Bartender’s ‘scratch’-of-luck: 20-dollar tip turns into lottery ticket jackpot

A bartender in California, USA, had a significant windfall after a customer tipped her with a lottery ticket worth approximately 20 dollars (730 baht), which turned out to be a grand prize winner. The lottery ticket was a scratchcard, a type that requires scratching off a silver coating to reveal potential prizes.

According to a post on the international forum Reddit, a user shared the story of their friend’s surprising lottery win that took place several years ago. The friend was working as a bartender in a Californian bar when a male customer tipped her with a 20-dollar lottery ticket scratchcard.

Deciding to scratch off the ticket, the bartender discovered she had hit the jackpot, winning a massive 50,000 dollars, approximately 1.8 million baht. Overjoyed, she informed the generous tipper that his seemingly ordinary gift had turned out to be a major prize, reported Sanook.

The customer’s reaction was a mix of a forced smile and visible regret, leading him to request his winning ticket back. The bartender, who did not want to feel indebted and had no intention of keeping someone else’s money, decided to return the ticket. In return, the customer gave her a cash tip of 20 dollars, the original price of the lottery ticket.

Although the bartender did not dwell on the incident, the Reddit user who shared her story expressed their anger on her behalf. They asked fellow netizens how they would have reacted in a similar situation, and whether they would have returned the ticket.

The general consensus among the users was to keep the ticket and enjoy the windfall quietly, without informing the original ticket owner.

In related news last year, a Thai wife ran off with her lover and 6 million baht in lottery winnings belonging to her husband. Read more about the story HERE. There are several more similar lottery ticket scandals in Thailand.

A lottery winner in the central province of Chachoengsao filed a complaint against her friend saying she stole her 20,000 baht prize-winning lottery ticket. To read more click HERE

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