Lottery player says scanner not accurate

Sep 16, 2012, 3:04 pm (57 comments)

Florida Lottery

PANAMA CITY BEACH, Fla. — One man's faith in the reliability of Florida's lottery system has been shaken after an odd incident.

It was around 8:30 p.m. the evening after a drawing. Robert Campisi, 48, a retired business owner and electrical contractor, was in the Exxon at 7624 Front Beach Road.

Campisi said he was engaged in an activity that is all too familiar to him. And like most of the time, as he scanned the "Powerball" and "Quick Pick" lottery tickets at the external scanner, an all too familiar message appeared on the LED screen in bright, aqua letters: "Not a Winner."

"I said, 'ah, you might want to double check them; why don't you scan 'em again,' just joking around," Campisi said. "So [the clerk] scanned the first one, the Powerball — 'Not a Winner.' Then he scanned the second one — 'Winner $6.' "

Campisi said his jaw dropped.

"No way," he said. "Bologna."

The numbers drawn the night before on Sept. 5 at 10:15 p.m. were 23-28-29-36-37-46. A few of those numbers — 23, 28 and 36 — matched up in the B row of Campisi's ticket he purchased Sept. 5 at 6:04 p.m. This made Campisi one of the 24,210 individuals who won $6 on the "3-of-6" prize level, the minimum amount of matching numbers to constitute a "win."

The money, Campisi said, was not the issue. For him, the reliability of the system he had paid into for years was now a concern.

"People spend ridiculous amounts of money on the lottery; I'm one of them," Campisi said. "I'm peeved, and I'm starting to wonder how many wins I have missed."

The clerk then handed Campisi his lottery ticket, with "Winning Ticket" now etched upon its face; a validation ticket, with a time and date stamp; and the $6.

Campisi said he reported the incident to the manager of the Exxon and then sent an email to the Florida Lottery Offices in Pensacola detailing his complaint.

The Florida Lottery investigated the incident through GTech, the vendor who produces the Express Point Plus ticket scanners (EEPs).

Connie Barnes, Florida Lottery communication director, said there have been no incidents of this sort reported during her employment with Florida Lottery.

According to Barnes, GTech's records indicated a similar scenario to what Campisi stated; however, "the Lotto ticket he presented at the counter was different than the Lotto ticket he presented to the self-scanner, and that was a $6 winning ticket," Barnes said.

Barnes said GTech's EEPs keep "very detailed records tracking all transactions."

The Florida Lottery would not produce the document detailing the cross-referenced times, serial numbers and locations, due to some of the contents being "proprietary information," according to Shelly Safford, senior public affairs specialist.

But, Campisi doesn't buy the explanation.

He said he has been playing the Florida Lotto actively once or twice a week for the past five or six years, and the Florida Lottery's claim could not be correct.

Campisi said his routine is to buy one Powerball ticket and one Lotto ticket at a time.

"Lottery is big money and a lot of people use those external scanners," Campisi said. "If it happened to me just one time, then it tells you the system doesn't work."

Management at the Exxon, and the clerk Campisi said was present during the time of the incident, declined to comment.

"You're talking about hundreds of thousands of dollars," Campisi said. "That sucker should be right on."

He added, "I won't trust it ever again."

News story photo(Click to display in gallery)

News story photo(Click to display in gallery)

Thanks to lottoballz for the tip.

News Herald

Comments

Ronnie316

It sounds to me like Robert "clumsy" make a mistake of some kind trying to check his own tickets at the "external scanner" and then the clerk got it right and gave him his cash.

I have made mistakes plenty of times checking my tickets, but never thought to blame "the scanner"

NightStalker's avatarNightStalker

I was kinda wondering the same thing.  I thought it was just possible that he might have made a mistake and not the scanner.

JezzVim

Without electronic training I know there is a way to get around the scanners......NOT telling

JAP69's avatarJAP69

If the scanner was correct there would be no need to cite internal document priority.

Just show the proof the scanner machine was correct.

Lucky Loser

Okay, the disclaimer to my following comment is this, "All products and services should, in fact, be checked via quality assurance/control to promote efficient operation at all times."

 

Now, I remember back in the day before all this additional scanner technology came about, there were (2) options to check tickets. One, go to any store and have the clerk run the ticket back through the lottery terminal. Two, simply go back to the store and pick up a printout of the current winning numbers and check yours against the printout. Sure, technology is good and to be expected this day and age but, it has made people somewhat lazy. Case in point, this guy and his ticket.

