As of: February 20, 2024, 1:34 p.m
By: Sophia Lother
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A lottery player experienced unpleasant scenes in the lottery office.
(Symbolic photo) © Levine-Roberts/Imago
Lotto luck or false hope?
A supposed lottery winner is currently fighting in court.
Washington DC – A total of 340 million dollars: A lottery player from the USA expected such a high win.
But his dream suddenly shattered.
Now he's going to court.
What happened?
As John Cheeks tells the
BBC
, he felt numb when he realized the lottery numbers on the official Powerball website matched his ticket.
Although he didn't follow the live drawing, he did see the numbers on the website.
He quickly made his way to the lottery and gambling office.
His head is already full of plans about what he could afford for himself and his family with his lottery winnings.
But the lottery employee's reaction was completely different than Cheeks had imagined.
Biggest Powerball winnings in the USA |
|
|---|---|
$2.04 billion |
November 7, 2022 |
$1.77 billion |
October 12, 2023 |
$1.59 billion |
January 9, 2016 |
$1.58 billion |
August 9, 2023 |
Source: New York Times |
Dream of winning the lottery shattered: employee advises, “there’s a trash can over there”
“One of the clerks told me that my ticket was no longer valid and that I should just throw it in the trash can,” Cheeks also told the US broadcaster
NBC Washington
.
“I gave him a stern look.
I said, 'In the trash can?'
'Oh yeah, just throw it away.
You won't get the money.
There's a trash can over there,'" Cheeks said.
While the supposed winner didn't want to do this, another lottery winner now wishes he had actually thrown away his ticket.
Cheeks then immediately contacted a lawyer.
The BBC cites court documents that suggest a “technical error” was to blame for the mess.
An employee of lottery contractor Taoti explains that on the day Cheeks bought his lottery ticket, a quality assurance team was carrying out tests on the website.
Apparently, a series of test Powerball numbers that matched Cheeks' numbers were "inadvertently" posted on the website, according to court documents.
They were available there for three days.
However, these numbers did not correspond to the winning numbers actually drawn in the Powerball.
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Alleged lottery winner goes to court
Prevented lottery winner Cheeks is now suing on eight separate counts, including breach of contract, negligence, infliction of mental cruelty and fraud.
In court documents, his lawyer is said to have emphasized again that Cheeks was entitled to the “entire jackpot.”
After all, his numbers matched those on the website.
Otherwise, Cheeks would be entitled to compensation for the lottery’s “gross negligence” in announcing incorrect lottery numbers.
In a statement to the
BBC,
the lawyer reiterated: "This lawsuit raises critical questions about the integrity and accountability of lottery operations and the safeguards - or lack thereof - against the kinds of errors that Powerball and the DC Lottery allege in this case." said the lawyer.
“This is not just about numbers on a website, but about the reliability of institutions that promise life-changing opportunities and also benefit significantly,” he emphasizes.
Another court date has already been scheduled, now it's up to the judge to decide whether Cheeks, who was prevented from becoming a lottery millionaire, might become a real millionaire after all.
Or whether he actually has to throw his ticket in the trash can at the end.