FALLS CHURCH, Va. — A Virginia grocery store employee's mistake during Powerball jackpot fever earlier this month ended up turning into a $7 million windfall.
Michael Donnelly was ringing up Powerball tickets for customers at the Harris Teeter store in Falls Church. But for one transaction, he accidentally punched the wrong button on the lottery terminal and printed a Cash4Life ticket that the customer didn't want.
Donnelly ended up buying the "mistake" ticket for the January 7th drawing and it turned out to be winning ticket for the game's top prize. According to Virginia Lottery, the odds of winning the top prize for Cash4Life are 1 in 21.8 million.
The Woodbridge man chose the one-time lump sum of $7 million over the option of receiving $1,000 per day for the rest of his life.
After he called his wife about the big jackpot win, she told her husband, "If that's true, you have to come home because I'm about to have a heart attack!"
Harris-Teeter received a $50,000 bonus from Virginia Lottery for selling the winning ticket.
"It still hasn't hit me yet," Donnelly said.
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Congrats to the grocery store worker and i bet that customer that turned down the ticket is full of regret .He or she should have accepted the ticket .It was a blessing in disguise .
Congratulation to Michael Donnelly. To win on a mistake ticket. Wow was he blessed!
This is precisely why I always buy "mine and other peoples' mistake tickets". The store clerks love it. I do not want to be the chump who refused a blessing in disguise just because of a few chump change.
How can I make a mistake on purpose ?
Can anyone come up with a system for making mistakes ?
Was the mistake a QP ?
I wish I would have a mistake turn into a win! Congrats to the winner. Enjoy.
If it was a self pick there would most likely have been a play slip, which means there wouldn't have been a mistake.
So, yes, the mistake was very likely a QP. He simply pushed the wrong button on the terminal.
Good for him, that is awesome! Bet that customer who refused the ticket is kicking himself daily. I always take the mistakes too, because you never know!
And that is why I have kept every "Oops". Although, I am still waiting for one of them to have that kind of an outcome!
Congrats to the winner!
I bet he's not going to work today, I'd retire myself and wife. We'll travel and run the family business. Congrats.... Now he has real money to play with.
Congratulations
I remember Mum telling me donkey's years ago about a customer in WA state where they retired to. This customer refused a 'mistake' ticket. Clerk had to buy it and won $7 or $8 million. Love good Karma stories like these.
That is a awesome win. I always ask the store if they have any mistake tickets cause you never know...
Be the fly on the wall..
Michael :Sir, l accidentally punched the wrong ticket for you, totally my fault, however l need to ask, do you want this ticket?
Customer: Does it look like a Powerball ticket to you, does it look like l came in here looking for pennies on my Dollar?
Michael: No problem Sir, just had to ask. .
Congratulations Michael. ....
Good for him! :)
Congratulations Michael on your big jackpot win! How exciting! Not sure if your store required mistake tickets to be purchased by you; but anyway -- by force or intelligent choice -- you'll be receiving the big monies to retire from this job!
Congratulations to Michael, but remember, even if the customer bought the ticket, doesn't mean they would have won.
What do you mean Guru? That the numbers would have somehow changed because Michael was "destined "to win it?
It's not that Michael was destined to win it, it has to do with the butterfly effect. Had the customer bought the ticket, so much would have changed that the numbers drawn most likely would have been different. An example I use often is lets say that you write down some numbers for tomorrow's Mega Millions drawing, but decide not to play them. If all those numbers are drawn, just because you wrote them down beforehand doesn't mean you would have won had you played them. The universe would have been in a different state.
Yea so do you think the customer who said no REMEMBERS this? I don't know what I would do if I found out I said NO to the winning ticket ---
Butterfly effect Universe, Malarkey!
ALWAYS buy mistake tickets!
I'm a firm believer in a butterfly effect universe myself, I just don't think this is an example of that.
Speaking as someone who has actually studied the mathematics of chaos theory, the question is whether, in the time before the drawing, the change caused by buying or not buying the ticket can propagate sufficiently to measurably change the trajectory of the balls or whatever the draw computer uses as a seed for its RNG.
me too!
Interesting question, DELotteryPlyr! I think that these folks never recall their ticket(s) decline, and therefore never experience the pain involved had they recalled their action. I think this becomes the best win-win situation/event for all parties involved.
I am convinced Guru that had the customer brought the " mistake " ticket, he would have ended up being the winner. The " Gloria Effect"- named after Ms Mackenzie from FL is worth debating. Golden Gloria asks if she can " cut in line" to purchase ticket/ tickets. She ends up being the sole jackpot winner. There are those who would claim that the woman who allowed Gloria to cut in line would have ended up being the winner. I however would disagree.
Congratulations to the winner
Since the ticket was already printed it makes no difference whos hand it's in. Had the customer bought the "mistake" only the title of the story would be different. Customer wins 7 million due to lottery agents mistake.