By Todd Northrop
AUSTIN, Texas — Two winners of a Cowboys-themed scratch game from the Texas Lottery were advised by letter that they won 2011 Season tickets, but then the lottery informed them it was a clerical error, and they would not get the tickets.
Instead of season tickets, Delvin Delamar of Irving and Kathy Clark of Amarillo, the two winners, will be allowed to have seats in the NFL team's "war room" during draft day selections, be invited to a draft-day party, plus get free lodging and transportation to the events.
"It's a great prize, especially if you're a die-hard Cowboys fan, which I understand Mr. Delamar is," said Bobby Heith, a spokesman for the Texas Lottery Commission.
And it should be interesting, Delamar agreed.
"But to be honest, it was the tickets, getting to go all season, that's why I was so excited," he said Tuesday. "And I talked with Kathy in Amarillo, and she feels the same way I do — that we should be getting tickets."
Heath said the draft-day prize package is the second-most valuable among the second-chance awards: it is valued at $50,000, along with $16,667 to cover taxes.
The top second-chance prize is the Wild Weekend Package. That prize provides the winner and 19 friends a suite at a Cowboys home game, a tour of the stadium and the team's Valley Ranch practice facility, a pre-game party and transportation, including airfare for out-of-town guests.
The error came when lottery staff put together congratulatory letters to the winners and somehow added that "the prize includes a pair of 2011 Season Tickets ... located in the Club Seat Section between the 30-yard lines."
Individual game tickets in that section sell for $340 each, and season ticket holders must buy personal seat licenses costing thousands of dollars.
"It was a cut-and-paste error," Heith said. "As soon as we realized we'd made an unfortunate error, we immediately called the two winners and followed that up with a letter."
Delamar and Clark did claim the draft weekend prizes, but according to Heith they were both disappointed they wouldn't get the season tickets.
No comment other than:
Training
at Cowboy stadium was delayed after a player found an unknown white powdery substance on the ground. Training was suspended, police and
Homeland Security was called in. After analysis, experts determined that the white substance, unfamiliar to most of the players, was in fact
... the goal line. Practice will resume this afternoon after they decided the team was unlikely to encounter the substance again!
Ha! Don't worry, I'm sure the Cowboys will regroup.
wow, I hope they at least got a free mug.
I know the lottery office made a mistake, but if I were the owner, I would pony up!!! Makes good publicity.
yep
Yeah, or maybe a one year membership to The Jelly of the Month Club.
I'd much rather have season ticket's then go sit in the "war room" on draft day.. unreal, I think they should pony up anyway.
Yeah, but then when you really think about it, the Jelly of the Month Club is the gift that keeps on giving.
This is hog wash, they should pay up pay up. I mean, its not like they are going to feel it anyway.
I think they should at least honor it, would make them look good. Plus with the price of all the concession stuff they'd only have to buy one Coke and nachos a game to make up the price of the seats. From the article it doesn't seem like it's that terrible of a thing, I was thinking it was actual winners of the scratch game that wouldn't be getting the tickets and not just second-chance winners. That would be a "colossal fail" as it would be the prize printed on the ticket and they wouldn't be getting it.
And are there really people who still want to go to Cowboys games?
Agreed.
There are probably people out there who would think that the Lottery made this promise, and then decided that they did not want to pony up for whatever reason (possibly the Cowboys' poor record early this season), so they decided that there was a fictitious "clerical error."
U
R
ILL!!!!
WTF!!! Pony up and honor what was said in the letter. It's not like the organization can't afford it.
They also have a second chance drawing for the Houston Texans.
Houston Texans:
http://www.houstontexans.com/fan-zone/texans-scratch-off-game/lottery-prizes.html
Dallas Cowboys 2nd chance drawing:
http://www.dallascowboys.com/texaslottery/texaslotteryPrizes.cfm
Dallas Cowboys "Wild Weekend" Package!
One (1) winner per drawing.
Dallas Cowboys "Draft Party Trip" Packages for Two (2)!
Two (2) Winners per drawing.
Pair of Season Tickets per winner for the next complete season of Cowboys home games (based on the date of prize fulfillment). (Between the 30 Yard Lines) Twenty (20) Winners per drawing.
Autographed Authentic Jerseys from Star Dallas Cowboys Players (One Standard Size) Three hundred and sixty (360) winners per drawing.
Dallas Cowboys Gift Cards, valued at $100 each, to be redeemed at Dallas Cowboys Official Pro Shops or online at www.dallascowboys.com. One thousand (1,000) winners per drawing.
war room....... season tickets....... war room.... season tickets..... how about you take your draft day prize and give me the cash value so I can go buy some more lottery tickets
....... this is wrong & JJ should make this right......
"It's a great prize, especially if you're a die-hard Cowboys fan, which I understand Mr. Delamar is," said Bobby Heith, a spokesman for the Texas Lottery Commission.
And it should be interesting, Delamar agreed.
"But to be honest, it was the tickets, getting to go all season, that's why I was so excited," he said Tuesday. "And I talked with Kathy in Amarillo, and she feels the same way I do — that we should be getting tickets."
Do I smell a lawsuit in the making???
Easy for Heith to poo-poo it away. He wasn't on the receiving end of a letter saying you won the grand prize only to have that grand prize taken away and replaced with a boobie prize.
Why place all the blame on some poor unsuspecting clerk?
Who signed these letters?
Why didn't the signer of the letters read them before sending them out?
I really want to see how the Cowboys Organization handles this snaffu.............
"I really want to see how the Cowboys Organization handles this snaffu............."
Snafu?
Fubar!
I'm confused...the lottery didn't mention season tickets until the letters were sent out if I read the article correctly. They said it was a "cut & paste error", correct? So, what did the winners think they were playing for when they bought the tickets? PSLs, draft day, etc?
Wow, so many kinds of lotteries! you can win tickets or any other different thing except money, but I think the really old lottery one began like that! I've ssen "home made" lotteries like that with a big basket to take home for Christmas! hehe
Some of these dadgum Lottery Officials think everybody goes crazy over dadburned totebags and crap like that but they's all about a half bubble off plum too.
Is everybody happy!!!..
I knew there was somebody out there who would like the totebags.
I have a totebag collection, you never know when you're going to have to tote something around.
sometimes I walk up and down my street just to show off my newest totes.
Watch it, you're gonna make tiggs jealous.
THIS!!!!!...