Lottery Winner/Loser

 

Winner/Loser Lottery Ticket

I won the lottery but couldn't collect my winnings!

Don't get too excited, I didn't win millions of dollars. 

The night before I won $5 in the Powerball lottery. The next day I was driving to the store to buy some more tickets, as nobody had won the jackpot. In the car I had forgotten that I had won $5. Then I remembered and decided to get the ticket from my pocket and put it on the passenger seat so I wouldn't forget to cash it in. 

I carefully reached into my pocket, found the ticket and pulled it out. It ripped! The bar code at the bottom tore off the ticket. OMG! Will they still be able to cash it in? Would they refuse to redeem a winning ticket if the bar code was ripped off? Could they tape the 2 pieces back together? Did I win $5 only to lose it?

I got to the store, went in and showed the ripped ticket to the clerk. He said he could not cash it in. The ripped $5 winning lottery ticket was worthless. I was freaked out. I replied, "At least it wasn't a million dollar winning ticket!". 

I bought some more tickets, vowing not to pull any winning ticket out of my pocket while sitting down. 

The lesson learned? Protect your valuables. Whatever they may be. Whatever their value. Be careful. Don't misplace them. Don't lose them. Don't damage them. Especially if it's a winning lottery ticket!