Powerball slips show wrong odds for second place win
Lynn Bednar, 33, of Miller Place, buys lottery tickets in Rocky Point. (Dec. 23, 2009) Credit: Newsday File / James Carbone
What are the odds?
If you think the chance of winning second place in the Powerball lottery is 1 in 3,904,701, think again.
The printed statistics on the back of Powerball play slips have the wrong odds for second place, a spokeswoman for the New York Lottery said Thursday - just a day after New York became the latest entry to the multistate Powerball lottery. Instead, you actually have 1 in 5,138,133 odds of hitting the penultimate jackpot in Powerball.
"We're very much aware of this, and we definitely apologize," said lottery spokeswoman Jennifer Givner, who said employees noticed the mistake.
She said new play slips are on order, being printed, at no cost to the lottery, by its online gaming vendor.
One lottery enthusiast, Peter Wunsch, saw the typo when he bought a Powerball ticket and noticed the discrepancy.
Wunsch, 60, an accountant from East Northport, said the Powerball play slip displayed odds for Mega Millions, a different game. The correct odds can be found online at nylottery.org.
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Get ready for sun and fun with NewsdayTV's summer FunBook special! From celebrating America's 250th birthday to a new ride at Adventureland, NewsdayTV's Elisa DiStefano and Newsday lifestyle editor Meghan Giannotta have your inside look at Newsday's summer FunBook.
