LONG BEACH, Calif. — A Long Beach resident is suing the California State Lottery Commission and a local liquor store for failing to honor a winning Scratchers ticket worth $5 million.
Ward Thomas is suing the commission and Los Altos Mobil for damages resulting from the loss and denial of the winning ticket.
In the lawsuit, Thomas claims on or around Oct. 16 at 8 p.m. he and his 16-year-old son Benjamin went to the store to buy California Lottery tickets, which they had done in the past.
At Ward's request, he sent his son inside with 12 "Deluxe 7's" Scratchers that totaled $330 in winnings. He asked his son to exchange the tickets for more Scratchers, according to the lawsuit.
Benjamin bought five Scratchers tickets at $20 each and was given the remaining $230 to take home. When Ward and his son went home, they played the tickets and a "100X The Money" ticket resulted in a winning amount of $5 million.
According to Thomas's claim, he validated the ticket at a 7-Eleven in the 1700 block of Palo Verde Avenue around 9:54 p.m. that night. He then validated the ticket again the next day at the state's Lottery District in Santa Ana.
Ward said he then submitted the claim for the winning ticket and was told by the commission he was the winner of the $5 million prize.
But on Dec. 5, the commission denied his claim for the money, stating the ticket was purchased by his son who could not legally play the lottery, according to the suit.
The plaintiff claims that at no time did the store tell his son he could not purchase Scratchers tickets because of his age. He also claims his son was not asked to have an adult present to buy the tickets or that he provide his identification.
In the lawsuit, it claims the commission failed in operating by its own rules properly and failed to have Benjamin informed that he could not buy a ticket because of his age. It also states his son was not asked for an ID by the store, which means the store failed to verify his son's age before allowing him to get a ticket and that Benjamin was not informed any winnings would be invalidated.
The suit goes on to say there were no signs at the store, that the commission failed to honor Ward's winning ticket, it improperly trained retailers about the lottery rules, especially when it comes to the age of the buyer, and not having stores properly enforce those rules.
The lawsuit states Ward has suffered and will continue to suffer financial losses including interest and other damages because of the ongoing issue. It also said Ward suffers emotionally, which totals about $50,000 in damages.
The California Lottery Commission said it could not comment because of pending litigation.
I know when some one wins PB or MM or Calif SL, the lottery people show up and grab the video of it being sold and put up banners. In this case, as soon as he verified it, would they swoop in and grab the video? Or, would the store owner have tipped them off? Do vendors make money from winning scratchers? If so, why wd they have snitched? Oh, well, hope the guy prevails in his suit.
Why would an adult not understand that lottery tickets are a form of gambling? Plus, that gambling can only be performed by certain aged people decided by each state's legislators? Why did this stupid adult ruin a fine win for a legal aged ticket buying person? Darn!
.
I hope the people trying to play rip-offs get ripped off.
I hope the dad/son win their law suit and that this never happens to any
other player in otherwise good standing with their community.
It's just ridiculous. Do the wrong people think they're going to have a leg to stand on?
State law prohibits the sale of a Lottery ticket or the payment of a prize to a person under 18 years of age. Tickets failing validation are void. All California Lottery game tickets, transactions, claims and prize payments are subject to California State law and the California State Lottery rules and regulations.
What is the penalty for the retailer who sells tickets to under age buyers? This liquor store had made transactions with this 16 year old before. If other people are doing this, this will stop them.
I agree that the STORE should also get in trouble, such as lose their right to sell tickets for at least a year.
As an 8 year old who was routinely sent down to the corner store for a gallon of milk, a loaf of bread, and a carton of smokes
, I see nothing wrong with with this. The kid was acting as his father's agent.
FREE THE MONEY!!!
[It's amazing how they had no problems IDing the kid but couldnt ID who bought the $60 million super lotto ticket and lost it a couple of years ago.
California screwed that guy, is trying to screw this guy, screws everybody with the pari-mutuel system, and screws superlotto players because winning tickets are maybe once a year.]
FREE THE MONEY!
