CCTV: Moment workers at NJ restaurant think they've won Powerball

Staff at an Italian eatery in New Jersey celebrated a short-lived win Saturday when they thought they had hit the $900 million Powerball jackpot. Unfortunately, for the group of 42 employees, their "winning" ticket didn't match the Jan. 9 jackpot numbers. Instead, they had matched all six numbers from the previous drawing from Jan. 6. The entire event was caught on camera. Bartender Charlie Poveromo had read out loud the winning numbers as the staff followed along, the excitement among the group building with every match. The numbers were identical to those on one of the group's tickets. What followed was described as "pure pandemonium" on the restaurant's Facebook page. "Emotions were flying high as bartender Charlie Poveromo in sheer excitement shed tears of joy," the Facebook post read, "the dishwasher threw his apron on the floor and quit and the parking lot attendant Diego Moreno called his Grandmother in Columbia to share the good news after he told a customer to retrieve his own car as he just won the lottery…" But the excitement quickly ended after 15 to 20 minutes when the staff realized their mistake. According to NJ Advance Media, Poveromo said that his friend had sent him the numbers from the Powerball website just after the drawing. Unfortunately, the site wasn't updated with the Jan. 9 winning numbers. Despite the disappointment, the staff has already purchased over $400 worth of tickets for Wednesday's $1.5 billion Powerball drawing.

2016-01-15T07:31:03+00:00
Duration: 02:02