SEARCY, Ark. — An Arkansas woman who cashed a $1 million lottery ticket may have to give up the winnings to a woman who threw away the ticket after she bought it, according to a judge's ruling Tuesday.
The judge decided that Sharon Duncan was entitled to the prize money, not Sharon Jones, who claimed the prize money after she took the ticket from a trash can of discarded lottery tickets at a convenience store in Beebe, a city about 40 miles northeast of Little Rock.
Jones' attorney, James Simpson, said he plans to appeal. Jones had testified that she already spent some of the money on a new truck and cash gifts to her children.
Simpson noted that Duncan testified she threw away the ticket after the read-out on a ticket scanner said, "Sorry. Not a winner." The attorney argued that people shouldn't be allowed to throw items away and then say, "'ooh, I want to un-abandon it.'"
"We'd have garage-sale law all over the place," he said. "It became trash when someone threw it away."
White County judge Thomas Hughes, however, said Jones never met the burden of proof that Duncan abandoned her right to claim $1 million.
"The $1 million was never found money," Hughes said.
Earlier Tuesday, Jones testified that she gathered a handful of discarded tickets from the trash can — as she had done many times before — and said there was no sign alerting customers not to take tickets.
That contradicted Super 1 Stop store manager Lisa Petriches' earlier testimony that she had taped a sign that read "Do not take" on the can. But a former store clerk testified that Petriches posted the sign only after Jones claimed the prize.
Petriches brought the lawsuit against Jones, and Duncan joined it after the judge said at a January hearing that she may be the true owner of the ticket. Hughes ruled that Petriches and the store's owner, Louie Dajani — whose corporation, Summer One LLC, joined the suit — weren't entitled to anything.
The judge instructed the winning side to write the judgment for his signature, and it will become official once Hughes signs it. Jones' attorneys will then have 30 days to file an appeal.
Hughes found that the evidence weighed in Duncan's favor that she bought the winning ticket, even though lottery records and store security video didn't synch up to the precise timing of the purchase.
Arkansas Lottery Security Chief Lance Huey testified that he investigated the circumstances of the ticket falling into Jones' hands. He said the lottery was satisfied with the investigation and awarded the prize.
Duncan's attorney, James "Red" Morgan, argued that she simply made a mistake by throwing away a $1 million ticket and that the only right she willingly parted with was to enter the ticket for the possibility of a secondary prize.
The lady who found it should have kept her yapper shut about it.
The judge was wrong.
I agree loose lips sink ships, she was even dumber by spending money she didn't have yet.
Ms Duncan should split the winnings with Mrs. Jones. If it wasn't for Jones finding the ticket Duncan would have nothing she was the one that threw away $1 million dollars.
Naw, I have to disagree with EVERYBODY HERE. Why? Possession is 90% of the law...and in this case, just because someone threw away a winning ticket due to not checking it thoroughly, the person who found it and checked shouldn't be stripped of the winnings!!!!! This is total and complete BULLSH*T!!!! I can promise you that if it involved a prize of $50 on a scratch-off, there would be absolutely no issues!!!! However, because this woman wasn't thorough enough to make sure her ticket wasn't a winner, the judge now wants to penalize THE SMART PERSON THAT ACTUALLY GOES AROUND AND CHECKS DISCARDED TICKETS TO VALIDATE WHETHER OR NOT THEY'RE LEGIT WINNERS.
Hell, the ticket wasn't even signed!!! So, this means that if I throw away a $1000 scratch-off, and, someone else finds and claims it, I can file an appeal and get it back!!!! How corrupt is this? The bearer of the ticket is suppose to be the winner providing it wasn't stolen etc. Sorry, I totally disagree with this whole scenario...and the judge is wrong for ruling in this manner. It's the person's fault who threw away a winning ticket...not the discoverer's.
Amazing......
L.L.
Lottery tickets are "bearer instruments".If the ticket was unsigned,it belongs to the person that found it and cashed it in.The judge was wrong!Thats how I see it.
Now you're talkin'!!!!!!!!!
L.L.
For $1 million, the finder probably had to answer when/how she acquired the ticket.
Remember, they already had video of someone else buying that ticket.
This is BS, the ticket was thrown away, it belongs to the woman who found it. I hope this is overturned on appeal.
