Iowa Lottery Blunder Turns Powerball Losers into Accidental Winners

the Iowa Lottery accidentally published incorrect winning numbers earlier this week, leading to a fortuitous outcome for some Powerball players who, by chance, ended up as winners.

The mistake occurred following Monday night’s Powerball draw when an unspecified “human reporting error” led to the dissemination of inaccurate numbers on the Iowa Lottery’s website. The erroneous numbers were posted at 12:30 a.m. Tuesday and remained live on the site until approximately 7:15 a.m., according to officials.

The Iowa Lottery clarified that the initial error impacted prizes ranging from $4 to $200. During the nearly seven-hour window when the incorrect numbers were displayed, anyone who cashed in a winning ticket was allowed to keep their winnings. However, the exact number of winning tickets during this period was not specified by officials.

Lottery officials acted promptly upon discovering the mistake, suspending the results for the Powerball drawing on lottery terminals. Subsequently, corrected official results were made available at around 3:30 p.m. Tuesday, and the lottery resumed the process of cashing Powerball tickets.

“We at the Iowa Lottery sincerely apologize for the interruption,” stated the official press release. The error was limited to the Iowa Lottery’s reporting of the official results for Monday’s Powerball drawing, and all other lottery tickets could be purchased, checked, and cashed as usual at lottery terminals across the state.

The Monday night’s Powerball jackpot, which stood at an estimated $355 million, attracted substantial attention. Nearly 4,000 Powerball plays purchased in Iowa won prizes ranging from $4 to $200, totaling $24,382 in winnings from Monday’s drawing, according to lottery records. However, the specific number of those winnings attributable to the fortuitous losers remains unclear.

The corrected winning numbers for Monday night’s Powerball drawing were officially listed as 2-21-38-61-66 with Powerball 12. The Iowa Lottery has since taken measures to rectify the situation and expressed regret for any confusion caused by the temporary publishing of incorrect numbers.