Hmmm....So basically if I gift tickets at Christmas,and the person rightfully files the claim,the state can deny the payout? Or how did they know the age of the person? I doubt the state is that good at looking at video to say...Hey that's an underage kid! It would need someone verifying it with a birth record. Sorry,but the guy filed properly and payout is due him..May he prevail.
If you're under 18 years of age, you are not legally allowed to play. That store is ridiculous not carding or id'ing a 16 year old kid. I mean what kid at 16 still doesn't look like a kid. I still get carded sometimes and I'm way over. I don't think he'll win his case. He was wrong in sending his son to buy the tickets, and stupid I will add, no grown up allows a kid to take on the responsibility that they should take on themself. He's just trying to prove that the law doesn't matter because he was wrong. But it does. There are multiple people at fault here, not just him. It's too bad of a lesson for the kid to learn, because the kid is not at fault here, but if that guy ever dreamed of hitting a jackpot he should've bought the tickets himself.
*I don't believe vendors make anything on jackpot scratcher tickets.
**On a jackpot winning ticket, they could see the video and once the guy comes in to claim they could see that he's not the kid in the video.
The camera never lies, as if people aren't aware enough that their lives and every move is being watched everywhere on camera.
I think this is a losing case cause #1.. the father must have known no one under 18 can't gamble and buy tickets. All the judge have to ask is did you knew it was illegal for your son to buy tickets??? and if he says yes.. case over. The store was in the wrong but so was the dad.. What was wrong with walking in the store with our son and buy tickets???? sad.. in a weird turn of events if the dad did went in and brought tickets ..would he have picked out the winning scratcher??? That is one to ponder about lol
This is crazy. I don't care if a 5 year old bought it, it's still a winning ticket.
I'm pretty sure it's not the kid's signature that's on the back of the scratcher.
I hope they win.
Attorney: The kid wasnt buying tickets. What he did is transport the money from his father, who was buying the tickets, to the clerk, and then transported the tickets immediately to the buyer, the dad, who was in the car right outside the store. Probably couldnt find a parking spot.
Judge: Well, when you put it that way --- I find for the plaintiff.
FREE DA MONEY!!!
Exactly. Now if the 16 year old tried to cash it in I can see it but they are doing everything they can not to pay out. I hope they win as well.
We all knew from almost the beginning of this story CA Lottery was going to try to prevent paying because of the kid's age. WHAT A CROCK. As someone mentioned, he was only buying the tickets for his father. If there was no father in sight, then a different outcome, this is so asinine. I hope CA LOTTERY LOSES THIS ONE.
I also was sent to the store for smokes as a kid...31 cents a pack then. LOL!
These deadbeats are just looking for excuses to not pay up !
There have been many instances of casinos not paying out jackpots to minors (age 18 - 21 depending on jurisdiction). So this is not unprecedented. However, for the CA lottery to do this, especially given the specific circumstances, seems foolish in the long run. Whether CA Lottery will lose many millions in sales is debatable, but potentially could.
Personally, if I was in California I'd be leery of buying lottery tickets (buying less, at least for awhile; avoiding large payout games) knowing the CA Lottery is going out of its way to not pay winners. While not directly related to this, I get the same vibe with New Mexico Lottery and its overly short 90 day claim period; not wanting to payout prizes.
All in all, stories like this will encourage some players to direct more of their wagering to other venues, such as casinos, which often payout more quickly with less fanfare. I've seen players hit for hundreds of thousands and be paid out on the spot. Never see that with the lottery. It's wait and wait, and hope for the best.
Me too! There is the doctrine of unclean hands...but for the lottery store selling to a minor...on behalf of the father...there would be no issue. The father should not be penalized for their mistake. Maybe the father can claim he was in sight of the child.
The SON did NOT LAY claim to this winnings. The Father filed properly. Unsure if some of the sideline jurors of this issue understand that simple statement. The ADULT claimed and the State denied the ADULT.
