Lottery News

A player from Massachusetts reached out to the Massachusetts Lottery for assistance after being cheated half her prize on a winning scratch-off ticket by a store clerk.

Amelia Smith, who won a decent prize on her scratch-off lottery ticket, was ripped off by the clerk at the Roslindale Food Mart when he crumpled the validation slip and cheated her of $500.

The winner visited the retailer on Washington Street in Roslindale and bought a bunch of scratch-off tickets. One of these - a $5 "Gem Mine 50X” won her a good amount of prize. Smith recalled that she had, "three lemons, three horseshoes... three keys on one, three symbols indicating a win after playing the instant games. Having all the luck on her side, she was very excited holding her ticket.

When she walked back into the store to claim her winnings, she was quite sure she won at least $500. The machine played a happy jingle and the clerk scanned the ticket and confirmed she was definitely correct.

The "beep" of the sound, made him grab the pink slip that came out of the machine and refused to give her the lottery ticket as well as the validation slip. The two started to quarrel over the ticket, and after some time the clerk handed her $500 in cash, according to the Lottery Director Michael Sweeney's interview with WCVB. He confirmed that the lottery ticket was worth $1000 and not $500. According to the lottery investigators, the clerk at the Roslindale Food Mart tried to keep Smith's ticket to cash in on the winnings for himself. The winner made multiple trips to the store, after which the clerk gave her more money, but she still did not know how much she actually won since she did not have her winning lottery ticket.

In the end, the Massachusetts Lottery fully paid out the prize Smith deserved, and the clerk who stole the ticket was reportedly fired from his job. Even the store's lottery retailer license is also under investigation.