# Check your own lottery tickets - convenience store owners steal $12.5 million **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [September 30, 2010, 5:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/check-your-own-lottery-tickets-convenience-store-owners-steal-12-5-million/555576 "2010-09-30T05:42:31Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Cat\_Whisperer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cat_whisperer/32/4839_2.png) [@Cat\_Whisperer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cat_Whisperer)\ **Post date:** [September 30, 2010, 11:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/check-your-own-lottery-tickets-convenience-store-owners-steal-12-5-million/555576/21 "2010-09-30T23:46:18Z")
My understanding is that people can have the clerk check their numbers for them, instead of checking their own numbers. In this case, the person got a free ticket with their numbers, but the clerk told them that they didn’t win anything. The clerk then played that free ticket and won the 12.5 million with it - which would have been the customer’s win, had they known about the free ticket and played it (which I think everyone does). ---
**Author:** ![Frank](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/3d9bf3/32.png) [@Frank](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Frank)\ **Post date:** [October 1, 2010, 12:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/check-your-own-lottery-tickets-convenience-store-owners-steal-12-5-million/555576/22 "2010-10-01T00:01:24Z")
> [@Bosstone](#): > > I believe some people don’t look up the numbers, they just take the tickets back to the store and have the clerk scan each one. This is accurate, and idiotic. Leaving aside completely the extremely rare win on a random number free ticket issue that the thread started with, what if you’ve already won the multi-million dollar prize? Were it me, that ticket would have been signed well before _anyone_ scanned it and I’d be calling in sick the next morning from Jefferson City so fast it’d make your head swim. ---
**Author:** ![Captain\_Amazing](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/6de8d8/32.png) [@Captain\_Amazing](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Captain_Amazing)\ **Post date:** [October 1, 2010, 12:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/check-your-own-lottery-tickets-convenience-store-owners-steal-12-5-million/555576/23 "2010-10-01T00:31:10Z")
> [@Cat\_Whisperer](#): > > My understanding is that people can have the clerk check their numbers for them, instead of checking their own numbers. In this case, the person got a free ticket with their numbers, but the clerk told them that they didn’t win anything. The clerk then played that free ticket and won the 12.5 million with it - which would have been the customer’s win, had they known about the free ticket and played it (which I think everyone does). Only if the customer had played the winning numbers on the free ticket they got, right? I mean, the convenience store guy didn’t cheat the customer out of 12.5 million, they cheated the customer out of the value of a free ticket, right? ---
**Author:** ![Frank](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/3d9bf3/32.png) [@Frank](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Frank)\ **Post date:** [October 1, 2010, 12:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/check-your-own-lottery-tickets-convenience-store-owners-steal-12-5-million/555576/24 "2010-10-01T00:45:30Z")
> [@Captain\_Amazing](#): > > Only if the customer had played the winning numbers on the free ticket they got, right? I mean, the convenience store guy didn’t cheat the customer out of 12.5 million, they cheated the customer out of the value of a free ticket, right? Probably, those days. In Missouri, these days, if you win a free ticket it prints with random numbers as soon as the winning ticket is scanned. ---
**Author:** ![Muffin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/muffin/32/4341_2.png) [@Muffin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Muffin)\ **Post date:** [October 1, 2010, 12:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/check-your-own-lottery-tickets-convenience-store-owners-steal-12-5-million/555576/25 "2010-10-01T00:49:52Z")
The Ontario Lottery and Gaming Corporation was paying out a lot more to convenience store owners than one would have expected, indicating that there was a lot of fraud going on in the convenience stores. The provincial government sacked the head of the OLG, and the OLG’s procedures have been tightened up. [Ontario Lottery and Gaming Corporation - Wikipedia](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ontario_Lottery_and_Gaming_Corporation#Retailer_fraud) ---
**Author:** ![Catfood\_Purrito](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/c6cbf5/32.png) [@Catfood\_Purrito](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Catfood_Purrito)\ **Post date:** [October 1, 2010, 12:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/check-your-own-lottery-tickets-convenience-store-owners-steal-12-5-million/555576/26 "2010-10-01T00:51:11Z")
I may be misremembering, since it’s been 14 years since I’ve worked in a gas station, but I think I remember that when somebody won a free ticket, they didn’t get to choose the numbers, the lotto machine would just automatically print out a free ticket with random numbers. That was the Iowa Lottery. But, like I said, it’s a vague half memory that could very well be totally wrong. I do, however, recall the large stacks of lottery tickets I had to scan for people who didn’t check their own tickets. Some people would buy them all the time and keep them stashed in their wallet for months, then bring in a giant stack to be checked all at once. Some people just spent way too much money on the lottery. The scratch ticket people were the REALLY annoying ones, though. ---