If they went home and scratched the ticket. And the father went to the commissioners office with that ticket to cash it in. How would the commissioner's office know who bought it. If the kid found it in the trash? Which he did not. Wouldn't that be the same thing if the adult went to the commissioner' office and cashed it in?
There is something very strange going on with this scenario. He should be paid. Period. End of story. There has got to be more to this than we know about. It does not make any sense whatsoever.
he and his 16-year-old son Benjamin went to the store to buy California Lottery tickets, which they had done in the past.
At Ward's request, he sent his son inside with 12 "Deluxe 7's" Scratchers that totaled $330 in winnings. He asked his son to exchange the tickets for more Scratchers, according to the lawsuit.
Benjamin bought five Scratchers tickets at $20 each and was given the remaining $230 to take home.
This sounds like it is on the lottery solely. At no time did they ask for an ID.
Come on, you can't change the law as you see fit. This is America, the U.S. of A. We are as litigious as you can get. You know that'll never clear. Look of course I would want anybody including myself to win that 5 million bucks, but I would know better than to send a 16 year old kid into buy a lottery ticket. I got kicked out of OTB trying to cash a ticket once. It doesn't matter, you can't permit kids in gambling scenarios whatsoever. Period.
No one changed the law. All statutes are subject to interpretation by other statutes and/or case law. That's a lot of money to roll over on and forfeit and they should not do it. Fight like hell, I say! And as already noted by myself and others, California is doing everything possible not to pay up on claims, including but not limited to their excessive delays in paying claims. Hell, it's as if it is Illinois!
FIGHT! FIGHT! FIGHT! FOR THE RIGHT TO JACKPOTSSSSSSSSSS!
They need to flush that law down the toilet.
You know the difference between your typical 16 yr old and 18 yr old in regards to behavior? Nothing.
The ticket was obtained illegally by someone not of the age to legally purchase lottery tickets in California. The store should have asked for Id and refused to sell if he didn't meet the age threshold.
It would seem any ticket obtained through illegal means such as stated above is not valid and can not be cashed in, even though it was paid for and turned in by an adult.
Going to be interesting to see the ruling on this.
From what we can glean from the article, the father is using language that his son did buy them but that the store erred in selling to him. Again, without seeing the entire complaint there is no way to know if he is also claiming under alternative legal theories. But, as someone already noted, if the lottery failed in their duty, they should not be rewarded, i.e., doctrine of unclean hands.
You cant just file a lawsuit against the state or a city in California. First, you have to submit a claim and they have 180 days to respond. On the 179th day, they reject it no matter how meritorious the claim is. It's a delaying mechanism.
When I was 16 I would have to agree with ya. But something about grey matter.....lol. Unfortunately, the lottery will never bend the rules to pay someone....Unless it's a hurricane and their offices are shut down and their computers are not working. You didn't hear nothing, Lol. Oh no, my computer is not working what will I do? Lol. I agree with you in the sense that the ticket is the ticket, but I don't think it'll work with the lottery commision or whatever they're called.
l am willing to "bet a $1 mil * fantasy money" that this dad loses this lawsuit against the CA lottery Commission. Whose willing to put up a million dollars & challenge me?
Hmm,l guess my case is too strong...
The tickets explicitly state that players need to be 18 or over to play, however, it's not like the kid was the one attempting to claim the big prize. The guy should be able to collect the $5 Million, minus the fine costs for the 16 Year-Old doing the buying on the father's behalf. I really don't get why the father couldn't buy the tickets himself. Was he banned from that particular liquor store?
I think the lotto is going to strip the store for selling to under age minor and not pay the man for having his son cash in his tickets how lazy do you have to be to not cash in your own tickets. I mean I am heavy as a chevy and I still walk to circle k store and big apple market to cash in my small winners and buy tickets.-weshar75
Yeah it's like being sent in as a kid to pay for gas for the parent. You're not old enough to operate a motor vehicle so are you not allowed to pay for gas. Also did the kid look 16 or older? How did they know the kid was 16? I looked 18 or older in high school but never played the lottery until I was 18 and I've only been asked for ID 2x since I started playing.
