# Shocking!: woman claims winning lotto ticket not part of office pool **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [April 3, 2012, 3:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shocking-woman-claims-winning-lotto-ticket-not-part-of-office-pool/617697 "2012-04-03T15:41:12Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![kaylasdad99](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kaylasdad99/32/3398_2.png) [@kaylasdad99](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kaylasdad99)\ **Post date:** [April 3, 2012, 9:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shocking-woman-claims-winning-lotto-ticket-not-part-of-office-pool/617697/41 "2012-04-03T21:04:04Z")
> [@Sally\_Mander](#): > > There’s also some question as to whether she’s a legal citizen. > [@BobLibDem](#): > > Why is this even an issue? > [@Sally\_Mander](#): > > The local talking heads have said you have to be a citizen to claim the prize. I don’t know if this is true or not. Yet another reason to never watch television to get your news (nothing personal, **2gigch1** ). That’s a highly dubious assertion. [ > [@](#): > > Can non-US citizens play? What if a non-US citizen wins? > > Yes, non-US citizens can legally play, and non-US citizens are eligible to win any prize offered in the game. ]([http://www.usamega.com/mega-millions-faq.htm](http://www.usamega.com/mega-millions-faq.htm)) ---
**Author:** ![ralph124c](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/8797f3/32.png) [@ralph124c](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ralph124c)\ **Post date:** [April 3, 2012, 9:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shocking-woman-claims-winning-lotto-ticket-not-part-of-office-pool/617697/42 "2012-04-03T21:51:46Z")
Verbal contracts are valid and enforceable! ---
**Author:** ![Gangster\_Octopus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/a8b319/32.png) [@Gangster\_Octopus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gangster_Octopus)\ **Post date:** [April 3, 2012, 9:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shocking-woman-claims-winning-lotto-ticket-not-part-of-office-pool/617697/43 "2012-04-03T21:52:44Z")
I have heard, and it may not be true at all, that some companies do ban office lotto pools, at least having them organized within the workplace, because they can cause discontent as well as if you have say a whole accounts receivable department that wins and they all up and quit that day that would really hamstring your operations. What is funny about this case is that I wouldn’t doubt there was some tickets bought in the pool and photocopied and then maybe a few more bucks thrown in at the end for the pool but too late to photocopy and no one really gave it a second thought because really there is no way in the world you are going to win, amirite? ---
**Author:** ![hajario](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hajario/32/171_2.png) [@hajario](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hajario)\ **Post date:** [April 3, 2012, 10:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shocking-woman-claims-winning-lotto-ticket-not-part-of-office-pool/617697/44 "2012-04-03T22:05:05Z")
My ex worked at a place many years ago where they had a lotto pool one time when the jackpot got large. There was one temp employee who didn’t get her money to the organizer and so wasn’t in the pool. When she tried to give money and was denied, she got majorly butthurt and threw a giant tantrum. She swore that she would sue if they won and didn’t give her a share. ---
**Author:** ![Grumman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/43a26b/32.png) [@Grumman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Grumman)\ **Post date:** [April 3, 2012, 10:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shocking-woman-claims-winning-lotto-ticket-not-part-of-office-pool/617697/45 "2012-04-03T22:05:07Z")
> [@ralph124c](#): > > Verbal contracts are valid and enforceable! In theory. The terms of a verbal contract are not enforceable if you can’t prove what those terms were, which is why you make sure you’ve got physical evidence of any contract that you think someone might dispute. ---
**Author:** ![Saintly\_Loser](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/saintly_loser/32/4045_2.png) [@Saintly\_Loser](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Saintly_Loser)\ **Post date:** [April 3, 2012, 10:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shocking-woman-claims-winning-lotto-ticket-not-part-of-office-pool/617697/46 "2012-04-03T22:16:49Z")
> [@aceplace57](#): > > Based on this, I’d say its a legal mess. They have to figure out which tickets she bought for the office with that last $5. Then see if the winning ticket is in that list. > > Taking office pool tickets home was just… stupid. It would be stupid, if that’s what happened. > [@](#): > > Then, late Friday, before the night’s drawing, the owner of the McDonald’s, Birul Desai, gave Wilson $5 to buy more tickets for the pool on her way home from work, and she went back to the 7-Eleven and bought them, Allen said. > > Wilson took those tickets home with her, Allen said. Mr. Desai’s story, or maybe Allen’s story, sounds at least as fishy as hers, if you ask me. Maybe it’s not her who’s the villain here. ---
