Glitch that stole Christmas: Lottery makes everyone a winner

Copied

COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP) — A Christmas Day lottery glitch in South Carolina has left officials trying to determine how to deal with hundreds of unexpected winners.

The Holiday Cash Add-A-Play game generates trees on a tic-tac-toe grid paying up to $500 when someone gets three in a line.

Lottery officials say that, for two hours Monday, trees were being printed in all nine grids, giving all players who paid $1 the maximum $500 prize. Some players kept playing.

But when players went to cash their tickets, the computer wouldn't pay. Dozens of people came to the lottery's office in Columbia on Wednesday and were told to keep their tickets for a later announcement.

The lottery hasn't said how many winning tickets were bought.

The South Carolina Education Lottery commission is holding an emergency meeting Friday.