Yeah, I know that the scanners make it easier and are very convenient but, look at how many incidents are taking place...allegedly. Had he simply told the clerk to run the ticket, or, print him out a copy of the winning numbers he would've completely avoided this unfortunate mishap. I mean, think about it for just a second. Isn't a little extra effort on our part worth it to avoid all the headaches associated with depending on someone, or, something to make a possibly life-changing mistake with so much money at hand?

 For me it is. I check my own tickets against printouts...and for this matter, a person can go online and see for themselves whether they've won anything or not. But no, we want to blame other things and people for something we can excercise complete control over in terms of outcome. In all reality, he should've arrived at the store with his ticket(s) and telling the clerk that he'd like to cash in for his $6, more tickets, or merchandise. Easy fix.

 

L.L.

notawinneryet

I don't think he is "clumsy", the same thing has happened to me several times in GA.  However, I always check my tickets first before going in the store, then just to see I sometimes use the scanner.  I would not trust it.  I would have lost a few dollars myself.

mcginnin56

I believe this guy. The integrity of the Florida lottery is at stake here, and even if there was a slim chance the scanner was defective, there should

be some acknowledgement from the lottery. This is paramont to fraud and deception, let alone the hundreds of thousands their loyal players

could have lost in a very short period of time.

 

Shame of Florida Lottery for not doing responding with more concern and followup with this customer. In the eyes of the millions who play the

states games regularly, Robert Campisi is symbolically representing all these people. Perception is everything with the high stakes game of a

state lottery.

Piaceri

The scanners are problematic. This is not something we all here didn't know about. I'm guessing it happens quite often. The question then becomes whether this is some fault of the scanners or is this something to do with the printed tickets? I think it is the printed tickets simply because retailers use the same bar code scanning system with much more reliability. 

That being a known issue, I ALWAYS check my numbers myself, twice, before taking tickets to be cashed. I've been known to also scan them, even the ones I pegged as losers.

Littleoldlady's avatarLittleoldlady

The scanners here are the same way.  I think it has to do with the actual "speed" that the ticket is inserted under the scanner.  I have scanned my tickets myself and I always do it twice.  Sometimes, it takes the scanner a couple of seconds to clear the previous barcode out of it's memory.  Sometimes, I get a "can not read" error and when I get this, I stop and let the machine reset itself.

gra8*2win's avatargra8*2win

Quote: Originally posted by Littleoldlady on Sep 16, 2012

The scanners here are the same way.  I think it has to do with the actual "speed" that the ticket is inserted under the scanner.  I have scanned my tickets myself and I always do it twice.  Sometimes, it takes the scanner a couple of seconds to clear the previous barcode out of it's memory.  Sometimes, I get a "can not read" error and when I get this, I stop and let the machine reset itself.

i had never seen a scanner until i  visited florida last month.......i did play the florida pick 4  but only on 3 times....and i always went to the website,

i don't trust the darn scanners at my grocery store much less lottery equipment.  and i don't trust the newspapers in tennessee they have mis printed

several times......Type

Poncedeleon's avatarPoncedeleon

Mr.Robert Campisi should invested in a Computer, tablet, or a Smart phone and check it him himself.

HaveABall's avatarHaveABall

Quote: Originally posted by Piaceri on Sep 16, 2012

The scanners are problematic. This is not something we all here didn't know about. I'm guessing it happens quite often. The question then becomes whether this is some fault of the scanners or is this something to do with the printed tickets? I think it is the printed tickets simply because retailers use the same bar code scanning system with much more reliability. 

That being a known issue, I ALWAYS check my numbers myself, twice, before taking tickets to be cashed. I've been known to also scan them, even the ones I pegged as losers.

I Agree!, Piaceri.  This 'customer scanner' problem exists in all states.  I expect that the lottery headquarters office in EACH state will continue to indicate that there are "NO PROBLEMS/GLITCHES."

Can be that ticket's ink is too light, ink faded, ticket put under scanner too quickly, scanner glitching and submitting the prior bar-code a second time, etc. [insert ideas].

BS

Ronnie316

Quote: Originally posted by mcginnin56 on Sep 16, 2012

I believe this guy. The integrity of the Florida lottery is at stake here, and even if there was a slim chance the scanner was defective, there should

be some acknowledgement from the lottery. This is paramont to fraud and deception, let alone the hundreds of thousands their loyal players

could have lost in a very short period of time.

