We all make mistakes on the job, but more often than not those mistakes don’t have millions of dollars at stake.
During the Mega Millions drawing last Tuesday, host John Crow incorrectly read the gold Mega Ball as a “6,” when it was actually a “9.”
While the estimated Mega Millions annuitized jackpot was $86 million, there are five other prizes for having the correct Mega Ball number: Mega Millions, except in California, pays $2 prizes for tickets where the holder matches only the gold ball number and $4 when the ticket has the gold ball and one other correct number. Matching two, three and four white balls and the gold balls also yield prizes of $10, $200 and $10,000,
Well, some players claimed prizes based on the incorrect gold ball number, though those funds were recalled automatically, were sure to the chagrin of the people who collected them.
The organization said in a statement per CNN, “Due to human error relating to the May 10, 2022 Mega Millions draw, the New York Lottery paid a total of $5,538 to players who presented tickets with the incorrect winning number to retailers before approximately 10 a.m. on May 11. This payment was recouped automatically via a Lottery account for uncashed tickets. There is no impact on aid to education or taxpayer funds."
After a pause in payments, the lottery has resumed prize payouts.
The now estimated jackpot for Friday's Mega Millions drawing is $99 million, with a cash option of $57 million.
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