A malfunction with the Connecticut Lottery's equipment on Wednesday resulted in more winning combinations for ticket buyers in the state's mid-day drawings.
The state Division of Special Revenue was investigating what went wrong with the drawings of the "Mid-Day 3" and "Mid-Day 4" numbers. The problem did not affect the nightly drawings, which are done on different machines, Lottery officials said.
Officials discovered the malfunction after the numbers were drawn live on television just before 2 p.m. Wednesday. A second set of numbers was drawn off-camera.
Under its rules, the Lottery will honor both sets of numbers.
The "Mid-Day 3" numbers were 9-8-0 and 2-7-8, and the "Mid-Day 4" numbers were 4-2-0-3 and 2-0-8-3.
Crews were working to reprogram Lottery ticket machines to accept both sets of numbers. The Lottery asked players to hold onto their tickets until the machines were ready. No time estimate was given for the reprogramming.
"It's an unfortunate situation for the Lottery, but it's a great day for someone who has a 'Mid-Day 3' or 'Mid-Day 4' ticket," said Lottery spokeswoman Diane Patterson. "The malfunction of the Lottery's equipment has just created more winning tickets."
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