Too luxurious event rewards

Events are designed to deliver surprises to many players, to encourage players who have not played before to play, and to bring back players who have left. We want to give players who have never played before a chance to play, and we also want to bring back players who have left the game. This is a story of an event that went wrong when the prizes were too gorgeous.

We had an in-game lotto where the winner would win 1000 USD worth of in-game currency. This event delivered a surprise to many players and seemed like a very good event.

However, an anomaly occurred on the day the winning numbers were announced. Players who did not win the lotto voiced their disappointment, saying that they were no longer motivated to play and that it would create a disparity. These voices grew louder and louder through social networks, and they were no longer collected.

Eventually, the management tried to resolve the situation by pretending that everyone had won the third prize, but this only caused more confusion.

I do not know what the right answer is in this case. I am sure that this is a lesson that we need to control our expectations when we prepare a big prize.