Winning a free ticket, want cash instead

Reply #7

sdebarry — Sun, 04 Sep 2011 04:42:19 GMT

im in orange county, california and i always get cash instead of a ticket if i want to, no place that ive been to has ever refused to give me cash or force me to buy another ticket if i won a free ticket, ive turned them in at t stores that have a vending machine and stores that have them behind the counter

Reply #6

redhot7 — Sat, 27 Aug 2011 23:51:00 GMT

Couldn't they force you to redeem it at the vending machine?

It's not worth the hassle for them. I am a regular of a major grocery store and the location of the vending machine is at the other side of the store. Imagine if there are 8 people in line. I am the first one in the line. The cashier couldn't just leave her stand and escort me to the vending machine while there are 7 other people in the line already. And what would happen if all the five dollar tickets are sold out, what are they g... [ More ]

Reply #5

HoLeeKau — Sat, 27 Aug 2011 23:20:14 GMT

They don't give you free ticket because it is just too much trouble for them to go over the machine and give you a free ticket.

Couldn't they force you to redeem it at the vending machine? I know with draw games in my state, if you get a free ticket it doesn't give you any options at all. It just spits out the free ticket whether you use a vending machine, or whether the clerk scans it on their machine.

I don't play scratch offs much, but IIRC the one time I won a free ticket the cashier... [ More ]

Reply #4

cooldude — Fri, 26 Aug 2011 17:34:22 GMT

Here in Illinois they have pretty much did away with freg ticket.... They did so they can say more Cash prizes! Very few tickets here in Illinois that give FREE TICKET. Which most are on the $1.00 tickets... Plus most places just have the vending machines so they will just give you the cash anyways.....

Reply #3

MattfromPA — Thu, 25 Aug 2011 20:59:19 GMT

Some stores in PA have strict policies about only giving free tickets - most Giants, Wawa (unless they don't have the same ticket), and the beer store among them. Wegmans and others will give cash. The state prints out free tickets because odds are the free ticket will lose and they don't pay out as much.

Reply #2

Boney526 — Thu, 25 Aug 2011 20:46:23 GMT

It's because the expected value of a ticket is .50-70 percent of the value you buy it for, so they end up making more money if they issue out free tickets.

If a scracth off's return rate is 65 percent, and it's 2 dollars, and you win a free ticket you really won $1.35, in the form of a 2 dollar scratch off.

Essentially, they'd rather have the money returned to them than in your pocket. I don't agree with such a policy, because people like me won't play if they know there's a chan... [ More ]

Reply #1

TheOtherOne — Thu, 25 Aug 2011 20:28:35 GMT

9 times out of 10, I usually get cash if I want to. I think it mostly depends on the mood and disposition of the clerk. Honestly, I am always buying Powerball, Mega Millions or Tennessee Cash tickets anyway so usually I will turn my 'TICKET' winners in for one or 2 of those. If it is a $5 scratch off, for example, and I take 2 Powerball tickets, I will request the rest in cash sometimes and I have never had a problem with that from a clerk. Honestly, what other choice do they have?If I turned in... [ More ]

Winning a free ticket, want cash instead

redhot7 — Wed, 24 Aug 2011 04:41:49 GMT

When you win a free ticket from a scratch off, is it possible to get cash with the same value of the free ticket?

In my experience, the only way that you could do that if you redeem your ticket with a retailer that only sells scratch off with a lottery vending machine. They don't give you free ticket because it is just too much trouble for them to go over the machine and give you a free ticket. So, they just give you cash and hoping that you would spend it to buy a ticket there but you don't... [ More ]