Mega Millions mess: Maryland woman in office pool draws suspicion

[n2doc]

A Maryland McDonald's worker is in the middle of a Mega Millions meltdown as co-workers wonder whether she ripped them off -- or whether she even won at all.

The case of Mirlande Wilson, 37, of Westport, Md., is a curious one, as well as a cautionary one for folks who like to toss a few bucks into the lottery pool at work.

...

Wilson was the person at her workplace who collected the cash for the lottery pool. And the day after the drawing, a co-worker said, Wilson called work to gloat "I won! I won!"

Co-workers, though, were immediately suspicious. Wilson told the New York Post (which apparently tracked her down to what it described as her "squalid" Maryland home) that she won using a ticket she had bought for herself -- not the tickets she had bought on behalf of her co-workers.

"I was in the group, but this was separate. The winning ticket was a separate ticket," she told the newspaper.

more
http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/la-na-nn-mega-millions-mess-20120403,0,7222806.story

[Systematic Chaos]

1. Did none of these McDonald's workers think to record the combinations in the pool?

They should have been written down for all the participants to see.

Now it's all "he said," "she said" bullshit which may be tied up in litigation for who knows how long.

[louis-t]

4. We did this at my office. We were sent a scan of all numbers.

It's the sane thing to do.

[JHB]

10. Ours too.

Not this time, but in the past when we'd occasionally put together an office pool, everybody involved got photocopies of the tickets before the drawing, usually by the day before it. Everybody in the pool knew what the pool had.

[arcane1]

13. Same here

We didn't win, of course.

[louis-t]

20. We won 8 bucks!

We'll have a party and use the money toward dinner.

[XanaDUer]

22. Oh yes nt

[warrior1]

2. Not surprised

This has happened before. Last guy lost his suit and had to share.

[Journeyman]

3. Anytime I was in a group purchase . . .

(and I always put in for it, largely to avoid being a sidebar in the news about my coworkers win), but anytime we bought tickets en masse, photocopies of all the tickets bought for us were distributed to everyone and the tickets themselves were put in the company safe.

We even marked each ticket before we photocopied it, so there'd be no doubt it was the "group ticket." (There was little collegial trust among us, and absolutely none for our employer).

Can't imagine why other groups wouldn't do the same.

[aikoaiko]

15. NPR did a piece the day before the big drawing suggesting to do just that.

Oh well. They'll sue, she'll settle, and some lawyers will get a cut.

[Journeyman]

23. Ah yes, the "Golden Moment". . .

Vonnegut wrote about it in God Bless You, Mr Rosewater.

In any financial transaction there is a "Golden Moment," the point in time when the money is passed from one person to another and yet neither party has control of the cash. It is in this "Golden Moment" when the lawyers swoop in and make off with all they can.

[louis-t]

5. I'm wondering if they're able to determine

what time and date each ticket was bought. Might be a way to see if the winner was bought seperately.

[siligut]

11. Seriously, the story as written leaves a lot of doubt

I can't even tell if the woman actually has a winning ticket. But you are right, if the woman can't produce a $5 ticket, bought the evening that her boss gave her the money, in addition to the ticket she bought for herself, there shouldn't be any question. Money makes people stupid.

[Politicalboi]

18. I would think that they can tell when and where

So if she bought it among the other tickets, I think she's cheating. If she bought it before or after the picks then it's possible it's all hers. If she did win. LOL! If the pool was $100.00 and she bought 100 tickets and then bought a $5.00 quick pick which would be the winner, then she may be clear. Had she bought it before the $100.00 amount, it could also be hers. But if she bought it in between those picks, I would suspect that she is cheating. I'm sure it can be figured out, if she bought ALL the tickets at one place.

[kudzu22]

6. They wont have a hard time

finding a lawyer to take that case. The lady that did our office pool would always make photocopies of the pool tickets and hand them out prior to the drawing.

[Duer 157099]

7. I love this quote:

"She later said she's not even sure she's really a mega-millionaire: "I don’t know if I won. Some of the numbers were familiar. I recognized some of [them]," she told the Post."

/quote

She continued: "Like that four, I know I've seen that number somewhere before. Oh yeah! I have one in my phone number! And the two... where have I seen that number before?"

Some of the numbers were familiar. Ya don't say?

[Politicalboi]

16. She's probably lying

She may have the winning ticket, but I think she's cheating her co-workers. And with this ramble it really sounds like lies to me. How could you NOT know by now. LOL!

[louis-t]

21. It sounds like she's not too stable.

I feel bad for her. She seems almost delusional.

[Ecumenist]

8. Why am I not surprised? I have NEVER thought it was a good idea to play in a pool without doing

something to protect yourself.

[sharp_stick]

9. She still hasn't even produced a ticket has she?

I'm sensing a really poorly thought out plan to extort money from someone here.

[lpbk2713]

12. I never play in any pool with anyone for anything.

There's a good chance you can kiss friendships good bye if you win.

And even if someone is going out to the the store and they ask "can I get you anything"
I just say no thanks and pick up my own tickets later.

[Politicalboi]

14. You need to make copies

Of the tickets. I used to do this at my work. Making copies covers your ass if you buy on your own, which I did too. There may be a way to tell if she bought it with the group of tickets. If it's somewhere in the middle of the picks, I would suspect she cheated her co-workers. If she bought it first or later, then it's possible she did win on her own. But you should ALWAYS get copies. I'm willing to bet she cheated her co-workers.

[Son of Gob]

17. She didn't win anything, this is performance art

It's genius.

[Initech]

19. No jury is going to buy that one.

There was a similar case in Ohio last year - guy won and refused to pay and jury said no way.