You can tape anything you want on the trash allegedly but as far as I know the law states that once something goes in the trash it is fair game. The trash logic makes no sense regardless. First you could make the crazy argument that if you threw away your ticket by accident you would not be able to retrieve it and second if tickets are thrown in the trash and can't be retrieved, then does that mean the store has the right to the tickets or does the store have to throw out all tickets?
If it was the store owner that found this ticket rather than this customer would the judge have allowed the owner to keep the ticket? The security video and the ticket purchase time don't even sync up. Where did this judge get his law degree, clown school?
If the ticket was thrown in the dumpster and lost forever this woman would definitely not get anything so at bare minimum she should offer the woman who found the ticket half of the winnings.
Doesn't matter, she threw it away which is also on camera. The NEW BEARER of the ticket actually CLAIMED IT. End of story.
L.L.
CONCUR! Had she quietly cashed in the winning ticket there wouldn't have been any issues. The judge seems to lack common sense...no way he should have ruled in the way of the person who threw away the ticket. There are cases where people have thrown away tickets believing they were not winners. Who is to say that some bum goes digging through a trash bin looking for a meal and finds a million dollar winning scratch off ticket. Then some yahoo claims to have brought the ticket and threw it away by accident and it it's their ticket. Once that ticket is thrown away it is fair game unless the back of the ticket is signed. That judge should have his/her head examined.
LL,
Ridge, Sully and I agree that the Judge was wrong by awarding Ms. Duncan the winnings. I feel if Mrs. Jones(the lady that found the ticket) loses her appeal Ms. Duncan(the lady that threw the ticket away) should do the right thing and split it with the lady that found the ticket. If it wasn't for Mrs. Jones the ticket would still be in the trash.
the ticket was unsigned and if the lottery folks were satisfied and gave the finder of the ticket the money, she should be able to keep the money. It seems like to me the storeowner and manager are trying to "get in on the picture"..why did they think they needed to be in the lawsuit.? The judge is silly as all get out-because the ticket is a "bearer" instrument. Finders, keepers, losers, weepers.
At least 1 Sharon Won!
Well we have the judge and law for a reason to settle disputes .sometimes its fare sometimes its not but its good we live in usa where we have that option to gamble and win. If the law was perfect maybe oj simpson won't have been aquited the first time but he was convicted the second time so its karmer.so where ever there is a dispute the law has no choice but to attempt to find the original owner and that's what happened here. If the law could not find the original owner then the lady that found it can keep it. What I think is the problem is that people should not be allowed to buy lottery tickets or scratch off with out scanning there driver id card into the lottery data machine they bought it from. This way even old people with bad memories will get paid when they forget they bought a ticket or get scammed by fraudulent local lottery retailers in bahamas now enjoying wine coolers on the beach. Lol
It mattered to someone.
I agree with you on most of this, okay. However, if Ms. Duncan wasn't thorough enough to validate the ticket, and, went on to throw it away, then she should get nothing!!! We're talking about a medium of exchange here. I wonder how many times she's been either over charged or short changed, and, never caught it?? Is the judge gonna rule on this as well?? Let's say a person has a pocket full of paper and/or receipts, and, while passing a trash can decides to empty their pockets which also contains a $100 bill in the midst. Now, a bum comes along checking the trash can and finds the $100...who's at fault here?
It's the bum's lucky day!!!!! Finders keepers losers weepers!!! I suppose that if a person was visiting from another state came along and found this ticket to be a winner, the same scenario would be at hand. Now, how wrong is this? Ms. Duncan should be an example on why to completely and thoroughly check your ticket(s) before discarding it(them). Period.
L.L.
Okay.. what I don't get here.. is how many tickets were in the bin? What is the chance the lady who threw the ticket away knew it was HER ticket the other gal cashed. Does she remember those numbers on the ticket were specifically her numbers on that ticket. And again if it was HER ticket why didn't she sign it before she threw it away so she could lay claim to HER ticket in case it ended being a winner?
