LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) -- Dozens of people thought they had a winning lottery ticket, but as it turns out, it was a typo.
Bullitt County resident Sarah Whitlow was one of those residents who thought she had hit the jackpot.
"When I looked at it, 'I won! I won!' -- and I was so happy," she said. "I looked at it more closely. I won two -- both games. They are individually gamed and I just started crying because, earlier this year, I fell off a ladder and it broke all of my ribs."
Still healing from her injuries, Whitlow thought she hit it big, winning $64,000. But that happiness turned to heartbreak.
"They said it's a mistake and they don't have to honor any of their tickets."
The Kentucky Lottery says the game vendor, International Game Technology, did a software update back in October that caused an estimated 500 Tic Tac Cash game tickets to be printed with the wrong symbols.
The Fast Play game works like a scratch-off, where players match symbols to see if they've won a prize, but the invalid tickets had symbols or images that weren't part of the game.
IGT declined an interview, but released a brief written statement:
"IGT and the Kentucky Lottery have resolved the temporary issue that impacted some of the Tic Tac Cash games purchased at Kentucky Lottery vending machines on October 18, 2020 and the morning of October 19, 2020."
The state law which governs Kentucky Lottery operations says, "No prize shall be paid arising from claimed tickets … that are produced or issued in error."
Whitlow says, "IÂ think an error like that is a pattern, not a mistake."
Twelve-hundred Texas players are suing IGT over the Fun Five Tic Tac Toe game alleging instructions were misleading and fraudulently led them to believe they had purchased a winning ticket.
"I'm ashamed to say too, because I agree with them, with what they're doing to me," Whitlow said. "What I want everyone to know is, if you do play the Kentucky Lottery, do not assume you win, when you win."
IGT is giving Whitlow a much smaller cash reward.
"They are offering me $1,000," Whitlow said. "Like I say, it was for a $2 ticket."
The Kentucky Lottery says it's heard from 50 people so far about having the tickets that were printed in error, and says over half have come to an "agreement" with IGT, but just how much the others are getting hasn't been released.
"IÂ got two Visa gift cards," Whitlow said. "I'm really grateful. I'm going to get my children something for Christmas this year, and I was really worried I wasn't going to."
Back in 2019, IGT signed a contract extension with the Kentucky Lottery expiring in July of 2026.
IGT however has proposed a program for players affected by the error. Players who have one of the tickets in question can send an email to help@kylottery.com with details, or call the Kentucky Lottery customer service hotline at 877-789-4532.
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