Pay the Winner his cash.
They are finding a way not to pay him.
He paid for the tickets.
Did his son buy the original tickets.
How often has he been allowed to buy tickets?
My Son has had a Mustache since he was 12 yrs old, everyone has always thought he was my Husband or boyfriend(poor kid) my Daughter 8yrs Younger everyone thinks Is my Sister since she was 12-13, I still got Carded when I'd buy my husbands Cig's or Beer.
If the Father told the same story he's telling now that's how they know that It was kid 16 yr old Son that went an cashed In the Winning Ticket an Bought more which In all the excitement he very well may have who knows? I know the Law states 19 In CA.
CA like any other state Is going to do what ever they can to keep from Paying that amount of Money too anyone!!!
I hope The Father WINS HIS LAWSUIT AN CA HAS TO PAY, sad to say I don't think he will??
GOOD LUCK..
I'd be down right sick to know I was that close to Winning even a million and didn't get It
Exactly! Case law with different fact patterns interpret laws daily. I would take this case! If the father came in there all the time with his son, I would argue they knew he was simply acting as a proxy for his father. So the lottery store freely waived their so called process. Sometimes parents hand kids money to pay for items to teach them adult skills.
It's about who bought the ticket, not who tried to claim the prize. Minors can win and claim prizes, but only if the tickets are legally purchased and then given to the minor. Similarly, an adult can only claim a prize with a ticket that was legally purchased and this ticket wasn't legally purchased. As for why the father didn't go in, who knows. Maybe he's disabled. Maybe he's fat and lazy.
At any rate the father's an idiot, but he's obviously got plenty of company. The law is crystal clear - you've got to be 18 to buy lottery tickets, period. The kid wasn't old enough to buy the tickets, and you can't act on somebody's behalf to buy things you're not legally allowed to buy for yourself. The lottery isn't just entitled to refuse the claim, they're required by law to deny it.
I doubt that there's a valid basis for the claim against the retailer either. It's not their responsibility to educate the kid about the law, so none of the claims related to that have any merit. Laws against selling alcohol to minors are very strict and it's illegal even if a reasonable person would think the minor looks 35, but it's only illegal to knowingly sell lottery tickets to a minor. If the clerk didn't know the kid was a minor the sale wasn't illegal and there's no merit to that part of the claim either. It's illegal for a minor to buy a ticket so the kid's guilty, but that's also irrelevant to the claim. The only possibility for a legitimate claim against the retailer is if they can prove that the clerk knew the kid was under 18. Even that may not be enough since the clerk may have known the kid was buying the tickets on behalf of his father and didn't know that selling to the kid would result in the lottery denying any claim for a prize.
I would NEVER send anyone in to cash in $300 worth of winning tickets !
That Dad is crazy...
This story doesn't make sense. It's the stores word against the customer. If the store is going to get in trouble it's with the city, state, zoning, and the lottery commission for selling the ticket to the minor if the kid is that.
I remember when I first bought an instant ticket at a place near where I live at they asked me for ID.
It would be like a liquor store selling to a minor with a fake id and the store being in serious trouble. Why wasn't the ticket therefore sold to the parent instead.
Did the commission know the kid a minor had bought the ticket and proof the kid actually was sold. Why is the person who is filing the lawsuit going after the store?
Okay I understand your first statement. However the store now has to do a better job, the lawsuit it depends on the lawyers.
The last sentence you're correct. The lottery commission will point out things in the law.
I agree with everything you said, except the "he's fat and lazy" and father's an idiot" parts of course, lol. If what we've read in this article is all there is to the plaintiff's case, I lament to say that I wish they could have been a bit more creative in establishing a legitimate claim. Your angle, KY Floyd, of proving that the clerk knew the kid was under 18 begins to wend it's way toward that creativity, especially if they can then bring in a little philosophical reasoning into it to muddy the waters by linking the usage and ownership of the scratch-offs to who truly bought them.