 

Shame of Florida Lottery for not doing responding with more concern and followup with this customer. In the eyes of the millions who play the

states games regularly, Robert Campisi is symbolically representing all these people. Perception is everything with the high stakes game of a

state lottery.

You could be right  mcginnin56, except we are gamblers and the state is the "house". I dont think any eyebrows need to be raised over a $6. win THAT GOT PAID. No harm no foul, as they say.

giotonia's avatargiotonia

There has been times scanner didn't work correctly. It's possible.

Ronnie316

Quote: Originally posted by giotonia on Sep 16, 2012

There has been times scanner didn't work correctly. It's possible.

Even if the scanner proved fault, I think it is the players responsibility to verify the results.

mcginnin56

Quote: Originally posted by Ronnie316 on Sep 16, 2012

You could be right  mcginnin56, except we are gamblers and the state is the "house". I dont think any eyebrows need to be raised over a $6. win THAT GOT PAID. No harm no foul, as they say.

$6, $600, $60,000, $600,000....if bogus information is being given from any of these scanners, being the "house" does not excuse the state from

 these incidents. I have had problems with these scanners in NH, and from the posts I've read here, it seems to be a fairly common occurence.

 

Fortunately Robert got paid his due $6, but how many thousands of others did not get paid for much larger amounts?

Ronnie316

Quote: Originally posted by mcginnin56 on Sep 16, 2012

$6, $600, $60,000, $600,000....if bogus information is being given from any of these scanners, being the "house" does not excuse the state from

 these incidents. I have had problems with these scanners in NH, and from the posts I've read here, it seems to be a fairly common occurence.

 

Fortunately Robert got paid his due $6, but how many thousands of others did not get paid for much larger amounts?

Even so, it is ultimately the players responsibility to verify results. 

Glitches of all kinds are a common occurance.

mcginnin56

Quote: Originally posted by Ronnie316 on Sep 16, 2012

Even so, it is ultimately the players responsibility to verify results. 

Glitches of all kinds are a common occurance.

You are correct that it is ultimately the players responsibility to verify results.

If the glitches are that commonplace however, steps need to be taken to minimize this by the state lotteries.

 

If these were any other private companies such as Apple, AT&T, Bank of America, McDonald's, etc....I seriously doubt thousands of commonplace

problems would be considered "acceptable" in the eyes of the consumer, or shareholders of these companies.

Because these glitches are accepted now, does not mean they always have to be. There needs to be more accountability, particularly where

this is a huge cash cow for most states. Their customers, who happen to be hard working tax paying state residents, deserve much better.

Ronnie316

Quote: Originally posted by mcginnin56 on Sep 16, 2012

You are correct that it is ultimately the players responsibility to verify results.

If the glitches are that commonplace however, steps need to be taken to minimize this by the state lotteries.

 

If these were any other private companies such as Apple, AT&T, Bank of America, McDonald's, etc....I seriously doubt thousands of commonplace

problems would be considered "acceptable" in the eyes of the consumer, or shareholders of these companies.

Because these glitches are accepted now, does not mean they always have to be. There needs to be more accountability, particularly where

this is a huge cash cow for most states. Their customers, who happen to be hard working tax paying state residents, deserve much better.

WAIT..... How did it go from ONE problem to "thousands"??

mcginnin56

Quote: Originally posted by Ronnie316 on Sep 16, 2012

WAIT..... How did it go from ONE problem to "thousands"??

Reading between the lines, it is quite feasible that thousands of other players had similar problems, but simply choose to accept the scanners

confirmation that they had losing tickets. And maybe their was a combination of problems including tickets that were not printed clearly enough

for the scanners to read, as well as defective scanners. The bottom line is that the burden should be on the state to resolve these issues, not the

other way around. IMHO.  Roll Eyes

Ronnie316

Quote: Originally posted by mcginnin56 on Sep 16, 2012

Reading between the lines, it is quite feasible that thousands of other players had similar problems, but simply choose to accept the scanners

confirmation that they had losing tickets. And maybe their was a combination of problems including tickets that were not printed clearly enough

for the scanners to read, as well as defective scanners. The bottom line is that the burden should be on the state to resolve these issues, not the

other way around. IMHO.  Roll Eyes

I agree with you if your right. But Im also reading between the lines and saying theres no issue to resolve.

mcginnin56

Quote: Originally posted by Ronnie316 on Sep 16, 2012

I agree with you if your right. But Im also reading between the lines and saying theres no issue to resolve.

