Lottery ‘Winner’ Was A State Inspector — Now California Gas Station Is Subject Of Probe
Imagine you’ve won $75,000 in the lottery. Now imagine the clerk at the local gas station gives you $75 instead of the thousands owed. That’s what happened at a Chevron in California, which is now under investigation because their most recent “winner” had a dummy ticket – he was actually an inspector.
That may not bode well for the Palmdale gas station. On Sunday, NBC Los Angeles reported that a man left with $75 instead of his $75,000 winnings; the clerk realized the blunder far too late. The “winner,” actually an inspector, was already gone. He apparently read the numbers wrong on the machine.
The manager, Shamsun Nahar Islam, reached out to the media, searching for an unidentified man in his 20s who was owed $74,925, KTLA reported. Meanwhile, California lottery officials were waiting to see if someone else claimed the fake.
Trouble is, the cashier didn’t give it back to the inspector, or a validation slip that confirmed the payout – which he was supposed to do, spokesman Russell Lopez told KABC on Monday.
“Since the store held onto the ticket, it appears (it) was mishandled. We are currently investigating this case.”
That pretend winner was a Wild West Poker Scratchers game; winning the top prize of $75,000 is a chance of one in over a million.
Authorities haven’t figured out if they are telling the truth, or if they’re up to no good, and are looking into whether authorities were actually notified; Islam said she did so, immediately after the error was noticed.
Inspectors have to make the rounds at stores that sell lottery because about 2 percent of them aren’t quite honest about their sales. And since the Palmdale store didn’t abide by the rules, they have to delve deeper into that mistaken Sunday payout.
For now, officials are saving judgment until all the facts have been determined, Lopez said.
“We have a lot more questions than answers. A lot of red flags have been raised and we are looking into whether this was an honest mistake or not.
[Photo Courtesy Scott Olson/Getty Images]
