Man sues Mass. Lottery for $1 million prize mistake

Comment #26

LOTTOMIKE — Sat, 30 Jul 2005 06:13:55 GMT

that person must not care that its annuity...

Comment #25

LOTTOMIKE — Fri, 29 Jul 2005 07:30:28 GMT

you got that right.....

Comment #24

CASH Only — Thu, 28 Jul 2005 13:33:04 GMT

The ticket holder should sue over the fact the prize is annuity-only.

Comment #23

Rip Snorter — Thu, 28 Jul 2005 13:25:08 GMT

Those guys down in the State Legislatures writing laws are mostly lawyers. They only meet maybe 60 days a year, most places. They have to make a regular living the remainder of the year, so they're careful to write good laws to plant the seeds they can harvest later. Jack

Comment #22

LOTTOMIKE — Thu, 28 Jul 2005 07:52:35 GMT

your right about that,lawyers come up with all kinds of ways a normal person would never think of to pull something like this off....

Comment #21

hsvscubaski — Sun, 03 Jul 2005 11:57:13 GMT

He's probably a lawyer

Comment #20

DoctorEw220 — Sun, 03 Jul 2005 06:34:11 GMT

i think that although the man may have a case, it's as frivilous as the fat people who sued mcdonald's because the food made them fat. both games' directions are printed and clearly separated, even though they are not labeled. it sounds to me like someone did not win, needs the money, and is trying to get rich quick.

Comment #19

SirMetro — Sun, 03 Jul 2005 06:24:57 GMT

The Lottery defended the seemingly confusing language, telling Falvey it didn't matter what the directions said, the ticket's computer bar code and serial number are what really determine a winner. Just reminds me of the past when computers was first introduced, the common statement was Computers don't make mistakes .I guess it's just another way of insuring the Lottery will successfully meet the budget demands.Sir Metro

Comment #18

tony2222 — Sun, 03 Jul 2005 03:09:50 GMT

It is obvious this guy is just waisting his time.

Comment #17

LOTTOMIKE — Sun, 03 Jul 2005 00:59:15 GMT

me too,a while back though.

Comment #16

Hammer1 — Sat, 02 Jul 2005 21:54:48 GMT

Have you ever picked up (from the ground or in a trash can) an Instance Scratch ticket to see if it was a winner? I have and I have won a total of $10.00 and these were not hard to read tickets. Some people cannot add 2 + 3 = 4

Comment #15

Rip Snorter — Sat, 02 Jul 2005 20:38:55 GMT

It's thread-drift, but I see you're from Wisconsin.... I had occasion to look over a couple of your lotto games a while back. I envy you. Those appear to be good games. Wish I could play them.Jack

Comment #14

Badger — Sat, 02 Jul 2005 20:34:19 GMT

LOL ! I'll fight you for first place in line, Todd ! Seriously though, we have $5 scratch-offs that are similar here I believe. They have multiple games on them. Each game stands on its own. I would have to see the ticket this guy played, but if it is similar to what we have here, he's wasting his money on lawyers. No chance.

Comment #13

KyMystikal — Sat, 02 Jul 2005 15:22:47 GMT

After looking at the ticket, I too think they should pay him. I also think Mass. should have printed Dice game and Roulette game in the game instructions to specify the two games in each directions. Personally I wouldn't have thought I won but the way they printed the ticket it's worth a shot in court.

Comment #12

Rip Snorter — Sat, 02 Jul 2005 04:12:21 GMT

Thanks for that link. I've been studying that ticket for a while. Although it's fine print on the front, I think the guy might just have a case. That ticket-face was what was available for him to see .... on display where he bought the ticket... That's probably all he could see, that face. That face has a faulty set of instructions, but it appears to say if you do what he did, you win.Responsibility for representing the game as it is where it's viewed by the purchaser falls on the lottery com... [ More ]

Comment #11

dvdiva — Sat, 02 Jul 2005 03:38:12 GMT

I don't think he plays a lot of annuity only games. I could see him playing the Canadian lottery though since the prize is cash only.

Comment #10

LOTTOMIKE — Sat, 02 Jul 2005 02:29:44 GMT

i'll take it also if you don't want it

Comment #9

Maverick — Sat, 02 Jul 2005 02:27:43 GMT

Comment #8

BabyJC — Sat, 02 Jul 2005 00:08:46 GMT

There have been other similar cases in MA where the lottery was sued for what the customers said were confusing directions and the customers did not win! I think the guy is not really confused and should be embarassed to sue. The only thing I don't like with the MA scratch tickets is that they do not put the winning numbers on top in numerical order -- It's a pain to remember/match, especially on the $10 tickets

Comment #7

Rip Snorter — Fri, 01 Jul 2005 23:33:35 GMT

After he went to all that trouble to scratch a 7 and 11, which he wouldn't have done if he'd not believed that's what he had to do to win, they ought to just hand over the annuity to him.... after all, it's worthless. I know because I've been brainwashed into believing it by constant repitition of bumper sticker slogans about it from CO.Jack

Comment #6

noahproblem — Fri, 01 Jul 2005 23:21:54 GMT

If by some ungodly chance he wins, maybe he'll pay his lawyer an annuity-only fee....

Comment #5

JAG331 — Fri, 01 Jul 2005 22:47:16 GMT

Oh come on! The dice directions and the roulette directions are obviously separate and refer to their respective games. Although I don't blame the guy for trying to make a quick buck.

Comment #4

tg636 — Fri, 01 Jul 2005 20:26:46 GMT

http://www.masslottery.com/igodds/CaesarsPalace_odds.htmLook at the ticket. I'd be bullsh*t and ready to sue too.

Comment #3

Todd — Fri, 01 Jul 2005 19:42:28 GMT

Cashonly, you can give your next annuity-only prize to me -- I'll unburden you from it.

Comment #2

CASH Only — Fri, 01 Jul 2005 19:23:47 GMT

Why bother suing if the prize is annuity-only

Comment #1

lovericobra — Fri, 01 Jul 2005 17:31:03 GMT

i don't get it

Man sues Mass. Lottery for $1 million prize mistake

Lottery Post — Fri, 01 Jul 2005 16:51:02 GMT

The odds of hitting a Caesars Palace instant game ticket for $1 million are one in 3,024,000. But when John Falvey thought he'd beaten the odds, he discovered instead he'd been jilted by Lady Luck.Now Falvey, a Rhode Island resident formerly of Swansea, Mass., wants his day in court.He filed a breach-of-contract lawsuit this week against the Massachusetts State Lottery Commission and State Treasurer Tim Cahill seeking the $1 million he was denied because of his purported misinterpretation of how... [ More ]