Massachusetts Couple Throws Away $1 Million Lottery Ticket, Recovers It From Garbage Bin
A Massachusetts couple who won $1 million on a scratch-off lottery ticket accidentally threw their winnings away.
Joseph Zagami and his wife won their big prize on a $5 ticket from a vending machine while grocery shopping. Instead of holding onto the ticket with a death grip and then waiting outside for the lottery office to open, they just stuck the ticket in a shopping bag.
The next day, Joseph asked his wife if she had the scratch ticket. When they realized his wife didn’t have the ticket, they frantically searched through the trash and dug up the ticket.
The ticket, which was purchased in the town of North Attleborough, will allow the couple to pay off their mortgage and some outstanding bills. They also plan to take a vacation.
While the couple could have claimed the prize at $50,000 per year over 20 years, they instead chose to take the one-time lump sum payment of $650,000 before taxes. After paying Uncle Sam, Joseph Zagami and his wife were handed a check for $455,000.
This isn’t the first time we have reported on a lost lottery ticket. On the other hand, most buyers don’t throw their ticket in a grocery bag and then forget about the $1 million they are carrying home.
In the meantime, if anyone throws away their winning lottery tickets, I would be happy to be their trash collector that week.
Could you ever take a $1 million winning lottery ticket and throw it in trash by accident, or would you place that ticket in a death grip until it was cashed?
