A Taunton, Massachusetts, man was on the right side of a million dollar mistake, when a scratch ticket game he didn't want to play turned out to be a winner.
Richard Brown, 60, came in to the Gulf in Taunton last Monday, as he had several times in the past, looking for a $5 Blue Ice 7s ticket. This time, the distracted clerk gave him a Sizzling Sevens scratcher, another $5 game, by mistake, said lottery spokeswoman Beth Bresnahan.
Instead of demanding the right ticket, Brown decided he was "going to roll with it," said Bresnahan. Sticking with the ticket paid off, as Brown scratched off the $1 million grand prize.
Lottery officials said Brown, a chef in Medway and a grandfather, opted for an immediate one-time payment of $650,000 before taxes. He will use the money to fix his roof, as well as take a trip to San Francisco, said Bresnahan. Brown declined to comment.
Bresnahan said there is a good amount of superstition among people who play the lottery, in terms of people choosing the same numbers or going to the same stores to buy their tickets.
She said if Brown is one of those people, "he would think that the ticket would be meant for him. To refuse that ticket would be a streak of bad luck."
The odds of winning the million dollar top prize were one in 4.2 million, according to the Massachusetts State Lottery Commission.
Congrats
I live within minutes of MA, and buy tickets there weekly. I was reading this story a few days back on the Mass lottery website.
I think these "mistakes" happen very frequently based on nothing else but the sheer number of daily transactions that occur.
There is an old saying that "Money Won Is Twice As Sweet As Money Earned". I think the "Mistake Money" is in it's own special category.
Good for him! May he use it to enjoy life.
Always take the mistakes.
You never know when, where or how your good luck will materialize.
I buy the mistakes and always lose. I can't help but wonder whether the tickets I'd originally intended to buy were the winners.
We shall never know shall we
Maybe next time try buying both the mistake ticket, as well as the intended ticket.
If the ticket's a mistake, it's the ticket you must take.
Chant it like a mantra.
Become one with it.
Learn to play the sitar.
LOL, and to tripple the luck, ask the guy who is after you, and buy his ticket as well.
Touche!
A $5 ticket with a grand prize of a million???
$5 tickets here are usually about $50k top prize.
Gotta move to one of the high population density states to get those payoffs. MA, CA, TX or NY.
Congrats to the winner....
I know how you feel dog, OK scratchers suck BIG time. Our largest prize is $40,000-$50,000 for $5 I usually play scratchers when we go to Texas...
This could be the beginning of a new trend with very happy endings!
I had this happen to me, but it wasn't a million dollar ticket. I wanted a $5.00 5x's the money ticket and they gave me a $5.00 Jumbo Bucks ticket and I scratched it off and won $1000.00. I often ask the store clerk if they have any powerball tickets people decided they didn't want and have won off them a few times, but not a huge win ,but still a win.
I win at least $500.00 on average a week off of Tn Lottery Scratch off's. Everyone that works at the Memphis District office know me by name.
GOOD LUCK TO ALL :)
Welcome to Lottery Post SmokyMountains and good luck to you.
Congratulations on your $500 a week winnings, that's pretty impressive.
How much do you have to spend a week to win that much?
I really don't spend a lot. I spend on average around $20 a week. I just always seem to be at the right place at the right time. I do better with scratch off's then the jackpot games and I always look at the website for remaining prizes so I don't waste my money.
I am not new. My old screen name was tnlottodreamer. My email changed and I couldn't get into it to reset the password so I had to create a new account. I wish I still had my old account. Just can't rememer the password...ugh :)
I do the same thing Smoky
If they have a ticket the few places that I play ( a mistake walk away ticket on the PB or MM ) , they will usually tell me about them , as they know I will buy them )
I win small amounts on them quite often also it seems ( but no big winners yet )
I do this because many years ago a friend of mine ( I met her years later after it happened , but heard about it for many years ) ...... she worked at a place in Ohio and someone came in and I think wanted certain numbers and she punched one number wrong and they did not want the ticket......so she got him another one the way he wanted it and that was that
Nobody wanted the ticket..........when she left later she bought it........
If I remember correct........we are talking 15 or 17 Million ( yes ...... thats million with an M )
This was back in the days before PB and MM
There were two winners that night ( once again if I remember correct ) on around 30 million or so , so they split it of course
Her ticket was one of the winners
I understand some tried to claim the ticket later ..............but it was hers and thats the way it should be
Morrow of the story.........never leave a mistake ticket behind ( but I watch people do it all the time to this very day )