Awkward moment 101 bingo players in Brazil celebrate winning $184 jackpot at the same time after printing error number 49 on each card
A group of 101 bingo players had to split the top prize after each of them had a card with the winning number
The incident took place Saturday night in Ceará, Brazil, at an open-air event hosted by local businessman Maurício Façanha.
Façanha, who put together the bingo games for two years, said 500 cards printed at his print shop were each numbered 49.
The $184 prize was rounded up to $190 and split equally among the winners
Two other smaller prizes were also affected by the glitch, forcing 75 people to split $73 while 42 others shared $54 in winnings
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This is the crazy moment when a huge group of bingo players claimed the big cash prize because of a mistake on each of their cards.
A total of 101 people gathered in a square in Ceará, Brazil, for an evening of bingo on Saturday, when they burst with excitement when the number 49 was rung.
Footage of the chaotic scene showed the bingo players merrily waving their cards, each worth 1,000 Brazilian reals, about $184.
The jackpot was rounded up to $190 and split evenly, Brazilian news outlet G1 reported.
Osmar Saldanha bought three tickets to the bingo game held on Saturday near the motorcycle shop he owns in Ceará, Brazil. He was one of 101 people who cashed the $184 prize, which was rounded up to $190 because they all had a card with the winning number, 49, which was incorrectly printed
One of 500 bingo cards (first from left) incorrectly marked with the number 49, the winning number announced and which drove 101 bingo players in Brazil to a frenzy
Maurício Façanha, who ran bingo for two years, took the blame for the mistake.
He told G1 that he was unaware that each of the 500 template cards produced at his print shop contained the winning number.
“I was stunned when I tried to understand it, but when I stopped to analyze it, I saw … all the cards had the (number) 49,” Façanha said. “It was a graphic error that shouldn’t have happened. For me it was surprising. Everyone was euphoric because they had won. They started screaming.’
Stunned bingo players collect and show off their winning game cards, each with the number 49 mistakenly printed on 500 cards
Osmar Saldanha bought three tickets to the three bingo games hosted on Saturday near his motorcycle shop in Ceará, Brazil, but left with a bittersweet taste as he had to split his winnings with the other participants
The faulty cards affected two other bingo games, with 75 people splitting $73 and 42 others splitting $54 in winnings.
Osmar Saldanha had a bittersweet taste over the top prize result after buying three tickets to the bingo held near his motorcycle shop.
“I’ve never won bingo and if I win I have to share it with 100 people,” he said.