Honestly isn't worth your time trying to figure it out since you (along with the rest of us) don't have access to the code and can't implement a fix regardless.
SE is aware of the problem and working on it. Once they have it isolated, it sounds like they're going to make certain actual winners are found among the original entries and given a chance to claim the plot before another lottery period begins.
If that's the case, the only players that will be out will be those that claimed their refunds this morning out of frustration. It could be that SE will even work with those players individually if they were the only bid on the plot.
