Barcode proves faulty winning NC lottery ticket

STATESVILLE, NC (WNCN) – A long-haul trucker who purchased a lottery ticket while passing through North Carolina thought he won big bucks and although the ticket looks like a winner—the bar code on it doesn’t agree.

“I got happy and said ‘Hey, hey, hey…. thank God…Hey, hey hey,”’ said James Kinard.

Kinard said it looked like he had purchased a winning ticket.

It’s a ticket that’s part of the North Carolina Education Lottery’s family of “Fast Play Progressive Games.” Those tickets are printed immediately with possible winning numbers right on them.

The long-haul trucker from Florida had stopped in Statesville and decided to play the 50 times Multiplier Game.

“I didn’t look at my ticket then and there,” he said. After a couple of days on the road, he pulled his ticket out to check.

Under the possible winning numbers for that ticket was a “3.” When he checked to see if any numbers matched up, he saw another “3.”

“I see there was $500 under the “3.” It’s a 50 times multiplier so by my calculations that’s $25,000,” he said.

However, when he tried to cash the ticket, a bar code told the lottery clerk it was not a winner.

“She looks at it and says ‘hmm—that’s supposed to be a winner but it’s not scanning as a winner,’” said Kinard.

The Asheville lottery office copied the ticket and gave Kinard that copy. It kept the original.

“They told me they did a reconstruct of the ticket and can’t tell whether there is supposed to be a number in front of the “3”, he said.

Kinard says the place where he purchased the ticket had trouble printing them and had to change printer rolls.

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