Would you make it public knowledge if you lost a winning ticket? Not me. I think she's just an opportunist thinking if she puts on a good act she might get at least a consolation prize from the lottery. I don't think she ever had the winning ticket. But we'll find out soon!
I think if she DID lose it, she made it public knowledge that she knows details of the ticket. I.e. if the lotter puts these two people (her and the person that turned it in) and she knows the numbers (because they're birthdates, anniversaries, etc.) knows where it was sold and when (down to the time of day, roughly) and the other person knows NONE of that, I would be inclined to believe her. Obviously the person that found it is going to know the numbers (because its on the news and they have the ticket) but I would bet that they can tell whether the computer picke the numbers, and if this woman can produce birth certificates that tie out to every date... However, I dont think it matters. A winning lottery ticket is a cash equivilant. This is a finders-keepers situation. I suppose she came out so that if someone found it, they might be guilted into sharing with her.
The article said there were 30 people outside the store with flashlights looking for it last night.
If she is telling the truth and someone actually found the ticket, common decency would dictate that they compensate her. When I say compensate, I mean pay her back the dollar she spent on the winning ticket.
I think the lady who lost it also said she lost her purse too with the ticket inside it. If the person who claimed the ticket happens to still have her purse, that's some real evidence that would corroborate the losing lady's claim. Of course, if the person who found the purse/ticket is clever, she/he would keep the purse from ever being found now.
Sounds like a plot from CSI, we just need the lady who lost the ticket to kill the person who went for the claim. (And then relocate this to Las Vegas)
I heard today on the radio that she filed the police report stating it was missing before the winning numbers were even announced. This gives her instant credibility. She merely reported a piece of HER property lost....with no idea of the potential value. At the very least, I would hope the person who found it would at least split it (50-50) with her. After all, if she hadn't reported it (again, before anyone knew it was the winning ticket) then they would have never even known to look for it.....just my .02.
Always sign em, folks. That way you (and only you) can claim the prize. Also keeps all those bad Columbo TV movie-type plots from being hatched by jealous friends and family.
Definitely. I won a prize in my state lottery last week (nothing life-changing, though, darn it!). The first thing I did after I realized it was a winner was to sign the ticket. Then, when I had the ticket verified, I had to present ID to prove I was the person who signed it.
Every report I've read, seen, and heard, states that she didn't report it missing until AFTER the winning numbers were announced. She says that after she heard the winning numbers, she looked for the ticket and couldn't find it.
She claims she plays those numbers every so often.
35 years ago, my grandparents won a car in a lottery (pre-defined numbers)... Unfortunatly they had thrown the winning ticket away... But since the company who send her the ticket knew to whom the winning ticket was send, my grandparents had to wait for the "claim period" to pass (just in case somebody found the ticket) and received the car... That car became my mother's first car...
The Smoking Gun has the police report. She filed the report after the numbers were announced. Her system seems to be a stretch though, two of the numbers were ages or dates that she reversed. However she did know the approximate time the card was bought, and that information hadn't been published.
Unfortunately for her if she's telling the truth is that she only stated she bought the ticket between 5pm and 7pm. Now that information is public, the other woman can make the same claim, and if she found the ticket shortly after the woman dropped it, and knows the time she picked it up, she can perhaps narrow the range.
So let me get this straight. She claims to have dropped her purse. She picked up everything EXCEPT for a wayward lottery ticket... that just happens to have won a 100+ million dollar prize. A prize that was drawn a week ago, that hasn't been claimed as of yet.
She could actually remember those numbers wrong, or have put down the numbers wrong, and THINK she had the winning ticket. It might just be an honest mistake.
She was able to repeat her "system" to the police without hesitation, so how could she have mistakenly thought they were her numbers?
Also, she filed her report within a few days, not a week or more, of the drawing.
In my initial reading of the police report I missed the fact that she chose 49 because her husband turns 49 this year. So that makes three of the six numbers chosen to be an odd fit for her system.
Her only hope is to file a lawsuit and have enough evidence that she purchased the ticket, and that the other lady didn't. Seems like little hope. Obviously the person with the ticket also went to the same convenience store. The only thing Elecia Battle has going for her is she knows the date and approximate time of purchase, which weren't public knowledge until she came forward with her claim.