LAST week it was reported that a man had tried to claim a P12.39-million Lotto jackpot prize from the Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office (PCSO) with a ticket so badly damaged that it was unreadable.
In an affidavit submitted to the PCSO, Antonio Mendoza said he had bought a Lotto ticket from an outlet in Calaca town, Batangas province, for the October 2 Lotto 6/42 draw, with three six-number combinations. “The following morning,” he said, “it [came] to my knowledge that I won in the said draw, but to my shock,” his one-year-old granddaughter “accidentally crumpled” the ticket.
Mendoza’s daughter ironed the ticket, but “to her amazement and dismay, the number appearing thereon got ‘blackened,’ rendering the numbers unreadable.”
Lotto tickets are printed on thermal paper, which easily reacts to heat.
The PCSO has strict guidelines for ticket-validation procedures, among them: “No ticket, no validation;” “Check the original ticket for signs of mutilation, i.e., torn tickets, or signs that it has been exposed to heat, water [or] oil prior to validation in the terminal;” and “ticket validation can be done through the use of the ticket [inserting it in the input hopper] or through the keyboard by entering the ticket serial number [TSN].”
The TSN is among the information printed on a Lotto ticket. It is the 16-character alphanumeric code found on the lower-right portion, and is unique for each ticket sold.
The other data are the name of the game (Megalotto 6/42, Grand Lotto 6/55 and so on), the chosen six-number combinations, the price paid for the ticket, the terminal code, the Lotto agent code, the draw code, the draw date, and the date and time the ticket was purchased.
There is also a bar code number that contains all the above
information.
As per the existing validation process of the PCSO, “online or system validation of winning tickets will be [done] through…either the TSN [manual entry or keyboard entry of TSN into the lottery terminal], or BCN [bar code scanning through the lottery terminal’s scanner].”
In the case of Mendoza’s ticket, nearly all the information was unreadable by visual examination and by machine. If, at least, the TSN had remained readable, the code could have been keyed into a terminal, and the ticket could have been validated.
The back of each PCSO Lotto ticket lists several game rules, one of which is this: “Prizes will not be paid if the ticket is altered, defaced, torn, damaged or has failed any of the validation tests of the PCSO.” That makes it clear to Lotto players that a damaged ticket will not be accepted.
In addition to the game rules and reminders printed at the back of each Lotto ticket, the PCSO regularly reminds the public on the nightly live televised game draws to “take good care of your tickets. Do not allow them to get wet or be exposed to heat. Lotto tickets are heat-sensitive.”
To make it easy to remember how to treat your Lotto tickets, think of them as cash or some other important document, like a passport. Keep your Lotto tickets in your wallet or in some other safe place where they cannot be exposed to heat, water or other things that can damage them, or be lost or stolen.
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THE Sixth ManilART, Manila’s hottest contemporary art fair that opened at the SMX Aura Convention Center in Taguig City on October 16, closed on October 19 on a positive note.
The art fair showcased Philippine contemporary art, and 28 of the best galleries in the country participated in it. Works from Europe and Southeast Asia were displayed during the fair.
One of the most popular events at ManilART was the walking tour, which provided in-depth information about the featured works, galleries and artists—a true learning experience for all those who wanted to know more about contemporary Philippine art.
Atty. Jose Ferdinand M. Rojas II is the vice chairman and general manager of the Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office.
2 comments
How to be safe in claiming for the jackpot prize in PCSO main office? Fearing if there is still insider syndicates as reported before in newspapers. Is there any bank inside the PCSO main office to deposit the check?
if you lost the ticket but you have a soft copy photo of it how will you claim the prize??