SHEFFIELD, England — A British postal worker said his marriage ended and he has become a laughing stock at work because he threw away a $153,000 scratch-off lottery ticket.
Cemal Celikkanat, 38, a driver for the Royal Mail, said he thought the dollar amounts on the scratch-off card he purchased at Charnock News and Booze in Sheffield had to be in a row to win, but the card pays out for any three-of-a-kind dollar amounts, the Sheffield Telegraph reported Friday.
"When I found out I felt dizzy and dropped to my knees — it was like being hit over the head. I threw away £100,000 ($153,000)," he said. "I feel so terrible, I think about it every day, it's had a massive impact on my life."
He said he tried to retrieve the ticket from the trash at the convenience store but was told it had already been sent to an incinerator.
"I have left my wife — we were having financial difficulties and this was the final straw. My colleagues tease me saying I must be rich because I can afford to throw away a fortune," he said. "When I bought my first scratch card six years ago you had to have three in a row to win. I assumed that applied to all the games I've played since then — I can't bear to think about how much money I've thrown away."
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A Fool and His Money departs"
ridge runner reads this he will be so happy it happen to a postal worker..He can be so mean at times..
Had he not mentioned his foolishness, no one would know. Sounds like he's telling his story hoping the lottery will investigate if such an incident as he claimed could have happened and reward him the money if it could have.
I wouldn't have said anything but since you bring it up he's probably just dealing with bad Karma for all the cash he's taken from little kids' birthday cards. Mailmen can be really evil.
This is sad and will affect him for the rest of his life unless he moves away and starts his life over.
This sounds like a storyteller? I heard lot's of "could of beens" from many clerks at various stores.
If the ticket was fire bombed, then no ticket will be found and end of story.
It could be even more interesting if one of his fellow mailmen cashes in the ticket.
Would a mailman do that to his buddy though?... heh, heh, heh... What do you think?
to answer your question....in todays world i think his buddy would....he just gotta wait for the story to die down before he cash it in....
Britains got some expensive garbage.
Check and Double Check All Tickets Before Throwing Them Away: If You Throw Away a Winner: You'll Never Hear the End of It!
It must suck to throw away something that is worth so much money. It's a hard lesson to learn. Always make sure you read the rules of the game and check your tickets thoroughly. Especially, when it comes to scratch off tickets. There are many different types of scratch off games and they can be won is so many different ways.
Who knows, this man may get a second, even bigger WIN as soon as he flips his frame-of-mind to RESPECTING games rules!
Not tiggs he's the most honest retired amilman alive bar none..But if it was ridge's he would have to think about it..not think to hard but think..
The guy needs to walk away from the event like a coin that fell into a storm drain. Too bad he told the world about it but it is still April!
If this will make him feel any better; several years ago a family won about $3 million in the lottery. They drove to the claim center with the windows down in the car. Their lottery tickets, including the winning $3mil ticket, were tucked in the visor. All of the tickets blew out of the windows. They searched and searched and could not find their winning ticket. They were literally ill for a long time. Eight years later they won $11 million in the same lottery and claimed the prize.
sorta sad..if its really true...personally i would have never told ANYONE!!!
Years ago I read about people losing their tickets and coming up with believable stories and if no one else claimed the prize in the allowable time, they were awarded the prize. I guess lotteries started getting too many of these stories so they had to start playing by the rules, no winning ticket no prize.
This is why you...
1. Check your tickets thoroughly.
2. Make copies of the ticket.
3. Secure the ticket, secure the ticket...SECURE THE TICKET!!!
karma
Why would any one check thoroughly or make copies of a ticket they have mistaken for a loser? I keep all my tickets for a year for tax purpose so they are easy to find if I need to recheck them.
That came in handy the other night when Ohio started selling PB tickets. I played 15 lines and checked them after the drawing and I had a 2+1 winner. When I went to cash it in to play the next drawing, I found out the ticket was printed for the up coming drawing which I hadn't noticed. Apparently, the terminal had switched over for the next drawing a little after 10:00PM and I'm used to playing MM upto 10:45PM. I was disappointed but I found out later one of the other tickets matched a 2+1 for that drawing. Had I not kept all my tickets I would have lost $7.
Checking thoroughly is part of never mistaking a ticket as a loser. Think about it.
If you have a winner...make a copy of it and secure it.
I treat my customers mail the way I want my mail to be treated : ) NO EVIL HERE!!!!! OK forget the fact that one of the carriers calls me his "EVIL" postal mama : )
So true!!!!! NOTHING will bring his ticket back! Hmm unless someone else noticed it in the trash and grabbed it!
Also I agree with ScaryChick! People really need to check their tickets carefully and understand the games they are playing. Some of the scratchers are confusing and for that reason alone I avoid those scratchers.
Forgive ridge he knows not what he's saying..He keeps getting the McNutts mail by mistake..tiggs threw away a 6.00 winner once so no biggy..Keep up the good work..
"unless someone else noticed it in the trash and grabbed it!"
Excuse me while I go into a psychic trance...
Ah, yes... A fellow mailman will soon retire and the ticket will be cashed in on the last day it's eligible.
I'm coming out of the trance now...
I make no judgement on the character of postal employees. I only relay what the universe gives me.
I must have a brief lie down now, these trances exhaust me.
Oh, I didn't imply evil on the part of mailwomen ca-, just mailmen. I've always found mailwomen to be very accommodating and friendly and honest. In fact, I've known a couple that were accommodating and friendly to the extreme. Yes, extremely accommodating. Extremely. Ol' rdgrnr loves his mailwimmins.