Key Facts
- Prize amount
- €1 million
- Location
- Puglia, Italy
- Company
- SAMB, Bitonto outside Bari
- Winner
- Anonymous woman
- Recovery time
- Over a day
- Cost coverage
- Winner to cover additional costs
Background
A €1 million lottery ticket was recovered from trash in Italy after the frantic winner called on garbage workers to help retrieve it, the waste management company told AFP.
The instant win ticket was 'miraculously still in one piece' after garbage workers combed through mounds of trash on their truck, said Roberto Nicola Toscano, administrator of the SAMB company in Italy's southern Puglia region.
The winner, who remains anonymous, had played the same numbers regularly, as they were associated with a loved one, Toscano said.
Current Situation
On Sunday, after the drawing, the woman went to her local shop to check her ticket. The machine indicated it was 'non-payable' because smaller retailers can only redeem small wins. She did not realize she had won the big jackpot.
When she returned home, a family member told her that her regular numbers had won. They immediately ran back to the shop, only to discover the ticket had already been thrown away and the trash collected.
The company reconstructed the ticket's journey and identified the right garbage truck. Due to potentially dangerous material, they took the vehicle to a specialist company equipped to do the search. Workers searched for over a day, finding various tickets and stubs, including the one they were looking for, 'miraculously still in one piece.'
Impacts
The averted disaster did not come for free. SAMB, located in Bitonto outside Bari, is a public agency, meaning the cost of the search would have been borne by taxpayers.
Toscano said he had the woman sign a promise to 'cover all of the additional costs' incurred. This gamble certainly paid off, as the ticket was recovered.
The woman cried with emotion when told the ticket was found. Toscano said, 'I would have hugged her, but we were on the phone.'
Future Outlook
Scenario analysis: The possibilities below are not certain predictions.
If the woman fulfills her promise to cover the additional costs, taxpayers will not bear the expense of the search. The company may also review its procedures for handling such requests.
The incident could prompt other lottery winners to double-check their tickets before discarding them, potentially reducing similar incidents.
However, if similar cases arise, the cost and effort of recovery may vary, and outcomes could differ depending on the timing and location of the trash collection.
Source: thelocal.it
