winners, there were numerous smaller prize winners across various categories. No tickets matched all five numbers with the Power Play, which would have resulted in a $2 million prize, nor were there any tickets matching five numbers for a $1 million prize.
However, there were nine tickets that won $50,000 each, and two additional tickets doubled their prize to $100,000 with the Power Play.
As well, 231 tickets won $100, and another 79 doubled this to $200 with the Power Play.
There were also thousands of winners in the lower prize categories, with prizes ranging from $4 to $14.
