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Man Loses $1 Million Lottery Ticket, Then Finds It Hours Later In A Parking Lot

March 22, 2021

A man in Tennessee won big on the state lottery but nearly missed his chance of claiming the prize.

Nick Slatten / Tennessee Education Lottery

Nick Slatten struck it lucky twice after winning the lottery, then finding the missing ticket in a parking lot.

Slatten, of Sparta, bought the ticket and a drink at a grocery store after a long day of laying tile. The following morning, Slatten said he checked the results and discovered that the ticket was worth $1,178,746.

He said he rushed to his fiancée's workplace to tell her the good news. Then he ran a few errands, including taking his brother to go shopping at an auto parts store.

However, about an hour later he realized that he had lost the ticket, explaining that he "couldn't find it anywhere."

Slatten said he retraced his steps and found the ticket on the ground in the parking lot of the auto parts store, near the driver's side door of another vehicle.

"It's a million-dollar ticket, and someone stepped right over it," he said.