A man from Tennessee recently won more than $ 1 million in the Tennessee lottery, but almost lost the prize money after briefly losing his lottery ticket.
Nick Slatten of Sparta, about 80 miles north of Chattanooga, bought the ticket and a drink at a grocery store after finishing a tile laying day on March 10. The next morning, Slatten said he checked the results and found that the ticket was worth more than $ 1 million dollars.
“I was amazed. I couldn’t believe it, ”said Slatten in a statement. “I cannot express this. It was something else. “
Slatten said he then ran to his fiancee Michelle’s job and told her about the winnings. After sharing the news, Slatten said he continued to run errands, including taking his brother shopping at an auto parts store.
However, about an hour later, Slatten said he realized he had lost the ticket, explaining that “he couldn’t find it anywhere”.
Tennessee Lottery officials said they encourage players to sign the ticket when purchasing it “to help prevent someone else from doing so if it is lost or stolen”
Slatten said he retraced his steps and found the ticket lying on the floor in the parking lot for auto parts, near the driver’s door of another vehicle.
“It’s a million-dollar ticket and someone went over it,” said Slatten.
Slatten’s ticket is just one of five tickets worth $ 1 million or more sold in Tennessee this month, Tennessee Lottery officials said.
Slatten said he and his fiancee will continue to work, but plan to buy a new home, a car and invest. But he added that he hopes to live a life “without a lot of worries”.
