idiots killed dreams of many 
"March 22, 2005 -- Crying "Show us the money!" thousands of conned contestants angrily stormed the black-eyed Daily News yesterday demanding millions of dollars in prize money after a lame contest goof turned would-be bonanzas into busts.
Finally, pummeled by threats of widespread boycotts and hefty lawsuits, hapless News execs said "we're sorry" to their wronged readers — but still only offered up a pathetic "solution" that hordes of stiffed Match n' Scratch players dissed as too little too late.
"It's peanuts," said Alfred Lenquan, who held five $100,000 "winners." Among the latest developments in New York's "hometown caper" yesterday:
* The paper announced that it was offering a $1 million pot that would still be luck-of-the-draw for the duped "winners."
That group includes scores who thought they had won $100,000. But now, there will be only a measly five $100,000 winners, five $10,000 winners and another 12,790 winners of undisclosed amounts from the "special drawing," the whimpering paper said.
Luis Alvarez, who along with his sister should have won $100,000 apiece, charged: "If we made the mistake, we would have gone to jail. The paper made the mistake, and they don't want to pay.
"It [the new News deal] means I could win nothing — and I won already," he said.
Claudette Muir, 36, a Brooklynite who "won" $100,000, said she was "very disappointed" over the Snooze's latest paltry offer.
"Just pay the money," she said, nearly weeping as she explained that she had hoped to use some of her winnings to help her money-strapped uncle bury her 29-year-old cousin, who just died in a car crash in New Jersey.
* State Attorney General Eliot Spitzer has begun monitoring the snafu and is discussing the fallout with Daily News lawyers, a Spitzer spokeswoman said.
* The paper admitted there's no way to guarantee that the shameful debacle won't happen again.
* Six people joined in filing a lawsuit against the News in Nassau County, claiming that they should get the cash prizes promised on their cards, regardless of the newspaper's excuses.
Another 30, at least, have already told lawyer Alan Ripka that they are so disgusted with the $1 million offer that they want the News to pay in court, too.
"I think they really believe they are being taken here," Ripka said.
A Queens lawyer, Steven Gilden, said he will file a "multimillion dollar" lawsuit on behalf of a duped client today.
Meanwhile, clueless News bigs continued to blame the Long Island-based company that prepares and prints its Scratch n' Match game cards.
"This is a major error on the part of our provider, D.L. Blair, but while it was their mistake, it's had an impact on our readers," Daily News president Les Goodstein said at a news conference.
"We are outraged on behalf of our readers. We're going to fight to make sure everyone gets a fair shake."
But sources at the News said fingers were already being pointed at Editorial Director Martin Dunn, who runs the paper's promotions. The contest snafu happened Saturday when the tabloid published a wrong number that misled countless game-players into believing they won the cash prizes — including the single top weekly award of $100,000.
But when it turned out there were more "winners" than the numbers crunchers could count, the News circled the delivery trucks and spun its own story.
It even hired Hawthorne Investigations and Security of Floral Park, L.I., to probe the fiasco.
Juanita Griffith, a $100,000 "winner," waited for hours at the contest's West Side validation center yesterday, and all she got for her troubles was a free newspaper.
"They can take this and shove it," Griffith said. "They should be ashamed of themselves."
As protesters outside the Daily News chanted "Buy The Post!" executives were huddling with D.L. Blair chairman Thomas Conlan.
Murphy said an employee in the paper's promotions department is responsible for checking each day that the numbers to be printed in the following day's paper jibe with the numbers that D.L. Blair has transmitted to the News.
Murphy emphasized that the News employee was not responsible for the snafu — the third in 10 years — because the numbers that were published in the paper corresponded to what D.L. Blair sent.
But Murphy admitted the newspaper has no other failsafe measure to ensure that what D.L. Blair sends each day is accurate, and that there is no way to guarantee it won't happen again."
Thousands of angry New Yorkers gathered outside the Daily News Building on Tenth Avenue and 32nd Street to protest the Daily News mistake in printing the wrong winning numbers of their Scratch and Match game. Many people had thought they had won up to $100,000 until the Daily News printed an apology that there was a mistake.
(Photo/ Rebecca Letz)
Loretta Perkins, 56 years old, has been homeless recently and now lives in an SRO in the Bronx. She would have bought a home with the $100,000 she thought she had won.
(Photo/ Rebecca Letz)
Thousands of angry New Yorkers gathered outside the Daily News Building on Tenth Avenue and 32nd Street to protest the Daily News mistake in printing the wrong winning numbers of their Scratch and Match game. Many people had thought they had won up to $100,000 until the Daily News printed an apology that there was a mistake.
