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A Washington DC man is suing the DC lottery and Powerball after he was told that his winning numbers were published by mistake.

John Cheeks said he felt "numb" in Jan. 2023, after Powerball's winning numbers, published to their website for a full three days, matched his ticket. But when Cheeks presented his ticket to the Office of Lottery and Gaming (OLG), they told him it was 'no good.'

"One of the claims agents told me my ticket was no good, just to throw it in the trash can," he told the BBC, and told NBC 4, "They have said that one of their contractors made a mistake."

Instead, he lawyered up, and is now suing the lottery for damages in the amount of the Powerball jackput, as well as any interest he would have earned on it since winning - totaling $340 million.

According to court filings, Powerball and DC-based Taoti Enterprises, a contractor, claim that the confusion arose from a technical error stemming from a quality assurance team running tests on the website. On that day, powerball numbers matching Cheeks' ticket were published to the website "accidentally," according to the defendants.


The numbers were left online for three days, between Jan. 6 and Jan. 9. They did not match the numbers from the last official lottery draw, a Taoti employee says.

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Mr Cheeks is now suing on eight separate counts, including breach of contract, negligence, infliction of emotional distress. and fraud.

Mr Cheeks' lawyer, Richard Evans, said in court documents that because the winning numbers matched Mr Cheeks' numbers, he is entitled to the "entire jackpot". Otherwise, Mr Evans said, Mr Cheeks is entitled to damages for the "gross negligence" of the lottery in posting erroneous lottery numbers. -BBC

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"This lawsuit raises critical questions about the integrity and accountability of lottery operations and the safeguards- or lack thereof - against the type of errors that Powerball and the DC Lottery contend occurred in this case," Evans told the outlet.


https://www.zerohedge.com/political/dc-man-sues-lottery-after-being-told-340-million-win-was-error

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[url=https://www.zerohedge.com/political/dc-man-sues-lottery-after-being-told-340-million-win-was-error][/url]

I'm not sure he should get the entire $340MM but he sure as hell should get something for negligence and infliction of emotional distress. This journey would be an emotional roller coaster for anyone.


Oh, and in before: the lottery is a scam, it's a tax on stupid people, etc..... We all know it is those things but I'm certain that 99% of people on F16 have bought at least one lottery ticket in their lifetimes.

I would be pissed but I wouldn't sue over it lmao. He didn't win, he's owed nothing. This is black and white

So people are owed life changing sums of money over typos now?

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I'm not sure he should get the entire $340MM but he sure as hell should get something for negligence and infliction of emotional distress.

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his "damages" are that he was elated he thought he was a millionaire, then it turned out he wasn't.

dumb case

Easy way to fix this... charge him the taxes on his winnings now. This nonsense goes away real quick

I'd agree if it was posted for an hour or two....The wrong numbers were up for three days on an official lottery website.

He went to bed at least two nights thinking that his life was changed forever due to incompetence at the lottery. The lottery's Errors & Omissions insurance should kick in for at least $250K.

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Because the winning numbers on the D.C. Lottery website matched the numbers on the Plaintiff's Powerball lottery ticket, the Plaintiff is entitled to the entire jackpot that was then available," Cheeks' lawyers argue in the suit.

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Uh……….those weren't the winning numbers. The winner is the one whose numbers match the numbers actually drawn. Mr. Cheeks and his blood sucking lawyers need to likely read the rules and fine print.

Zergling Rush said:

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I'd agree if it was posted for an hour or two....The wrong numbers were up for three days on an official lottery website.

He went to bed at least two nights thinking that his life was changed forever due to incompetence at the lottery. The lottery's Errors & Omissions insurance should kick in for at least $250K.

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so how is he "damaged"? he thought he was a millionaire. did he go spend money immediately?

being excited and then let down is not damages.

What if he relied on the win and bought a million dollars worth of stuff. Justifiable reliance, no?

I haven't thought much about what I would do if I won the lottery because I understand math... but.

If one were to win the lottery, it's public record claiming the winning (I think), thus the smart decision is to claim winnings privately somehow which requires proper planning.

I could see a person spending a decent amount of time/money/stress looking into those details so their life doesn't get turned upside down if they claimed the money publicly.

That is the fault of the lottery for posting the wrong numbers, but he certainly should not receive the full amount. Maybe a negligence claim for a small portion to cover any claim planning expenses. I have lost sympathy for a negligent and incompetent government.

