Woman almost gave away her $1.3M lottery ticket

Jan 3, 2015, 1:11 pm (31 comments)

California Lottery

LOS ANGELES, Calif. — Ligia Dennis got the type of surprise most of us can only dream about: she won the lottery.

Dennis purchased the ticket from a coffee shop while doing her laundry. She bought three $6 California Lucky Life Scratchers. However, this lucky moment might not have ever come for her. She decided to give two of the lottery tickets to her mother and brother, and she nearly gave her winning ticket away to a homeless man looking for change.

Dennis was overjoyed we she found out that she had won the lottery. "When I saw LIFE, the winning symbol, I went crazy for a minute," she said. "It didn't really process."

The 26-year-old Los Angeles hairdresser thought her winnings from the ticket totaled $1,000 but soon found out that it was actually $1,000 per week over the next 25 years. That sums up to be a jaw-dropping $1.3 million payout.

It was only after she went to the California Lottery Van Nuys District Office on Dec 26 that she was told that she was to receive $1.3 million from her win.

"I'm shocked. I can't believe it," Dennis said.

Dennis has the option of either going with getting a weekly payment or a lump sum which would total around $750,000 before taxes. She is talking to a financial planner and hopes to be able to open up her very own hair salon with the earnings.

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The Grio

Comments

p4wanbi's avatarp4wanbi

Great things come to those who give. Good story.

ThatScaryChick's avatarThatScaryChick

Congrats to Ligia Dennis on her win!

Lucky4Life's avatarLucky4Life

I hope she goes back and gives that homeless man at least a $5 bill.

RJOh's avatarRJOh

Quote: Originally posted by Lucky4Life on Jan 3, 2015

I hope she goes back and gives that homeless man at least a $5 bill.

She didn't and doesn't owe that homeless man a dime.  It's always nice to know how much a lottery ticket is really worth before foolishly giving it away.

Lucky4Life's avatarLucky4Life

that's another thing...how did she "almost" give it away? did she have it tucked away with the money? Did she have it in her hand to give it to him but a voice in her head spoke up and told her to put it back in her pocket?  the never ending questions on this one...

music*'s avatarmusic*

 They mysterious hand of fate surely helped Ligia here. Congratulations & Happy New Year !!!Jester

maringoman's avatarmaringoman

Quote: Originally posted by music* on Jan 3, 2015

 They mysterious hand of fate surely helped Ligia here. Congratulations & Happy New Year !!!Jester

Oh she would have cried out so loud all Californians would be deaf. I'm very happy she won.

It's interesting that we have a similar $2 scratcher called $1,000 a Week for Life and it's lump sum payout is $800K and the one in California is $750,000

mrcraft's avatarmrcraft

Quote: Originally posted by maringoman on Jan 3, 2015

Oh she would have cried out so loud all Californians would be deaf. I'm very happy she won.

It's interesting that we have a similar $2 scratcher called $1,000 a Week for Life and it's lump sum payout is $800K and the one in California is $750,000

California Lottery is going backwards.  They raised the odds for most top prizes on their scratchers in 2014.  They "improved" the 2nd chance drawings by reducing payouts by millions (sneaky marketing is on-going).  So, I'm not surprised they take a bigger cut when calculating the annuity payout than other states.

maringoman's avatarmaringoman

Quote: Originally posted by mrcraft on Jan 3, 2015

California Lottery is going backwards.  They raised the odds for most top prizes on their scratchers in 2014.  They "improved" the 2nd chance drawings by reducing payouts by millions (sneaky marketing is on-going).  So, I'm not surprised they take a bigger cut when calculating the annuity payout than other states.

Something is going on with these lotteries. They seem three times greedier than they were in 2010. The scratch cards from 2010 had much better odds. For example back then $5 cards that offered $1M had odds of 1:3.024M. Now they're at least 1:4.2M and some like Cadillac Riches are 1:5.04M.

plumsage's avatarplumsage

Wow what a lucky woman.  Fate intervened more than once on her be behalf.

Teddi's avatarTeddi

Mixed feelings on this one. Really happy that she won and will now get a chance to open her own business as she wanted, but also sad that the homeless guy came so close to no longer being homeless. May good fortune smile on him as well.

Teddi's avatarTeddi

Quote: Originally posted by maringoman on Jan 3, 2015

Oh she would have cried out so loud all Californians would be deaf. I'm very happy she won.

It's interesting that we have a similar $2 scratcher called $1,000 a Week for Life and it's lump sum payout is $800K and the one in California is $750,000

I think you're right. Remember that lady who gave away a $250,000 winning ticket and sued the guy she gave it to? Saying she gave it to him in error. Funny thing was that she only remembered her 'mistake' after she found out he'd won with the ticket she'd given him. She was really boohooing it up on one of those news programs calling it unfair, that it was her ticket and therefore her money. 

So I guess you not only need to be careful who you give away a ticket to, but also be careful who you accept a ticket from. You may end up in a long, drawn out and nationally public court battle. And you just know the lawyer is going to end up with most of it regardless of the outcome.

noise-gate

Don't you just love these " almost" stories?

l mean think of all the " almost stories" we have had with just the lottery Alone.

 

PartyGlad to read that this winner " woke up" in the nick of time..

RJOh's avatarRJOh

Quote: Originally posted by noise-gate on Jan 3, 2015

Don't you just love these " almost" stories?

l mean think of all the " almost stories" we have had with just the lottery Alone.

 

PartyGlad to read that this winner " woke up" in the nick of time..

At least if a homeless person reads this story and someone gives them a lottery ticket, they will check it out before throwing it away hoping they made a mistake.  Anyone else too will do the same hoping the same.

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