Would-be winner's demand of more than $1 billion in damages denied
By Kate Northrop
A judge dismissed a Washington, D.C. man's case against the lottery after the DC Lottery posted incorrect Powerball numbers on their website that he claimed would have won him a $320.6 million jackpot.
A Washington, D.C. man was sure he had won a $320.6 million Powerball jackpot when his ticket matched the numbers published on the DC Lottery's website, but the case was thrown out by a judge after the court determined that the player had pointed fingers at the wrong defendant.
On Jan. 6, 2023, John Conrad Cheeks purchased a Powerball ticket for the drawing on Jan. 7, 2023, which boasted a jackpot of $320.6 million at the time.
He did not watch the live Powerball drawing, but he did see numbers posted on the DC Lottery's website that happened to match the ones on his ticket two days later.
Cheeks alleged in legal proceedings that, when he visited the DC Lottery's office to validate his ticket, Lottery staff denied the claim "because the ticket did not validate as a winner by the OLG's gaming system as required by OLG regulations" and recommended that he throw the ticket away. OLG, or the D.C. Office of Lottery and Gaming, is the regulatory body overseeing all licensed gaming in Washington, D.C.
Rather than discarding the ticket, he placed it in a safety deposit box, contacted a lawyer, and sued the "Powerball Lottery." His complaint originally named "Powerball et al." as defendants, but he later altered his suit to specifically name "Florida Powerball Lottery" as the sole defendant and provided the address for the Florida Lottery in Tallahassee in his proceedings.
Although he bought the ticket in Washington, D.C., he named the Florida Lottery as the prime defendant in his lawsuit because they "affirmed" and "issued Powerball lottery numbers to the D.C. Office of Lottery and Gaming as the winning numbers," court documents read. However, the Powerball multi-state game is administered by the Multi-State Lottery Association (MUSL), whereas the Florida Lottery merely conducts the Powerball drawings at their headquarters.
Still, Cheeks sued the Florida Lottery for Jan. 7, 2023 $320.6 million Powerball jackpot, plus interest, and $1.08 billion in damages since the would-be payout was used to "advance a larger grand prize" that was later won by California resident Yanira Alvarez on July 16, 2023.
The Florida Lottery filed a motion to dismiss the case, arguing that they were the wrongfully accused party. They reasoned that the proper defendant, if any, would have been MUSL, and that although the Powerball drawings occur at their "draw studio in Tallahassee, Florida," they had no jurisdiction over a dispute involving a ticket issued by the DC Lottery.
Cheeks then doubled down in his response, asserting that "Florida Powerball Lottery" is a "Licensed Affiliate of the Multi-State Lottery Association... interlocked in a Massive Lottery Cover Up Scheme and are deceiving the Plaintiff with other known & unknown Actors who are building wealth enormously."
U.S. District Judge Rudolph Contreras dismissed the case primarily on the grounds that the D.C. federal court has no authority to hear a case against the Florida Lottery, and that the Florida Lottery has insufficient connections to Washington, D.C. in order to be sued there.
The court did not decide whether the Florida Lottery was actually responsible for the error or whether Cheeks had a valid claim on the merits — the dismissal was based on proof of a lack of jurisdiction, not innocence.
Cheeks could theoretically refile in a Florida court if he wished to continue his suit against the Florida Lottery, but Contreras did provide clarification regarding the incorrect numbers posted on the DC Lottery's website that would weaken the player's underlying claim.
The numbers that Cheeks saw on the DC Lottery's website were "'test numbers' that were inadvertently posted by one of the OLG's contractors to the live, public website, rather than the private, developmental website," Contreras' court order explains. The numbers Cheeks saw were also posted on Jan. 6, 2023, the same day he bought his Powerball ticket in question, and therefore could not possibly have been the numbers drawn on Jan. 7, 2023.
In reality, the argument against Cheeks' claim boils down to the assertion that no actual winning ticket ever existed on Jan. 7. 2023. A game contractor representative also confirmed that the test numbers were not the numbers drawn for the Jan. 7, 2023 Powerball drawing, which was drawn live after those test numbers had already been accidentally posted.
