Strangely, New York pays out some prizes that matched wrong number
We all make mistakes, but for a host of the Mega Millions lottery, it's a potentially costly one: Prize payments for some Mega Millions tickets have been temporarily suspended after host John Crow incorrectly read the Mega Ball number during Tuesday's lottery drawing.
The first five numbers were called correctly: 15, 19, 20, 61 and 70. But as the gold Mega Ball, was selected, the number 9 — with a line drawn under it — could be seen on the ball. Crow called it as 6, as seen in a video posted online.
The original live video can be viewed on USA Mega's Mega Millions Drawing Detail page.
Later, the Mega Millions group replaced the official video on their website with one featuring an embedded caption explaining the mishap.
"The 9 ball was drawn in the chamber and is the official result," the caption states, adding the correct results have been audited by the accounting firm Preston CPA. "We apologize for the confusion."
Tuesday's estimated Mega Millions annuitized jackpot was $86 million, and there was no winning ticket. But there are five other prizes for having the correct Mega Ball number.
Mega Millions, except in California, pays $2 prizes for tickets where the holder matches only the gold ball number and $4 when the ticket has the gold ball and one other correct number (among the white balls). Matching two, three and four white balls and the gold balls also yield prizes of $10, $200 and $10,000, respectively.
But some people in New York who had the No. 6 Mega Ball were paid out, according to the lottery officials there.
"Due to human error relating to the May 10, 2022 Mega Millions draw, the New York Lottery paid a total of $5,538 to players who presented tickets with the incorrect winning number to retailers before approximately 10 a.m. on May 11," the organization said in a statement. "This payment was recouped automatically via a Lottery account for uncashed tickets. There is no impact on aid to education or taxpayer funds."
After a pause in payouts, New York Lottery officials said they have resumed Mega Millions prize disbursements at retailers.
"We will provide additional information as to when tickets may be cashed at New York Lottery Customer Service Centers and video lottery facilities," the organization said.
The estimated jackpot for Friday's Mega Millions drawing is $99 million (cash option of $57 million). Mega Millions tickets are sold in 45 states, the District of Columbia and the US Virgin Islands.
All's Well That Ends Well for Everyone that had a MB-9 or a MB-6!
Thanks for posting...appreciate it!!
Read the article two times and was thinking so what if the wrong Megaball was called? Someone in NY still could have hit for a million with the five #'s, as well as the other secondary prizes. Of course the article didn't mention that and any bettors out there think I could be on to something? Look @ MM payout matrix!
Seriously though, the scanners that scanned the tickets paid out the correct amount IMHO. Computer could care less if it was called out incorrectly...it's all in the barcode.
Legally, morally, ethically, the announcer said six instead of nine, so both Megaballs should be paid out for all wins.
Well lookie here, we just learned a dirty little secret. The lottery will recoup the money that was incorrectly paid out from the uncashed tickets fund. HUH!!! They also tell us the money goes to education, that's why we're flush with geniuses.
Wait a minute hold on, they paid out on a number that the host called incorrectly, that means whoever input the result didn't verify that the machine drew the NINE instead of the SIX. How much are they paying these auditors, and data entry technicians???
9 and six should have been a priority read before and double check it before announcement of number what mellenial stupid fools no excuse here fire him
Coulda, woulda, shoulda...let all those who have never ever made a mistake in their lives stone him and boil him in oil.
Yoo-hoo, Stat$talker, where are you? Can't wait to read his take that it's brazen cheating to dodge his numbers to keep him from bankrupting the lottery.
Pulled up MM winners from that drawing, encourage LP members to do the same. Plenty of secondary/lower tier prizes without the Megaball.
Legally? How so?
Exactly. That is the big issue. No verification of the input and no oversight???
When I watched the video, I could see the line under the 9 on the ball indicating the number drawn was indeed 9. Doesn't matter what the announcer said, the ball drawn was 9.
Tickets with megaball 6 don't have the correct megaball number.
I gotta start scanning my losing tickets b4 tossing them. The entry clerk is a little shaky
Thank you...I should have said the same thing in your last sentence. Sure NY paid out some token change on folks, but it is irrelevant. Not correct Megaball # no matter what.
