Man found $1M lottery ticket while raking leaves

Comment #46

jamella724 — Sun, 19 Jan 2014 08:10:45 GMT

Well all I can say is congratulations to the five of them. Someday I will be one of the few who won a million dollars in the lottery. That day will come I just know it, it won't take long.

Comment #45

TNPATL — Tue, 31 Dec 2013 16:39:00 GMT

Congratulations to him. This turned out to be a nice story.

Comment #44

fwlawrence — Mon, 30 Dec 2013 01:13:52 GMT

I can't even find one dollar when I rake the leaves

Comment #43

mamamary517 — Mon, 30 Dec 2013 00:57:33 GMT

I forgot to mention, the owner of the home, who survived Sandy, was asked about the ticket from the Lottery and they never purchased it. With all the hurricane winds it must have blown with the rest of the trash and leaves.

And by the way...all you New Yorkers..Yolanda Vega is very beuatiful. I hope to someday meet her when I win my big jackpot

Comment #42

Jon D — Mon, 30 Dec 2013 00:54:05 GMT

Already scratched showing winner? Hmmm... there were about 50 deaths in NY from Sandy. Perhaps the original purchaser knew he had a winner, but died in the storm, and the ticket was washed/blown away.

R.I.P.

Comment #41

mamamary517 — Mon, 30 Dec 2013 00:43:32 GMT

I was in Resorts World on Friday 12/27/2013 when the winners were presented their checks from NY Lottery Rep Yolanda Vega. All the news stations were present and this particular guys story was as Yolanda interpreted for him was that he was hired to clean up the yard in LI after hurricane Sandy. He was raking the leaves found the ticket and brought it home to dry. It was a winner, already scratched and in horrible condition. It couldn't be verified at the local store so he went to the NY Lottery... [ More ]

Comment #40

Candlelight777 — Sun, 29 Dec 2013 19:14:24 GMT

I did state once the lottery deems the ticket is legit .

Giggles, i thought i was a bit repetitive actually on what determines a legit owner of a ticket as well, which we both are on the same page with it seems, so guess i am not understanding what your trying to clarify per what i said. Of course, as part of making sure the ticket is legit i imagine they do verify where the ticket was purchased and when. The lottery has no concern on who gave who a ticket unless there is something faulty abo... [ More ]

Comment #39

Jon D — Sun, 29 Dec 2013 18:52:10 GMT

Had he just signed it and turned it in and said nothing, it would have be a done deal because the lottery recognizes the signature as the rightful owner of that ticket.

Unless it involves murder or something fraudulent, the lottery doesn't concern itself with whose signature got on a ticket.... or who possesses it if no signature has been placed on the ticket.

Not necessarily. The lottery is a game with rules that they set up. The ticket doesn't have any intrinsic value. They first h... [ More ]

Comment #38

Slick Nick — Sun, 29 Dec 2013 18:24:54 GMT

Very well said Candlelight7777.

Comment #37

Candlelight777 — Sun, 29 Dec 2013 18:21:36 GMT

What happened here is this guy walked into the lottery and told them upfront that he found the ticket. If someone states that, i would think there would be laws in place that allow time for the rightful owner to appear as happened here. Had he just signed it and turned it in and said nothing, it would have be a done deal because the lottery recognizes the signature as the rightful owner of that ticket.

Unless it involves murder or something fraudulent, the lottery doesn't concern itself with... [ More ]

Comment #36

dallascowboyfan — Sun, 29 Dec 2013 18:04:33 GMT

Guess I'll be raking leaves lol Congratulation to all the winners.

Comment #35

KY Floyd — Sun, 29 Dec 2013 16:54:38 GMT

You missed the part where he submitted his claim in 2012, not very long after finding the ticket.

Comment #34

KY Floyd — Sun, 29 Dec 2013 16:53:01 GMT

You've got it right. Bearer Instrument is a financial term that means the same thing in all 50 states, which is simply that ownership isn't recorded as it is with registered instruments, though it looks to me like not all lotteries understand or follow the law.

The NY lottery should know where that ticket was sold and they should have a pretty good idea of when it was sold. They apparently made some effort to locate any reports of a lost or stolen ticket, and waited to see if anyone else woul... [ More ]

Comment #33

Jon D — Sun, 29 Dec 2013 16:02:06 GMT

We have the self-serve ticket scanners here in CA in all the stores I've been to. But sometimes you find places where they are not working.(don't know if the clerk did that on purpose) Never thought to try and reboot the sucker myself.

You rock!

P.S. They had the NY Rosales-Martinez story on the local news here. Must be a slow news day...