If he lawyered up on the 1st day and started making financial arrangements with banks and advisors, like most people would, then yes, there are actual damages.

Zergling Rush said:

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If he lawyered up on the 1st day and started making financial arrangements with banks and advisors, like most people would, then yes, there are actual damages.

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did that happen here? not mentioned in the linked story, but may be in the pleading.

I'm convinced no one actually wins those big lotteries. There's a magical "winner" and the money escheats to the state when not claimed.

Since this is taking place in a DC courtroom he will be awarded 680 million dollars. Those people up there are just idiots, and will do everything they can to award this man what he deserves.

BMX Bandit said:

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Zergling Rush said:

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I'd agree if it was posted for an hour or two....The wrong numbers were up for three days on an official lottery website.

He went to bed at least two nights thinking that his life was changed forever due to incompetence at the lottery. The lottery's Errors & Omissions insurance should kick in for at least $250K.

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so how is he "damaged"? he thought he was a millionaire. did he go spend money immediately?

being excited and then let down is not damages.

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What about all the folks that tossed a possible ACTUAL winning ticket because they saw the numbers on the website and thought they hadn't won?

JobSecurity said:

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I would be pissed but I wouldn't sue over it lmao. He didn't win, he's owed nothing. This is black and white

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I would definitely sue a sleazy corrupt institution that told me I won several hundred million and then said "oopsie, our mistake, you get nothing" a few days later. I would be livid. But funny how some peoples' default stance is to immediately white knight for these crooked institutions.

BMX Bandit said:

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I'm not sure he should get the entire $340MM but he sure as hell should get something for negligence and infliction of emotional distress.

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his "damages" are that he was elated he thought he was a millionaire, then it turned out he wasn't.

dumb case

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you would take it

Hungry Ojos said:

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What if he relied on the win and bought a million dollars worth of stuff. Justifiable reliance, no?

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Then he would have to prove those damages and present them in court.

There is no way he did, as no bank is going to accept a winning lottery ticket as collateral and close that quickly.

If he bought a new car, ok that might be ok to present in court.

Esteban du Plantier said:

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So people are owed life changing sums of money over typos now?

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Why not? Hot coffee seemed to work.

B-1 83 said:

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Because the winning numbers on the D.C. Lottery website matched the numbers on the Plaintiff's Powerball lottery ticket, the Plaintiff is entitled to the entire jackpot that was then available," Cheeks' lawyers argue in the suit.

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Uh……….those weren't the winning numbers. The winner is the one whose numbers match the numbers actually drawn. Mr. Cheeks and his blood sucking lawyers need to likely read the rules and fine print.

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For practical purposes, since most players are not in the room when the winning numbers are drawn, the winning numbers are whatever the lottery posts on their website. If they have an error between drawing the numbers and posting them, that is on them. It is not up to the player to look at the website and then say "Oh that can't be right, I better go find video of the drawing to make sure".

911sAg said:

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BMX Bandit said:

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I'm not sure he should get the entire $340MM but he sure as hell should get something for negligence and infliction of emotional distress.

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his "damages" are that he was elated he thought he was a millionaire, then it turned out he wasn't.

dumb case

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you would take it

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i don't do plaintiff work, and if I were to switch to the dark side it wouldn't be for a frivolous turd like this.

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What about all the folks that tossed a possible ACTUAL winning ticket because they saw the numbers on the website and thought they hadn't won?

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that would be interesting theory if they could prove it

txags92 said:

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B-1 83 said:

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Because the winning numbers on the D.C. Lottery website matched the numbers on the Plaintiff's Powerball lottery ticket, the Plaintiff is entitled to the entire jackpot that was then available," Cheeks' lawyers argue in the suit.

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Uh……….those weren't the winning numbers. The winner is the one whose numbers match the numbers actually drawn. Mr. Cheeks and his blood sucking lawyers need to likely read the rules and fine print.

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For practical purposes, since most players are not in the room when the winning numbers are drawn, the winning numbers are whatever the lottery posts on their website. If they have an error between drawing the numbers and posting them, that is on them. It is not up to the player to look at the website and then say "Oh that can't be right, I better go find video of the drawing to make sure".

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Did he win? No? Why?
Fine print.

txags92 said:

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B-1 83 said:

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Because the winning numbers on the D.C. Lottery website matched the numbers on the Plaintiff's Powerball lottery ticket, the Plaintiff is entitled to the entire jackpot that was then available," Cheeks' lawyers argue in the suit.