Had I played?, Probability Math would've assured I'da had da right Megaball, no matter whut he said.!
But in my honest opinion..MUSL should buy Crow some glasses, or borrow YOs
..wit all dat profit they're makin..so everybody can...
" PLAY ON AMERICA "
-Stat$talker
"I could see the line under the 9 on the ball indicating the number drawn was indeed 9."
Cottoneyedjoe knew xactly whea it wuz.. dat'z whea he'z frum..!
The line under the 9 is there poophead.
Has nothing to do with any Savannah, ya poophead, with poop for brains.
Dang, what an idiot you keep showing yourself to be.
BTW, Cottoneyedjoe, who has more brains in his little finger than you ever will have in your head (as proven by how you spell) is in California.
Because six was announced. Both six, and nine have to be paid out.
Most of the time, I watch the drawings live, and listen to the balls called out, I don't stare at the drums, I listen, and discard my ticket afterwards if I didn't win as the numbers were announced.
What's the big deal here?
They will do whatever they want and people are still gonna bitch moan and complain about it.
The casinos can do the same thing and not have to pay out anything.
It could have been fixed. Too bad , they're going to keep making money
Ty, In the past ,we haven't got along for certain things , but I second you .why are people making such a big stink about this?
Dear $tat$talker:
I'm so sorry for interrupting, but, I couldn't help but notice the footer to your message, and all I can think for now, is....
"The-e-e-e-e-e-e-re's Kling-ons on the Star-board Bound, Star-board Bound, Star-board Bound.
There's Kling-ons on the Star-board, Star-Board Bound, Je-e-e-e-e-im!"
So, now my entire Lotto Experience is worse than that, it's Dead Jim, Dead Jim, Dead Jim. It's Worse than that, it's Dead Jim, Dead Jim, DEAD....
But Strangely I'm STILL.... BOLDLY..... GOING FORWARD..... BECAUSE..... I can't FIND..... REVERSE.... AT ALL..... and neither can Mr. SCOTT!
When he told me he took out REVERSE, because.... he couldn't change the laws of Physics....
I hurled all my rolls of Romulan Toilet Paper at him....
(I know! Wrong Movie, But I had to do....Something, because .... It was completely LOGICAL at the time!)
And now I'm completely out of toilet paper....
And Spock has to take this incredibly wicked .... uhm .... Pon - Pharr!
And there's only ONE BATHROOM on this Shippy little Ship!
And the Line to it goes all the way back toward 10 Forward....
Boy if that's how the Red Shirts have to spend their free time.... No wonder they all volunteer to be the lucky one to get off-ed in every show! What a miserable experience!
Poor Mr. Spock! I can tell he's under duress!
The points on his pointy ears are... wilting...
and he's starting to look like Dobby from Harry Potter!
Look! He's looking around for a second sock to match the first one he got!
He has to go .... in STEREO!
That makes me want to ask McCoy....
Do Vulcans really have two A...........
Uhm.... well.....
I know Rigellians MIGHT have two,
Denebian Slime Devils And Corellian Nerf-Herders definitely do....
but ...about Vulcans?!
It was never really discussed!
"BTW, Cottoneyedjoe, who has more brains in his little finger than you ever will have in your head (as proven by how you spell) is in California."
I didn't say that'z whea He IZ, I said that'z whea He'z FRUM...I told you..you're Blind "Poophead"..!!
and az usual,.. Wrong Again 
BoZo..!!
Az for the video?,.. Maybe it wuz supposed to've been "6", but the Video Techz
didn't git da memo, that it wuz...az the Videoz may be PRE-RECORDED.and played the wrong Megaball video..!! 
-Stat$talker
Doesn't matter where he's from. I'm from Ohio. Irrelevant to the point.
As for it being pre-recorded and the video tech didn't get the memo (see how to spell), well, you manage to outdo yourself in showing stupid every time you post.
Anyway, it was an honest mistake, but there are some who twist it into a conspiracy.
The announcement of wrong numbers is not a legal issue and was a short lived error in the ordinary course of business. The tickets are bearer instruments. The lottery had no real obligation here. I bet they would not have volunteered to pay if a jp was won.
