GRANNY'S $1M 'SCRATCH' WIN: HONEST CLERK RETURNS TOSSED TICKET (feel good story for the holiday)

NY Post ^ | December 19, 2008 | CAROLYN SALAZAR and JENNIFER FERMINO

[lowbridge]

A 92-year-old great-grandmother from Queens accidentally discarded a winning $1 million scratch-off lottery ticket - but a scrupulous supermarket clerk saved the day.

-snip

The Far Rockaway woman scratched them, thought they were losers and asked the clerk to toss them.

[lowbridge]

News video here:

http://abclocal.go.com/wabc/story?section=news/local&id=6561412

[topher]

In this day and age, honesty needs to be rewarded...

Give the clerk some money for being honest...

[ZirconEncrustedTweezers]

Maybe there IS some hope for the future.

[gwilhelm56]

For that type of Honesty, that clerk should be Rewarded, ADOPTED and Remembered in her WILL!!

[dirtboy]

Give the clerk some money for being honest...

Heck, he should be nominated to fill Hillary's Senate seat.

[tajgirvan]

good idea....what a trend!

[NonValueAdded]

Give the clerk a lot of money under those circumstances.

[Emperor Palpatine]

What a scathingly brilliant idea.

[JennysCool]

If Granny doesn’t give the clerk a substantial reward, this is NOT a feel-good story.

[absolootezer0]

well, after state taxes, federal taxes, social security taxes, medicare taxes, lottery taxes, windfall profits taxes, “taking it from you for the common good taxes” and what ever else they hit her with.. she can give the clerk half the $2 she gets.

[21twelve]

Okay - what is a “substantial reward”?

If it were me - that would require some thinking. 10% at the minimum. And I imagine $100k would keep the clerk from getting a lawyer. (Or - maybe incentive to GET a lawyer).

50% would also not be unreasonable, and PERHAPS I would do that.

I wonder if anyone would say “Oh dear. Well son, that was my mistake and I threw the ticket away! It’s yours now, so do what you wish.”

Or, the clerk hides the ticket, marries the old lady and kills the lady for the inheritance including the %1 mill. (Just saw the “Monk” rerun with that type of storyline!)

[Argus]

The winner gave the money to her kids. They gave the clerk $700.

[21twelve]

$700 bucks! That’s it?

Well, in the Monk episode the $42 million winner, who’s life they saved, got the money, etc. gave them $400. Oh well. So much for the “feel good” Christmas Story. Grannie and her kids are a bunch of jerks.

[Westlander]

I doubt it. She’ll probably get robbed by the clerk after granny cashes in the ticket. No taxes to pay that way.

[Hacklehead]

I’m sure she’ll do the right thing and send him a check for $5 on his birthday.

[Flycatcher]

If Granny doesn’t give the clerk a substantial reward, this is NOT a feel-good story.

The clerk performed a simple act of honesty in a corrupt age. No matter what happens, this is a feel-good story to me.

[Fawn]

My long lost grandma!

[fieldmarshaldj]

Now that sounds like my grandmother. $5 and a lecture on how wrong I am to be a Republican. :-\

[NonValueAdded]

That is 7 hundredths of a percent, not even a penny tip. Her kids should all chip in and buy the clerk a car or something.