And then when you scan a ticket and it says not a winner.. generally it's not a winner. Let's face it.. how many lottery machines have you seen that lie? I haven't least they are never in my favor! LOL
If it is a BIG win like a million dollars it generally says "unable to process.. see lottery attendant". So, what got missed here. I think the lady who threw the ticket away is trying to lay claim to a ticket that probably wasn't hers to begin win otherwise it wouldn't have said it wasn't a winner.. which it probably WAS NOT A WINNER. Am I missing something here or is possible to judge is married to the lady who threw the ticket away! LOL
Come on.. it's in the trash, it's not signed and if some person is savvy to seek out trash for a lucky missed ticket.. cudos to them! Like someone else said... finders keepers, losers wheepers! Let the lady have her ticket, she found it, she laid claim to it.. it's hers in my eyes!
Where do we get these judges anymore anyway.. out of a cereal box? They are dumber than a box of rocks sometimes. Whatever happened to common sense?
God help us!
LottoMomma
Keep preachin', babe!!! Soooo many variables here to consider regarding this ticket. In the end, though, the finder should not be penalized in any shape, form, or fashion. I also wonder if there's something more interpersonal going on....
L.L.
As someone who regularly checks the trash bins for tickets whenever I buy them , this decision bothers me. I just hope this judgement doesnt become the norm in these cases. Duncan would have never known she threw away a winner if Jones didn't find it. And I though the burden of proof was supposed to be on the person bringing the case to court not Jones. The judge got it all backwards. This is in complete contrast to the case whith the guy who found a million dollar texas holdem ticket in the trash at a white hen pantry. The guy who thrrew it away in that case lost. So wheres the consistancy with these judgements?
For the judge to make this decision , I can almost garantee he knows someone in the suiing party or knows someone who knows them. It relly is rediculous.
This also reminds me why doesn't the lottery have a reward card like the casinos or publix super market or win dixie super markets this way regular players like me can enter name address and get points to buy free future lottery tickets and scratch offs well am not asking for free beer that will be going too far but worth trying to get big roller players like me.lol
"Consistancy"?
Would you like "fairness" with that?
Thing is, she found/won too much and claimed too soon for the prize award to go unchallenged.
Find a couple hundred in the trash, fine, congrats to you, here's your cash.
Find big money, you're gonna jump through some hoops, first. They may even check & see if your baby-mama got a claim against you.
Thank God for Appeals. Sometimes the Judge gets it WRONG! As in this case! That is just wrong, wrong, wrong, wrong, wrong!!!
Does that mean she will get a different Judge the next time around?
I agree with you 100%
If it wasnt signed on the back-and apparently it wasnt
then the bearer has the right to the ticket.
Law school 101
Come on, judge.
I agree rdg.if it been me I would not have said a thing first of all.second I would have about a month or to cash it.as far as them asking about when and where it was purchased.here's my answer: I purchase scratch a lottery tickets from many stores when I travel and I purchase a lot. So I can't remember when and where the ticket was purchased. People love to brag about when they win something ESP to the the press.they just gotta have that 15 minutes of fame.
Your exactly rite , this wouldn't even be a story ,....if she kept the pie whole shut.Now we can kick back and watch the lawyers get the rest of it.Sorta like a fishing story ,you shoulda seen the one that gotta way.
Let's hope the Appeal Judge get's it right and Mrs. Jones is able to keep ALL the money.
If Ms. Duncan's claim is true, that she scanned the ticket and the scanner mistakenly said it was a "non winner" she should sue The Lottery Commission as her loss was due to their defective equipment. Their defense would be that Ms Duncan never scanned the ticket as they must keep records of tickets that have been scanned.(computers never throw away information. If that is true (she never scanned it) then Duncan loses and Jones wins. If it is true (she scanned it and scanner was defective) Duncan wins against Lotto Commission not against Jones. Jones keeps the money. Everybody (except the Lottery Commission) walks away a winner. Lottery Commission has lots of money anyway so who cares about them. (They would probably sue the scanner manufacturer anyway.) This whole situation stinks.
Why would u tell anyone you found the ticket even if you did? That's just stupid. Do you know how many people would be lining up as the right full owner."even a fish wouldn't get caught if he kept his mouth shut"
Was a crime committed, no? The ticket was found in the trash. I think the Judge is wrong and Ms Jones should get to keep the money. If not for Ms Jones, Ms Duncan's million dollar ticket would be in the dump, where she intended it to go. If Ms Duncan had checked her ticket like Ms Jones did, then she would be the winner without going to court. At the least the lawyers should try to get their clients to agree to share the winnings.
this is a decision "bishop" the new hack arkansas lottery director should make to justify his existence. since he's been hired he has not been seen or heard from. time to step up "bishop" and be heard or seen.