Does anyone know if they can or can not print SIX and NINE on each ball? That wouldn't preclude the announcer from accidentally saying aloud the wrong number, but I have to believe it would be a step in the right direction. G5
THAT would be too much like doin right,..besidez , the xtra ink may affect some ballz weight..
The problem could be betta cleared up wit a set ov EYE GLASSES..!!
I can see all Megaballz in the play..
Gone are the dayz of incorrectful callz,
Gonna be a bright, oh bright Megaball plaay..
-Jimmy Cliff
-Stat$talker
Like I said, what is the big issue here?
There are bigger issues in this country, yet people make a big deal about it.
If anyone did get a payout, then good for them. My dad , years ago at an Atlantic City casino thought he won a prize, yet when they inspected it there was nothing. Did he sue? No. screw it. they take your money.
Sometimes you just got to let the lottery give you unearned money back by saying...
Computerized Lottery Drawings Can Solve That Problem, Although They Are Still Improving. It Is The Future Of Lottery Drawings.They can also sell all lottery games online.
As many on LP would agree with me, we dislike CNG/RNG lottery games. The announcer called the wrong #, BFD. The scanners were all programmed right after the drawing with the correct data. Nobody got something they didn't win.
As for your last sentence many states do not offer on-line sales. Luckily mine does. IDK if Todd or Kate ever ran a story on which states do offer on-line sales; I do agree that is the future.
"Computerized Lottery Drawings Can Solve That Problem"
Ooh no it won't either..!! Eddie Tipton iz proof of THAT..!
Been , where you been at? This is the future
Human error can still occur with computerized drawings because there still needs to be at least one human involved to manually input the draw results into the database. For security reasons, the draw machines are never connected to the lottery's network. California Lottery used to have some videos on their site that showed how they did all the computerized draws. Someone performs an action on a stand alone computer, and then the numbers are manually recorded, with several people around to witness. Can't be too different in other states.
Also, the programs that run inside the computers are written by humans. There have been many instances where the programs were faulty, due to either malice or stupidity.
Now somebody will chime in with "blockchain" LOL
It's a lottery site, people talk about the lottery.
Yeah...well tell me something. How many states offer on-line ticket sales??? Kentucky has for years!
Thank you, you hit a home run. Announcers make mistakes, the auditor is supposed to verify the number before it goes to the data entry person and no payouts are ready until the data is entered and confirmed . So how much was paid out before 10 am? was that higher than normal? If so was there a fix(scam) or is it just like Tony said many people getting paid to do a job and in stead they're just calling it in? Some really stinks with this story and seems the reporter phoned it in also.
They only paid out $5k in prizes with the wrong megaball. If it was some kind of inside scam job like the Triple Six Fix, I think they would have aimed a little higher than $5k.
Don't see a "big issue" either, but it is one of those things lots of people like to comment on. And even the nonsensical comments are interesting.
Don't see the relevancy of someone thinking they won huge jackpot at a casino with the MM bonus number being misidentified. The casino mistakes are usually when a player believes they won millions on a penny slot machine with a maximum $2500 jackpot.
Was at Crap table when the point was marked "six" on one side of the table and "nine" on the other. The box man decided which number was the point and the game continued. That wasn't a "big issue" either because the next roll was "seven".
Probably for the same reason they don't print sixteen, nineteen, twenty six, twenty nine, etc on all the balls ending in six or nine. Most states draw pick-3 and pick-4 twice a day with many more chances to confuse the six and nine.
They will now!
Legally, morally, Ethically, a Loser is Still a Loser... big joey from the state which produced the most corrupt person in Politics, Huey Long, not to mention the
403 Convicted Louisiana politicians from 2003 - 2013, including Edwin Edwards.
no reason to change those couple of balls, the extra ink would make the balls heavier spelled out.
ofc, Ky has " Moscow " Mitch !
That is so true as evidenced by my question when we were fortunate enough to have mechanical ball drawings in KY. On the newscast Chip Polston said in effect "Our friend Jeffrey H asked about mechanical ball drawings". They showed the worker wearing gloves and weighing each ball prior to the drawings. They had to be in so many nanograms of each other or weren't used.