**Author:** ![Muffin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/muffin/32/4341_2.png) [@Muffin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Muffin)\ **Post date:** [October 1, 2010, 1:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/check-your-own-lottery-tickets-convenience-store-owners-steal-12-5-million/555576/27 "2010-10-01T01:15:06Z")
So far, 87 people have claimed the 12.5. [http://www.cbc.ca/canada/toronto/story/2010/09/30/lotto-office-swamped030.html](http://www.cbc.ca/canada/toronto/story/2010/09/30/lotto-office-swamped030.html) ---
**Author:** ![Muffin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/muffin/32/4341_2.png) [@Muffin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Muffin)\ **Post date:** [October 1, 2010, 1:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/check-your-own-lottery-tickets-convenience-store-owners-steal-12-5-million/555576/28 "2010-10-01T01:17:53Z")
[rant]Anyone who blocks the line at a convenience store by putzing about using the clerk as a personal casino attendant, making me wait, and wait, and wait to pay for my gas, deserves to have their winning ticket stolen by the clerk.[/rant] ---
**Author:** ![Annie-Xmas](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ecc23a/32.png) [@Annie-Xmas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Annie-Xmas)\ **Post date:** [October 1, 2010, 1:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/check-your-own-lottery-tickets-convenience-store-owners-steal-12-5-million/555576/29 "2010-10-01T13:22:48Z")
Slight hijack: One of the best conversations I’ve ever heard in my life was outside a 7-eleven between a guy who had stolen some lottery tivkets from a different 7-eleven and tried to cash in a $500 winner at that 7-eleven, and the cop who was called and caught up with the guy in the parking as he tyied to leave the store. Us Sunday morning crowd of coffee and newspaper getters were treated to quite a free show between one of the world’s dumbest criminals and the cop, who obviously was doing it partly for our enjoyment and the criminal['s public humiliation. ---
**Author:** ![phungi](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/phungi/32/395_2.png) [@phungi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/phungi)\ **Post date:** [October 1, 2010, 4:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/check-your-own-lottery-tickets-convenience-store-owners-steal-12-5-million/555576/30 "2010-10-01T16:02:50Z")
I am confused… since this happened in Canada, isn’t it the case that when one Canadian wins the lottery, it is as though all Canadians won the lottery? ---
**Author:** ![Cat\_Whisperer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cat_whisperer/32/4839_2.png) [@Cat\_Whisperer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cat_Whisperer)\ **Post date:** [October 1, 2010, 5:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/check-your-own-lottery-tickets-convenience-store-owners-steal-12-5-million/555576/31 "2010-10-01T17:06:37Z")
Well, sure, but it was the WRONG Canadians. They tainted our moral pool. ---
**Author:** ![Lynn\_Bodoni](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/e47c2d/32.png) [@Lynn\_Bodoni](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lynn_Bodoni)\ **Post date:** [October 2, 2010, 4:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/check-your-own-lottery-tickets-convenience-store-owners-steal-12-5-million/555576/32 "2010-10-02T04:11:01Z")
> [@Muffin](#): > > [rant]Anyone who blocks the line at a convenience store by putzing about using the clerk as a personal casino attendant, making me wait, and wait, and wait to pay for my gas, deserves to have their winning ticket stolen by the clerk.[/rant] Anyone who impedes the swift transactions of other people in a convenience store needs a quick kick in the butt. I used to work in a convenience store. You would not BELIEVE the number of people who wanted to pay for a $10 transaction in a combination of pennies and nickels. Unrolled. ---
**Author:** ![Muffin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/muffin/32/4341_2.png) [@Muffin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Muffin)\ **Post date:** [October 2, 2010, 4:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/check-your-own-lottery-tickets-convenience-store-owners-steal-12-5-million/555576/33 "2010-10-02T04:15:26Z")
> [@Lynn\_Bodoni](#): > > I used to work in a convenience store. You would not BELIEVE the number of people who wanted to pay for a $10 transaction in a combination of pennies and nickels. Unrolled. But if the stars align, you can hope that a robber will come in and shoot them. ---
**Author:** ![Muffin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/muffin/32/4341_2.png) [@Muffin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Muffin)\ **Post date:** [October 2, 2010, 4:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/check-your-own-lottery-tickets-convenience-store-owners-steal-12-5-million/555576/34 "2010-10-02T04:21:42Z")
> [@phungi](#): > > I am confused… since this happened in Canada, isn’t it the case that when one Canadian wins the lottery, it is as though all Canadians won the lottery? I spent lunch today listening to a human-rights fellow speak on his experiences in Pot’s Cambodia, Bosnia’s ethnic cleansing, and now the tribal massacres in the Congo. I came away with a profound feeling that all Canadians won the lottery. ---
