Bought a $2 scratcher and after looking, thought I won $20. I took it to the store and the lady scanned it then asked me if I knew how much I won. I said yes, $20, She entered $20 into the machine and it was rejected. She said, you didnt win $20. She tried $25, again it was rejected. She asked another worker for help. He looked at the ticket, scanned it and looked at the ticket again. I asked if there was a problem with the ticket. He said on tickets over $20, the machine didnt show how much was won, the clerk had to enter the amount. He said I won $40, not $20. He tore the ticket up and gave me $40. I bought two more tickets. When I got them home, I looked and there was a multiplier option that could be won and larger prizes available were $200 and $400 with the multiplier. I should have just asked for my ticket back but didnt. I have a feeling I might have won $200 or $400 and they only gave me $40 and pocketed the rest.

Does anyone know if the "we have to enter the amount won" is true? I won $100 last week and the achine showed the amount won. I thought when a ticket was scanned it showed the amount won. Am I being paranoid??

The machine does all the work for you..You should know what you won by looking on the ticket and if not take it to the lottery hdg's even if it's a hundred miles away..Read your ticket,you should know..

PS...If it was a 2.00 ticket you probably got the right pay off..Learn to read your ticket if your going to gamble..

The cashiers are given your winning amount when they scan the ticket.  With so many rip offs going on it might be best to ask for a receipt of your winnings, they have the capability of doing this also.  This is one way to be sure of what you actually won.

I did read the ticket and thought it was $20.00 but think maybe I just missed a multiplier. The thing that got me was when she asked if I knew how much I had won. No logical reason for a clerk to ask that unless the ticket. The machine should show what the ticket is worth. Oh well, yes, I need to double and maybe triple check my tickets.

You thought the ticket was worth $20 and you got paid $40, that should be a clue that you didn't check your ticket close enough.

Unless it is different in Indiana than Illinois, which I doubt it, you do not have to enter the amount you have won, matter of fact, you can't. When I worked in the gas station and cashed in lottery tickets you just scan the ticket and put in the code. If I were you I would always ask for a winner's ticket it, has the amount that you have won, the time, and the date, after the ticket number has been put in. After they put the number in the first the machine recognizes the number and when you put it more than once the machine rejects it. That is why they kept acting like they were entering amounts in and the machine was rejecting it. If the amount you won does not match up with any of the amounts on the back of the ticket something is wrong, they always match up. I am sorry to give you this news, but please be more cautious next time, everyone is not honest.

One word of advice: Never let a clerk throw your ticket in the garbage. Even if they tear it in half, demand it back. It's yours, you paid for it and it's the only way to prove they paid you the wrong amount. That's one of the scams some of the more unscrupulous clerks use to cash in on your ticket.

Make a copy of the Winning Ticket before Cashing It In: That way You can always Double & Triple Check the Results of the Cashing In Process.

I have never heard of a state where the terminal will ask the customer for the amount you think you have won in order to validate the ticket. In some states, if the amount won is over the amount the stores are allowed to cash, you may get a message such as "Contact Lottery Office".

You should report this to your state lottery regional office or headquarters and tell them exactly what happened. Although they may ot may not be able to do anyhting in your case, they do keep track of complaints and will investigate if they receive enough feedback from customers about a particular store.

Some local places have their own rules for cashing lottery tickets.  The other day I noticed a local gas station had posted a sign "winning lottery tickets greater than $100 will no longer be paid with cash but with a money order".   A Ma & Pa store where I stopped buying tickets claimed they never carried enough cash to pay anything over $50 and would send their winning customers else where to cash their tickets.  So maybe the clerk wanted to make sure there was enough cash on hand before running the ticket.

i am sorry to say they got you. i worked in a lottery store for 6 yrs. and there is always a way to tell what you won. go to your lottery website and see what it tells you about scratch offs. i would also report the store and tell the owner of said store.

It is possible that they saw that you did not have a lot of experience in scratch offs.  My experience is that the machine automatically prints out a ticket showing the amount won.  If a clerk see that you are not paying attention, the clerk could drop the ticket on the floor, then pay you the smaller amount just to get you out of the store.

Sounds like you need to be a bit more careful in the future.  What $2 scratch off was it?  I have not found alot of them that pay much.  Which is a shame since the lottery was designed to pay off a reasonable amount instead of a bunch of duds.

Amen!!!! Always make a copy of the winning ticket before cashing it in, that is the truth for sure, that way if someone is not honest, you will know and then you can do something about it.