The silver lining of the story is this. Pertieius tried to be slick and now she gets nothing.she never posted a sign.
why is everybody overlooking, "scanner said not a winner"??? omg!! I bet you she told the lady it was not a winner and wanted to keep the winnings for herself. Did anyone see the dateline story about these clerks???
150% correct!
"Finders keepers, losers weepers" is what I say to this!!!
And about the scanner? The person who THREW AWAY the ticket scanned it..Maybe there was a crease in the bar code and the scanner misread it..It has happened to me on a winning($3) ticket when the scanner said 'Sorry, not a winner' even tho I had manually CHECKED the numbers and knew it was a winner..Technology is not infaalible!
"Hughes found that the evidence weighed in Duncan's favor that she bought the winning ticket, even though lottery records and store security video didn't synch up to the precise timing of the purchase."
Duncan only proved she bought a ticket and apparently a losing ticket. Will the judge award the money to someone else if their timing synchs up better with the purchase?
"Arkansas Lottery Security Chief Lance Huey testified that he investigated the circumstances of the ticket falling into Jones' hands. He said the lottery was satisfied with the investigation and awarded the prize."
If any judge can overturn a decision by a state lottery, anyone can claim they purchased any winning ticket but lost it. In this case Jones said she found the winning ticket, but if a player bought the winning ticket in a very busy store, can they actually prove they bought it?
"White County judge Thomas Hughes, however, said Jones never met the burden of proof that Duncan abandoned her right to claim $1 million."
But Jones did meet the burden of proof to the Arkansas Lottery. And because Duncan testified when she checked the ticket, the terminal said "Sorry. Not a winner.", she can't even prove the ticket Jones found was the one she purchased.
Terrible ruling by that judge and it should be overturned.
This is rediculous!!!! #1 I've seen stories where clerks claim a ticket has lost to cash in, but seems that did not happen. He handed the losing ticket back, and she just tossed it. Then the other woman came along and found it, checked it discovered it was a winner, and cashed it it. I agree with what a lot of others have said. The person who threw it away should have been told SOL and you just lost out. She did not sign the ticket!!! So finders keepers. The judge is totally wrong!!!
Of the two attorneys, Mr. Simpson and Mr. Morgan, I wonder which one is closest to the power structure of Beebe? I wonder which one contributed the most to the election, and re-election campaigns to Judge Hughes? In small towns like this the answers to these two questions have a lot of influence on the verdict in a case such as this one. I know, because I live in a place such as this.
Maybe one (wo)mans trash ISNT another (wo)mans treasure after all.....
1st of all I think this will all be rectified with the appeal. The appeal goes before a different judge to see if the 1st judge was fair with his/her judgement.
2nd this phrase.
Hughes found that the evidence weighed in Duncan's favor that she bought the winning ticket, even though lottery records and store security video didn't synch up to the precise timing of the purchase.
If I was bought a ticket at the store around that time I guess I could have came forward and said it was mine too???
Finally, the reason she told the truth about how she got the ticket is probably because that is the right thing to do plus the store had cameras.
She might have been bragging about finding a 1 million dollar ticket in the trash. That is something big to find a ticket like that in the trash. You might not say anything about finding a "Free Ticket" in the trash but you might if you found a $500 winning ticket. I don't fault her for telling but myself, if they asked me how I got the ticket I probably would have said, "I'm lucky"
LOTTERY SPY CAM IN ACTION I GUESS,homeless and trash divers are not suppose have a Blessed day!
its ok as long as its not a million bucks..! I see it often and have looked in the trash to see hot selling scratch=offs. I have purchased lottery tickets for years and have yet to see all of these gadgets to verfy me buying anything at a specific time. the time of purchase is on the machine tickets but on Scratch-off ,the store clerk grabs a ticket and give you one off a roll ,sometime you dont even see the roll and the roll has not even been scaned yet. ARE WE TO ASSUME THAT ALL LOTTERY SALES ARE RECORDED ?? If someone throws a ticket away for a smaller amount nothing is said; Do you only check large winners sales and just how do the lottery always have a recording of big win sales.???? I am just saying;;; Florida first scratch off winner found his ticket on the street in front of his hardware store and admitted to not buying a ticket , but he claimed 5000.
