Felony theft charges have been filed against the employee of a Collinsville business who pocketed a winning $10,000 ticket from an office lottery pool.
Curtis B. Devore of Collinsville was charged Wednesday with taking possession of a winning Mega Millions lottery ticket purchased last month by a group of employees at Bethel-Eckert Enterprises Inc. — a grocery supplier for the military — and cashing in the ticket.
Devore, 28, basically stole from everyone who would've won the money, said Detective Sergeant Rich Wittenauer. He faces up to five years in prison if convicted.
While three employees came forward to police, Wittenauer said there were several others involved in the pool.
The numbers for the tickets were recorded on a computerized spreadsheet. After the lottery drawing, Devore altered the spreadsheet in an attempt to lead fellow employees to believe there were no winning tickets from the pool, Wittenauer said.
When questioned, Devore told police he had taken the ticket and cashed it, but had not yet spent any of the money, police said.
Devore, who has no listed home telephone number, was being held on Thursday morning on $100,000 bond.
Devore, who has no listed home telephone number, was being held on Thursday morning on $100,000 bond.
His $10,000 prize should cover his bond if he hasn't deducted the taxes yet. I wonder what his bond would have been if the ticket was only worth a $150.
Quote: Originally posted by JackpotWanna on Mar 6, 2008
oh come on. all for $10 grand - Lose job, lose friends, lose respect and honor, worst of all 5 years in prison. Where is common sense? Not worth it.
it's not worth it. No amount of $$$ makes it worth it. Even if he was not caught, it is still not worth it. I wonder why he did it? What are the extenuating circumstances in his life that made him do such foolish act?
Quote: Originally posted by Jack Pot on Mar 6, 2008
it's not worth it. No amount of $$$ makes it worth it. Even if he was not caught, it is still not worth it. I wonder why he did it? What are the extenuating circumstances in his life that made him do such foolish act?
he did it because he thought he would never get caught...in my office pool we make copies of all tickets and give to all members participating so they know beforehand all the numbers played...
"No amount of $$$ makes it worth it"--
yes you are right but sometimes people steal more when the amounts are not that high becasue they think no one would notice the small stuff..
Quote: Originally posted by ThatScaryChick on Mar 7, 2008
That and I don't want to have share a jackpot with a bunch of people.
In this case he actually cheated the other players and got caught stealing. I wonder what would happen if one person out of group of 20 or 30 won the jackpot on tickets they bought for themselves. I don't think most people would expect a huge gift unless it was known they gave 2 or 3 other players a half million. In large pools, the only one that actually knows all the players is the person running it so many of them might expect him to hand them some money.
So the problem might not be sharing sharing a jackpot won by the pool, but the pool expecting you to share the jackpot from a ticket you bought. What do you think the percentage is of all the pools that won a jackpot being involved in a lawsuit trying to collect their winnings?
Quote: Originally posted by Stack47 on Mar 7, 2008
In this case he actually cheated the other players and got caught stealing. I wonder what would happen if one person out of group of 20 or 30 won the jackpot on tickets they bought for themselves. I don't think most people would expect a huge gift unless it was known they gave 2 or 3 other players a half million. In large pools, the only one that actually knows all the players is the person running it so many of them might expect him to hand them some money.
So the problem might not be sharing sharing a jackpot won by the pool, but the pool expecting you to share the jackpot from a ticket you bought. What do you think the percentage is of all the pools that won a jackpot being involved in a lawsuit trying to collect their winnings?
We've certainly seen plenty of reports of lawsuits, but there seem to be a fair number of winning pools where we don't hear about any lawsuits. I'd guess that the percentage is 10 to 25%, which would mean there probably wouldn't be a lawsuit, but the chances are high enough that having a solid agreement in place is clearly very important. One of the things the agreement should cover is how tickets will be purchased for the group, and how personal tickets can be purchased by any person responsible for group tickets.
Quote: Originally posted by KY Floyd on Mar 7, 2008
We've certainly seen plenty of reports of lawsuits, but there seem to be a fair number of winning pools where we don't hear about any lawsuits. I'd guess that the percentage is 10 to 25%, which would mean there probably wouldn't be a lawsuit, but the chances are high enough that having a solid agreement in place is clearly very important. One of the things the agreement should cover is how tickets will be purchased for the group, and how personal tickets can be purchased by any person responsible for group tickets.
