The Knucklehead of the Day award

Today's winner is the Florida Lottery Commission. They get the award for the following.

OCALA, Fla. -- A Florida couple said they have a winning lottery ticket and they want their money, but the Florida Lottery Commission isn't paying.

Ocala resident Joe Curcio said he thought he hit the jackpot on a scratch-off ticket that shows a prize of $500,000.

When he tried to claim his prize, he received nothing at the lottery office.

Curcio said he bought a legitimate lottery ticket at a rest stop on the Florida Turnpike in Fort Drum. But the state said the ticket had a misprint on it.

Curcio and his family said it's not their fault the ticket has a misprint and that he should be paid what he's owed.

"A deal's a deal," Curcio said.

"I believe there's something wrong with the lottery," his wife, Annemarie, said. "If I make a mistake in anything, I say, 'Listen, I made a mistake. I'm going to eat the mistake. I owe these people. I'm going to pay these people.' That's the way we are and I expect that from the state of Florida, too."

The lottery said it prints about 550 million tickets per year and there is the possibility of a misprint.

There are manual, computer and visual checks of tickets submitted for prizes, and the lottery said it uses various layers of security.

The Lottery Commission said tickets are printed with a warning that all winnings are subject to verification.

There should now be a warning posted saying the Florida Lottery is a ripoff. What is going to be cheaper- Pay the $500,000 or the lost sales and possible costs if the Curcios decide to constest this in court. You have to begin to wonder about state lotteries if they aren't a state run con game, click here for an example from Indiana. Maybe I should put a new thing in the sidebar- Florida the Ripoff State. In the meantime I make The Florida Lottery Commission today's Knucklehead of the Day.

Linked to- Bright & Early, Jo, Morewhat, Outside the Beltway, Pirate's Cove, Random Yak, StikNstein, Third World County, The World According to Carl,