Customer in line ahead brings winning ticket to the top of the stack
By Kate Northrop
BARBERTON, Ohio — An Ohio woman told the man in front of her while waiting in line that she was going to buy the same lottery ticket as him and ended up winning a $500,000 top prize.
A man in line at an Ohio lottery retailer bought a scratch-off game, unknowingly bringing a $500,000 top prize-winning ticket to the top of the stack for the woman behind him to buy next.
Carol Duncan of Barberton recalled the night she bought a winning ticket worth $500,000, sharing the exchange between herself and another customer that led to the win.
She was waiting in line at the Circle K convenience store on 5th Street in Barberton to purchase a lottery ticket.
"There's a guy in front of me, and he got the same ticket that I got," Duncan told the Ohio Lottery. "I told him, 'I'm getting the same ticket.' I said that, and mine won $500,000."
She was absolutely blown away when she uncovered a six-figure prize in the $10 "$500,000 Cashword" scratch-off game.
"I had to keep looking it over and over," Duncan continued. "I thought I won it before, but it was a mistake."
While the unknown man in front of her may not have had great timing with his lottery purchase, the win came at a perfect time for Duncan, who retired a month ago. She plans on using the winnings to buy herself a house, a car, and another car for her son.
Now that Duncan has claimed her prize, just one more top prize of $500,000 remains in the $10 "$500,000 Cashword" scratch-off game. There are also 11 second-tier prizes of $10,000 and 328 third-tier prizes of $1,000 still available.
The overall odds of winning any prize in the game are 1 in 3.69.
It's all about right place right time and more importantly right Ticket.
Sounds like "rubbing salt in the wound" if he knew that to me. And she probably went back to that store and told them what happened, and if that guy is a regular customer, he should remember her and have heard the story by now. If so, from now on he will always buy 2 tickets to make sure the next one doesn't get him again. Since she appears to like bragging about it, if he sees her again, he could ask for a tip to give her a chance to really show her true colors.
If someone says that to me. I'm buying two tickets!
The fact is there's always a (sucker) customer behind you that's going to purchase the next ticket. This story could be completely fabricated
What an arrogant thing to do. I would buy all the rest of the tickets on the roll.
Yea that is the only way I can think to 'stop' other players from doing that. It was very arrogant of her to do (1st - come out and tell him she is gonna do it, 2nd BRAG about it after). She didnt even mention in the article anything about wanting to see the customer again to say thanks!
How is that arrogant? If someone said that to me, I would say "good luck." And why should she be thanking the guy? She made the decision to purchase that ticket.
More than a few sore losers on LP.
And as you leave with your purchase the clerk gets another roll from back office.
Whether or not the woman won anything on the next ticket is irrelevant and I am certainly not a sore loser. I usually wish people ahead of me and behind me good luck when I play my tickets. I met a woman at Publix that was on a roll and I was very happy for her. We talked for a while and wished her many more big wins. That being stated, I just felt it was a tacky thing to say to someone she doesn't even know.
I do wish good luck for you and everyone on this site. Looking forward to hearing about one or more members winning big!
your not a true scratch off player - lots of superstitions.
False. A few posters referred to the woman in the story as arrogant. I love it how
a few members get upset when someone wins, find a way to put the winner down, then (when called out for their jealousy) claim they are happy for the winner.
And any bizarre personal superstition does not make the woman arrogant. I think her positivity and enthusiasm helped her win.
Scratch offs are different from draw games in that the winning tickets are predetermined. They print so many tickets and distribute them throughout the state, winning a jackpot is like finding a needle in a haystack. It's irrelevant that the winner announced she was going to purchase the next ticket.It could have gone the other way.Its just coincidental that she made the announcement and won
I don't believe the customer stood there while she scratched the ticket. She told him she was buying it but the first purchaser had to have left the store before she did I am guessing. There is no mention of him actually staying there to watch a total stranger scratch a ticket. Why would he do that unless he was scratching his at the same time. Most people leave with their tickets.
I personally have had (multiple & different) players get mad at me if I buy the same ticket they just bought. Often saying 'You better not win on that! That is my game!'
I agree too. I'm starting to think the best part about winning from a scratch off is making up a BS story about how and why you bought it.
"Well you see, I was standing in line behind a guy who looked like he weighed 777 pounds, so I took it as a sign from Allah that I should buy the Lucky 777 Scratcher Supreme."
That's ridiculous if they didn't purchase the ticket, they have no rights to said ticket. If they're worried about the remaining tickets being winners then they should purchase the whole lot.
I guess it is good that I do not buy scratchers. If someone told me I had better not win, I would tell them where to go and be shot at the 7-11.
Actually I would ask them to show me where their name is on the scratcher and I had never heard of a scratcher that only I person could win...and if there were predetermined winners, I had better report it to the FBI.
i don't really play scratch offs either, but i'm going to start so i can make up a story about how i won.
*harp music*
it all started when i went to gas station to fill up and meant to buy an air freshener, but accidentally bought a scratch off with pine trees on it...
I believe the story the winner gave here.
I just never realized this was another area of sore loser entitlement.
a lot of the winner stories about people doing something outside their routine which leads them to buying a winning ticket sound contrived, like the lottery pushed the winner to tell an interesting story and this was all they came up with. like when someone asks you to tell a funny joke on the spot and all you can come up with is either the worst dad joke you ever heard, or the rated r joke you're not supposed to repeat.
pretty sure 99% of the time these are routine purchases.
But if you won any major jp, wouldn't you be reflecting on what you did differently that time? I would for sure.
You only own the ticket you buy...Just because you're in front it's no law saying you can't buy the same ticket..I do that sometimes myself..matter fact I did it today on a 10 scratch off n won 10 back .
Let's-win
What's not to say yoiu buy two tickets and the third one turns out to be the winner?
I can see why they tell the stories they tell. If I bought $20 scratchers regularly, I'd be embarrassed if that were made public. So if I won and was pressed to tell the "interesting" story of how I came to buy the fateful ticket I would make up some BS emphasizing that it was an out of the ordinary purchase for me.
The lottery does not press you to tell a story unless you offer it. Every scratch ticket winner could say well I wasn't going to buy one but I saw one hanging from the roll partially torn so I bought that one to make the row of tickets on the wall look neater.
So you're not smart enough to have even a tiny clue about the different ways she could have meant it and why she bought the ticket she did? Would it have been arrogant if somebody said "I have the same shirt as you"?