**Author:** ![drachillix](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/48db29/32.png) [@drachillix](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/drachillix)\ **Post date:** [April 3, 2012, 10:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shocking-woman-claims-winning-lotto-ticket-not-part-of-office-pool/617697/47 "2012-04-03T22:52:51Z")
At my last job, I was the “pool guy”. Excel spreadsheets allowing variable contributions, etc, etc. Projected payouts based on shares of pool, etc, etc. I even had a system where payouts of less than $1 per person were rolled over to the next pool, allowing for the possibility of winning on a pool you did not directly contribute to. For example, 20 people buy 5 tickets each 100 tickets total and we win $10. I would buy 10 tickets for the next draw and include each person from the last pool as having bought a partial ticket share for the next draw. Then we won like $600 one time and 2 guys went totally screaming bitch fit that the $2 each that they contributed did not get them an equal share of the winnings when some folks put in $10-$20. The math was simple, they seemed cool with it when I explained it. Until it meant some people got about $12 and some got $60-120 (there were 98 tickets for the pool) When I did this, I also had a deadline of wed for the friday draw, made copies, and included the share payout projections including percentages as well as dollar values. On that share projection page was a little note stating “I Drachillix, while running this pool, agree not to purchase any personal lottery tickets outside of this pool for the draw on Date X. Any lottery winning ticket I hold for the draw on that date will be considered part of the pool” signed me. The boss was very happy when I included that little note as the same two from above had already been mumbling that I would probably find a way to scam them out of their winnings. ---
**Author:** ![Sailboat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sailboat/32/461_2.png) [@Sailboat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sailboat)\ **Post date:** [April 3, 2012, 11:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shocking-woman-claims-winning-lotto-ticket-not-part-of-office-pool/617697/48 "2012-04-03T23:11:48Z")
> [@Chessic\_Sense](#): > > Dear McDonalds employees: If we ever hear that several of you have won millions of dollars, you are _so fired!!_ You’ll never work at a McDonald’s again for the rest of your life! Do you hear me?! Never again! I L’ed out L. ) ---
**Author:** ![Loach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/loach/32/350_2.png) [@Loach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Loach)\ **Post date:** [April 4, 2012, 12:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shocking-woman-claims-winning-lotto-ticket-not-part-of-office-pool/617697/49 "2012-04-04T00:26:02Z")
A couple of years ago several employees from a different part of the municipal government hit the state Lotto for around the minimum amount. About 2.5 million. Of course lump sum and after taxes it was considerably less. You know what happened? Those that were in the pool got their money. Those that weren’t got nothing. There were never any problems. ---
**Author:** ![Rand\_Rover](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/db5fbb/32.png) [@Rand\_Rover](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rand_Rover)\ **Post date:** [April 4, 2012, 2:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shocking-woman-claims-winning-lotto-ticket-not-part-of-office-pool/617697/50 "2012-04-04T02:34:09Z")
> [@drachillix](#): > > At my last job, I was the “pool guy”. Excel spreadsheets allowing variable contributions, etc, etc. Projected payouts based on shares of pool, etc, etc. I even had a system where payouts of less than $1 per person were rolled over to the next pool, allowing for the possibility of winning on a pool you did not directly contribute to. For example, 20 people buy 5 tickets each 100 tickets total and we win $10. I would buy 10 tickets for the next draw and include each person from the last pool as having bought a partial ticket share for the next draw. > > Then we won like $600 one time and 2 guys went totally screaming bitch fit that the $2 each that they contributed did not get them an equal share of the winnings when some folks put in $10-$20. The math was simple, they seemed cool with it when I explained it. Until it meant some people got about $12 and some got $60-120 (there were 98 tickets for the pool) > > When I did this, I also had a deadline of wed for the friday draw, made copies, and included the share payout projections including percentages as well as dollar values. On that share projection page was a little note stating “I Drachillix, while running this pool, agree not to purchase any personal lottery tickets outside of this pool for the draw on Date X. Any lottery winning ticket I hold for the draw on that date will be considered part of the pool” signed me. > > The boss was very happy when I included that little note as the same two from above had already been mumbling that I would probably find a way to scam them out of their winnings. Dude, you could do consultant work as a lottery pool organizer. That sounds ISO 9000 and shit. ---
**Author:** ![Yorikke](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/yorikke/32/4335_2.png) [@Yorikke](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Yorikke)\ **Post date:** [April 4, 2012, 3:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shocking-woman-claims-winning-lotto-ticket-not-part-of-office-pool/617697/51 "2012-04-04T03:20:47Z")
> [@ralph124c](#): > > Verbal contracts are valid and enforceable! Thanks for yet another pointless interjection. Have you read the OP, the article contained within the OP, or any of this thread? Joe ---
**Author:** ![AClockworkMelon](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aclockworkmelon/32/10803_2.png) [@AClockworkMelon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AClockworkMelon)\ **Post date:** [April 4, 2012, 3:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shocking-woman-claims-winning-lotto-ticket-not-part-of-office-pool/617697/52 "2012-04-04T03:40:24Z")
Has a company lotto pool ever won the lotto (I’m talking a major one- however you want to define that)? ---
**Author:** ![PandaBear77](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/edb3f5/32.png) [@PandaBear77](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PandaBear77)\ **Post date:** [April 4, 2012, 3:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shocking-woman-claims-winning-lotto-ticket-not-part-of-office-pool/617697/53 "2012-04-04T03:54:45Z")
I think she’s lying and doesn’t even have the ticket. She’s just camera whoring. ---
