US Man Who Lost $130 Million Lottery Ticket Found It... "Discovered in Parking Lot"

Photo by Tennessee Lottery Department.

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Bong-ju] A man in the United States dropped a lottery ticket worth one million dollars on the street but managed to recover it after a series of twists and turns.

Nick Slatten, who lives in Tennessee, USA, purchased a lottery ticket at a local mart on the 10th.

The numbers on the ticket he bought exactly matched the winning numbers, and the prize amounted to a whopping $1,179,000 (approximately 1.33 billion KRW).

Recalling the moment he first learned of his win, Slatten said, "I almost fainted. I was unbelievably shocked and couldn’t believe it." He met with his fianc?e to share the good news, and the two went together to the O'Reilly Auto Parts store to buy some needed items.

However, the joy was short-lived as Slatten realized on the way home that the winning lottery ticket was missing.

Slatten and his fianc?e were frantic and searched the area thoroughly but could not find the ticket anywhere. Since anyone holding the winning ticket can claim the prize, losing it renders it useless.

Slatten retraced all the places he had been that day, tracking where the ticket might be, and eventually found the winning ticket lying on the ground in the O'Reilly parking lot.

Slatten said, "The ticket was in a parking spot with other cars, next to the driver's seat. Someone had stepped on the million-dollar winning ticket, leaving footprints on it." He added, "The wind was strong, but fortunately, the ticket didn’t blow far away."

He collected the prize money from the lottery office the next day, on the 11th, and even took commemorative photos.

A representative from the US lottery office stated, "We encourage buyers to sign the ticket immediately after purchase. This helps prevent others from cashing it if it is lost or stolen."

Although Slatten won a large lottery prize, he said that both he and his fianc?e will continue their current jobs, adding, "I want to buy a house and a car with the winnings and invest the rest. I hope to live without major worries from now on."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.