Technicians hustle to fix Nebraska lottery machines

Wednesday, Dec. 1, 2004 | 9:25 a.m.

LINCOLN, Neb. -- As the $127 million Powerball drawing looms, technicians are hustling to fix the state's 950 lottery machines.

The failure Sunday of a communications satellite for the lottery forced workers to recalibrate all of the state's lottery machines -- a process that takes about 20 to 30 minutes at each location.

Lottery spokesman Brian Rockey said technicians were able to fix 126 machines Monday, after spending most of the day training for the task.

Workers were back on the job at 6 a.m. and expect to get to at least 700 machines Tuesday, Rockey said.

Rockey said some teams worked until midnight Monday, and technicians expected to keep a similar schedule Tuesday.

The lottery is still evaluating how to address the issue of customers potentially not being able to buy Powerball tickets, Rockey said.

"We certainly appreciate everyone's business -- and patience," Rockey said.

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