Neither of us have any conclusive evidence. Just basing this on the comments and frustrations of the reported incidents, not to mention the many

members from this site who have reported similar problems.

 

As LL famously mentioned in another previous post, "let us agree to disagree"     Cheers

Ronnie316

I Agree!

mcginnin56

Quote: Originally posted by Ronnie316 on Sep 16, 2012

I Agree!

Phew!  Blush

Ronnie316

Quote: Originally posted by mcginnin56 on Sep 16, 2012

Phew!  Blush

LOL. I always wanted to play lottery official troll for a day...... lol. lol.

mcginnin56

Quote: Originally posted by Ronnie316 on Sep 16, 2012

LOL. I always wanted to play lottery official troll for a day...... lol. lol.

You would fill those shoes quite handily....maybe even for much longer than one day.   Yes Nod

Ronnie316

Quote: Originally posted by mcginnin56 on Sep 16, 2012

You would fill those shoes quite handily....maybe even for much longer than one day.   Yes Nod

LOL. Thanks..... I'm considering all offers.

Lucky Loser

Lots of very good views on this topic. It's actually very intriguing to wonder how many players may have actually fallen victim to a loss due to scanner malfunction. I mean, when I think about unclaimed winnings which are listed by the states, what percentage of those is because the player threw away a ticket thinking they lost? How many players didn't take the extra step in following through with a clerk, a printout, or online verification?

Before scanner technologies were introduced, these types of mistakes were nearly non-existent because people HAD to watch the live draw, go back to the stores and get printouts, or, have them ran back through the terminal for accurate verification. Now, they casually walk into stores with a ticket possibly worth millions...and allow a scanner to mistake the ticket for a loser when the results printouts are in the same vicinity.

When it comes to Lucky's money, I trust my own eyes. Just my .02

 

L.L.

jarasan's avatarjarasan

Those scanners are still on Windows XP Home Scanner Edition....... ancient technology....they need to upgrade to Windows 8.

Crazy

duffy$

A little different twist to talking about ticket scanners ... so far in PA all the tickets that I have scanned have been accurate, since I usually check them online first. I don't trust scanners 100% since I remember reading a news story here at Lottery Post ... maybe two years back about someone from South Africa having a winning ticket that the scanner said was not a winner.

Anyway, I have a somewhat interesting story dealing with the PA State lottery. This happened about 2 1/2 years ago ... this is a true story but no one was interested in what actually happened ... not even the PA State Lottery. I had a Mega Millions play slip filled out with a set of numbers I wanted to play, so I went to the store to play the numbers ... it was a Friday afternoon and I handed the play slip to the clerk and got my ticket and walked away ... got about 20 feet out of the store and I noticed the numbers that were printed on the Mega Millions ticket were not the numbers that I had marked on the play slip. I looked at it for awhile longer and then noticed that all the numbers on the actual ticket were one number off the numbers on the play slip ... in otherwards ... if I had 6 marked on the play slip, the ticket had a 7 printed ... 14 was a 15 and so forth .... all 5 numbers on the play slip were one number higher on the ticket ... if I remember, the Mega Ball number was the same, just the five regular numbers were different. I went back into the store to show the clerk but because I had walked away, she didn't seem too interested or even like she believed anything I was saying. They have a sign there to "check your tickets at the time of purchase" but I had walked away. I was just trying to show her how the numbers were all one number off from the slip that I had given her a few minutes before ... she was busy with other customers also ... so I just left. About an hour later I decided to call the PA Lottery main office, I thought they might be interested in hearing about this, if there could be a problem with the computers and lottery terminals ... I got a person that had no interest what so ever ... three times she asked me to explain exactly what had happened ... like it went in one ear and two seconds out the other ear ... so finally in discust, I asked to talk to a higher level person ... talked with that person for a few minutes and I could tell they also had no interest in my story ... had the feeling they weren't buying anything I was saying ... so I hung up and just wrote the whole thing off.

This is a true story ... it really did happen, no way I could prove it but I know what happened that one Friday afternoon in PA ... so just give any "special" tickets a quick look to see if they are the numbers you actually wanted to play. Those numbers didn't win anything and neither would the actual numbers on the play slip ... all duds. Also, this has never happened again ... all tickets match the play slip when I go that route.

