Archive for December 19th, 2007

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Statistically Happy

Wednesday, December 19th, 2007

Remember those statistics that reveal that the happiest couples have 2.5 children?

I used to wonder what it meant to have half a child – was it the third child on the way, or was that just where the average fell, or did they count one parent as halfway a child?

Nevermind all that, I found a family with 2.5 children that is probably far above averagely-happy right now.

Steve Peot, recent winner of a $13.7 million Powerball jackpot, and his wife have 2.5 children (the third is on the way). That means over $9.3 million after taxes.

On the other hand, his first two children are teenagers, which means Steve and his wife may make them get jobs anyway in order to build character. If you thought you hated your teenage job when you needed the money to scrape by, imagine how odious it could become if you had to work when you didn’t really need the cash.

Maybe after reality sets in, they’ll be just as happy and unhappy as the rest of us.

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California Clerk Goes From $555k to $50k Bail

Wednesday, December 19th, 2007

Rajinder Kaur, a 40 year old 7-11 clerk in Roseville, had a California Lotto ticket worth half a million dollars in her pocket when her karma caught up. Now she’s out on bail and could face up to four years in state prison for grand theft.

When she ran a winning ticket through the validation machine, it showed a prize much greater than the $599 maximum that can be cashed at a retail location, but she told the man, who apparently did not speak fluent English, that he had won four dollars.

But the man knew he had winning numbers, having chosen them himself. His confusion grew as he saw his winning numbers – 5, 8, 9, 24 and 34 – splashed across the television. As he watched the news that a Roseville location had an unclaimed prize, his suspicion grew. Finally, he called the lottery.

Roseville police and lottery agents, who are sworn peace officers, investigated and arrested the clerk, recovering the stolen ticket.

“To any clerks out there who think they can steal a winning ticket, we’ll get you,” said Donald Currier, the lottery’s chief legal counsel. This is the second instance in two years  of a retail clerk being arrested for stealing a winning ticket.

The name of the victim, er, winner has not yet been released, pending confirmation that he is the true owner.

You can protect your tickets by signing the back of them immediately after purchasing them. Then if winning tickets have been altered, an investigation will be launched.

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Food, Gas & Megamillions Outlet Gets $50,000

Wednesday, December 19th, 2007

Four winning tickets were sold in Maryland, New Jersey, Texas, and Virginia for the August 31st’s $330 million Mega Millions jackpot, but those weren’t the only winners.

Besides hundreds of thousands of lesser winners, store who sold the winning ticket, Duck’s Corner Food & Gas in Buckingham County, Virginia, will get $50,000.

Each winner will take home $82.5 million before taxes.

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Spreading the Wealth…Close By

Wednesday, December 19th, 2007

Thanks to the fact that the Spanish lottery El Gordo primitiva ticket numbers are sold in groups, and one non-online outlet may only carry two numbers at a time, winners are often neighbors and coworkers.

Take Badajoz, for example, a Spanish city where a prize of 3 million euros were divided between 15 and 20 people. The same outlet sold the first place winner back in 1979 and a grand prize last September.

The newspaper El Periodico Extremadura labels the ticket vendor Joaquín García Guisado “an expert in handing out grand prizes.”

So what’s the big deal? Just imagine having so many people celebrating not only because they’re so happy for you, but happy with you.

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