Poor Schmuck Loses Winning $1 Million Lottery Ticket

I know of at least five people that would never let me hear the end of it if this happened to me.

California officials posted surveillance video of the man whom they believed purchased a Powerball ticket that had all of the numbers except the Powerball, and was worth a million bucks.

A TV station in Los Angeles even ran a big story on it (thanks to KABC-TV):

The man recognized himself on the news and came forward. Unfortunately, he’d lost the ticket in question, and Powerball rules dictate that the winner be in possession of the winning ticket. Oops.

Instead, the money that would have changed the poor schmuck’s life will instead be donated to California Public Schools.

Amazingly, more than $20 million in lottery winnings went unclaimed in California during the 2013-2014 school year, reports the L.A. Times.

Lesson one: have a separate place that you keep all winning lottery tickets so they don't get lost.