18 February 2024 , 19:23
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A disgruntled Powerball player claims he missed out on a life-changing jackpot worth $340 million despite his numbers matching the lottery’s website. The company claims that it was a “mistake.”
John Cheeks is now suing Powerball and the DC Lottery. Mr Cheeks bought a Powerball ticket on January 6, 2023, when the jackpot rose to a whopping $340 million prize, according to a complaint he filed last November.
Mr Cheeks told NBC 4 he bought the ticket using his family members birthdates, and then missed the live drawing on January 7. He wasn’t in a rush to check his numbers since the odds of winning a Powerball jackpot is about 1 in 292.2 million, so when he did, he was shocked by what he saw.
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Cheeks has sought legal advice (NBC Washington)He claimed he checked the DC Lottery’s website the following day and was shocked when he saw his winning numbers. He thought he had become the year’s first multimillionaire in the draw. “I just politely called a friend. I took a picture as he recommended, and that was it. I went to sleep,” Mr Cheeks said.
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The DC Lottery website showed his ticket numbers, according to the complaint. But these numbers differed from those announced during the live Powerball broadcast.
When he tried to redeem the ticket at a licensed retailer on January 10 he was shocked to find out that none of his numbers matched up to what was drawn live. He then went to the DC Office of Lottery and Gaming prize centre to find out what was going on, but again, he was told he was not the winner.
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“’Hey, this ticket is no good. Just throw it in the trash can,’” Mr Cheeks said about the clerk's reaction. “And I gave him a stern look. I said, ‘In the trash can?’ ‘Oh yeah, just throw it away. You’re not gonna get paid. There’s a trash can right there.’”
But he has not lost hope, and Cheeks has since placed the ticket in a safety deposit box. He was eventually informed by a lottery contractor that Taoti Enterprises, the DC-based digital advertising agency that manages the DC Lottery’s website, made a “mistake” and posted these wrong results from the draw.
The numbers were sentimentally chosen (NBC Washington)
The jackpot grew to a staggering $754.6 million before another Washington ticket holder claimed the prize on February 6. This is not a one off incident either In November 2023, Iowa lottery officials blamed a “human reporting error” for posting the incorrect numbers. In that incident, those who had matching numbers and cashed their tickets were able to claim their prize, which ranged from $4 to $200, according to Fox 9.