STILL LOOKING FOR THAT MACHINE WITH THE CAMERA SO AT LEAST I KNOW WHERE THE WINNING TICKET WILL BE SOLD...just saying
Welcome to the blog, nexplorer! You're off to a great contribution start ... you've posted the most intelligent idea thus far. Keep wise, cut-to-the-chase, suggestions comming!
the only real winners here are the lawyers
@ time treat
Lol here come the spell check police, There were a few other miss spellings in that post and thet's the only one you point out? You're getting soft.
This case was analyzed by Judge Napolitano on Fox News this morning.
He said once she threw it in the garbage can it wasn't her ticket anymore.
He said the judge made a bad call and it'll most likely be overturned on appeal.
The whole thing is SICK!
"Naw, I have to disagree with EVERYBODY HERE."
Who's the EVERYBODY HERE you're disagreeing with?
Everybody who posted before you (including me) had the same opinion you do.
The part that doesn't make sense, when Duncan had her ticket scanned it said "Sorry not a winner", but when Jones had the ticket scanned, the it was a winner and the lottery investigated the circumstances. The reason Jones going through the trash was because many other players were throwing away their tickets. If the judge believes Jones shouldn't get the money, he still shouldn't have awarded Duncan the prize because Jones' ticket may have been bought by another player.
Players lose winning tickets all the time and simply convincing a judge they were buying tickets at the store around the time a winning ticket was sold there isn't usually enough to be awarded the winnings.
.
I remember this story from the 20/20 Special: Lotto Frenzy. I am just happy the greedy store manager did not get a dime. I hope people learn to keep their mouth closed. The winner of the ticket is the person who has the ticket, regardless of who bought it.
Thanks for the info ridge...
Yes she will get a different Judge.
That is what the lady that found the ticket get she shouldn't have said anything, however i feel like she should have to give the ticket up she didn't spend her $10 for it and the cashier
In the store was wrong for telling the original ticket holder that the ticket was a non winner.
IMPORTANT INFORMATION: This ticket is a bearer instrument. Anyone possessing a winning ticket may claim the prize. Valid only for date(s) shown. Winner must claim the prize within 182 days of the drawing. All winners, tickets and transactions subject to Maryland State Lottery Agency Regulations and State law.
TO CLAIM A PRIZE: Present this ticket to any Maryland State Lottery ticket agent. Validated winning tickets valued to $600 are eligible for INSTANT PAYOFF. Validated winning tickets higher than $600 will be paid by check after claim is filed. Void if torn or altered.
As exactly written on the back of all lottery tickets. I believe the first two sentences are quite clear. Case closed.
Yeah, I wrote this the wrong way...my mistake. For now, I'm gonna say this: I'd like to first see if the ticket was scanned, and, then displayed as a loser. There is a record of whether or not that ticket was scanned...and where. If it was the scanner's fault, then I certainly feel the original purchaser is entitled to the winnings...and should split it with the trash diver. If it wasn't for her diving, the ticket would, in fact, be long gone and a total loss by now.
If it was simply misread by the purchaser, and thrown away, then she should receive nothing regardless if she spent her money on the ticket. This is something a player should check, double check, and then re-check before discarding. Should be interesting...
L.L.
Never said anything about the spelling.
'Found the idea that people still expect the courts to be consistent laughable, though.
Your try at deflection is what's soft.
Usually they get a different judge each round, but there have been cases where the same judge heard the case (argued from a different angle) on appeal.
Doesn't anybody actually look at the numbers on the ticket?
I've cashed tickets I thought matched 2 numbers and found out I matched 3 numbers and matched 8 playing Ten-Oh when thought I matched 7. Cashed tickets I thought matched 3 numbers but only matched 2, but at least I knew I had some of the numbers and won something. If I tried to cash a ticket I thought won something and it said "sorry not a winner", I would recheck the ticket against the results.
