Worker tried to con lottery winner out of $14 mn

SYDNEY - A convenience store worker refused to handover the winning ticket of $14 million of an elderly man after he showed it to him at the shop to find out if he was the winner, a media report said Saturday.

Milledge McCassell, 72, went to Dynasty Deli and Grocery in Queens, New York, to check his ticket and “Big Winner!” flashed on the electronic scanner available to customers, the Australian newspaper reported.

However, when he handed his winning ticket to the store worker to find out how much he had won, the worker said he was not a big winner and refused to hand back the ticket.

New York Lottery Director Gordon Medenica said that when McCassell went back to the store and asked for the ticket back, the worker told him he had lost the ticket.

McCassell returned to the store three more times but was repeatedly rebuffed, and because he had not signed the ticket, anyone turning it into lottery officials could have tried to collect the prize money.

However, the store worker miraculously found the missing ticket after police paid him a visit. Lottery officials said they believe the worker was holding onto the ticket and preparing to claim for it himself.