Jackson read an ad in the newspaper that had been placed by the owner of a local dog track. The ad stated that the Pic-6 Jackpot for the last evening of the racing season would be $825,000. Jackson went to the track on that date, picked the winner in the six designated races, and won the jackpot. However, the owner of the track refused to pay Jackson more than $25,000, stating that it had intended the amount of the jackpot to be $25,000 and not $825,000. The reason the newspaper ad said "$825,000" was that a newspaper employee had misread the ad copy that the dog track owners had submitted to the newspaper, and had read the dollar sign in front of the 25,000 as an "8."
Was the ad an offer?
Does the actual intent of the dog track owner determine whether the offered jackpot was $25,000 or $825,000?
Did the dog track owners have the right to terminate the offer?
Is it ethically wrong for Jackson to take advantage of the dog track owner's mistake?
