Lotto Tickets -- People are seriously just now realizing this?

Question

Okay so I've read a couple articles recently about angry people who have bought scratch-off lotto tickets, hoping to win the grand prize, only to discover later that the top prize had already been awarded. No offense, but I've ALWAYS gone and checked before buying a scratch ticket if the top prize has been given away yet. I'm not sure about other states, but Colorado Lottery has all of that information posted on their website, easy to find. Did people really think that after the top prize is gone, they just take away all the other tickets? Here's one of the articles if you're interested:

http://www.cnn.com/2008/US/07/07/lottery.tickets/index.html

Answer 1

There are a lot of stupid people out there.

Answer 2

In Minnesota, when all grand prizes are awarded, the lotto sends a notice - online- to stop selling the tickets. The retailer is required to pull those tickets, right away, upon receipt of that notice. The lotto, usually, sends out replacement game tickets within a few days.