The reason we read about all the scams is because some players are to lazy to check the results. They hand thousands of dollars worth of unsigned tickets to clerks every day. Even the woman that won twice on the same day handed a clerk $2 million worth of unsigned tickets to be checked. Basically this judge award the money to a player for being extraordinarily stupid.
i see women tear up losing scratchers into little itty bitty peices when they toss em out. now there is someone who definately doesnt wasnt someone picking up their lost ticket.I feel the dumpster diver deserves a little something.
as the whoe mess would never have benn out there if it wasnt her effort. man if i was the winner/ purchaser id prob hand over half, just to be that someone special that stands for justice. cuz i sure as hewck couldnt live with myself knowing i thought it a loser. but then ther lotto scanner needs to be smashed as well. i guess if i was the judge i would order lotto to fix its scanners and [pay both ladies.
I find it interesting the store where it was bought 1st tried a lawsuit, when that didn't work this other lady joined in. Do you think maybe they all know each other and and all are trying to split the money....HMMMMMMMMMMMM
Very good points here and I dig people that call it like they see it. We all have a responsibility to personally, and thoroughly, check our tickets against the official results. Also, here's something else lots of people may not know: A winning lottery ticket sounds a certain way if it's, in fact, a winner upon being scanned. If it's a not a winner, it'll read the bar code, pause, and then just "BEEP". A winning ticket will be read, paused, then the machine will begin to print the prize amount.
Now, this is only for tickets ran back through the actual ticket printer...not the scanner only. I think I know why so many people throw away winning scratch-off tickets, too. Some of these tickets provide so many different ways to win that players simply overlook a win because it's hard to interpret it. Some players forget to scratch the whole ticket...leaving a prize amount completely untouched. Others read the symbols wrong and think they've lost when actually, they've won.
Lots of room for error and this is why players should pay very close attention to what they're doing.
L.L.
i really hope this gets turned on appeal because this will set a very dangerous precedent.
Not saying anything is just as bad if not worse. Usually the cover-up is worse than the actually crime or mistake that was made from the onset. And we still do not know how this all came about. They never said if the woman said it or if it was just public information that made people aware of the circumstances in this case. But either way, if in fact their was an attempt to validate the ticket and the machine gave false information out, it is not the ticket holders responsibility that the machine malfunctioned. I find that hard to believe but anything is possible. But if the woman threw the ticket out and never tried to validate the ticket and than someone comes along and takes the tickets out of the garbage, for second chance drawings I believe that it is the persons who found the ticket and either way the store owner/employee has nothing to do with this no matter what the circumstances were.. This only goes to show you, sign all tickets, winners or losers to at least protect your interest if the ticket is for a larger prize or even first prize monies. The reality for people to become instant millionaires is more of a reality now than ever before.
Has anyone considered the amount of money that was spent by the lottery itself on read out scanners that simply do not work? What is the use of having read out scanners if they dont work? Would anyone buy a toilet seat that doesnt work a faucet a garage door anythin in this frinkin world if it doesnt work. This whole eposode began because the lottery installed read out scanners that simply do not work? It makes you wonder if you've ever thown away a winning ticke in the past.
This whole strory began when a women threw away a ticket that "the LOTTERIES READ OUT SCANNER" claimed was a loser. It said "SORRY NOT A WINNER" what kind of bull is that? So I check my ticket the scanner says its not a winnr I throw it away someone else goes through the trash find it and turns it in. And I am out everything all becaus of the "LOTTERYS READ OUT SCANNER" Wow thank you lottery people who created this whole scenrio in my life. How can I ever thank you.
Either have machines that work or stop spending money on faulty machines. That is a waste of money.
Or simply do a Solomon and split the baby in half
Split the money between the two women and be done with it.
Its not the womans fault that the scanner the lottery so invested in do not work and its not the womens falt who found the ticket.
so just split it and bedone with it.
Again whats the use of having scanners if they dont work?
they're useless.
@ time treat --- I keep forgetting to quote
My mistake then, I thought you were isolating the word because I spelled it wrong. Back to my point and you disagreeing with it then. Yes the courts should be consistent. I think as Americans we have the right to expect as much. Most legal arguments all come down to consistency. This is the whole concept behind arguing case law. You cant say 1+1 = 2 on tuesday then say it equals 6 on friday. Sure you don't think it's realistic of me to expect but I do. And if we just laugh and don't call foul when judges contradict eachother then a piece society will crumble. Not to be dramatic about it or anything...
