Mishap leads to lottery jackpot for Florida couple

Aug 11, 2009, 8:48 pm (31 comments)

Florida Lottery

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.

News-Press

Comments

CowboysFan's avatarCowboysFan

Am I missing something here? The lady was offered the ticket free of charge yet she still refused to take it?

Stigmatized1999's avatarStigmatized1999

More importantly, why would the machine make a mistake? That is just weird...

LckyLary

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!

konane's avatarkonane

Amazing series of events!  Congratulations to them, sounds like they can really put it to good use!! 

TheGameGrl's avatarTheGameGrl

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....

bashley572's avatarbashley572

Quote: Originally posted by LckyLary on Aug 11, 2009

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!

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.

RJOh's avatarRJOh

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.

ThatScaryChick's avatarThatScaryChick

Quote: Originally posted by RJOh on Aug 11, 2009

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.

TigerAngel's avatarTigerAngel

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!!!

Spare Change

Quote: Originally posted by TigerAngel on Aug 12, 2009

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.Razz

fja's avatarfja

Quote: Originally posted by Spare Change on Aug 12, 2009

Tiger,

I don't see how providence had anything to do with it.  This happened in Florida, not Rhode Island.Razz

That's humor!!

I recognized it!!

LOL

LottoLin

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

joshuakim

Quote: Originally posted by Spare Change on Aug 12, 2009

Tiger,

I don't see how providence had anything to do with it.  This happened in Florida, not Rhode Island.Razz

lol, spare change, read into it carefully. you'll get it.

Todd's avatarTodd

Quote: Originally posted by LottoLin on Aug 12, 2009

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

I Agree!

I do the same thing.

Subscribe to this news story