Man who thought he won the lottery to sue paper

CP ^ | 08/20/06

[presidio9]

A Quebec man wants a consolation prize from his local newspaper after experiencing the thrill of winning the lottery, only to discover the paper had printed the wrong numbers.

Ulysee Maillot thought he had won last week's $42 million Lotto 6-49 jackpot - the second-largest in Canadian history - when he saw his numbers printed in Sunday's Montreal Gazette. Maillot, 62, was already plotting how he would spend the money when he discovered a few hours later that the Gazette had made a mistake.

"I felt sick," he told Global Television. "I never said a word. I was weak, I was sweaty, I was so upset."

He told Global that he has a heart condition, and has not been able to work or sleep since discovering the error.

"We are seeking something to at least allow him to be compensated for what he went through due to the circumstances," said Maillot's lawyer, Christopher Dimakos.

Dimakos would not reveal exactly how much his client is seeking from the Gazette, but said they are ready to take the paper to court if necessary.

There was no immediate response from the newspaper or any explanation how the error arose.

There were four winning tickets for last week's record jackpot. Two tickets were sold in greater Toronto, one in Kitchener and one in Quebec.

[Xenalyte]

You know what I can't figure out?

Timing.

For some reason, every time I go into the corner store - any time between 6:30 in the morning and 11 at night - there are at least two people in line in front of me buying lottery tickets.

And they make a freakin' production of it. It's not like they say, "Gimme two lottery tickets" and hand over a couple dollars. They have to consider the relative merits of this scratch-off versus that quick-pick as opposed to (insert lottery lingo here, which I won't since I don't play the damn thing). My trip inside to buy a diet Coke can take more than five minutes.

Now, I ask you, how often are drawings held that EVERY TIME I'm in the store I run into this?

[John D]

Stupidity tax?



I do not consider the lottery a tax. A tax is mandatory, buying a lottery ticket is not.

[Toby06]

Yeah, some make a HUGE production, playing "box" this, etc.

I don't know either, I just play a $1 quick pick. I figure my nil odds won't vary much.

I guess the timing in your case it's just crap luck.

[Toby06]

I switched to saltwater fishing now, so I catch the baitfish on a lure, and try for the bigger fish with the little fish. No license needed, either.

[Protagoras]

I would probably catch the same number of fish if I did that. Since there is no salt water anywhere near me but I never catch any fresh water fish, same result. :^}

[Pan_Yans Wife]

Here in GA it funds Pre-K for all four and five year olds.

The only problem is, even though they still claim to have sufficient funds, families must pay for the extras in education. Thinks like note book paper, pencils, pencil sharpeners, etc. These items really do add up every year.

[ThisLittleLightofMine]

Also don't we all pay stupid taxes, I mean at least you are getting entertainment out of yours....LOL.

[Toby06]

At least the tide adds an element of interest.

[Toby06]

Oh hell yeah, most of the taxes I pay ARE stupid!

[HawaiianGecko]

Now, I ask you, how often are drawings held that EVERY TIME I'm in the store I run into this?

Last Sunday I stopped to get gas and a woman was standing at one corner of the checkout station with a 4 to 5 inch stack of what I assume were scratch off tickets, just scratching away.  I went home and was power washing the dock when I ran out of gas. Back to the same convenience store I went for another 5 gallons of $3 gas, a good 90 minutes after my first stop, and this same woman, standing in the same location was still scratching tickets. I didn't count them, but she had a bunch of stacks of cards in front of her. The young girl behind the counter noticed the curious expression on my face and started slowly shaking her head and rolling her eyes.

When I left I spotted her out of state tags meaning she was a tourist.  This poor woman can't even go on vacation without playing her tickets.

It must be powerful medicine!

[presidio9]

Now, I ask you, how often are drawings held that EVERY TIME I'm in the store I run into this?

You're right about that. In addition to being an idiotic waste of money, lotteries are annoying to those who don't play and are just looking to pay for that bottle of Gatorade.

[webheart]

More millionaires have been created in the U.S. from their meeting Bill Gates than the PowerBall.

