There was nothing wrong with the automated lottery ticket scanner used by a Red Deer man who recently won $1 million.
Andrea Marantz, spokesperson for Alberta Lotteries, said David Webber only double-checked his winnings with the store’s retailer because he couldn’t mentally process the numbers he was seeing.
“He actually won a million and two dollars, so he saw this one and then all these zeros in the middle, and then a two” and couldn’t comprehend what that meant,” said Marantz.
“Sometimes that happens. ... When people win a large amount, they think (the machine) couldn’t be working properly.”
Some Advocate readers thought the automated machine was unreliable after reading a story on Webber’s win, which was written from a press release and suggested the ticket checker came up with only small winnings.
But Marantz said the machine did get the numbers right — only they didn’t immediately sink in with Maxmillions winner Webber, who purchased the ticket on Dec. 20 from a West Park store.