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four4me

MD
United States
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Mar 7, 2009, 1:05 pm

Lets use a little common sense here mom and pop stores probably don't even make 500 dollars a day. Farm stores and 7/11's have drop boxes when they get 200 to 400 dollars worth of twenty's in the register they put the money in a drop safe. Most mom and pop gas stations drop their money in a safe also.

Busy grocery stores on the other hand make 500 bucks or more every 15 minutes. Where would you go to cash a winning ticket to a mom and pop store that maybe makes 15 dollars and hour or a grocery store that makes thousands of dollars a day.

I cash my winning tickets in a place that i know has the cash and is in a relatively safe location. These places advertise that they cash winning lottery tickets up to 5000 dollars. They have a sign in the window or on the property somewhere.

Big John says. You don't hit the number. The number hits you!!!!

I'm not Big John, I'm Four4me, Big John's a friend.
time*treat

United States
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Mar 7, 2009, 1:27 pm

Quote: Originally posted by MaddMike51 on Mar 7, 2009
Here the problem with your solution TSC,a person should NOT have to make long distance calls to collect money owed on an "instant" ticket.The entire premise of an "instant" ticket is you win instantly and you get paid instantly.All of these convenience stores have the money on the premises,they just make "drops" into the safe when a certain amount of money is in the cash register.I understand that they make these "drops" for security reasons.What I don't understand is why the manager or the assistant doesn't open the safe for a legitmate reason,such as paying a customer for a winning lottery ticket.As for larger chain stores,there are none in this area of Illinois.The nearest chain grocery stores are 50+ miles away.

"What I don't understand is why the manager or the assistant doesn'topen the safe for a legitmate reason,such as paying a customer for awinning lottery ticket."

If they were known to be willing or able to open the safe for that reason, someone without a winning ticket might consider a gun-in-the-face also a legitimate reason for them opening it.

In neo-conned Amerika, bank robs you.
Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms should be the name of a convenience store, not a govnoment agency.
truecritic

Michigan
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Mar 7, 2009, 2:12 pm

Quote: Originally posted by time*treat on Mar 7, 2009
"What I don't understand is why the manager or the assistant doesn'topen the safe for a legitmate reason,such as paying a customer for awinning lottery ticket."

If they were known to be willing or able to open the safe for that reason, someone without a winning ticket might consider a gun-in-the-face also a legitimate reason for them opening it.

The manager, in most cases CAN open the safe. So it would be up to him whether to open it for a legitimate reason or a robbery.

I never stopped to think about it, but since the lottery says you can cash the smaller prizes at places that sell lottery tickets, then it should be a stipulation that if they are going to sell tickets, they have to have the cash.

Thinking back, I can say that 7-11 stores would never be able to handle that kind of payout ($500) on demand. The safe is on a time-lock and they never allow anywhere near that kind of money to gather in the register.
PrisonerSix

Baton Rouge, LA
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May 7, 2004
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Mar 7, 2009, 2:31 pm

It can be annoying, but most small stores don't keep large amounts of cash on hand for safety reasons. One thing I do with larger win tickets(the most I've ever won is $20 on a scratcher) is go to a nearby supermarket that sells lottery tickets. Those places turn over alot of cash, so they may have it.

Another option is to see if they'll give you a money order. Alot of local convenience stores sell money orders, and from what I understand, that is what they do if someone wants to cash a big ticket. I'd rather have a money order made out to me than cash, it's alot safer in my opinion.

When I lived in the New Orleans area around the time the Louisiana Lottery first started, there was this one chain of convenience stores that always gave me a hassle when I tried to cash a ticket. I'm not talking big wins, I'm talking small amounts like $1 or $5. They'd only give out new tickets, never cash. I finally decided I'd had enough of that and simply stopped buying tickets at the stores that were in that chain.

I'm not sure if they should be required to have the cash on hand, but they should have some way of giving you your money, in the form of check or money order perhaps, if you do want to cash a large ticket.

Just my opinion.

Prisoner Six

"I am not a number, I am a free man!"
Guru101

Indiana
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Mar 7, 2009, 5:34 pm

I go to Kroger, KMart, or some other larger business when cashing big tickets.

Gonna win.
RJOh

100

mid-Ohio
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Mar 7, 2009, 5:48 pm

Why traveling through Kentucky, I saw places that had signs that said "we only cash lottery tickets bought here". While that is not true in Ohio, I usually try to cash my winning lottery tickets where I bought them, so if a store can't cash them or doesn't train its clerks how to verify the larger winners so I can cash them at a local authorized bank, I stop buying tickets there.

* you don't need to buy every combination, just the winning ones *
konane

USA
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Mar 7, 2009, 5:55 pm

Try a liquor store or restaurant that sells lottery tickets.

And no in this economic climate I don't believe a store owner should be forced to keep money onhand to cash lottery tickets. Afterall they can be turned in a district offices or sent to the lottery for a check.