**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:** [April 4, 2012, 5:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shocking-woman-claims-winning-lotto-ticket-not-part-of-office-pool/617697/54 "2012-04-04T05:12:23Z")
> [@Chessic\_Sense](#): > > \ > And if I worked for you, I wouldn’t tell you about the pool I was organizing behind your back. Unless we all won. Then you’d know first thing Monday morning.\ And I would fire you for theft if you did any lottery stuff on company time, using any company resources. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![hajario](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hajario/32/171_2.png) [@hajario](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hajario)\ **Post date:** [April 4, 2012, 5:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shocking-woman-claims-winning-lotto-ticket-not-part-of-office-pool/617697/55 "2012-04-04T05:30:31Z")
> [@AClockworkMelon](#): > > Has a company lotto pool ever won the lotto (I’m talking a major one- however you want to define that)? Many times. One of the first big CA lottos was won by a dozen or so people in town here. One poor schmuck decided that he wanted a breakfast burrito instead of buying in that day. The name of the company is Star Telecom if you feel like looking it up. It’s far for the only example though. ---
**Author:** ![drachillix](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/48db29/32.png) [@drachillix](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/drachillix)\ **Post date:** [April 4, 2012, 5:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shocking-woman-claims-winning-lotto-ticket-not-part-of-office-pool/617697/56 "2012-04-04T05:36:24Z")
> [@Rand\_Rover](#): > > Dude, you could do consultant work as a lottery pool organizer. That sounds ISO 9000 and shit. I had rules for everything, and beautiful spreadsheets to do all the heavy stuff. Somewhere I have a zip disk with all the stuff. ---
**Author:** ![bengangmo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/50afbb/32.png) [@bengangmo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bengangmo)\ **Post date:** [April 4, 2012, 7:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shocking-woman-claims-winning-lotto-ticket-not-part-of-office-pool/617697/57 "2012-04-04T07:39:52Z")
> [@drachillix](#): > > I had rules for everything, and beautiful spreadsheets to do all the heavy stuff. > > Somewhere I have a zip disk with all the stuff. A what? Is that a fly that goes in a circle or something? ---
**Author:** ![Anaamika](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/5f9b8f/32.png) [@Anaamika](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Anaamika)\ **Post date:** [April 4, 2012, 1:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shocking-woman-claims-winning-lotto-ticket-not-part-of-office-pool/617697/58 "2012-04-04T13:22:51Z")
> [@bengangmo](#): > > A what? > > Is that a fly that goes in a circle or something? Is this a joke or do you really not know what a zip disk is? Just in case: > **[Zip drive](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zip_drive)** > > The Zip drive is a removable floppy disk storage system that was announced by Iomega in 1994 and began shipping in March 1995. Considered medium-to-high-capacity at the time of its release, Zip disks were originally launched with capacities of 100 MB, then 250 MB, and finally 750 MB. > The format became the most popular of the superfloppy products which filled a niche in the late 1990s portable storage market. However, it was never popular enough to replace the standard 3+1⁄2-inch floppy disk. Z... ---
**Author:** ![Moonlitherial](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/4bbf92/32.png) [@Moonlitherial](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Moonlitherial)\ **Post date:** [April 4, 2012, 1:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shocking-woman-claims-winning-lotto-ticket-not-part-of-office-pool/617697/59 "2012-04-04T13:24:23Z")
> [@AClockworkMelon](#): > > Has a company lotto pool ever won the lotto (I’m talking a major one- however you want to define that)? Last year around this time there were two major wins by company lotto pools in Canada both of which spawned lawsuits. There were also many others that didn’t spawn lawsuits but the [Bell](http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/national/toronto/nine-bell-employees-sue-19-co-workers-over-50-million-lottery-jackpot/article1913556/) and [Bombardier](http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/national/toronto/a-group-of-24-bombardier-workers-claims-lotto-max-50-million/article1889022/) stories are more entertaining. ---
**Author:** ![Dendarii\_Dame](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/bbce88/32.png) [@Dendarii\_Dame](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dendarii_Dame)\ **Post date:** [April 4, 2012, 9:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shocking-woman-claims-winning-lotto-ticket-not-part-of-office-pool/617697/60 "2012-04-04T21:10:39Z")
> [@mozchron](#): > > If she stole it, she’s an incredible dumb ass, since Maryland law allows the winner to collect anonymously. > > She could have quit, disappeared, collected her winnings and no one would ever have known. They might’ve guessed. I read today that she says the winning ticket is hidden in the McDonalds where she worked, and she’s going back to collect it after everybody calms down. Wow. Years ago a radio station hid some money (less than $100, IIRC) in books at a library (without telling the librarians about it) and announced it on the radio to get people to go to the library. A mob tore the stacks apart. (People thought much more money was there.) If anyone still believes her, that McDonalds is in trouble. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shocking-woman-claims-winning-lotto-ticket-not-part-of-office-pool/617697.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shocking-woman-claims-winning-lotto-ticket-not-part-of-office-pool/617697.md?page=4)