The troubles are far from over for The Daily News, which is offering a special drawing in an attempt to make amends after thousands of Scratch n’ Match players thought they hit the jackpot because of a misprint in the winning numbers.
Several lawsuits have already been filed against the paper by players seeking their prize money from the botched game and another, filed this week, asked that the contest be suspended.
In the latest filing, Moustapha Diop, 49, has requested that the contest be put on hold and is seeking restitution of the prize money and damages in State Supreme Court in the Bronx. He had two $100,000 tickets, according the Newsday.com.
The lawsuit seeks class-action status.
“We think all of these lawsuits are totally without merit,” Daily News spokesperson Eileen Murphy said yesterday.
To make amends for the misprint, which happened March 18, The Daily News is offering the special drawing for readers who believed they had won. The drawing will award more than 12,800 individual cash prizes, more than five times the usual number, totaling $1 million. Players have until July 8 to enter.
Some 200,000 players thought they had won part of a $100,000 pay out to be divvied up in $25 to $100,000 amounts.
Sweepstakes company D.L. Blair—which handles the game—has taken responsibility for the misprint and an investigation is underway by The Daily News into how the mistake happened. Blair’s Chairman, Thomas Conlon, said last month that the numbers were incorrectly keyed in, and despite its checks and balances, the mistake was not caught.
The Daily News has been a client of D.L. Blair’s since 1972.
“The relationship is under review, but no action has been taken,” Murphy said.
The Scratch n’ Match has been a staple incentive program at the paper since 1995.
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