Comment #32

sully16 — Sun, 29 Dec 2013 16:00:53 GMT

wow, lucky and unlucky yard guy

Comment #31

helpmewin — Sun, 29 Dec 2013 15:20:52 GMT

omg! That was good

Comment #30

helpmewin — Sun, 29 Dec 2013 15:19:35 GMT

Also if they tell you the scanner is broke just unplug it from the back and plug it back in it will work fine i do it everyday

Comment #29

Candlelight777 — Sun, 29 Dec 2013 13:19:56 GMT

I think the problem of less then honest clerks here in Indiana has been greatly reduced given hoosier lottery provides scanners in all stores for customers to scan their own tickets. I use it to double check my tickets before tossing them and to double check my winning tickets before turning them in. I think the clerks know the odds of a customer not knowing what their ticket is worth is very slim given. Since they put the scanners in place, i have not seen one person ask a clerk to check their

Comment #28

rdgrnr — Sun, 29 Dec 2013 11:25:19 GMT

...his buddy is a store clerk and told the customer the ticket was not a winner. The clerk kept the ticket and gave it to this man...

If the guy legitimately found the ticket in the leaves like he said, I'm glad for him.

But I just have a funny feeling that pick4master's scenario above is closer to the truth.

We really need to automate everything the clerks do.

It's just too doggone easy to ripoff a lot of people who aren't as aware of the risks with crooked clerks as we are.

I b... [ More ]

Comment #27

Slick Nick — Sun, 29 Dec 2013 10:52:06 GMT

What a way to start the New Year, I'm happy for the guy

Comment #26

Slick Nick — Sun, 29 Dec 2013 10:50:19 GMT

Good point Ranger

Comment #25

LottoGuyBC — Sun, 29 Dec 2013 10:47:03 GMT

Raking in the big money

Comment #24

Jon D — Sun, 29 Dec 2013 06:41:24 GMT

Are you a clerk

Comment #23

RJOh — Sun, 29 Dec 2013 06:20:34 GMT

Could have worked out in this case where the actual purchaser would have got the one million dollars and he/she could have tipped the guy raking the leaves a couple of bucks for his troubles.

Comment #22

RJOh — Sun, 29 Dec 2013 05:56:38 GMT

Ohio has something similar where the terminal will hollow out WINNER three times and if the clerks run the online ticket through the terminal it will print something on it too but all those features can be bypassed.

I once asked a manager while his clerks didn't use those features and he said they took too much time and he instructed his clerks to just flash the tickets in front of the scanner and tell the customers the results. Now I only buy gas at his place and buy lottery tickets else wh... [ More ]

Comment #21

dr65 — Sun, 29 Dec 2013 05:47:13 GMT

Hmmm..something doesn't add up here is what I'm thinking.

2012 he was raking leaves? Is THAT what I read...then 2013 he turns in the ticket. 27 years old...a wet, dirty old ticket

in the leaves on the job...he takes it home, dries it out and finds out it's worth a million dollars? I've seen wet dirty tickets

in the parking lot of many places. I don't take them home to dry them off and see if they are winners, I assume they

are there for a reason, they're losers and trash that didn't... [ More ]

Comment #20

Zenner — Sun, 29 Dec 2013 03:21:44 GMT

Recently a player in the 5 million dollar scratch game in California found out only when he was rejected for the second chance draw. The ticket was in his trash can for days prior to his second chance attempt.

I know in California they have a scan code to check your own scratchers, to double check if they won. Is it the same every where?

I see alot of refrences to the clerks stealing. I find it hard to beileve they can't see the clerk terminal checked the winning ticket. They know wh... [ More ]

Comment #19

Candlelight777 — Sun, 29 Dec 2013 01:20:26 GMT

Makes ya think twice about signing the back of your ticket as soon as you get it...... tickets get lost or stolen all the time but once it's signed you are the rightful owner of that ticket.

Comment #18

Jon D — Sun, 29 Dec 2013 00:37:09 GMT

Yep, it's a fact that lots of scratch ticket winners get thrown away.(in the trash or on the sidewalk) Mostly low tier prizes and small ticket value wins.

Many people on LP admitted to have done it.(dumpster digging) I've seen it done, and know of people that play lottery only with free found money from thrown away Scratchers.

But the game features that make it easy to throw away small winners also seems to be there for top prizes. It works out in favor of the lottery if people throw away... [ More ]

Comment #17

mypiemaster — Sat, 28 Dec 2013 22:29:02 GMT

This is a snowflakes fairy. The lottery fairy is actually the back pocket of a store clerk.

Comment #16

RJOh — Sat, 28 Dec 2013 22:10:55 GMT

It's not like the guy who really brought the ticket lost a million dollars, he just lost a ticket which to him was only the cost of the ticket as most.

