AzPete
Well-Known Member
FWB man: I shredded the $14.5M-winning lottery ticket
Comments 0
October 05, 2010 06:54:00 AM
WENDY VICTORA / Florida Freedom Newspapers
FORT WALTON BEACH — A 31-year-old Fort Walton Beach man says he realized too late that he shredded a Florida Lottery ticket worth $14.5 million.
Chris Gooden went back through his shredder but was only able to find four pieces of what he believes is the winning ticket, and those pieces show three of the six numbers from the Sept. 22 drawing.
He says he purchased the ticket on Sept. 20, using the numbers on the back of his fortune cookie from lunch that day at the Tokyo Express Chinese Restaurant.
"I was analyzing the numbers, thinking to myself this ticket will never (win) because the numbers are too close," he said.
Two people correctly chose the right numbers — 3-4-5-7-19-30 — for the $29 million drawing, according to the Florida Lottery. One ticket was sold at the Shell Station at the corner of Racetrack Road and Beal Parkway. The other was a quick pick sold in Aventura, Fla.
A Florida Lottery spokeswoman said Monday no one has stepped forward with the winning ticket. She said people have presented tickets torn into pieces and tickets that were unreadable before.
Florida Lottery uses a forensics lab to help people with problem tickets claim their prizes, she said.
Gooden said he bought gas and a number of lottery tickets at the Shell Station on Sept. 20. He said he put the ticket in his truck, which he sold the next day. He said when he realized he might have the winning ticket, he was worried he'd left it in the truck.
After searching the truck, he realized he'd brought in a stack of papers from the vehicle and shredded some of them, including the lottery ticket. He said he realized he had shredded the ticket before the drawing, but figured he wouldn't win and it didn't matter.
Later, after realizing his mistake, Gooden went back and found a few pieces of the ticket in the teeth of the shredder. The rest went to the landfill Sept. 28 with the household trash, he said.
Gooden said he went to the landfill, but officials wouldn't allow him to search for the fragments, explaining that he would never find them. He's not sure what to do next but hopes an attorney might be able to help him prove his case.
"My heart just sunk," he said of the moment when he realized what might have been. "I just sat there feeling real stupid."
Comments 0
October 05, 2010 06:54:00 AM
WENDY VICTORA / Florida Freedom Newspapers
FORT WALTON BEACH — A 31-year-old Fort Walton Beach man says he realized too late that he shredded a Florida Lottery ticket worth $14.5 million.
Chris Gooden went back through his shredder but was only able to find four pieces of what he believes is the winning ticket, and those pieces show three of the six numbers from the Sept. 22 drawing.
He says he purchased the ticket on Sept. 20, using the numbers on the back of his fortune cookie from lunch that day at the Tokyo Express Chinese Restaurant.
"I was analyzing the numbers, thinking to myself this ticket will never (win) because the numbers are too close," he said.
Two people correctly chose the right numbers — 3-4-5-7-19-30 — for the $29 million drawing, according to the Florida Lottery. One ticket was sold at the Shell Station at the corner of Racetrack Road and Beal Parkway. The other was a quick pick sold in Aventura, Fla.
A Florida Lottery spokeswoman said Monday no one has stepped forward with the winning ticket. She said people have presented tickets torn into pieces and tickets that were unreadable before.
Florida Lottery uses a forensics lab to help people with problem tickets claim their prizes, she said.
Gooden said he bought gas and a number of lottery tickets at the Shell Station on Sept. 20. He said he put the ticket in his truck, which he sold the next day. He said when he realized he might have the winning ticket, he was worried he'd left it in the truck.
After searching the truck, he realized he'd brought in a stack of papers from the vehicle and shredded some of them, including the lottery ticket. He said he realized he had shredded the ticket before the drawing, but figured he wouldn't win and it didn't matter.
Later, after realizing his mistake, Gooden went back and found a few pieces of the ticket in the teeth of the shredder. The rest went to the landfill Sept. 28 with the household trash, he said.
Gooden said he went to the landfill, but officials wouldn't allow him to search for the fragments, explaining that he would never find them. He's not sure what to do next but hopes an attorney might be able to help him prove his case.
"My heart just sunk," he said of the moment when he realized what might have been. "I just sat there feeling real stupid."