In essence, the plaintiff can claim that even though his 16 year-old picked up the tickets, the son did not do the actual buying, because the son did not "own" the money used to buy the winning scratch-off tickets, and it was not the son's intent to use the item that was purchased. He, Ward Thomas, who had the intent to use said item, is the real buyer, because without his money, there wouldn't have been a sale. Prohibition laws against minors purchasing liquor, gambling and etcetera, exist to prohibit them from "using" the said item or service. If that is the "intent" of these laws, then the plaintiff can claim that the intent was honored in this case, if in fact Ward Thomas was the one who scratched the tickets, and not his son. It's often seen that in Federal Constitution cases, the "Intent" and "Spirit" of the Law holds more weight than the literal "Letter" of the law. I hope this proves true for Mr. Ward Thomas in California.
For large prize winners (typically, $1 million plus), lotteries will view video recordings, interview the lottery clerk / store owner, check sales logs, etc looking for irregularities...
For all the talk of a lottery ticket being a bearer instrument, the reality, as occurred in this instance, is often different. This has tripped up some discarded ticket winners too, in particular, tickets found in trashcans on the premises of a store verses off the street. While some such winners have prevailed, it's not a slam dunk.
From my layman's understanding, California Lottery has a strong case, unfortunately. It's a shame to see a winner, who from all indications didn't intend to break the rules, get shafted out of $5 million. On a related note, with how financially desperate so many people are today, depending on how the case eventually pans out, this story could have a deadly ending. Unlikely, but winning and then losing is far worse than never winning at all.
Hope it all works out, but as of now, it appears the CA Lottery will legally renege on paying out the $5 million.
Smokey Robinson : A taste of honey's worse then none at all !
Who cares who bought the scratch-off. Winnings go to the holder of the ticket/scratch-off. Does California deny illegal immigrants from lottery winnings? Yea, didn't think so.
1. "In the lawsuit, Thomas claims on or around Oct. 16 at 8 p.m. he and his 16-year-old son Benjamin went to the store to buy California Lottery tickets, which they had done in the past."
It doesn't state if he was present at the time of those previous purchases or if he had sent his underage son into the store to buy the tickets as well.
2. At Ward's request, he sent his son inside with 12 "Deluxe 7's" Scratchers that totaled $330 in winnings. He asked his son to exchange the tickets for more Scratchers, according to the lawsuit.
Without the father present, the underage son could not legally conduct the lottery transaction.
3. According to Thomas's claim, he validated the ticket at a 7-Eleven in the 1700 block of Palo Verde Avenue around 9:54 p.m. that night. He then validated the ticket again the next day (on or around Oct. 17) at the state's Lottery District in Santa Ana.
Ward said he then submitted the claim for the winning ticket and was told by the commission he was the winner of the $5 million prize.
But on Dec. 5, the commission denied his claim for the money, stating the ticket was purchased by his son who could not legally play the lottery, according to the suit.
Does it normally take five weeks (or more) to collect on a jackpot winning scratch ticket?
4. The plaintiff claims that at no time did the store tell his son he could not purchase Scratchers tickets because of his age. He also claims his son was not asked to have an adult present to buy the tickets or that he provide his identification.
You have to assume that he knew that no one under 18 can legally purchase lottery tickets and by asking his 16 year old son to do so was illegal.
5. In the lawsuit, it claims the commission failed in operating by its own rules properly and failed to have Benjamin informed that he could not buy a ticket because of his age. It also states his son was not asked for an ID by the store, which means the store failed to verify his son's age before allowing him to get a ticket and that Benjamin was not informed any winnings would be invalidated.
The suit goes on to say there were no signs at the store, that the commission failed to honor Ward's winning ticket, it improperly trained retailers about the lottery rules, especially when it comes to the age of the buyer, and not having stores properly enforce those rules.
On the back of every lottery ticket it usually states that you must be at least 18 years of age to purchase a lottery ticket.
I am not a lawyer, but I would think that he's not going to win this case. The rules are the rules and he knew that his son was under the minimum age to purchase tickets.