Mega Millions Pauses Prize Payments After Announcer's On-Air Snafu
What a mega mixup!
The multistate Mega Millions lottery temporarily suspended prize payments this week after a snafu during the broadcast of Tuesday’s winning numbers.
Announcer John Crow mistakenly called the gold Mega Ball as a 6, multiplemediaoutlets reported. But the winning ball was a 9.
The incorrect 6 also appeared on the screen during the drawing.
Watch the video on the Mega Millions website here:
“The 9 ball was drawn into the chamber and is the official result,” the lottery said in a statement shared on its website. The actual winning numbers, it confirmed, were 15-19-20-61-70 and gold Mega Ball 9.
“We apologize for the confusion,” the lottery added, encouraging players to hold onto their ticket until the issue was resolved.
No one won Tuesday’s $86 million jackpot.
In New York, some people were paid out based on the wrong winning number.
“Due to human error relating to the May 10, 2022 Mega Millions draw, the New York Lottery paid a total of $5,538 to players who presented tickets with the incorrect winning number to retailers before approximately 10 a.m. on May 11,” the organization said in a statement on its website.
“This payment was recouped automatically via a Lottery account for uncashed tickets. There is no impact on aid to education or taxpayer funds,” it added.
Statement from New York Lottery Processing of Mega Millions Tickets for 5/10/22 Drawing:⁰
Following the 5/10/22 Mega Millions drawing, human error resulted in incorrect input of the winning numbers in New York State, resulting in an incorrect publishing of the Mega Ball. pic.twitter.com/1cEIMF3Fsi— New York Lottery (@newyorklottery) May 11, 2022
The New York Lottery is working to resolve the issue as quickly as possible. The Lottery has temporarily suspended prize payments for all Mega Millions tickets and all Mega Millions players should hold their tickets for the May 10, 2022 drawing until the issue is resolved.
— New York Lottery (@newyorklottery) May 11, 2022
The correct winning numbers for the May 10, 2022 drawing are: 15-19-20-61-70 and Mega Ball 9.
— New York Lottery (@newyorklottery) May 11, 2022
This article originally appeared on HuffPost and has been updated.