Thats one of the reasons why I keep a log...also why there are only 3 people in my pool and why we don't let anyone else in...
if your out of the draw your out of the jackpot....its that simple
also in my log...I record...
how much money they gave me and how many tickets I bought, along with the ticket numbers. I also keep all the losing tickets...
I tell them how much we won and they are more than welcome to see the tickets or read my log anytime they want.
where the hell is collinsville. Have you noticed when smn wins the lottery is always some place nobody has heard of . how come it is never in the big city, do u think we dont play sure we do. its always these small town people who win, and we still keep playing jsut to piss ourselves off. It makes me real mad cuz i think the lottery is screwing us over
Quote: Originally posted by tony2222 on Mar 8, 2008
where the hell is collinsville. Have you noticed when smn wins the lottery is always some place nobody has heard of . how come it is never in the big city, do u think we dont play sure we do. its always these small town people who win, and we still keep playing jsut to piss ourselves off. It makes me real mad cuz i think the lottery is screwing us over
There have been lots of winners in big cities. There isn't a conspiracy, it's just someone was lucky to pick the right numbers and some of those winners are from smaller towns.
Quote: Originally posted by tony2222 on Mar 8, 2008
where the hell is collinsville. Have you noticed when smn wins the lottery is always some place nobody has heard of . how come it is never in the big city, do u think we dont play sure we do. its always these small town people who win, and we still keep playing jsut to piss ourselves off. It makes me real mad cuz i think the lottery is screwing us over
I agree with Scary. Luck doesn't target an area, although in FL it's just the opposite. We seem to have a disproportionate number of winners in Miami. Even a newspaper said that once when posting the lottery results..something like "Believe or not there were no winners from Miami last night." Maybe for a while the Lottery Fairy was vacationing on South Beach. :-)
Sure there are winners in small, rural towns. But most of the winning tickets are purchased in Miami or a surrounding suburb. I've seen many winners from my area too (Lotto, Fantasy-5, Raffles) especially during the busy season. I used to say that nobody ever wins in Lee County, and a few months ago 2 people split a large Lotto jackpot -- both were in Lee County.
Stack, I've wondered about the same thing, that is, what would happen if I continued to play my own numbers. I "assume" that the pool would only be able to claim tickets bought as a group. I wouldn't join any pool that didn't have that stated in the agreement. The best thing is always to make copies of the tickets purchased for a pool or scan and email them (save a tree! lol)
Quote: Originally posted by tony2222 on Mar 8, 2008
where the hell is collinsville. Have you noticed when smn wins the lottery is always some place nobody has heard of . how come it is never in the big city, do u think we dont play sure we do. its always these small town people who win, and we still keep playing jsut to piss ourselves off. It makes me real mad cuz i think the lottery is screwing us over
To answer your question,Collinsville is suburb of St.Louis,Mo.It is across the Mississippi River from St.Louis.
Quote: Originally posted by LottoAce on Mar 7, 2008
Thats one of the reasons why I keep a log...also why there are only 3 people in my pool and why we don't let anyone else in...
if your out of the draw your out of the jackpot....its that simple
also in my log...I record...
how much money they gave me and how many tickets I bought, along with the ticket numbers. I also keep all the losing tickets...
I tell them how much we won and they are more than welcome to see the tickets or read my log anytime they want.
I must say you are doing it right...for a lottery pool that is. But it all seems like too much work to me. I figure that since I am the only one playing on my ticket, I don't have to worry about any disputed claim lawsuits. Also, since I know I don't owe anybody anything, I don't have to worry about anyone else making a claim to some of my winnings. So I just like to keep it simple, buy my ticket for every PB and MM drawing, check my tickets, and when I do win, take the appropriate steps to ensure this jackpot win lives on for generations to come (sorry folks, no I won't end up like David Edwards (I hate drugs), Jack Whitacker (I don't like nor do I frequent strip joints), Bud Post (I only drink in moderation...I know my limit which is 1 beer or several glasses of wine...no intoxication thank you; and I also know how to say NO). I don't like the pool mentality because you will always have people who know that you won and if any of the members of the pool happened to blow their winnings, who do you think they'll call on first to help them out? No thank you.
oh come on. all for $10 grand - Lose job, lose friends, lose respect and honor, worst of all 5 years in prison. Where is common sense? Not worth it.
Devore, who has no listed home telephone number, was being held on Thursday morning on $100,000 bond.
