Some lucky winners are finding their lottery prizes beat even crazier odds than usual after the Iowa lottery posted the wrong numbers.
According to the IA Lottery Blog, a “human error” delayed Monday’s results and led to the mix-up.
Human Error Temporarily Delayed Iowa Results in Monday’s Powerball Drawinghttps://t.co/YfwlxROIZR pic.twitter.com/3eBkPRhbLc
— Iowa Lottery (@ialottery) November 29, 2023
“As part of the Iowa Lottery’s procedures, two different people in two different locations both enter the results from lotto drawings before they are officially recorded on the lottery’s statewide gaming system,” they stated.
“But when the winning numbers from Monday’s Powerball drawing were being inputted, some of the numbers were mistakenly entered incorrectly,” they added.
The post went on, “The mistake initially caused the lottery to report incorrect results from Monday’s Powerball drawing on its statewide gaming system and the lottery website.”
The Iowa Lottery officials also stated, “We at the Iowa Lottery sincerely apologizes for the interruption.”
They also noted, “It takes time to correct an error like that on the lottery’s statewide gaming system, which links all the lottery terminals and self-service kiosks in the state.”
“Lottery staff were able to complete the corrections by yesterday afternoon,” they added.
Anyone with questions or concerns has been directed to call (515) 725-7900 or email w.aster@ialottery.com.
NBC News reported that for about seven hours Iowans with the incorrect winning numbers were able to cash in their prizes starting at 12:30 a.m. Tuesday through 7:15 a.m.
The prizes cashed in during this time frame are estimated to have ranged between $4 and $200, despite the Monday night jackpot reaching around $355 million.
Lottery officials did not release how many people won utilizing the incorrect numbers, but they did confirm that everyone who did will be allowed to keep their winnings.