Have fun and the best of luck to everyone!
MaddMike51

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Mar 7, 2009, 6:45 pm

I can tell by most of your answers that most of you live in urban areas.I live in a medium size town here in Iowa and can usually find someone to cash a lottery ticket.My complaint is with the state of Illinois,across the Mississippi river from my home.This IS NOT an urban area.The county has several small towns of 3-4,000 people.The nearest town of any size (in Illinois) that wouuld have a supermarket is 50 miles away.The nearest lottery office is in the state capital of Springfield which is a 3 hour drive there & another 3 hour drive back.The convenience stores in this particular town are extremly busy and should not have any problem paying a $500 win.In fact,I have won this amount before and got paid immediatly with no problem.This particular convenience store just changed hands (the former owner died) and the new owner is an a$$hole that doesn't care that you might just like to have the money that you won.He's happy to sell you the ticket but would prefer not to pay up when someone wins.I've heard stories about this jerk and now know the stories are true.I'll take my business to the other 2 lottery retailers in the future.Life is to short to deal with a$$holes.
larry3100

Redwood City,California
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February 3, 2009
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Mar 7, 2009, 6:49 pm

Here in the state of California lottery retailers pay up to $600.00 for scratchers.I remember a few years ago,in our state their was a scratch off game where you could win $50,000.It was like a two year period they were selling these bogus $50,000 tickets that they knew were already paid-out.It was a big hue and cry.I don't buy them anymore.
reddog

Durham, North Carolina
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Mar 7, 2009, 6:53 pm

Try a grocery store that sells lottery tickets and does Western Union. That has always been my best bet.

Taking it one day at a time, because there's no way to know what might have been.
MaddMike51

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Mar 7, 2009, 7:15 pm

Quote: Originally posted by reddog on Mar 7, 2009
Try a grocery store that sells lottery tickets and does Western Union. That has always been my best bet.

Apparently you never read my posts.This town DOES NOT HAVE A GROCERY STORE.It is a one horse town with three convenience stores.The NEAREST grocery store in Illinois is 50+ miles away.That is what I'm pissed about...being forced to drive 50 freaking miles to collect the money that was due to my wife!
MysteryMan424

Pelham NY
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April 16, 2008
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Mar 7, 2009, 11:27 pm

Her in New York City and the outer boroughs they do incredible volume in lottery sales , there rarely is any problem cashing tickets. Heck I know a few stores that will cash ten $500 tickets at once. As for those small town stores that sell scratchers they should be required to have at least a couple of thousand on hand in the event someone hits so they can be paid out.
BobP

Dump Water Florida
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Mar 8, 2009, 1:47 am

Here in South Florida all the small towns (they insist on calling themselves cities) are back to back like one big rambling city. You wouldn't know where they begin or end if they didn't put signs up.

The supermarkets are always the best bet for cashing a lottery ticket.

Frankly I wouldn't want to be walking from the 7/11 to my car with everyone hanging around knowing I just cashed in a $500 winner.

Their wanting to pay with one of the money orders they sell should be fine for anyone who doesn't have a banking problem. Even if you have a spouse problem, I don't think it shows up in your statement if you cash it at your bank, though a deposit certainly would.

Even if they always kept enough cash on hand for one winner, they would have two.

Another thing that has gone on with larger retail chains, some twisted genius realized they could rake in a sizeable ball of pure profit cash by reducing the size of the stores' change fund. Stores that used to go into the weekend with three or four grand in singles, fives and change now work with half that and are often reduced to begging for change from their smaller neighbors.

BobP
Stack47

Kentucky
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February 14, 2006
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Mar 8, 2009, 9:43 am

Quote: Originally posted by RJOh on Mar 7, 2009
Why traveling through Kentucky, I saw places that had signs that said "we only cash lottery tickets bought here". While that is not true in Ohio, I usually try to cash my winning lottery tickets where I bought them, so if a store can't cash them or doesn't train its clerks how to verify the larger winners so I can cash them at a local authorized bank, I stop buying tickets there.

Most of the stores will cash tickets under $100 in Kentucky and give directions to cashing agents that are located in each county for higher value tickets. The cashing agents do all the paper work and the payoffs for winning tickets between $600 and $5000. It's sort like in Ohio where you go to the store where you bought the ticket, they validate it, and then go to an authorized bank to collect without the middleman.
bashley572

West Side of Sunny Florida
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September 8, 2007
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Mar 8, 2009, 9:49 am

Quote: Originally posted by BobP on Mar 8, 2009
Here in South Florida all the small towns (they insist on calling themselves cities) are back to back like one big rambling city. You wouldn't know where they begin or end if they didn't put signs up.

The supermarkets are always the best bet for cashing a lottery ticket.

Frankly I wouldn't want to be walking from the 7/11 to my car with everyone hanging around knowing I just cashed in a $500 winner.

Their wanting to pay with one of the money orders they sell should be fine for anyone who doesn't have a banking problem. Even if you have a spouse problem, I don't think it shows up in your statement if you cash it at your bank, though a deposit certainly would.

Even if they always kept enough cash on hand for one winner, they would have two.

Another thing that has gone on with larger retail chains, some twisted genius realized they could rake in a sizeable ball of pure profit cash by reducing the size of the stores' change fund. Stores that used to go into the weekend with three or four grand in singles, fives and change now work with half that and are often reduced to begging for change from their smaller neighbors.

BobP

"Even if you have a spouse problem" ...... hummmm....

Money won is twice as good as money earned!