Re read what I said.
21st century computers. Companies can do what they want
At least they paid some with the wrong number.. good..
Got paid with that 6 hopefully it was more than just $2 or $4 for most of them but some of them in the hundreds.. #payforyourmistake
How about a bigger underscore?
Where is that paintbrush and bucket of paint?
In summation they paid out on the incorrect result, but they recovered the money from the unclaimed ticket fund. That's a nice cushion to have. Makes one wonder what other cushions do they have??
I read where you asked why misidentifying the MM bonus number "is the big issue here" and I commented it is one of those things lots of people like to comment on. And yes there are bigger issues in this country, but this is a lottery based news forum and like I said, most people here like to discuss lottery based stuff.
If it bothers you that much and you think whatever happened to you Dad in A.C. "years ago" is a much bigger issue, I suggest you start your own thread.
"that means whoever input the result didn't verify that the machine drew the NINE instead of the SIX. How much are they paying these auditors, and data entry technicians?"
Based on the information I've seen the auditors may not have made any mistakes, and I've got very different questions. With a live drawing there's no getting around the mistake of saying the wrong thing, but what the announcer says is completely meaningless in terms of the official results. I'd assume that the auditors (and other lottery personnel that are present) caught the mistake immediately because it's really easy to read the numbers, especially if you wait a fraction of a second until the balls stop at the end of the tube, but it still takes some time before the results are validated and made official. It would be useful to know when the replacement video was posted (or if the original video was posted or just broadcast live), but I feel pretty safe in assuming the error was caught early and the official results were never incorrect.
That leaves questions about how the official numbers are communicated to the states and how NY got it wrong. For a state to simply publish incorrect results would be one thing (and it's happened before), but publishing an incorrect result identical to what the host announced would be a very strange coincidence unless they received, and published "results" that were incorrect. It would also be very strange for different states to receive different official results. Of course it would be incredibly stupid, but NY relying on the original video instead of the official results would easily explain how NY got it wrong while all the other states got it right. In turn that could be explained by NY having incredibly bad security protocols (that would violate sensible official MM protocols), by NY lottery employees violating protocols in order to post results and go home sooner, or maybe other things I'm not thinking of.
"was thinking so what if the wrong Megaball was called? "
If you have sensible protocols for validating the results, distributing them to the state lotteries, and inputting the official results at the state level, and everybody follows those protocols what happens is a few people throw away winning tickets and argue about it later. What I haven't seen mentioned is what happens when an incorrect number is entered in the database search for winners. I haven't seen anything that says how NY paid some tickets that weren't really winners, but using incorrect numbers to search for and validate winners would explain that. Paying out $5k isn't a big deal in itself, but here's the really important question: Did NY fail to check for a jackpot winner using the correct winning numbers?
Carrying the mistake through to the search for winning tickets is where calling the wrong number becomes a major problem. If NY had actually sold a jackpot winner and it wasn't discovered until after a rollover and a high jackpot are announced and advertised what happens? I see two choices. They can say "Hey we're sorry, but the jackpot is really $20 million and not $99 million" but at the very least that's a bit embarrassing and they need to refund all the losing tickets sold based on false advertising. The other alternative is to issue an apology, but stick with the advertised jackpot and either the entire MM group helps pay for the mistake or NY gets to pay it on their own.
Based on what I know and what I'm guessing from that I expect the auditors are in the clear, but some heads need to roll somewhere else.
I'm wondering how some tickets with the wrong megaball were paid out. The barcode on the ticket has to be scanned before a ticket is paid (at least when I pay out a prize). It seems stores were paying players for losing tickets without scanning the ticket first?
I think you mean the "words"
Six and Nine.
Yes great idea.
Why not just put ying and yang?
Or put 6
and transgender 9? That would clear things up!
And what if it says the word "six" and he is dyslexic moment and says 1?
Easy job. Sit back do nothing. Drink a soda. Lol
Exactly.
He typed a lot! I bought a new mouse weeks ago and now a new keyboard. Some keyboards cost more than a dumbfone, do I mean mobile of android?