I think that the facts got twisted a bit in this story. I would be willing to bet she scanned the ticket herself on the scanner for keno/megamillions etc..I've seen people do it before. These scanners dont work for scratchies. I've never seen a scanner anywhere that a customer can use to check scratchies. She would have to have given the ticket to the clerk to really find out if it was a winner by scanning it on the lotto machine thats behind the counter.
It's pretty sad that the trash-winner didnt keep her win.
This is a sadly hilarious story.
1. Arkansas
2 Kangaroo court
3 This case WILL be turned over-turned in appeal. I agree with the vast majority of comments in that this ticket is the "Bearer instrument" and signature concludes the winner. End of story. Though the 'machine arguement' is interesting you are high if you don't think that will be dismissed as 'user error.' As somebody mentioned the bar code may have been creased ect... in the end the state lottery won't be the one taking the heat.
4 It is commonplace in litigation to site other cases in order to support yours. Which I have NEVER seena case decided like this. Also the rules are on the back of the ticket and are to be followed VERBATIM. Not some hick judge in Ark. who make his own rules. Here in Mich. we have 10 cent deposit on bottles. Many people pick them up and return them. I am yet to see a homeless or thrifty individual be prosecuted for picking scrap metal out of somebody's trash or claim the deposit on a can of Pepsi he did not purchase. LAW MUST BE ACROSS THE BOARD! Reguardless of the money involved, otherwise you fight that the law in place IS TOO VAGUE! That is not the case with the rules on the back of a ticket. They are precise, poignant, and only a pinhead would misinterpret them, or an Ark. judge. In Michigan there is a PLAY IT AGAIN option on instant and draw games in which you can enter non-winning tickets and you get points so that you can get an assortment of swag/prizes...you also get an entry to be on our state lottery show to win a million bucks. Every 10 bucks of non-winners gives you an entry to this game show. I will be d#$med if somebody tries to deny me my option to be on this show cause I cash HUNDREDS of dollars a day in non-winners that i find in the trash and good f*%king luck trying to prove that your ticket was the one in the trash that I used and was randomly picked for me to be on the show. A detroit lawyer would of cut this judge into pieces. Hire Geoffrey Fieger and this case would of been thrown out on the first day. Not a plug, simply saying the guy is a beast.
I agree 100%. The lady is lucky atleast someone picked it up. Now she has $1m thanks to the oddball woman. Otherwise she would have had nothing!
I don't know about Arkansas but anybody that sticks their hands in a garbage can in a store around here is gonna get a whole lotta nasty ol' tobaccy spit on 'em.
Everybody chews around here, inside and out.
You'd have to wipe the tobaccy spit off all the tickets to check 'em.
And some of them old time chewers hack up big globs of brown phlegm and spit it in there too.
You want them tickets, you can have 'em.
Sho ain't nobody fightin' over 'em.
I'm with you LottoMomma,
The lotto commision actually does a, lets call it a "pre interrogation" interview. This interview helps validate the ticket holder.
Where did you purchase the ticket?
What time did you buy the ticket?
Do you play all the time, or just once in a while?
Do you have a number system?
How many of the winning numbers do you remember?
Do you often choose your numbers?
Do you buy quick picks?
Any many more questions to follow.., so when its a show down to whom this ticket belongs to, the ladder shall prevail on the most convincing case.
Where I live, if you toss out a ticket not signed, It becomes someone elses chance if they go through the trash.
Would It be Awesome to know and figure out how many winning tickets get tossed out!?!
actually the read out scanner does work its just that people f.. it up. anything you give to the public they put dirty hands on screen and also hit them when they loss like they hit there wives and dogs lots of crazy people out there. i dont use scanners in the first place i use lottery post on my mobile phone first and then use the state lottery website second to confirm my lucky win . lol
According to her interview on The Today Show....she didn't tell the lottery that she won. She claims they did a routine investigation and via the survelliance video they learned that she didn't buy the ticket but fished it out of the garbaged. Personally...I don't believe her!!
What part don't you believe?
I agree 1000%... I believe Sharon (the finder) will win on Appeals!!
I don't believe that she didn't tell anyone, including the lottery officials that she found the ticket in the trash.
Yeah, that does sound a little suspect, thanks.
This is what i think...i think the clerk scanned another losing ticket that was just laying around and she kept the winner for herself. Say it doesn't happen, say it!
"they got money for wars, but they can't feed the poor"..tupac