His $10,000 prize should cover his bond if he hasn't deducted the taxes yet. I wonder what his bond would have been if the ticket was only worth a $150.
it's not worth it. No amount of $$$ makes it worth it. Even if he was not caught, it is still not worth it. I wonder why he did it? What are the extenuating circumstances in his life that made him do such foolish act?
he did it because he thought he would never get caught...in my office pool we make copies of all tickets and give to all members participating so they know beforehand all the numbers played...
"No amount of $$$ makes it worth it"--
yes you are right but sometimes people steal more when the amounts are not that high becasue they think no one would notice the small stuff..
what a ****!!
he's an example of one of the reasons why people are reluctant to join a lottery pool.
That and I don't want to have share a jackpot with a bunch of people.
... neither did he
This is one reason why I ALWAYS buy lottery tickets alone. Another reason is so that I can remain ANONYMOUS....
True. I guess he should have played by himself then.
In this case he actually cheated the other players and got caught stealing. I wonder what would happen if one person out of group of 20 or 30 won the jackpot on tickets they bought for themselves. I don't think most people would expect a huge gift unless it was known they gave 2 or 3 other players a half million. In large pools, the only one that actually knows all the players is the person running it so many of them might expect him to hand them some money.
So the problem might not be sharing sharing a jackpot won by the pool, but the pool expecting you to share the jackpot from a ticket you bought. What do you think the percentage is of all the pools that won a jackpot being involved in a lawsuit trying to collect their winnings?
We've certainly seen plenty of reports of lawsuits, but there seem to be a fair number of winning pools where we don't hear about any lawsuits. I'd guess that the percentage is 10 to 25%, which would mean there probably wouldn't be a lawsuit, but the chances are high enough that having a solid agreement in place is clearly very important. One of the things the agreement should cover is how tickets will be purchased for the group, and how personal tickets can be purchased by any person responsible for group tickets.
Thats one of the reasons why I keep a log...also why there are only 3 people in my pool and why we don't let anyone else in...
if your out of the draw your out of the jackpot....its that simple
also in my log...I record...
how much money they gave me and how many tickets I bought, along with the ticket numbers. I also keep all the losing tickets...
I tell them how much we won and they are more than welcome to see the tickets or read my log anytime they want.
where the hell is collinsville. Have you noticed when smn wins the lottery is always some place nobody has heard of . how come it is never in the big city, do u think we dont play sure we do. its always these small town people who win, and we still keep playing jsut to piss ourselves off. It makes me real mad cuz i think the lottery is screwing us over
There have been lots of winners in big cities. There isn't a conspiracy, it's just someone was lucky to pick the right numbers and some of those winners are from smaller towns.
I agree with Scary. Luck doesn't target an area, although in FL it's just the opposite. We seem to have a disproportionate number of winners in Miami. Even a newspaper said that once when posting the lottery results..something like "Believe or not there were no winners from Miami last night." Maybe for a while the Lottery Fairy was vacationing on South Beach. :-)
Sure there are winners in small, rural towns. But most of the winning tickets are purchased in Miami or a surrounding suburb. I've seen many winners from my area too (Lotto, Fantasy-5, Raffles) especially during the busy season. I used to say that nobody ever wins in Lee County, and a few months ago 2 people split a large Lotto jackpot -- both were in Lee County.
Stack, I've wondered about the same thing, that is, what would happen if I continued to play my own numbers. I "assume" that the pool would only be able to claim tickets bought as a group. I wouldn't join any pool that didn't have that stated in the agreement. The best thing is always to make copies of the tickets purchased for a pool or scan and email them (save a tree! lol)
To answer your question,Collinsville is suburb of St.Louis,Mo.It is across the Mississippi River from St.Louis.
It is a small town in comparison to major cities,but not so small that everyone knows everyone else.
I must say you are doing it right...for a lottery pool that is. But it all seems like too much work to me. I figure that since I am the only one playing on my ticket, I don't have to worry about any disputed claim lawsuits. Also, since I know I don't owe anybody anything, I don't have to worry about anyone else making a claim to some of my winnings. So I just like to keep it simple, buy my ticket for every PB and MM drawing, check my tickets, and when I do win, take the appropriate steps to ensure this jackpot win lives on for generations to come (sorry folks, no I won't end up like David Edwards (I hate drugs), Jack Whitacker (I don't like nor do I frequent strip joints), Bud Post (I only drink in moderation...I know my limit which is 1 beer or several glasses of wine...no intoxication thank you; and I also know how to say NO). I don't like the pool mentality because you will always have people who know that you won and if any of the members of the pool happened to blow their winnings, who do you think they'll call on first to help them out? No thank you.