LUCKY DAY

Iowa Lottery Winners Get to Keep Cash Despite Wrong Powerball Numbers Posting

For about seven hours, an error allowed losing tickets to claim prizes.

Losing Powerball players in Iowa lucked out this week when the state’s lottery posted the wrong winning numbers for the game. Lottery officials said a “human reporting error” led to the incorrect numbers being posted for the Powerball drawing on Monday night, with the wrong numbers being shared on the lottery’s website at around 12:30 a.m. Tuesday. It wasn’t until 7:15 a.m. that the error was noticed and corrected. In a statement, the lottery said the initial, incorrect “winning” numbers would have resulted in prizes worth between $4 and $200, though it wasn’t clear how many people won. Players who cashed in winning tickets for the wrong numbers in the roughly seven-hour window will be allowed to keep their prizes. The correct numbers from Monday’s Powerball drawing were 2-21-38-61-66 and Powerball 12.