Sweetened Scratch'N'Match Pot Still Sour

Worried about the outraged and marauding Daily News readers' demands, the Daily News has announced they are offering a special $1 million pot (thinks many prizes totaling the ONE MILLION DOLLARS) after mistakenly publishing the wrong winning numbers to a Scratch'N'Match promotion. This, however, does not sit well with the many people who thought they each won $100,000 and had started to buy themselves gifts and who ended up storming the Daily News' offices, practically Frankenstein torch and pitchfork style. The big lesson: Don't spend money until you've got some in the bank. The Daily News, for their part, is blaming contest fulfillment company D.L. Blair, but people are angry at both parties: One person told CBS 2, "I'm gonna get a lawyer. Is Perry Mason still alive." And it seems that Attorney General Eliot Spitzer is looking into the matter, possibly to make sure he can get the angry Daily News reader vote in 2006. Gothamist thinks the NY Post has the best quote from angry, angry newspaper contest players about this solution: "They can take this and shove it."

Photo from Eyewitness News 7

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By Jen Chung in News on March 22, 2005 9:06 AM

Comments [rss]

Earl d l L

Our newspaper is from the regular Daily News

subscription and not ransaked from newstands around.We are living descently and have no plans of taking advantage of the situation. I guess we just deserve a legal and fair treatment from Daily News,D.L.Blair or whoever is resposible for this mess. If it was really an error in printing it is just but proper that everybody be compensated equally and not have a drawing of five $100,000.00 winners.

Earl de las Llagas

Our newspaper is from the regular Daily News subscription and not ransaked from newstands around.We are living descently and have no plans of taking advantage of the situation.I guess we just deserve a legal and fair treatment from Daily News,D.L.Blair or whoever is responsible for this mess.If it was really an error in printing, it is just but proper that everybody legally claiming be compensated equally and not have a random drawing of five $100,000.00 winners.

Ronnie

My father was one of the "winners". He's 78 and on a fixed income. He was so excited thinking he won that he was already planning to come to Europe with me this summer. Then when he heard the Daily News' retraction the next morning, he was completely let down. He was so nervous and agitated that I worried about him for a few days. What a crappy thing to do to an old man and then act like you have no liability to him for it! Somebody owes somebody something, in my opinion. I had the same idea as BrianVan above, that everyone should be given a small settlement in the amount of $1,000 or so and leave it at that, even if they had more than one ticket. Another contest does not adequately or fairly compensate everyone on an individual basis, and that is why I believe they are still justifiably angry.

danny

You have to remember that when there is money involved its not just a game anymore, people get serious; And in a state such as NY where the cost of living is already high , that money is well needed. But i do agree that you shouldn't spend what you don't already have.

mike

I have no sympathy for these people. It is A GAME. Repeat after me: a game. And not just merely a game, it is a game that one plays by BUYING A NEWSPAPER. Who really takes it that seriously? Apparently these jerks.

toyochin

Or for that matter, anyone who views a lotto as anything more serious than mere entertainment. Lottery is taxation on the stupid and the poor/uneducated.

Captain Midnight

People are idiots. Any fool who spends money he or she doesn't already have in hand deserves to be parted with it.

carl

get over it people. they made a mistake, they owe you nothing. try improving your life through something you can control, like your work and family.

Neil Epstein

Did you see pictures of the people in the Post? Some with 3-5 "winning" tickets in their hands? It's obvious that they ransaked every newstand to try and get more tickets, and now they expect to be rewarded for taking advantage of a bad situation? It makes me sick.

Brian Van Nieuwenhoven

But it's true! It is D.L. Blair's fault! They run the contest, and they screwed it up. The DN had no way to know there was an error until hordes of people showed up with winning tickets. If anything, it should come out of the contest company's pockets.

I think that if you awarded everyone a 1/10th settlement ($1,000 for a $10k prize; $10k for a $100k prize) and had them waive their right to sue in order to accept the prize, I think over 90% of these "prizewinners" would go away peacefully with what they've been offered and no one would go bankrupt. They should think about doing that...