International: Lottery gift wins mechanic thousandsA Portuguese car mechanic who was given a lottery ticket as a tip after earlier refusing to buy it, has scooped a ¬50,000 (US$63,045) jackpot, a local newspaper reported on Wednesday.
Lottery salesman Jose Macedo tried to sell the ¬5 (US$6.30) winning ticket to Artur Luis but ended up giving it to the mechanic to show his appreciation for the small amount charged to fix his car.
When the numbers on the national lottery ticket were drawn Monday, the mechanic won the ¬50,000 first prize.
"It was an early Christmas gift, a huge tip," Luis said.
"He tried to sell me the ticket but as I was having an off day I decided not to buy it. But it was a lucky day after all and I ended up winning lots of money in a strange way," he added.
The lottery salesman from the central town of Mangualde, 300km north-east of Lisbon, said it was the last ticket he had for sale that day and he would have kept it for himself had it remained unsold and in his hands.
Luis said he intends to give the lottery salesman a present as a show of thanks for the winning ticket.
