Store owner tried to scam woman out of lottery winnings

If the Lotteries were willing to do the right thing and truly wanted to stop the scams they would tell players the truth: You can't trust the clerks to check your tickets.

They should include that advice in their literature and advertising.

But they don't cuz it doesn't sound good for business.

All Lottery Post Members who have paid attention to the never ending reports of clerks ripping off players know better but the general public and casual or occasional players just don't know about this.

It's good that this crook was caught but it's not enough to hope for justice after the fact. The Lotteries should take a pro-active and preemptive approach to this scandal that most people don't even know about.

And that should begin by just telling people the truth - you can't trust lottery clerks to check your tickets.

The Louisiana Lottery security folks are the heros of this story.  The easy thing would be to ignore the scratched out name and simply pay out the prize.  But they lifted the crossed out signature, figured out the spelling in the signature, and actually managed to track down the person whose signature was crossed out. 

That is some FANTASTIC detective work.

HATS OFF to the Lousiana Lottery for caring to check it out, and having the wherewithal to track down the real winner.

It's sad that the world is like it is, but smart players always know and tell the clerk how much they won.

I always try to go to the same convenience store to cash my winners.  They know my face in there, and since I tell the clerk how much I won, there's never a problem.  Some times when a new clerk I havent seen before appears behind the counter, I make it a point to use the scanner that's located right in front of the lottery terminal. (I always know how much I won long before I walk through the front door of the store. I just scan the ticket to transmit an additional non-verbal message to the new clerk.)

I do that because one time I did not use the scanner, and simply told a new clerk I had won $22.00.  Without any expression on her face, she very matter of factly looked me in the eye and said "Well, the terminal will be the judge of that."  I laughed and smiled, and said "That's true, but the judge is definitely going to rule in my favor."  She said nothing as she checked the ticket, opened the cash drawer and handed me my 22 bucks. 

To this day I wonder what her motivation was to respond to me like she did.  It was probably nothing, and maybe she was just having a tough day, but I couldnt help thinking if I might have slightly annoyed her because I took away her shot at a lousy 22 dollars.   That's the thing, it's just like the Lottery says "You never know."  Maybe the guy behind the counter is honest, and maybe he isnt.  I try to always look for the best in people, but you just never know.

Two possibilities:

1.) In her training, she may have been warned about lottery players trying to scam clerks.  She may have thought that by telling her you had a $22 winner before she scanned it, you were trying to condition her to skip checking the ticket and just hand you the money.

2.) She likely picked up on your non-verbal accusations of her being a thief.  She was probably thinking -- but wouldn't say it for fear of losing her job -- "How dare you accuse me of trying to steal from you simply because I'm standing behind a lottery terminal?"

I'm not saying lottery players shouldn't be on the lookout for unscrupulous clerks.  Indeed, far from it.  However, it is possible to keep one's guard up without telegraphing to the person behind the counter that you believe they are a criminal because they showed up for work that day.

Didn't I just say that Todd, the lottery officals did their jobs on this one. No one has answer my question will he still get the fee for selling a sizable winner.Do anyone know?

Well, it's pretty clear to see what you do for a living now, lol.

(Not that there's anything wrong with that)

As usual, you are wrong.

Well, it's pretty clear to see what you do for a living now, lol.

(Not that there's anything wrong with that)

Two possibilities:

1.) In her training, she may have been warned about lottery players trying to scam clerks.  She may have thought that by telling her you had a $22 winner before she scanned it, you were trying to condition her to skip checking the ticket and just hand you the money.

2.) She likely picked up on your non-verbal accusations of her being a thief.  She was probably thinking -- but wouldn't say it for fear of losing her job -- "How dare you accuse me of trying to steal from you simply because I'm standing behind a lottery terminal?"

I'm not saying lottery players shouldn't be on the lookout for unscrupulous clerks.  Indeed, far from it.  However, it is possible to keep one's guard up without telegraphing to the person behind the counter that you believe they are a criminal because they showed up for work that day.

Two possibilities:

1.) In her training, she may have been warned about lottery players trying to scam clerks.  She may have thought that by telling her you had a $22 winner before she scanned it, you were trying to condition her to skip checking the ticket and just hand you the money.

2.) She likely picked up on your non-verbal accusations of her being a thief.  She was probably thinking -- but wouldn't say it for fear of losing her job -- "How dare you accuse me of trying to steal from you simply because I'm standing behind a lottery terminal?"

I'm not saying lottery players shouldn't be on the lookout for unscrupulous clerks.  Indeed, far from it.  However, it is possible to keep one's guard up without telegraphing to the person behind the counter that you believe they are a criminal because they showed up for work that day.

oh my giddiant... you mean he is a LAWYER?

isn't that akin to swearing at him? 

The Store Person Just Made A Mistake