Says lottery ticket was mixed in with money she gave away
SAN JOSE, Calif. — When Emily Leach stopped by Liquor & Tobacco, a convenience store in the San Francisco Bay Area community of Mountain View, before Friday's drawing for the California state lottery's Mega Millions Jackpot — then worth $290 million — she was already a kind of celebrated figure at the store after winning $1 million on a lottery ticket she bought there in January.
Her recent good fortune allowed her to perform random acts of generosity for strangers, so it wasn't completely out of character when Leach offered $100 to one of the men waiting in line behind her as she turned in an armload of Scratcher cards. During that transaction, she either unintentionally handed the stranger a Mega Millions ticket she had just bought, or made him the lucky recipient of some truly astounding generosity.
Just how generous became apparent Sunday. That's when Leach learned a lottery ticket purchased while she was in line had hit for $260,000. The still unidentified man she gave the $100 returned to the store Saturday to say he had the ticket, and according to Leach, to claim that her good luck had rubbed off on him.
There was just one problem: Leach insists she never intended to buy the lottery ticket for him, and she wants it back.
"That's my ticket," Leach said. "He knows it's my ticket. I feel like I'm going to come off as a huge, huge bitch if I say, 'You need to give me my ticket back.'"
But that is what she's saying. The state lottery commission's security department is investigating, and may use the store's surveillance video to sort the situation out.
"She said she had the ticket in her hand and maybe it got mixed in with the money she gave this person," said Alex Traverso, a spokesman for the lottery commission. "They're going to look at the video and see if she's the one actually buying the ticket. If no one else is in the picture, that puts things firmly in her favor."
The ticketholder still had not come forward to lottery officials as of Monday.
"It's a miracle for one person to hit twice at the same store," Leach said. "What are the odds of someone like me hitting it once in January, and again less than three months later?"
According to the lottery commission, the odds of her winning $1 million in January were 1 in 1.2 million; because of the number of players, she had only a 1 in 3.9 million chance to win Friday. The combined odds against winning twice in three months are simply off the charts.
She has faced even more daunting odds. A nurse at the Veterans Administration hospital in Palo Alto, she was diagnosed with a pancreatic tumor at a time when she had no health insurance. "I went into the hospital on a Sunday three years ago, and I woke up two months later," she said. "I had been in a coma, and the doctors told my mother to plan my funeral."
After getting threatening calls from bill collectors, Leach's sudden prosperity became both blessing and curse. She was able to pay off more than $300,000 in medical bills.
But she also turned into a soft touch. "There have been plenty of negatives," she said. "Everybody knows everything about me, and everybody has their hand out."
Before Friday's drawing in the Mega Millions lottery, Leach stopped by the store that has brought her so much luck — good and bad — to buy more lottery tickets. The man in line behind her to buy beer seemed to know her life story.
"He said, 'You're so lucky,' and then he started crying and said his gas tank was on empty, and he really needed help. So I gave him a hundred dollar bill. I told him, 'Don't buy any more beer. Do something good for yourself.'"
Leach said that with all the Scratcher tickets in her hands, as she fumbled in her purse for the money — trying not to show how much she was carrying with her — she pulled out the hundred dollar bill and a lottery ticket together. What remains in dispute is whether she intended to hand both pieces of paper to a man she had never met.
On Sunday, Leach went back to Liquor & Tobacco and was told a ticket had hit for $259,269. She says she was told by the clerk that the man whose beers she bought had returned Saturday, and credited her with buying the ticket for him. "That never happened," Leach insisted. "If you look on the surveillance video, in the time frame the ticket was bought, I am the only person that paid for anything in that store."
Lottery business was booming at the store Monday, where owner Young Pham said he planned to turn over the tape to investigators in the next few days. Leach said if the ticketholder does "what I think is the right thing," she would continue to be a generous person. "I think he should give me the ticket back," she said. "If he were to do that, I certainly wouldn't take it and just walk away."
Thanks to KY Floyd for the tip.
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Well guess what, that's her own fault! Should of been payin attention to what she was handing him, plus its not very safe to be passin out $100 dollar bills to strangers. Plus the guy was buyin beer but his gas tank was empty? WTF?
First she gives the ticket.
