Mega Millions Pauses Prize Payments After Announcer's On-Air Snafu

Organizers blamed "human error" for the multistate lottery's mixup.

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, multiple media outlets 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.

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