Good Samaritan may get unclaimed lotto jackpot in Spain

Sep 20, 2013, 9:25 am (16 comments)

International

Includes audio report

A city in northwest Spain issued a rather unusual lost-and-found notice this week:

FOUND: A lottery ticket bought more than a year ago, which entitles the owner to an unclaimed $6.3 million jackpot.

LOST: The ticket's owner.

From its El Gordo ("The Fat One") Christmas lottery, to the summertime EuroMillions drawing, Spain is a country obsessed with playing the lottery — especially in a dismal economy.

With unemployment above 27 percent, many Spaniards figure their chance of getting rich by working and saving is the same as winning the jackpot. So why not buy a ticket?

Spanish lotteries often have hundreds or thousands of winners who split the prize. And it's virtually unheard of that someone might buy a lottery ticket in Spain and then not check to see if he or she won. But that's exactly what appears to have happened with one winner in the northwest Spanish city of La Coruña.

In June 2012, someone bought a ticket at a kiosk there. A few days later, the numbers on that ticket — 10, 17, 24, 37, 40 and 43 — won $6.3 million. But the jackpot went unclaimed. A few weeks later, the ticket mysteriously turned up on the counter of another lottery kiosk in the same city.

Manuel Reija, the cashier, assumed it fell out of someone's wallet. He ran it through his machine that checks for winning numbers — and almost fell over.

"I couldn't believe it the first time I checked the ticket! So I ran it through the machine again just in case there was a computer error," he told reporters recently. "I was standing up, but I had to sit down. I almost broke the chair, I was so flustered!"

Spanish media have dubbed Reija a good Samaritan. He turned the ticket in, rather than claiming the jackpot himself.

"It would have burned a hole in my pocket," Reija said. "It wouldn't have been right [to claim someone else's prize]."

For more than a year, the regional Spanish lottery administration waited for someone to come forward. But now the city of La Coruña has launched a very public search for the ticket's rightful owner.

"We're searching for a millionaire, not to ask for money, but to give it away," Mayor Carlos Negreira told NPR in a telephone interview. "So that's a little strange, especially these days, with the bad economy."

Six people have already come forward to try to claim the ticket, Negreira said, but none could prove ownership, by providing details of exactly when and where the ticket was sold. Officials are keeping that information a secret.

Many locals believe the ticket's owner is most likely a regular lottery player from La Coruña who visits lots of different kiosks. He or she bought the ticket at one location, but possibly dropped it by mistake at another one. Or it could even be a foreign tourist who's long gone from Spain. La Coruña is a port city and draws thousands of tourists to nearby beaches in summertime.

By law, if the real owner isn't found within two years, the $6.3 million jackpot will go to the cashier, Manuel Reija, who found the unclaimed ticket. If that happens, the mayor says he'll buy the man a beer.

"He found something that wasn't his, and did the right thing to try to find who it belongs to," Negreira said. "He's a good example for our citizens who believe in justice."

AUDIO: Listen to the radio report

Thanks to Mark for the tip.

NPR

Comments

Abdi's avatarAbdi

that is a sign of a good faith,he has set a good example.

dallascowboyfan's avatardallascowboyfan

Nice to read stories about people that do the right thing WTG  Manuel ReijaThumbs Up. If the rightful owner does show up I hope he/she does the right thing and reward Manuel.

maringoman's avatarmaringoman

Quote: Originally posted by Abdi on Sep 20, 2013

that is a sign of a good faith,he has set a good example.

I agree! Honesty is the best policy

mypiemaster's avatarmypiemaster

This is an open invitation, to crooks and wannabe crooks. Bravo to the person who turned in the ticket.

CLETU$

What a novel idea. Giving the unclaimed jackpot to an honest clerk.

Jill34786's avatarJill34786

If the jackpot goes unclaimed I sure hope this good Samaritan cashier gets rewarded.

helpmewin's avatarhelpmewin

Quote: Originally posted by dallascowboyfan on Sep 20, 2013

Nice to read stories about people that do the right thing WTG  Manuel ReijaThumbs Up. If the rightful owner does show up I hope he/she does the right thing and reward Manuel.

I Agree!

hjones

Had that 'lucky' fellow tried to cash in the ticket, he would most likely been persecuted, and/or prosecuted since he wouldn't be able state the time and place of the ticket purchase.

 

Good for him, though.  Best thing to do was to turn it in, and maybe pray for some kind of reward.  In this case, a big payout came to him.

EdG1955

The time and place of purchase are printed on the lottery ticket. The date and time are clearly evident. All one would need to do is figure out which selling location matches the numeric code on the ticket. I can look at my old tickets and tell you which of the regular 4 or 5 places I buy from a particular ticket came from by the location code.

sully16's avatarsully16

Quote: Originally posted by dallascowboyfan on Sep 20, 2013

Nice to read stories about people that do the right thing WTG  Manuel ReijaThumbs Up. If the rightful owner does show up I hope he/she does the right thing and reward Manuel.

I Agree! Yes, very nice story

HaveABall's avatarHaveABall

I hope the owner(s) figure out that this unclaimed jackpot ticket is their TICKET! Shocked

I also hope that Manuel Reija becomes a multi-millionaire and lives a happier life soon! Hurray!

Jill34786's avatarJill34786

Quote: Originally posted by EdG1955 on Sep 20, 2013

The time and place of purchase are printed on the lottery ticket. The date and time are clearly evident. All one would need to do is figure out which selling location matches the numeric code on the ticket. I can look at my old tickets and tell you which of the regular 4 or 5 places I buy from a particular ticket came from by the location code.

The lottery commission hasn't even disclosed where the ticket was purchased. Do you really think they will show the original to the public? They have already had numerous claims with none having any merit.

Party1377

Quote: Originally posted by hjones on Sep 20, 2013

Had that 'lucky' fellow tried to cash in the ticket, he would most likely been persecuted, and/or prosecuted since he wouldn't be able state the time and place of the ticket purchase.

 

Good for him, though.  Best thing to do was to turn it in, and maybe pray for some kind of reward.  In this case, a big payout came to him.

It did not come to him yet. But I hope it does.

rdgrnr's avatarrdgrnr

Those 6 people who tried to claim it should each get a year in jail.

Piaceri

Quote: Originally posted by dallascowboyfan on Sep 20, 2013

Nice to read stories about people that do the right thing WTG  Manuel ReijaThumbs Up. If the rightful owner does show up I hope he/she does the right thing and reward Manuel.

I Agree!

 

Kinda hoping the rightful owner does not show up and the clerk gets to keep the winnings. Yes Nod

jamella724

I hope there are a lot of people like him. Even though he need the money so much and he knows how much is the value of the ticket, he didn't claim the prize that is not for him. I really admire people like him. I do hope too that the real winner will come forward to claim what is rightfully his.

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