Discovers the ticket is a winner.
Wants the ticket back.
Expects him to do what SHE thinks is the right thing.
What is the right thing in this case?
His gas tank was his beer gut and now with his winning ticket he can afford to keep it filled for a while.
with the mega million 363 ticket....I asked for 5 dollars on mega, he took my 5 bucks and then give me a ticket ..I almost just put it in my wallet but I looked at it first ...It was for one dollar on mega and he wasn't trying to give me four dollars back...I said something to him which he replyed back opps. I'm sorry ,I didn't notice ...Well he gave me another four dollars on tonights mega millions...
I see so many people NOT paying attention when they by or check tickets...i never let the casher check your tickets ...if you can't check them yourself maybe you shouldn't be paying...I dont want to sound mean but I get mad when i read about alot of the cashers duking someone out of money..And it happens alot in New York State...
New York State refuses to test any of the cashers ..I don't know why...I'll have to ask gov. Commo next time he's in town..
P.S. .....good luck to everyone on tonights mega millions
"That's my ticket," Leach said. "He knows it's my ticket. I feel like I'm going to come off as a huge, huge bitch if I say, 'You need to give me my ticket back.'"
Yes, yes you will.
Leach said if the ticketholder does "what I think is the right thing," she would continue to be a generous person. "I think he should give me the ticket back," she said. "If he were to do that, I certainly wouldn't take it and just walk away."
What does she mean by "certainly wouldn't take it and just walk away"? Would she give him a cut for his honesty? Or does she mean he'll get a nice thank-you for his troubles but otherwise leave empty-handed?
She probably means she will give him another $100 bill.
She is an idiot, I am sorry to say that but she is. Handing out money willy nilly like that she was going to end up broke anyway.
She is the prime candidate to get taken advantage of.
Is there precedence for this? I'm inclined to think she's SOL, but if the video clearly shows she bought a ticket and he didn't, that throws a monkey wrench into the works. Still, how does the saying go? Possession is nine-tenths of the law? There doesn't appear to be any coersion involved. She may not have meant to give him the ticket, but the fact remains that she did, and there may not be anything she can do about it.
The man in line was so greedy she was nice enough to give him $100.00 i can see that happening i give bums money all the time sometime i have lottery tickets tangled into the money.
This guy needs to give her the ticket because it was and honest accident that was her 2nd blessing from god when it is his time he will know he is a leach if someone busted out and
started crying in the store about their gas tank and knew i was a lottery winner i wouldv'e just filled his tank up instead of giving him $100 because the next time he will have another story.
uh oh...another sneaky rude P-t-l? one guy stole my sweet million promotion!! he had the gall to try again!
i caught him read handed...ooooh...the dirty rat...i dont hate him though...we bombed his country!! i still go back...he knows
better now...)
but some clerks are always messing up my bet too, and making me rush...i would probably give away a winning ticket also with all that pressure at the terminal! drunks and people with empty gas tanks and no money...and buying ten dollar packs of cigs!
i am praying for online lottery in new york...i get no great pleasure dragging my arse to the store everyday!!
who was that guy on channel two news...wolf warner?
Lets go to the video tape!!!
The right thing to do would be to split the jackpot in half...thats my opinion...karma goes a long way!!
I honestly would let him keep the winning ticket, i know if i was
Even lucky enough to win 1 million dollars that would be MORE than enough for me, i want a basic life with college paid off, a house, car & to help others..
That 260k can really do alot for the guy if he is in neeed of the $$.
That's a tough call. She never intended to give him the lotto ticket, plus she was nice enough to give him $100.00 bucks for gas. If it was me I would give her the ticket back and hopefully she would be kind enough to throw 10,000 my way. If I was in her shoes that's what I would do. Now if I was the guy who had the ticket in the first place I would have kept my mouth shut and claimed it quietly after all the hoopla had died down. I know that sounds hypocritical but that is probally what most people would have done. Ever heard of that saying loose lips sinks ships! If the camera proves that she brought the ticket the gentleman should just let her have the ticket because if the lawyers get involved then everyone loses except for the lawyers!
She also stated if she was to get the ticket back that she wouldn't "just take it and walk away"...so it sounds like she would give him some money from the prize anyway.
