So you learn something new everyday...and I thought I should share.
SUMMARY FOR THOSE WHO DON'T LIKE READING LONG POSTS: DON'T TRUST THE MACHINE TO CHECK YOUR TICKETS AS IF IT IS 100% ACCURATE.
So my luck usually comes in bundles, in 2016 I won $2500 (draw games) back to back 3x. In 2017, quite a few $500 winners then a $10,000 win at the end of the year (from a five dollar scratch off). So for 2018, win I won $1000 followed by $500, I though ok...time for a winning streak. So I have been following hunches / intuition and walked to a store and used one of those brand new self service ticket machines.
Yesterday 7/17/2018 I bought mega millions, scanned a winning scratch off for $3 and used the credit and put $2 additional dollars to get a $5 scratch off. I don't scratch off the tickets completely, I usually scan the bar code. When I scanned the bar code it said "file claim at lottery". I felt so happy as when this has happened to me in the past I had a ticket that was a good winner. So, I decided to scratch the ticket in the store to see what I won, but all I could see is $5 dollars by matching one number. I thought well it can't be the machine because it told me a different game selection ticket was not a winner and it scanned a $3 winner that I had on me from another store. I then thought well may be there is a winner for this $5 ticket in the book and there is some sort of glitch...so I bought 8 more of the same ticket before the machine abruptly stopped selling tickets from the book. ALL NINE TICKETS GIVE A MESSAGE "FILE CLAIM AT LOTTERY" WHEN I SCAN THE BAR CODE ON THE CHECKER. Some of the nine tickets are five dollar winners, some appear to be zero.
I then pull out the app from my state's lottery and I get the same message "FILE CLAIM AT LOTTERY". The person at the register says his machine is down, so he can't check.
I go to the lottery website and it states to call the security division when something like this happens. So the security rep tells me that they have multiple levels of encryption and the most accurate machine for checking tickets is the lottery's own mainframe followed by the terminal at each store that is manned by a clerk..."peripheral devices" such as the self service machine, the self service ticket scanner at the register and the phone app are not always as accurate as the actual terminal manned by a live person and the lottery's mainframe. MIND BLOWN. I NOW WILL SCRATCH OFF ALL MY SCRATCH OFF TICKETS. IN MY YEARS OF PLAYING, I COULD HAVE THROWN OUT A TICKET BECAUSE I SCANNED THE BAR CODE ONLY AND THERE WAS SOME SORT OF ERROR WITH THE MACHINE CHECKER.
Just thought I would share. I will still use self service machine. I will just now be more cautious when checking any type of ticket, using both my human eyes and the machine checker. I am also fighting for a game credit for the $45 I played as I feel this is a customer service issue that is disheartening.
I know I will continue to win. I see this as a sign.
100Same #'s. Different games.United States
