德州一哥們中了大獎, 要在獎卷上簽名畫押,這哥們太牛了, 簽個名也要動用 Laser Printer(激光印表機), 結果印表機散發出來的熱量把那張獎卷都弄黑了,號碼都無法辯認了, 差點領不到獎, 折騰了半年總算拿到了獎金, 想想看,如果是你,你會是啥心情?砸了那台激光印表機吧!
Winner of $48 million lottery in Alvin still a mystery
By PEGGY O'HARE
HOUSTON CHRONICLE
May 11, 2010, 9:57PM
While the identity
of the man who won a $48.8 million lottery prize in Alvin remains
unknown to the public, a report released Tuesday by the Texas Lottery
Commission shows the steps the agency took to verify the ticket's
authenticity after it was damaged in a mishap with a laser jet printer.
The mystery man
purchased his Texas Lottery ticket Oct. 18 from a self-service machine
at the H-E-B Pantry grocery store in Alvin, where he was shopping with
his wife and two children, the report shows. But after he became the
sole winner of the jackpot on Oct. 21, he traveled a long road as he
waited to see whether the commission would really pay up.
That's because his
good fortune soured when he placed his winning ticket in a laser printer
to type an endorsement on the back, the report shows. The heat
generated by the printer turned the data on the front of the ticket
black.
Forensics
used
On Dec. 17, the
ticket holder, acting through a group called MAED Trust, presented the
damaged ticket — along with a second, non-winning lottery ticket
purchased at the same time and place — to the commission to claim his
money. The Lottery Operations Division's Security Department did
forensic exams and verification efforts on the ticket, while the
agency's Enforcement Division investigated the facts surrounding its
purchase and damage.
Forensics analysis
found some data still visible on the damaged ticket, including a partial
retailer number, but some digits on the ticket were missing.
「Other than the
damage to the front of the ticket making portions unreadable, visual
inspection did not reveal any inconsistencies or evidence that should
not have been present on a ticket for the prize claim,」 the commission's
report states.
Enforcement
investigators also took written sworn statements from the ticket
purchaser; his attorney, Frank Putman of Houston; Putman's assistant;
and a friend of the winner, who were all familiar with the circumstances
of the case.
The purchaser and
his friend were at the gym together the day after the lottery drawing
when the ticket holder saw a TV report displaying the winning numbers.
The numbers matched a ticket the man had, and he showed it to his
friend, investigators learned. The ticket holder later contacted Putman,
who called the commission.
The ticket holder
also handed over photos of the winning ticket that he had taken before
it was damaged, even though photos are not by themselves 「acceptable
evidence」 to submit instead of an actual ticket as a claim for the
lottery prize, the report shows. But the ticket data visible in the
pictures were consistent with the ticket data reconstructed by forensic
analysts.
Enforcement
investigators also viewed H-E-B's security camera recordings showing the
man buying the ticket at the time the transaction was recorded on the
central computer system. They also examined a receipt showing the ticket
holder's purchase of groceries at the store around the same time.
Furthermore, the tear line between the damaged winning ticket and the
non-damaged ticket he purchased matched, investigators found.
Security officials
then performed a query for all transactions recorded on the self-service
machine at the H-E-B on the date of purchase. They found only two of
the 12 transactions made on the machine that day were for wagers, both
being for Lotto Texas tickets. The serial number for the first
transaction matched the non-winning ticket submitted by the purchaser,
while the winning ticket was purchased eight seconds later, the report
shows.
Investigators also
found the serial numbers found on the back of the tickets indicated the
roll stock paper used was assigned to an H-E-B store 9 miles away in
nearby Santa Fe. Representatives for both H-E-B retailers confirmed the
roll stock paper had been transferred from the Santa Fe store to the
Alvin store when the latter location ran out of paper for its
self-service lottery ticket machine.
Paid
on Monday
On May 3 — more than
six months after the ticket's purchase — the commission agreed to pay
the money to the ticket holder. Although the total jackpot was for $76
million, the winner collected $48,877,977.02 because he had chosen the
「Cash Value Option,」 allowing him to collect a lesser amount in one lump
sum instead of opting for a 25-year payout.
The winner collected
his money on Monday. His name has not been released .
The names of people
connected to MAED Trust also remained a mystery Tuesday. Officials with
the Texas Department of Banking and Texas Secretary of State say they
have no paperwork on file for a trust by that name. R. Sells Neuhaus is
listed as the trust's vice president, but he is not the man who bought
the winning lottery ticket.