Players lose lottery tickets every day and never give them much thought or else they would check them as soon as possible after buying them.

Chances are if they checked where it was bought and published the information, hundreds of people would have come forward claiming they remember being in that store and buying a similar ticket probab... [ More ]

Comment #15

Coin Toss — Sat, 28 Dec 2013 21:49:52 GMT

Anyone read this and still doubt the existence of the Lottery Faerie

Comment #14

atoz — Sat, 28 Dec 2013 18:43:47 GMT

I also am skeptical....something stinks in Denmark....

Comment #13

Lucki723 — Sat, 28 Dec 2013 18:38:48 GMT

I still cannot understand how people lose tickets. But like the old saying says Finders Keepers and loosers weepers .

after reading all these stories, I am starting to think I will FIND a Jackpot win before I play and win one. LOL

Comment #12

duckman — Sat, 28 Dec 2013 18:29:23 GMT

From what legal info I have read, a Bearer Instrument assumes whoever possesses the item is the owner of the item. The assumption can be challenged under some circumstances (example: someone steals it and if the theft can be proven in court then that trumps the Bearer claim).

Most lotteries will do some investigation of a winning claim over $10,000. On major wins, they will do more in-depth investigation before paying out a claim. One thing that the lottery is selling on is trust and that

Comment #11

RedStang — Sat, 28 Dec 2013 15:18:43 GMT

The ticket probably fell out of Julios pocket, then Hectors, then Pedros, then Caesars until Martinez was smart enough to turn it in.They will rip each other off in a heartbeat.

Comment #10

helpmewin — Sat, 28 Dec 2013 15:04:42 GMT

The guy that mowed my yard last year said he found $100.00 bill in my yard

I GOT A NEW YARD GUY

Comment #9

pick4master — Sat, 28 Dec 2013 14:53:05 GMT

I am thinking the same thing.....his buddy is a store clerk and told the customer the ticket was not a winner. The clerk kept the ticket and gave it to this man and both are laughing all the way to the bank . Sounds reasonable to me.

Comment #8

pickone4me — Sat, 28 Dec 2013 14:25:20 GMT

lol...Is this the onion

Comment #7

sully16 — Sat, 28 Dec 2013 14:06:13 GMT

Guess I'll rake leaves more often, congrats to the winner.

Comment #6

mypiemaster — Sat, 28 Dec 2013 13:28:25 GMT

So far as it is not another store clerk, or relatives, ripping off customers and claiming they found it in the dumpster {their back pockets}.

Comment #5

Shelby Mustang — Sat, 28 Dec 2013 12:53:02 GMT

Good for him I love it when people like him win. He obviously deserved to win it

Comment #4

IPlayWeekly — Sat, 28 Dec 2013 12:31:16 GMT

One of my best friends lives in Hicksville... Whoever bears the ticket wins. Congrats to him and family

Comment #3

rdgrnr — Sat, 28 Dec 2013 08:29:22 GMT

I'd be interested to know if the lottery officials are in any way obligated to look into or investigate who really bought the ticket like they did in Iowa when that New York lawyer tried to claim a large prize there on the last day.

I wonder if they looked at any video and if they did, would they be obligated to publicize the video to try to find the original buyer of the ticket?

I'm not advocating for either side but Bearer Instrument seems to mean different things in different states.... [ More ]

Comment #2

Lucky Loser — Sat, 28 Dec 2013 05:50:17 GMT

When it's YOUR TIME, it can show up ANYWHERE!!! And to think that people frowned on the idea of my friends and I exploring TRASH CANS with GLOVES ON to find possible big winning tickets like the DUMPSTER DIVER did last year I think. I guess no one really believes in the SEEK AND YE SHALL FIND deal!! My buddy's son worked at a Shell station during that time, and before he left for a better job, he had found a total of $145 in winning tickets that were simply overlooked, misread, and tossed away.... [ More ]

Comment #1

ohiopick3 — Sat, 28 Dec 2013 02:53:37 GMT

Que se rastrilla en!

That is raking it in

Man found $1M lottery ticket while raking leaves

Lottery Post — Sat, 28 Dec 2013 02:09:39 GMT

It was a lucky '13 for five $1 million New York lottery winners.

The newly flush quintet came forward Friday to collect its winnings, with the checks expected to arrive just in time for 2014, state lottery officials said.

Three hailed from New York City and two from Long Island, and all took a lump sum payout after taxes.

The winners included Long Island landscaper Marvin Rosales-Martinez, who found the answer to his fiscal prayers was blowing in the wind.

The 27-year-old Hicksville... [ More ]