(Photo/ Rebecca Letz)
"March 22, 2005 -- Crying "Show us the money!" thousands of conned contestants angrily stormed the black-eyed Daily News yesterday demanding millions of dollars in prize money after a lame contest goof turned would-be bonanzas into busts.
Finally, pummeled by threats of widespread boycotts and hefty lawsuits, hapless News execs said "we're sorry" to their wronged readers — but still only offered up a pathetic "solution" that hordes of stiffed Match n' Scratch players dissed as too little too late.
"It's peanuts," said Alfred Lenquan, who held five $100,000 "winners." Among the latest developments in New York's "hometown caper" yesterday:
* The paper announced that it was offering a $1 million pot that would still be luck-of-the-draw for the duped "winners."
That group includes scores who thought they had won $100,000. But now, there will be only a measly five $100,000 winners, five $10,000 winners and another 12,790 winners of undisclosed amounts from the "special drawing," the whimpering paper said.
Luis Alvarez, who along with his sister should have won $100,000 apiece, charged: "If we made the mistake, we would have gone to jail. The paper made the mistake, and they don't want to pay.
"It [the new News deal] means I could win nothing — and I won already," he said.
Claudette Muir, 36, a Brooklynite who "won" $100,000, said she was "very disappointed" over the Snooze's latest paltry offer.
"Just pay the money," she said, nearly weeping as she explained that she had hoped to use some of her winnings to help her money-strapped uncle bury her 29-year-old cousin, who just died in a car crash in New Jersey.
* State Attorney General Eliot Spitzer has begun monitoring the snafu and is discussing the fallout with Daily News lawyers, a Spitzer spokeswoman said.
* The paper admitted there's no way to guarantee that the shameful debacle won't happen again.
* Six people joined in filing a lawsuit against the News in Nassau County, claiming that they should get the cash prizes promised on their cards, regardless of the newspaper's excuses.
Another 30, at least, have already told lawyer Alan Ripka that they are so disgusted with the $1 million offer that they want the News to pay in court, too.
"I think they really believe they are being taken here," Ripka said.
A Queens lawyer, Steven Gilden, said he will file a "multimillion dollar" lawsuit on behalf of a duped client today.
Meanwhile, clueless News bigs continued to blame the Long Island-based company that prepares and prints its Scratch n' Match game cards.
"This is a major error on the part of our provider, D.L. Blair, but while it was their mistake, it's had an impact on our readers," Daily News president Les Goodstein said at a news conference.
"We are outraged on behalf of our readers. We're going to fight to make sure everyone gets a fair shake."
But sources at the News said fingers were already being pointed at Editorial Director Martin Dunn, who runs the paper's promotions. The contest snafu happened Saturday when the tabloid published a wrong number that misled countless game-players into believing they won the cash prizes — including the single top weekly award of $100,000.
But when it turned out there were more "winners" than the numbers crunchers could count, the News circled the delivery trucks and spun its own story.
It even hired Hawthorne Investigations and Security of Floral Park, L.I., to probe the fiasco.
Juanita Griffith, a $100,000 "winner," waited for hours at the contest's West Side validation center yesterday, and all she got for her troubles was a free newspaper.
"They can take this and shove it," Griffith said. "They should be ashamed of themselves."
As protesters outside the Daily News chanted "Buy The Post!" executives were huddling with D.L. Blair chairman Thomas Conlan.
Murphy said an employee in the paper's promotions department is responsible for checking each day that the numbers to be printed in the following day's paper jibe with the numbers that D.L. Blair has transmitted to the News.
Murphy emphasized that the News employee was not responsible for the snafu — the third in 10 years — because the numbers that were published in the paper corresponded to what D.L. Blair sent.
But Murphy admitted the newspaper has no other failsafe measure to ensure that what D.L. Blair sends each day is accurate, and that there is no way to guarantee it won't happen again."
Thousands of angry New Yorkers gathered outside the Daily News Building on Tenth Avenue and 32nd Street to protest the Daily News mistake in printing the wrong winning numbers of their Scratch and Match game. Many people had thought they had won up to $100,000 until the Daily News printed an apology that there was a mistake.
(Photo/ Rebecca Letz)
Loretta Perkins, 56 years old, has been homeless recently and now lives in an SRO in the Bronx. She would have bought a home with the $100,000 she thought she had won.
(Photo/ Rebecca Letz)
Thousands of angry New Yorkers gathered outside the Daily News Building on Tenth Avenue and 32nd Street to protest the Daily News mistake in printing the wrong winning numbers of their Scratch and Match game. Many people had thought they had won up to $100,000 until the Daily News printed an apology that there was a mistake.
(Photo/ Rebecca Letz)
loser