He checked his ticket on numbers posted incorrectly. When you scan the ticket the reader will reveal if the ticket is a winner.
Had forgotten all about 'this one'. Thanks for the update!
What an idiot. Now if this was a non-governmental lawsuit, say Google for instance, they, with their all mighty powerful Attorneys could countersue him.
Correct me if I'm wrong. Hasn't Cheeks been know to file frivolous lottery lawsuit (s) in the past? If so I have a quick solution, if feasible like casinos do. Ban him from playing!
Cheeks went pro se a while back. I am sure it was likely due to non payment to his attorney.
I have been following the cases and my understanding is that the DC lottery and MUSL ( and vendor?) actions are still pending but should be dismissed soon. Only the Florida lottery matter was dismissed. I have no clue why Cheeks included the Florida lottery as a party legal strategy wise.
Courts give pro se parties a lot of time to file and amend pleadings over and over so there is no cause there for a reversal at a higher level court.
Yes, I checked past cases and Cheeks has been involved in a large number of cases over money issues.
You cannot ban him unless it was criminal and on the level of a Tipton. He had a right to file a lawsuit regardless of how insane it was.
Interesting case but keeping the wrong numbers displayed for days raises concerns
What concerns? Sloppiness, yes. Entitled to millions, no. Cheeks could have scanned his ticket and it is a bearer instrument and he bought the ticket after he saw the wrong numbers posted.
What would have been interesting is if the wrong numbers posted had caused someone to toss a jp winning ticket.
Suing for $1.08 billion + $320 million. Even though he didn't have a winning ticket, I wonder if he could have been awarded a smaller amount. Like a cool $5-10 million for emotional distress.
"Your honor, I was so excited when I found out I was a winner; I called and quit my job!"
Standard for emotional distress is very high. Even if he had quit his job, far from being enough. You need doctor reports showing that it severely affected your daily functioning, psychological assessments. Inconvenience is not enough.
To be awarded a smaller amount, you still need a legal cause of action. You can claim the lottery is sending a family of Martians to camp in your yard every night. It does not make it true or create a legal cause of action.
* Getting paid $300 million for a losing lottery ticket would have been historic, and it would have opened up the floodgates for more silly claims. Glad to see the judge shut this nonsense down.
I remember the story where somebody lost the winning ticket and tried to use the play-slip as proof that they played the winning numbers.
What was the outcome or do I need not ask????
Remember the clowns when the Mississippi lottery started a few years ago? They taped two losing tickets together to make it look like a winning ticket. Play stupid games win stupid prizes.
John Cheeks????
I know it was someone else.
* That's priceless. About 10 years ago a Dad sent his teenage son into a store to purchase either a scratcher or lottery ticket, because he was to lazy to get out of his idling vehicle. The purchase turned out to be a $5 million win. The lottery refused to pay out given that he was not 21, never read about the outcome, but l doubt they paid.
If this ever happens to you. Make sure you keep the same energy. ....
Not following. I cannot imagine any adult thinking they won with a ticket with numbers that do not match the drawn numbers.
"he DC Lottery posted incorrect Powerball numbers on their website "
" he later altered his suit to specifically name "Florida Powerball Lottery" as the sole defendant "
If he had a lawyer the lawyer must have been just as stupid as he is. For the sake of argument, let's pretend that if somebody posts incorrect numbers and you have a ticket with those numbers you're entitled to damages. What kind of idiot thinks an entity that conducted the drawing that resulted in the correct official winning numbers is liable because some other entity posted incorrect numbers?
"Like a cool $5-10 million for emotional distress. "
Just because you're distressed doesn't mean somebody else is primarily responsible for the distress. If we're completely charitable about it he honestly thought his ticket had the winning numbers, but only because he looked at a single source and never made any effort to verify that his ticket really had the winning numbers. In my book his distress is almost entirely his own fault, so even if it was severe enough t meet legal requirements I'd still figure he's SOL.
I believe most lottery websites have verbiage like, "In the event of a discrepancy between the numbers posted and the numbers drawn, the latter shall prevail."
its all fixed