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| Lottery officials: Valid ticket turned in for $162M jackpot |
| 2004-01-06 |
| Meki says CLEVELAND, Ohio (AP) Someone turned in a valid ticket for the $162 million Mega Millions multistate lottery jackpot, the Ohio Lottery said Tuesday, a day after a woman claimed she lost the winning ticket outside the convenience store where it was sold. Ohio Lottery spokeswoman Mardele Cohen said the winner would be revealed at an 11:30 a.m. EST press conference. Cohen would not comment on whether the winner was Elecia Battle, the woman who filed a police report saying she lost the ticket last week. Battle told police she dropped her purse as she left the Quick Shop Food Mart last week after buying the ticket. She said she realized after the drawing last Tuesday that the ticket was missing. The Ohio Lottery said the winning ticket was sold at the store, about 15 miles east of Cleveland. About 30 people with flashlights searched for the ticket Monday night outside the store after a police report Battle filed became public. Meki Algemeen Website |
| Posted by:Meki |
| #14 great....she's a pharmacy worker too...anyone done an inventory check lately? |
| Posted by: Frank G 2004-1-6 8:14:54 PM |
| #13 Not so fast! It seems Mrs Battle has an EXTENSIVE rap sheet and a history of fraud: http://www.thesmokinggun.com/archive/elecialotto1.html |
| Posted by: Cyber Sarge (VRWC CA Chapter) 2004-1-6 7:38:17 PM |
| #12 Anon, I think she was asking around for advice and hiring a fianical adviser and good lawyer before coming public with the winning ticket. Once she 'goes public' she will probably get drowned in 'advice' from every Tom, Dick, and Harriet out there. Not to mention the hundres of 'long lost relatives' who will come out of the wordwork. And all the people who will sue her to get a 'piece of the action'. Strange how Battle did not report her 'loss' until after the winning numbers (and location of the ticket purchase) were published. |
| Posted by: CrazyFool 2004-1-6 7:20:42 PM |
| #11 " Battle's story motivated her [Jemison] to turn in the ticket" - right, the $162 million had nothing to do with her motivation. Why on earth did Jemison wait so long? The Cleveland news mentioned that Jemison intends to return to her usual job. If I won that kind of money, I would immediately move to Cheney's undisclosed location and hire someone to make my inane remarks for me. Elicia Battle is beyond belief. She waited 3 days to report her "loss" to the police, and then the report stated she "did not hesitate while writing it out." Right... |
| Posted by: Anonymous 2004-1-6 7:04:14 PM |
| #10 No! Wait! I think it's mine! I bought that ticket, but it fell out of my pocket... |
| Posted by: Fred 2004-1-6 5:04:18 PM |
| #9 UPDATE EFL CLEVELAND - A woman turned in the winning $162 million Mega Millions lottery ticket Tuesday, saying she came forward sooner than planned because she was angered by another woman's claim that she bought the ticket and lost it. Rebecca Jemison, a hospital worker from South Euclid, turned in the ticket for the 11-state jackpot at Ohio Lottery headquarters, officials said. The lottery validated it Tuesday morning as the sole winning ticket for the Dec. 30 drawing. "I think I checked it about five or six times to make sure to see was it real," Jemison said at a news conference at lottery headquarters. She said she told her mother even before telling her husband. "Being a mama's girl I wanted to share the news with my mama first," she said. She also talked to an attorney and an accountant before turning in the ticket. Jemison took the immediate cash payment option, which is $94 million before taxes. After taxes, the lump sum payment is an estimated $67.2 million. She and her husband said their only definite plan is to relocate. Jemison said she was not worried about Battle's claim because she knew she had a valid ticket. "First of all I want to clear up a few things that have come out in the press. One of them is that I've been playing these numbers for about two years," she said. Ohio Lottery Director Dennis Kennedy said officials were sure that Jemison is the rightful owner of the ticket, saying she provided a receipt from the convenience store marking the time the ticket was sold. Kennedy said he would let police handle Battle's claim. Jemison said Battle's story motivated her to turn in the ticket. "I was angry at first but not worried at all," Jemison said. "I knew what I possessed." Battle's lawyer, Sheldon Starke, did not immediately return a call seeking comment on the lottery's announcement. He had said Battle intended to make a case that the winning ticket was lost property. . . . He said that if it was later determined there was a lack of truthfulness, police could consider criminal charges. The charge could be filing a false police report, a misdemeanor punishable by 30 days to six months in jail and a $1,000 fine, he said. |
| Posted by: CrazyFool 2004-1-6 4:10:05 PM |
| #8 TSG has a copy of the police report filed by Battle. She claims it fell out of her purse when she dropped it coming out of the store where she bought the ticket. She picked the numbers based on family ages, birthdays,etc and did not hesitate when asked to write down how she selected the numbers. Could get interesting. |
| Posted by: Gasse Katze 2004-1-6 3:36:20 PM |
| #7 Bet she's had a few slip and falls in the past. |
| Posted by: Shipman 2004-1-6 2:02:39 PM |
| #6 A guy in Massachusetts pulled this stunt a few years back. He made himself such a pain in the ass, holding up the disbursement of the winnings in court to the actual holder of the ticket, that she tossed him a big chunk of change to make him go away. Looks like maybe Elecia has heard the story too. Don't think some lawyer hasn't, and I got a feeling he'll be contacting her soon. |
| Posted by: tu3031 2004-1-6 12:37:02 PM |
| #5 I bet it's only a matter of time before he bumps into Ms. Battle and her .45 on some dark night.. Whether that happens or not isn't important. Lottery tix have blank fields that are to be filled out to establish ownership. She has only herself to blame for her misfortune, and taking out the finder of her supposed winning ticket is nothing more than denial in another form. |
| Posted by: Bomb-a-rama 2004-1-6 12:26:07 PM |
| #4 Boy, talk about fate taking a big ol' steaming crap all over you... I feel for Ms. Battle. Come to think of it, I wouldn't want to be the fellow who found the ticket, I bet it's only a matter of time before he bumps into Ms. Battle and her .45 on some dark night. Payback is a bitch. And $162 million payback is a real bitch! |
| Posted by: Scooter McGruder 2004-1-6 12:10:01 PM |
| #3 snellenr - correct! a lotto ticket is considered a bearer note, just like cash. Writing your name on it would help you in a civil case against someone absconding with the ticket, but they would be the one noted as WINNER! Ms. Battle should consider not buying tix if she handles them that carelessly. Remember, your odds of winning are only slightly increased by buying a ticket ;-) |
| Posted by: Frank G 2004-1-6 11:50:31 AM |
| #2 Unless poor Miss Battle wrote her name, etc, on the back of the ticket, I believe that possession is 10/10's of the law in this case... |
| Posted by: snellenr 2004-1-6 11:36:39 AM |
| #1 Lawsuit time!!!! |
| Posted by: Bomb-a-rama 2004-1-6 11:29:43 AM |