$500k Scratch-Off ‘Winner’ Told Ticket Was Misprint [Watch]

A New Mexico man went from feeling like he was on top of the world, only to have his dreams crushed when he learned that his $500k scratch-off ticket was a misprint.

John Wines, who is a recent retiree bought his scratch off at a local gas station. The ticket had five winning numbers, two of which were worth $250,000. Wines was confused, because the ticket had a maximum prize of $250,000, so how could he have a $500,000 winning ticket.

He returned to the gas station to show them that he had somehow won $500k. They told him that the ticket was misprint, and was told they don't pay off for misprints.

Wines then contacted the officials of the New Mexico Lottery, and received a reply via email:

"We did find a flaw in that particular pack of tickets and it's been reported to our printer. Thanks for bringing this to our attention. I did complete a reconstruction of your ticket and it was not a winner."