Publix employee buys mistake worth millions
FORT MYERS, Fla. — When the ticket printer at the Publix on Gladiolus Drive in south Fort Myers accidentally popped out two Florida Lotto tickets instead of just the one a customer ordered a few weeks ago, no one could have predicted the mechanical error would turn out to be a windfall.
The customer was offered the extra ticket free of charge — as is the store's policy — but the woman refused to take it. So the Publix clerk who sold the ticket offered the extra to a fellow employee, Patsy Daniels of south Fort Myers, for its value: $1.
The customer who refused the free ticket and the sales clerk who sold it to Daniels didn't know it then, but both let $5 million slip through their fingers.
That's the jackpot Daniels won in the July 25 drawing. She claimed her winnings from the Florida Lottery on Monday.
"She wanted to wait until her shift was over," said Bob Hayes, who manages the store at 11600 Gladiolus Drive, where Daniels has worked for almost five years. "That's the kind of person she is."
Daniels — who could not be reached Monday for comment — and her husband, Albert, decided to take the lump-sum jackpot payment of $2,833,323.33.
After buying the extra ticket, Daniels stuffed it into her green Publix vest, Hayes said, where it remained until last Thursday. That day, she returned to work from a vacation and learned her store had sold the winning ticket, but no one had claimed the prize.
Daniels pulled the ticket out of her vest and had a fellow employee run the numbers. But it took the insistence of the assistant store manager to convince Daniels she had actually won the prize.
"It never occurred to me that I had purchased the winning ticket until she actually verified the numbers," Daniels is quoted as saying in a Florida Lottery statement.
The Danielses live in a white mobile home in a modest south Fort Myers neighborhood. They weren't home Monday, and a spokeswoman for the Florida Lottery said they didn't want to comment.
In the press release, Daniels said she planned to invest the money, but also plans to take more family vacations.
Hayes, who said the couple has a son in Texas who is ill, hopes that Patsy Daniels' future plans include staying at his store, at least part time.
"It couldn't have happened for a greater person in the world," the manager said.
Thanks to duce for the tip.
Am I missing something here? The lady was offered the ticket free of charge yet she still refused to take it?
More importantly, why would the machine make a mistake? That is just weird...
This happened to me too.. well the 1st part anyway.. for tonight's drawing, a few days ago they gave me 2 Mega instead of 1 as I asked so I took both of course!
Amazing series of events! Congratulations to them, sounds like they can really put it to good use!!
WOW! Nothing like being blessed!
Anytime my tickets are a goof I take them and I find out why they were a goof! I've yet to win that way....
To some luck just comes easy for some....
I have never heard of a NY lottery machine spitting out 2 tickets instead of 1?? THe only thing I run into is the clerk putting in the wrong number like tonight, wanted 818 on the 3 way and clerk did 181 . And I also ALWAYS take the ticket, and pay for it.
That's the first time I've ever heard of a store giving its mistakes to the customer. All the stores where I've ever bought tickets sold their mistakes for full price.
Same here. I've been offered the chance to buy mistake tickets, but they were never given to me free.
Oh, I love this story!
Once I wanted to buy 935 but the ticket I got was 925. While discussing it with the clerk, a customer said "you better keep that mistake, that's the winner". So I kept it. 935 never came but soon 925 did!!! After I quit playing it, of course!! LOL
Sounds like the right person won and providence had something to do with it. I'm a believer in mistake tickets.
Congrats to that winning couple!!!
Tiger,
I don't see how providence had anything to do with it. This happened in Florida, not Rhode Island.
That's humor!!
I recognized it!!
I live in Wisconsin, and if the clerk makes a mistake and hits the wrong key and two tickets come out you pay for one. And sometimes the machines are running so fast when the jackpots get so high that a extra ticket will come out with your ticket and they'll ask if you want the extra ticket. I've yet refused that extra ticket, because one never knows which ticket will be that lucky one. Good Luck to All Players, Lin
lol, spare change, read into it carefully. you'll get it.
I do the same thing.
I bet that person who passed on that ticket are kicking themselves nice and hard now.
Waiting for my "mishap" !!!!!
What a blessing to win that money!!! I wish I could win on a simple mishap like that--CONGRATULATIONS TO THE WINNER
Well let's just hope the woman that passed on the ticket doesn't get a lawyer and sues claiming that she is entitled to half or all of the jackpot. And let's hope that a judge and jury does not agree. I mean after all a lot of unfair rulings seem to be prevelent these days. Other than that, I am happier than a pig in mud that the person that purchased the ticket won.
It was just the luck of draw that she won and too bad the other person passed on getting a free lotto ticket-VAULABLE LESSON LEARNED; NEVER TURN DOWN A FREE LOTTO TICKET OR AT LEAST BUY THE EXTRA TICKET YOURSELF WHEN YOU ARE OFFERED.
Wow. Incredible story. I probably learned something here. If that ever happened to me, I would not refuse to take it.
I bought a mistake Powerball ticket the other day, but without the luck of these people.
Not quite sure why the clerk just didn't cancel the ticket, here in FL they can cancel any ticket mistake EXCEPT Powerball which are not cancelable.
Free of charge or not, I would still take it!
Divine Providence, or simply Providence, is the sovereignty, superintendence, or agency of God's influence over events in people's lives.
WOW!
Hey!, Amazing story. hehe made my afternoon. 
I always take exact change when buy my tickets, so that I am not tempted to buy more than I originally wanted, but jeeez a free lotto ticket, I would have taking it, I think lol. But we all know now what these kind of things can lead to. Didn't pay for it, it's not yours, it's the stores, blah blah blah, clerk shouldn't have given it to you... etc etc ... lol but jeeez, what LUCK! I can't stop smiling lol. This is great. 
Here in Oklahoma our machines are still fairly new so I havent seen too many mistakes unless the clerk scanned the slip ticket twice by mistake, and here they always , the retailers, always pay or keep the extra ticket if it was a mistake ticket, or if its an extra ticket bc the first one was entered manually by mistake. In any case, I try to only have 5 dollars extra in my pocket, so if its powerplayed i can't buy it lol which i usually do ask for that feature lol...
Anyway, WHAT A GREAT STORY!!! I can't get over it. Just think about it, one dollar, and/or a free lotto ticket, either way you look at it, it's REMARKABLE!!!!
Wouldn't it be nice to be a "mishap" for that one!
You won't have to wait very long if you're willing to pay for it because those types of "mishap" happens all the time but store don't give them away they sell them. On the the other hand, if you are waiting for a store to just give you a free ticket because someone made a mistake, you'll be waiting a long time. If it was really free, why did the clerk have to buy it?
Well If I was the clerk I would NOT And I repeat NOT Have passed up the chance to BUY The mistake ticket (I am guessing as an employee they have to BUY It, because otherwise there would be a lot of "mistakes" happening!)
Oh sure you say that now after finding out it was a winner. I use to buy any mistakes made by the clerks while running my play slips but after never winning anything I stopped.
This is why I usually buy the mistakes. Depends.
Not sure why the ticket would be free. Publix always gives you the grocery item for free if it's scanned incorrectly, but a Lotto ticket? All Florida Lotto tickets can be canceled simply by putting the ticket in the terminal. Takes a couple of seconds. Then it prints in big black letters CANCELLED (not true for PB tickets, which cannot be canceled) It must be canceled within 2 hours at the same terminal and, of course, before the drawing. Not sure why it would have to be sold to a clerk.
Well, it certainly is a nice story. Nice for the winner, that is.