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Uh……….those weren't the winning numbers. The winner is the one whose numbers match the numbers actually drawn. Mr. Cheeks and his blood sucking lawyers need to likely read the rules and fine print.

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For practical purposes, since most players are not in the room when the winning numbers are drawn, the winning numbers are whatever the lottery posts on their website. If they have an error between drawing the numbers and posting them, that is on them. It is not up to the player to look at the website and then say "Oh that can't be right, I better go find video of the drawing to make sure".

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Tend to agree. Harm can happen whether intentional or not as understood under the law. That is why there are equitable remedies to address a situation where there is an inequity between parties. Equity is not an all or nothing proposition like it is under the law. (As we just saw in the Trump business records case.)

Here, plaintiff Cheeks was not positioned to negate the harm but the lottery officials were. Is he entitled to the full jackpot? Under the law, no. Is he entitled to something? Under equity, yes.

BMX Bandit said:

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What about all the folks that tossed a possible ACTUAL winning ticket because they saw the numbers on the website and thought they hadn't won?

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that would be interesting theory if they could prove it

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And if they tossed them, they probably can't prove it. I was just pointing out that it's not all as cut and dried as a "frivolous turd" and "blood-sucking lawyers".

B-1 83 said:

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txags92 said:

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B-1 83 said:

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Because the winning numbers on the D.C. Lottery website matched the numbers on the Plaintiff's Powerball lottery ticket, the Plaintiff is entitled to the entire jackpot that was then available," Cheeks' lawyers argue in the suit.

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Uh……….those weren't the winning numbers. The winner is the one whose numbers match the numbers actually drawn. Mr. Cheeks and his blood sucking lawyers need to likely read the rules and fine print.

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For practical purposes, since most players are not in the room when the winning numbers are drawn, the winning numbers are whatever the lottery posts on their website. If they have an error between drawing the numbers and posting them, that is on them. It is not up to the player to look at the website and then say "Oh that can't be right, I better go find video of the drawing to make sure".

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Did he win? No? Why?
Fine print.

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They reported that he did via their official method for communicating the winning numbers to the public. If they reported numbers indicating that he did win for 3 days, and only changed them when he came in to claim the prize, that is fraud to me. As was said above, how many winning tickets of lesser prizes got thrown away instead of claimed because the wrong numbers got published? Those people were defrauded of their prizes too.

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it's not all as cut and dried as a "frivolous turd" and "blood-sucking lawyers".

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agreed. different circumstances than the one in the OP would be different. the facts presented in the article on this lawsuit show its a frivolous turd.

B-1 83 said:

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Because the winning numbers on the D.C. Lottery website matched the numbers on the Plaintiff's Powerball lottery ticket, the Plaintiff is entitled to the entire jackpot that was then available," Cheeks' lawyers argue in the suit.

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Uh……….those weren't the winning numbers. The winner is the one whose numbers match the numbers actually drawn. Mr. Cheeks and his blood sucking lawyers need to likely read the rules and fine print.

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I also bet Mr. Cheeks walks around the trampoline place in a black stetson when he isn't supposed to.

BMX Bandit said:

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it's not all as cut and dried as a "frivolous turd" and "blood-sucking lawyers".

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agreed. different circumstances than the one in the OP would be different. the facts presented in the article on this lawsuit show its a frivolous turd.

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Disagree for reasons already stated. Guy was led to believe that he'd won by the ONLY source he had. The lottery folks made a mistake and shouldn't be able to just shrug it off.

so how has he been damaged? I said above, he went and spent money on lawyers or financial planners, I can see that. but haven't seen anything showing that happened.

all the article says he wants the full jackpot (I think everyone agrees thats just dumb) and emotional damage. how is being excited, then not being excited damages?

This happens in Vegas with slot machines. No pay out. Game Commission sides with the casinos every time.

If he made some otherwise irrational choices between their mistake and the moment he was informed of the mistake - I can certainly see the case for harm related to those decisions.

Like - you can see a scenario where he might have told his boss to go F himself, and now might have a few months looking for another job.


340m? Absolutely not. But compensation for some very real damages? Maybe.

I can actually see the argument that their official site had his numbers posted. Not knowing the disclaimers on the site, one could argue he should get something……and I can't believe I am saying this.