Player misses out on €500k after returning ticket
Wednesday April 6th 2011A lottery player from Ireland has missed out on the opportunity to spend €500,000 after handing a winning ticket back to shop staff. The €9 quick-pick ticket for last Friday’s EuroMillions Plus draw was created in error by a member of staff at a Tesco store in Navan, County Meath.
The customer had actually asked for a €4 lotto ticket and handed back the original slip, leaving the ticket that would go on to scoop the game’s top prize, sitting in the store’s till.
According to a report by the Irish Times, there is still some confusion over exactly who is entitled to the money. Tesco Ireland has said it will give the cash away if it turns out that the store won the jackpot.
Going by recent big lottery wins, it seems it’s often better to keep a lottery ticket that wasn’t meant for you. Mike Barth, who won a share of $319million in a MegaMillions draw last month, didn’t get the lottery ticket he was meant to.
While queuing up to buy a ticket for his syndicate, a member of the public pushed in front of him and took the quick-pick lotto ticket that was intended for him. Instead he calmly took the next – a decision which turned him into a multi-millionaire.
Written by Peter Kirkham
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