John Cheeks, a resident of Washington DC, has filed a lawsuit against Powerball and the DC Lottery after believing he had won a $340 million jackpot, only to have his claim denied.
Cheeks recalls feeling “numb” upon discovering that the winning numbers matched his ticket in January 2023, but his excitement turned to disappointment when his claim was rejected by the Office of Lottery and Gaming (OLG).
Despite being advised to discard his ticket, Cheeks sought legal representation and is now seeking damages equivalent to the jackpot amount, plus accrued interest.
According to court documents, Powerball and lottery contractor Taoti Enterprises attribute the confusion to a technical error.
A Taoti employee stated that on the day Cheeks purchased his ticket, a set of test Powerball numbers, coincidentally matching Cheeks’, was mistakenly published on the website and remained there for three days.
However, these numbers did not align with the officially drawn numbers.
In response to Cheeks’ lawsuit, which includes charges of breach of contract, negligence, emotional distress, and fraud, his lawyer Richard Evans emphasizes the importance of accountability within lottery operations.
Evans argues that since Cheeks’ numbers matched the initially published ones, he should be entitled to the full jackpot or damages for the lottery’s negligence.
Cheeks expresses hopefulness, believing in the justice system’s ability to deliver a favorable outcome.
Winning the jackpot would have been life-changing for him and his family, with plans to establish a home trust bank to aid aspiring homeowners.
The case’s next hearing is scheduled for 23 February.
The odds of winning the Powerball jackpot are incredibly slim, at approximately one in 292.2 million, significantly rarer than being struck by lightning within a year, which has odds of 1 in 1.22 million according to the US National Weather Service.
Source-BBC