Now there is a statement which would seem to be undebabtable just by reading it, but I am going to ask for some more substantive facts before I accept this statement. I'm sure at least one person was made a millionaire by meeting Bill Gates, and that was Melinda. Actually, I think she's a billionaire. So you could easily state that more billionaires were made as a result of meeting Bill Gates than the Powerball, and it would be much more difficult to disprove. But millionaires? If the prize in powerball is a million dollars or more, and is awarded maybe 10 times per year, then that is at least 200 millionaires in 20 years. Bill Gates has probably helped more people become millionaires, but I would bet that most of them never actually met him, or most became millionaires without regard to the fact that they ever met him.

[HawaiianGecko]

Now there is a statement which would seem to be undebabtable just by reading it, but I am going to ask for some more substantive facts before I accept this statement. I'm sure at least one person was made a millionaire by meeting Bill Gates, and that was Melinda.

Is this enough?

There have been 919 drawings of the PowerBall since it's inception and they don't produce a millionaire every Wednesday and Saturday. As of 2005 there have been 59 jackpot winners of the PowerBall. http://www.amstat.org/publications/jse/v13n2/mecklin.html

 

Seattle economist Richard S Conway, Jr., who evaluated Microsoft's fiscal impact on Washington State, estimates the company generated 10,000 millionaires by 2000.  http://www.littleindia.com/news/142/ARTICLE/1082/2006-04-12.html

there were approximately 10,000 Microsoft millionaires created by the year 2000,"
said Richard S. Conway Jr., a Seattle economist whom Microsoft hired to study
its impact on Washington State. "The wealth that has come to this area is staggering."
 http://www.nytimes.com/2005/05/29/business/yourmoney/29millionaire.html?ex=1118030400&en=3c791eafd88178a1&ei=5070
 

Learn to work like a Microsoft millionaire

The major difference between a millionaire and a working stiff is that the worker uses his job as an excuse for why he's not living his dreams and a millionaire doesn't have that luxury. So if you want to feel like a millionaire, start asking yourself the million-dollar question: What would make me feel fulfilled?

In September, Microsoft will end the option grant program that made an estimated 10,000 employees millionaires. While this compensation change signals the end of an era of money, history should prove this time to be the beginning of an era of soul-searching.

http://blog.penelopetrunk.com/2003/08/learn_to_work_like_a_microsoft.html

 

Arguably, the largest single legion served its time -- and secured its fortune -- in the eastern suburbs of Seattle. That is where an estimated 10,000 Microsoft employees became millionaires during the era of options.
http://www.bizreport.com/news/4728/

 

 

[Will_Zurmacht]

I don't think a $2/week lotto ticket is gonna kill anyone.
I don't buy them, but I don't really mind if others do.
The folks who annoy me are the dindongs in line who buy $300 bucks worth then get into a car worth $300....hehe

For what it's worth, on the campus I work on you cannot buy a pop/water/sport drink for less than 1.75. Even the cheap coffee here is now approaching 3.00.
A bottle of beer now goes for 2.00.
Bubblegum is a buck, for cripes sake!
People urinate away 20-50 a week without even thinking about it.

Just remember us when you win...

[rogue yam]

I can think of lots of more entertaining ways to spend $2 per week.

More entertaining for you, or more entertaining for every person on the planet? Do you expect there is any difference between the two?

[Caipirabob]

I play $2 a week.

Stupidity tax.

Unless you win. I know two people who have won. It wasn't stupid (although I won't vouch for them.)

[GovernmentShrinker]

Me too.

[rogue yam]

Very simply put, only an idiot would intentionally engage in the odds state lotterys offer.

You seem to be saying that it is impossible for an intelligent person to understand precisely the expected value of a $1 lottery ticket and yet buy it anyway. But all pure gambling (that is gambling that involves no decision-making and therefore no skill) has an expected value of less than a dollar for every dollar wagered. Is going to a casino and betting on "red" on the roulette wheel "stupid"? Or playing the slots? Or playing keno? In each case money is ventured and the expected return is less than the amount wagered. Obviously the appeal of Lotto is that it is convenient (it's at the corner store), it's cheap (only a buck to play), and if you win it will change your life (giving rise to the excitement of playing). To say that it is "stupid" is to impose your valuation of excitement and convenience on others. That is not a conservative attitude.

[AmishDude]

Actually, there are times when you should play a lottery that has an accumulating jackpot.

[Dog Gone]

If I could successfully sue for typos made at this forum...