**Author:** ![Snowboarder\_Bo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/snowboarder_bo/32/229_2.png) [@Snowboarder\_Bo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snowboarder_Bo)\ **Post date:** [October 2, 2010, 5:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/check-your-own-lottery-tickets-convenience-store-owners-steal-12-5-million/555576/35 "2010-10-02T05:52:51Z")
> [@Muffin](#): > > [rant]Anyone who blocks the line at a convenience store by putzing about using the clerk as a personal casino attendant, making me wait, and wait, and wait to pay for my gas, deserves to have their winning ticket stolen by the clerk.[/rant] wtf are you doing inside paying for your gas? swipe your debit or credit card like the rest of us in the 21st century ffs ---
**Author:** ![Guinastasia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guinastasia/32/5751_2.png) [@Guinastasia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Guinastasia)\ **Post date:** [October 2, 2010, 6:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/check-your-own-lottery-tickets-convenience-store-owners-steal-12-5-million/555576/36 "2010-10-02T06:01:59Z")
> [@Lynn\_Bodoni](#): > > > [@Muffin](#): > > > > [rant]Anyone who blocks the line at a convenience store by putzing about using the clerk as a personal casino attendant, making me wait, and wait, and wait to pay for my gas, deserves to have their winning ticket stolen by the clerk.[/rant] > > Anyone who impedes the swift transactions of other people in a convenience store needs a quick kick in the butt. > > I used to work in a convenience store. You would not BELIEVE the number of people who wanted to pay for a $10 transaction in a combination of pennies and nickels. Unrolled. When I was working at Kmart, I had a guy write a check for 25 cents. (I can’t remember what he was buying – it might have been a pack of gum). And no, I couldn’t refuse him. Or how about the idiots who wanted you to look through your drawer for the “state quarters”. GOD, I hated those damned things! ---
**Author:** ![Cat\_Whisperer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cat_whisperer/32/4839_2.png) [@Cat\_Whisperer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cat_Whisperer)\ **Post date:** [October 2, 2010, 6:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/check-your-own-lottery-tickets-convenience-store-owners-steal-12-5-million/555576/37 "2010-10-02T06:02:01Z")
> [@Muffin](#): > > > [@phungi](#): > > > > I am confused… since this happened in Canada, isn’t it the case that when one Canadian wins the lottery, it is as though all Canadians won the lottery? > > I spent lunch today listening to a human-rights fellow speak on his experiences in Pot’s Cambodia, Bosnia’s ethnic cleansing, and now the tribal massacres in the Congo. I came away with a profound feeling that all Canadians won the lottery. Heh - good point. By my calculation, a baby has a 0.44% chance of being born Canadian - you and I beat some pretty good odds. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Muffin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/muffin/32/4341_2.png) [@Muffin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Muffin)\ **Post date:** [October 2, 2010, 10:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/check-your-own-lottery-tickets-convenience-store-owners-steal-12-5-million/555576/38 "2010-10-02T10:04:34Z")
> [@Snowboarder\_Bo](#): > > wtf are you doing inside paying for your gas? swipe your debit or credit card like the rest of us in the 21st century ffs Not an option at many of the pumps around here, including the one nearest my place, and the one in the town I stop at on my way to my sattellite office. Flip side of the coin is that with these old pumps, I can set them to run while I clean the windows, rather than have to stand there holding the trigger. ---
**Author:** ![Cicero](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cicero/32/3594_2.png) [@Cicero](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cicero)\ **Post date:** [October 2, 2010, 2:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/check-your-own-lottery-tickets-convenience-store-owners-steal-12-5-million/555576/39 "2010-10-02T14:15:43Z")
> [@Cat\_Whisperer](#): > > Well, sure, but it was the WRONG Canadians. They tainted our moral pool. Since when did Canadians have a moral pool? 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Muffin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/muffin/32/4341_2.png) [@Muffin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Muffin)\ **Post date:** [October 2, 2010, 3:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/check-your-own-lottery-tickets-convenience-store-owners-steal-12-5-million/555576/40 "2010-10-02T15:06:29Z")
> [@Cicero](#): > > Since when did Canadians have a moral pool? 😃 [Since 1996](http://www.canlii.org/en/on/onca/doc/1996/1996canlii1119/1996canlii1119.html), leading to [things like this](http://notalwaysright.com/north-of-the-moral-border/4097) down at the water: “Mother: “I am from America where we have morals and standards. You people sicken me! They are far too young to be doing that!”” [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/check-your-own-lottery-tickets-convenience-store-owners-steal-12-5-million/555576.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/check-your-own-lottery-tickets-convenience-store-owners-steal-12-5-million/555576.md?page=3)