She already won 1 million, let they guy keep the 260 thousand, in my opinion she is being a jerk, in addition aren't we all forgetting something, as far as the lotto headquarters is concernedd, doesn't the ticket belong to whoever's name is on the back of it?
While the ticket is a "bearer instrument" if an indivudual or group can prove it is rightfully theirs, guess who collects the windfall?
What I want to know is, how will they from watching this video recording determine if she gave the ticket along with hundred dollars willingly or unwillingly?
keep money and tix seperated.
I am sure his attorney would argue that if she was generous enough to give a stranger $100 then she probably gave him a $1 ticket for the lottery also and I would be inclined to believe him. This is why I sign my tickets immediately as I get them on the counter. Even if I lose them, at worst I will split the prize evenly with the person that finds them.
My state also gives out nice plastic lottery pouches that you can keep drawslips and tickets in for free and she should have put her tickets in one of those or buy something similar, she won a million dollars, she could afford a $2 pouch to store her tickets.
Does the video come equipped with audio?
It seems that she only decided she wanted the ticket back AFTER she learned it was a winner.
She GAVE him the ticket along with $100.
So why try to make it seem like this guy stole the ticket?
She GAVE the ticket away.
Now prove that giving the ticket to this man was an accident and not on purpose.
And why give $100? Why not just tell the cashier to put $XXX on pump number XX?
Had this guy not said anything about her luck rubbing off on him, this story would not be in print.
Let the judge decide this case.
yea, they give the pouches out free, but believe me you i and i paid for them.
bet slips and pencils too.
I do the same.... ur state is ripping u off tho.. we get the pouches here for free!!
I agree 100%
I think if she fights this she will lose bigger than she ever plans to win.
Life has been good to her in some major ways. I think this is a test of character. Will she pass or FAIL?
I'd give her the ticket a day after it expires ha.
the old style pencil cases are perfect size for this and have a zipper, nothing falls out if you drop it.
Seems that there is more to this story. ABC news is reporting that the security footage shows her buying numerous lottery tickets and giving them away randomly to customers in the store. California lottery has reviewed the tapes from the store and that appears to be the case. If it shows that she gave away lottery tickets along with the 100.00 bucks then it is a open and shut case and the ticket belongs to the person she gave it to.
And the moral of this story is"Don't give money or anything else to complete strangers for any reason!
can you find the video on youtube yet? i would love to see that!!! i have given lottery tickets away too...but only to the clerk sometimes...or i will give a tip!!
if she had bought me a scratchie though, i would have thrown it in the trash!!
luckily where i live people go through the trash for lottery tickets...
she fumbled in her purse for the money — trying not to show how much she was carrying with her — she pulled out the hundred dollar bill and a lottery ticket together.
She's NOT using her Common Sense !!!!!!!!! you don't carry huge cash in your purse or none at all .
What is she Ft Knox ????
Common sense would have been to claim the 1 million anonymously.
No one that down on their luck should be buying beer.
Yet she still was handing out money and tickets.
Why doesn't this 3 month ago lottery jackpot winner woman understand that this 'beer man,' she engaged with, thought she meant to give him all three joys?
Now that everyone has read/heard that this lottery jackpot winner of three months ago, only meant to give this 'beer man' the two joys rather than three joys that day. [Essentially indicating that she would appreciate his returning to the liquor store, or meeting her at lottery headquarters; since he may not know her address) so she may meet him there to give her the, hopefully, still unsigned ticket.] Maybe he will be able to return the winning lottery ticket to her, or gift her $13K/annually for a few years).
Regardless, if I was this 'beer man,' my heart would be plummeting upon reading/hearing her confession of mistake and desire for winning lottery ticket to be returned! I wouldn't know if she was thinking about giving me the joy of claiming half of the ticket under each of our names or if she'd think that giving me $100 would give me the same joy that it did the first time! I wonder if he'll ever read/hear of her mistake, or innocently, unawares fill out the claim form at lottery headquarters?
