The $10,000 Lottery Shock That Turned Out to Be a Prank
Back when I worked at my old job, one of the guys handed me a lottery ticket with a casual smile and said, “Good luck!” I didn’t think much of it at first. Later that day, I scratched it off — and couldn’t believe my eyes. It looked like I’d just won $10,000.
My hands were trembling. My heart was racing. I could barely think straight.
Not long after, the same coworker came back around and asked if I had scratched the ticket yet. Trying to play it cool, I lied and said I hadn’t gotten around to it. He nodded and walked away.
Curiosity got the better of me, so I flipped the ticket over to read the fine print — and that’s when I saw it: this was a novelty ticket. A fake. A prank.
Relief and embarrassment hit me at the same time. I was just thankful I found out before I accidentally celebrated or tried to cash it in.