Californial lottery refuses to pay winning scratcher

[Danny83]

What do you guys think of this? http://kron4.com/2017/07/21/video-ma...ackpot-denied/

[r8t3d_M]

I wonder how the commission knew that it was his son that bought the tickets?

[OliveSales]

Originally Posted by r8t3d_M

I wonder how the commission knew that it was his son that bought the tickets?

They probably make sure to find any loophole not to payout before they do anything.

[Canefan1]

Originally Posted by OliveSales

They probably make sure to find any loophole not to payout before they do anything.

My guess is they looked at camera footage.

[Tony64]

Originally Posted by Canefan1

My guess is they looked at camera footage.

How long do they keep the footage? Could they have just waited a few months to redeem it?

[Canefan1]

Good luck beating the state. Not good.

[BristolCavendish]

Originally Posted by r8t3d_M

I wonder how the commission knew that it was his son that bought the tickets?

Originally Posted by Wesley Crusher

They didn't play by the rules. Too bad, suckers.

The alleged winner (father) was a total moron. You don't claim a $5M lottery payout at the POS as they do not carry that kind of cash, let alone write lottery checks. This information is even stated on the back of scratchers.

You take the ticket to a local CA lottery office and fill out the paperwork. That would have given the father plenty of opportunity to sign the forms on his own.

Stupid is as stupid does.

[MonBK]

Originally Posted by BristolCavendish

The alleged winner (father) was a total moron. You don't claim a $5M lottery payout at the POS as they do not carry that kind of cash, let alone write lottery checks.

You take the ticket to a local CA lottery office and fill out the paperwork. That would have given the father plenty of opportunity to sign the forms on his own.

Stupid is as stupid does.

Is this your neighbor?

[BristolCavendish]

Originally Posted by MonBK

Is this your neighbor?

We don't live around anyone that stupid and besides, it's not my OP/story to tell.

Just another follow-up post.

[Wesley Crusher]

Originally Posted by BristolCavendish

We don't live around anyone that stupid and besides, it's not my OP/story to tell.

Just another follow-up post.

I don't know, eating enough BBQ cooked with chemically treated wood may lead to some sort of irreversible brain damage.

[wantonebad]

ok simple question, if the son won 5 million why go back to the gas station at all, and since it's very clear what the rules are, why didn't the kid run home and give the ticket to his parents immediately?

[BristolCavendish]

Originally Posted by wantonebad

ok simple question, if the son won 5 million why go back to the gas station at all, and since it's very clear what the rules are, why didn't the kid run home and give the ticket to his parents immediately?

That would be the 'common sense' approach.

[cda555]

Originally Posted by wantonebad

ok simple question, if the son won 5 million why go back to the gas station at all, and since it's very clear what the rules are, why didn't the kid run home and give the ticket to his parents immediately?

The father went to the store to claim the ticket, not the kid.

I have thought about this a little since I first heard the story. I think the guy has a decent case. The kid originally turned in some winning tickets and used those to purchase the $5 million winner. The clerk should have checked his ID before even accepting those first set of tickets.

Also, I haven't seen the posted signs in person, but if you read on the California Lotto site, it states "you must be at least 18 years of age to participate." It does not say you have to be 18 to purchase. I know that any reasonable person would assume participate = purchase, but the lawyer is definitely going to try every angle.

[Wesley Crusher]

They didn't play by the rules. Too bad, suckers.

[GB-man]

Wow that would have me drinking lol

Not sure I could get over that haha

[Investr]

The should try to settle for $100 bc that's all they'll get......

[Tony64]

Totally confused guys, help me. So if I were just to find a winning lottery ticket on the ground, my ability to redeem it would depend on who originally purchased it?

Always thought it was just "finders, keepers".

[Tools]

Originally Posted by Tony64

Totally confused guys, help me. So if I were just to find a winning lottery ticket on the ground, my ability to redeem it would depend on who originally purchased it?

Always thought it was just "finders, keepers".

Things are seldom "finders keepers" unless you made a reasonable effort to find the original owner (except on the school playground I suppose).

This guy doesn't have a case. Just like you can't send your kid into a casino to play the slots for you until it hits a jackpot, likewise, an underage kid is ineligible to play the lottery.

[brandrea]

Originally Posted by Tools

Things are seldom "finders keepers" unless you made a reasonable effort to find the original owner (except on the school playground I suppose).

This guy doesn't have a case. Just like you can't send your kid into a casino to play the slots for you until it hits a jackpot, likewise, an underage kid is ineligible to play the lottery.

Yes indeed, that's why they have rules.

[Sperry]

This sounds different from Illinois, a big FARM state with a black hole called Chicago, running the state bankrupt.

Note: If you are traveling thru Illinois, don't buy Powerball tickets. Chances are good they will not pay.

[Etschell]

Well after tax it's only 2.5 mil so maybe he can sleep a little better. I'd sue them hard though. It's a bearer instrument. If I lost id then sue the store that sold it to him.

[GB-man]

Hindsight is 20/20 but going back to the store and offering the teller 10k to erase the tape would have went a long way

[Tony64]

Originally Posted by GB-man

Hindsight is 20/20 but going back to the store and offering the teller 10k to erase the tape would have went a long way

I don't know the details beyond what's been posted, nor the rules of that state's lottery, but in general when someone goes to redeem a winning lotto ticket would the lottery commission routinely pull the video from its point of sale to verify the purchaser?

I guess that's more what I meant by "finders, keepers" when there's no external challenge to ownership.

[GB-man]

Originally Posted by Tony64

I don't know the details beyond what's been posted, nor the rules of that state's lottery, but in general when someone goes to redeem a winning lotto ticket would the lottery commission routinely pull the video from its point of sale to verify the purchaser?

I guess that's more what I meant by "finders, keepers" when there's no external challenge to ownership.

Sounds like it from the report but I honestly don't know.

[Manofsteelpt]

From what I've read, the lottery tix have batch numbers on them. The state keeps tabs on where the lot numbers go. The stores selling the tix must have surveillance cameras. So, I'm sure the state was able to track down where it was purchased, checked the surveillance footage and saw the kid purchased the ticket.

As Tom mentioned, bribing the store to erase the footage would've been a nice idea. Though for $10k, it might not have been worth the loss of ability to sell lottery, not to mention some sort of fraud investigation. Also, sitting on it for a while in hopes of the footage being deleted would've been very wise (though who knows the requirements of the state for the footage).

[Tony64]

Any bribes aside, I think the store that sells the winning ticket gets a nice payout as well from the lottery commission.

In this case if the sale of the winning ticket was invalidated then I'd assume the store owner loses out as well.

[GB-man]

Originally Posted by Manofsteelpt

From what I've read, the lottery tix have batch numbers on them. The state keeps tabs on where the lot numbers go. The stores selling the tix must have surveillance cameras. So, I'm sure the state was able to track down where it was purchased, checked the surveillance footage and saw the kid purchased the ticket.

As Tom mentioned, bribing the store to erase the footage would've been a nice idea. Though for $10k, it might not have been worth the loss of ability to sell lottery, not to mention some sort of fraud investigation. Also, sitting on it for a while in hopes of the footage being deleted would've been very wise (though who knows the requirements of the state for the footage).

Looking at it now, he had a year to claim I assume. He could have paid his buddy 10k to take a night shift there and erase the footage

[GradyPhilpott]

The best lesson from this is not to play the lottery.