I am anxious to read how the lottery commission rules on this saga
I agree with the majority of you guys. First, the guy was buying beer and she decides to hand him a $100 to help him out? This is a fast way to go broke real quick. Second, the way she lost that ticket is by being too careless and doling out money and I consider myself a caring person but not enough to be giving awayt hundred dollar bills. And last, it is her fault for accidently giving away the winning ticket and not his, so I believe the only fair thing to do is to have them split the money. If she purchased the ticket and accidently gave it away due to be careless and they can prove it then splitting would be the most fair thing to do for eveyone involved.
drama, drama, drama...s
The Guy was buying beer.... if he's that broke.... DON'T be wasting it on the beer. If he's an alcoholic, then that $100 just went to buy more alcohol and maybe some gas.
If he's broke, it's because he's too dumb with any money he receives as buying beer is a clear indication of what many who don't have a pot to piss in do with the money they receive, usually off the backs of Government forcing people to give to the "less fortunate"!
There's probably a WHOLE story behind this guys life.
On the other hand, this lady is clearly not in her right mind. You don't just go handing money out, that's asking for trouble. So, if she's buying tons of scratch tickets, you can see where she's headed financially.
"Leach offered $100 to one of the men waiting in line behind her"
If she keeps this up she will be back where she started. It is clear she has no understanding of money. It is good to be generous, but should be done in an organized way, not willy-nilly. She should invest her winnings and give a percentage of the profits to charity.
That exact scenario happened to a friend of mine buying a $5 Florida Lotto ticket. Most people including her never check their ticket and unfortunately she made it home before realizing what transpired.
what the hell, $1M after taxes she cant afford to be giving out $100 bills to bums. she will end up dead like that shakespear guy. get the 260k, stop handing out money you cant adffor and smarten the #$^#%^ up
I just bought the winning number in tonight's Mega Millions drawing online! I love this online playing! As for this subject, first I think she was not smart in giving out money to a stranger since that could have marked her for a mugging later on. I too would put my lottery tickets with my money in my wallet when I USED to have to go to the convenience store to buy my tickets so I understand the possibility of something like this happening. But maybe if she just wrote it off, she would gain some good karma and perhaps win the jackpot tonight. But now that she is grousing about $256K, she surely will not win tonight's jackpot. It is all positive for me to win this jackpot tonight! Now time to go eat and workout.
I rich Byatch!!!
If she's a free spirit giving money and tickets to strangers, it is going to be very hard for her to claim she gave that ticket out by mistake only after she learned it was a winner. If she had made her claim before the winner stepped forward, it might be a different story.
Now what would be funny in this situation is if the lottery commission agreed she bought the winning ticket, gave it to someone as a gift, and the IRS and her state Treasurer came after her for income taxes on the money she won.
thats interesting. did she give him something worth 1$ or something worth much more ?
There has to be some law against news organizations lieing, I go in this store alot after hearing her on the radio in January. From what I have heard, the guy was rambling and talking fast, what I would imagine made her confused and uncomfortable. This woman has helped alot of people and no one should fault her for doing that. The video shows she was helping him and another man and she didnt just buy one ticket. And the clerk should have helped her when the guy was asking her for money, a week ago he was telling people she was his friend and I know the clerk asked her for money too. This woman obviously has god on her side, some amazing blessing to hit the lottery twice. No one can deny she bought the winning ticket, it is her blessing. Also, that store should have kept her privacy, the Lottery too, they didn't say the mans name with the ticket? That store was dead everyday a few months ago, this lady has single handedly made that place famous, by winning there twice and promoting the store in every interview she did when she hit in January. Good things happen to good people, anyone that says she is wrong or calls her names for helping people, needs to take a look in the mirror and ask for some forgivness. Maybe all the other people she has helped should start coming forward, I am sure you would ALL take money from her too.
I saw this video on the t.v. only once and if my memory serves me correctly, the lady bought a couple of tickets and gave two tickets away to two men really fast as she turned to her left side after buying the tickets. Maybe it wasn't intentional. I'd like to see this video again. Ms. Leach has a golden hand. Ms. Leach won on a scratcher ticket in January for $1 million.
This lady will achieve two things that she didn't set to achieve. #1 she will be revealed through all the media coverage that she recently won $1M so more begging hands will be shoved on her face. #2 She will not get her money because the cameras will show her handing over the money and ticket and maybe even smiling while doing it. The guys lawyers will say there was a genuine offer and acceptance and thats the end of it.