# Lottery ticket mix-up: who's money is it?? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [January 6, 2004, 5:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lottery-ticket-mix-up-whos-money-is-it/223043 "2004-01-06T17:14:17Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 7\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![NoGoodNamesLeft](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/8797f3/32.png) [@NoGoodNamesLeft](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/NoGoodNamesLeft)\ **Post date:** [January 6, 2004, 5:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lottery-ticket-mix-up-whos-money-is-it/223043/1 "2004-01-06T17:14:17Z")
Ok, here’s the deal…this is just breaking, so forgive me if some of the ‘facts’ later appear to be incorrect: A woman (Call her A) come sinto the police station a few days ago, telling police she lost her lottery ticket…it was a winner worth $162 million. Today, somebody ELSE (call her B)cashed in the ticket. Now B claims she bought the ticket and A is trying to pull a scam. A claims she bouth the ticket, and lost it, and claims her proof is that the winning numbers are the birthdates of her family members. Now what? ---
**Author:** ![NoGoodNamesLeft](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/8797f3/32.png) [@NoGoodNamesLeft](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/NoGoodNamesLeft)\ **Post date:** [January 6, 2004, 5:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lottery-ticket-mix-up-whos-money-is-it/223043/2 "2004-01-06T17:23:43Z")
[Here si the article fo rthe full story](http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&u=/ap/20040106/ap_on_re_us/mega_millions_lost_ticket_18). > [@](#): > > Rebecca Jemison, a hospital worker from South Euclid, turned in the 11-state jackpot at Ohio Lottery headquarters in downtown Cleveland, officials said. The lottery validated the sole winning ticket Tuesday morning for the drawing a week ago. [quote] Earlier, a Cleveland woman, Elecia Battle, 40, filed a police report saying she lost the ticket last week. Police said her story was credible, but the Ohio Lottery said whoever turned in a valid ticket was legally entitled to the winnings. > [@](#): > > About 30 people with flashlights searched for the ticket Monday night outside the suburban Cleveland store that sold the ticket after Battle’s police report became public. ---
**Author:** ![Doctor\_Jackson](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/doctor_jackson/32/32_2.png) [@Doctor\_Jackson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Doctor_Jackson)\ **Post date:** [January 6, 2004, 8:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lottery-ticket-mix-up-whos-money-is-it/223043/3 "2004-01-06T20:09:31Z")
In the eyes of the law, at least in Georgia, whoever brings the winning ticket to the lottery office is considered the owner. Anyone else has a HUGE burden of proof to contest ownership. It may not be fair, bu the law was written to keep the State Lottery Commission out of sqabbles just like this one. Consider a lottery ticket to be a bearer bond. ---
**Author:** ![Red\_Matrix](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/34f0e0/32.png) [@Red\_Matrix](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Red_Matrix)\ **Post date:** [January 6, 2004, 8:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lottery-ticket-mix-up-whos-money-is-it/223043/4 "2004-01-06T20:26:30Z")
In texas, each lotto ticket has a space in the back you can fill out with your name address, etc. I guess once you know it’s a winning ticket, you write your name and then no one but you can redeem it. ---
**Author:** ![World\_Eater](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/f04885/32.png) [@World\_Eater](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/World_Eater)\ **Post date:** [January 6, 2004, 8:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lottery-ticket-mix-up-whos-money-is-it/223043/5 "2004-01-06T20:42:46Z")
I think this has been sorted out over the past few hours. The lady who cashed the ticket had a receipt, and the Ohio lottery people said everything is legit. The other lady is a fraud and the police are mulling charges against her. ---
**Author:** ![stolichnaya](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/bcef8e/32.png) [@stolichnaya](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/stolichnaya)\ **Post date:** [January 6, 2004, 10:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lottery-ticket-mix-up-whos-money-is-it/223043/6 "2004-01-06T22:07:37Z")
Well, she has a receipt from the store for that time frame, which would be likely if whe was behind the ticket-dropper in line and picked it up. I don’t know why she would, but still. Assuming that A bought the ticket, dropped it, and it was later picked up by B, just as A says, then A still has no claim to the money, right? ---
**Author:** ![Moirai](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/96bed5/32.png) [@Moirai](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Moirai)\ **Post date:** [January 6, 2004, 10:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lottery-ticket-mix-up-whos-money-is-it/223043/7 "2004-01-06T22:17:51Z")
Correct. A lottery ticket is a bearer instrument, and whoever turns it in is legally entitled to the money. Even if she didn’t have a reciept (and I’ve never had a receipt because usually all I buy is the ticket itself, therefore no receipt), it’s a case of whoever cashes it first wins.