New Mexico man buys $500k 'winning' lottery ticket - only for officials to say it is a MISPRINT and refuse to honor it

• John Wines bought New Mexico Lottery scratcher from Shell gas station
• Ticket has winning numbers '1' and '2', with a maximum prize of $250,000
• But Mr Wines found three '1s' and two '2s' - worth over $500,000 in total
• However, when he went back to the garage, he was told it was a misprint
• Lottery confirmed figures on right of '1s' and '2s' hadn't printed properly
• Officials refused to honor Mr Wines's 'win', but offered him $100 in tickets

By Sophie Jane Evans For Dailymail.com

Published: 23:17 EST, 5 January 2015 | Updated: 23:28 EST, 5 January 2015

A New Mexico man has spoken of his anger after buying what appeared to be a winning lottery ticket worth more than $500,000 - only for officials to claim it was a misprint and refuse to honor it.

John Wines, who has recently retired, bought the New Mexico Lottery scratcher - featuring the winning numbers '1' and '2' - from a Shell gas station in Roswell, Chaves County, in December.

As he started scratching, he was stunned to come across two '1s' - both of which were worth $250,000. He later uncovered another '1' ($75) and two further '2s' ($500 and $50 respectively).

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Misprint: As he started scratching, he came across two '1s' (pictured) - both worth $250,000. However, he was later told they had been misprinted - and were, in fact, double-figure numbers that were not winners

Assuming that the scratcher's stated maximum prize of $250,000 was wrong, a delighted Mr Wines returned to the gas station to collect his winnings. However, he was told he had not won anything.

Instead, the female cashier explained that the 'winning' numbers were, in fact, double-figure numbers that had seen their right-hand-side numbers omitted as a result of a misprint by the lottery.

'I took it back in and she told me that is not a winner,' Mr WInes told KOB 4 News. 'They told me that it was a misprint and they don't pay off for misprints.'

Indeed, if you look closely at Mr Wines's ticket, you can see part of several numbers that are supposed to be next to the 1s and 2s. However, it is unclear what figures they are meant to be.

More false wins: Mr Wines later uncovered another '1' (worth $75) and two further '2s' (worth $500 and $50 respectively) - two of which are pictured above - that were also revealed to be the result of a lottery misprint

Unhappy customer: 'I mean, if you thought you won $500,000 and somebody tells you that you didn't, and you can prove you did, it's pretty stressful for somebody to say, "no you're not getting your money",' said Mr Wines

Furthermore, the letters underneath the 1s and 2s - which are a safety figure designed to prevent fraud by responding to specific numbers (such as 14 = 'FTN') - clearly refer to other numbers.

But despite the evidence, Mr Wiles claims the ticket appears to be a winner, saying: 'There’s a 1 right here for $250,000,” said Wines. “Right below that is another 1 and it's a $250,000 winner.'

He added: 'I mean, if you thought you won $500,000 and somebody tells you that you didn't, and you can prove you did, it's pretty stressful for somebody to say, "no you're not getting your money".'

Seller: Following the gas station's (pictured) refusal to pay him any cash Mr Wiles contacted the New Mexico Lottery. But they told him in an email that his ticket was 'not a winner' and refused to honor his 'winnings'

Following the gas station's refusal to pay him his winnings, Mr Wiles contacted the New Mexico Lottery. However, the firm apparently told him in an email that his ticket was certainly 'not a winner'.

As a goodwill gesture, officials offered him $100 in lottery tickets, according to the broadcaster.

But an angry Mr Wiles said: 'This is $500,000. That's a half million. It’s like I told them, I didn't misprint it. I bought the ticket in good faith thinking if I won I was going to get my money.'