It might be the most profitable case of finders keepers in history, worth a staggering 4.7 million Euros in fact.
A lottery shop owner in the northern Spanish city of La Coruna was clearing out his lost property box when he found an old ticket. He ran it through the system and it proved to be a winner.
The lottery shop owner, Manuel Reija says he could not believe it.
“I checked the ticket,” he said. “Then I checked it again, just in case there was a computer error or something like that, but the machine continued confirming it. I had to sit down. I almost broke the chair.”
Reija deserves a prize for honesty, because rather than secretly pocket the winnings himself, he went straight to the local authorities. Now the hunt is on for the mystery lottery winner.
“There have been people here saying they were the ones who left the ticket here. But they are only kidding,” he said. “Nobody has been serious about it in any case. In the event that someone seriously shows up claiming ownership of the ticket, I would have to refer them to the city hall. They are the ones in charge of this issue.”
La Coruna’s town hall web-site has posted a picture of the ticket in its lost and found section.
The lottery shop owner’s honesty may pay in the end. If no-one claims the ticket, the 4.7 million Euros is his.
When La Voz asked if he could've kept the ticket for himself, he replied: "Never, ever. I could not sleep."
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