...

razzyberry77

When the ga lottery started putting bar code on their scratch off tickets I took a winner to publix to cash and the clerk said this is not a winner, but i knew it was I made him check it again and it was.  People should know what their tickets are worth before they try to cash them

rdgrnr's avatarrdgrnr

Quote: Originally posted by razzyberry77 on Sep 16, 2012

When the ga lottery started putting bar code on their scratch off tickets I took a winner to publix to cash and the clerk said this is not a winner, but i knew it was I made him check it again and it was.  People should know what their tickets are worth before they try to cash them

I have had to remind myself on occasion that it's illegal to wring out a clerk's neck like a wet Sham-Wow.

saber's avatarsaber

This incident happen to my husband about 6 mths ago he scan on the machine and said he was not a winner , so he gave it to the clerk to check and the same ticket he had won about $5.50 . From that time to now he never trust the scanner machine. So I imagine lots of people have gotten false information since then.

rdgrnr's avatarrdgrnr

Probably a good thing we don't have scanners here cuz when machines rip me off I smash 'em.

Nino224's avatarNino224

The FL. Lottery will never to admit to any glitches or wrongdoing, but Campisi isn't the first or last player to encounter a faulty scanner. It happened to me in South Florida years ago, and when I wrote them about it they assured me it was my mistake.

Never trust a clerk or a scanner; check your tix yourself!

It's hard enough picking the right numbers, now you gotta worry about a #@!&* machine screwing you over as well!!

VenomV12

Fortunately my state has an excellent way around this scanner problem. It has a club where you can enter your losing tickets and instant tickets for points, drawings etc. If your ticket is a winner it won't let you enter it and will alert you, virtually eliminating the chances of you making a mistake like this. I have not used a scanner in almost a year and don't forsee that I ever will again. 

SergeM's avatarSergeM

The same happened to me. I had checked before and knew that I won something. I asked to check the ticket again and it paid.

Is it the machine or the clerk?

I think that this happens alot.

Cletu$2's avatarCletu$2

Quote: Originally posted by SergeM on Sep 17, 2012

The same happened to me. I had checked before and knew that I won something. I asked to check the ticket again and it paid.

Is it the machine or the clerk?

I think that this happens alot.

I only play Powerball and Mega Millions.I always check my tickets online at Lottery Post.com.I've never had a problem...NEVER.Thanks Todd!

Lucky Loser

Quote: Originally posted by Nino224 on Sep 17, 2012

The FL. Lottery will never to admit to any glitches or wrongdoing, but Campisi isn't the first or last player to encounter a faulty scanner. It happened to me in South Florida years ago, and when I wrote them about it they assured me it was my mistake.

Never trust a clerk or a scanner; check your tix yourself!

It's hard enough picking the right numbers, now you gotta worry about a #@!&* machine screwing you over as well!!

Your last sentence is exactly what I'm getting at. If you're fortunate enough to "unknowingly and FINALLY" get the right numbers after all this time, at least do yourself the justice of "self-checking" against a hard printout of official current winning numbers. The printout won't lie like the scanner or clerk will. Good post.

 

L.L.

jamella724

I feel so sad about what happened to Mr. Campisi.  It's the technology that must be blame.  I guess, he really missed lots of winnings.  Floridal lottery should make a move and do something about this.  They sould be vigilant too in making sure that every lottery terminal, scanner or computer should be in good condition.

pickone4me's avatarpickone4me

Quote: Originally posted by jarasan on Sep 16, 2012

Those scanners are still on Windows XP Home Scanner Edition....... ancient technology....they need to upgrade to Windows 8.

Crazy

Put linux on it instead,  that crook bill gates doesn't deserve more money,  then again,  it being run on a windows operating system,  is more then likely a cause of the problems.

ttech10's avatarttech10

And this is why I would always check and double check my numbers myself. I don't want scanner error on top of the possibility of being scammed by a clerk. I never hand a clerk my ticket unless I know for sure it's worth X amount.

david1691

I guess this would explain why millions go unclaimed every year.  We have seen these stories posted here at Lottery Post time and time again.  I have always checked my own tickets.  In the rare "instant" I buy a rip off, I scratch it completely to see that I lost, which is usually the case.  Screw the scanners, screw the clerks, check your own tickets and you'll know whether you won or not.  Always good luck to everyone here at Lottery Post.

Ronnie316

I think Mr. Creepy scanned his losing ticket twice by mistake and blamed the good scanner.

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