Record jackpot could bring lottery lawsuits
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Record jackpot could bring lottery lawsuits
Jeremy Hobson: Tomorrow’s Mega Millions lottery now has a jackpot never before seen in the history of lottery — a half-billion dollars. And if you’re in one of the 40-plus states that do Mega Millions, you might think about joining up with your co-workers to buy some tickets and boost your odds a little bit.
But our senior business correspondent Bob Moon reports, you might want to think twice before jumping into the office pool.
Bob Moon: The big drawing comes just a couple of weeks after a judge ordered a New Jersey construction worker to share a $24 million jackpot with five co-workers; he’d insisted he won with a personal ticket bought separately.
The moral, as the state’s lottery director Carole Hedinger sees it: Have a clear agreement with your co-workers, not just a handshake.
Carole Hedinger: Preferably those rules should be in writing, so that everybody understands what they are.
Establish a clear line between playing for yourself, and picking up tickets for the office pool.
Hedinger: Buy the group tickets one place, buy your own tickets someplace else. Keep your own tickets separate.
And give each co-worker their own documentation.
Hedinger: Making copies of the tickets, and handing them out to everyone prior to the draw, guarantees safety for everyone.
Sounds simple enough — except you might just want to think twice about using the office copy machine.
Hedinger: I would only suggest people do that with the permission of their employers, but I know that a lot of employers join those pools as well, so maybe they’ll be in favor of making copies.
Just to avoid confusion, everyone here at Marketplace please listen up: When I win tomorrow — it’s mine. All mine.
I like the sound of that.
I’m Bob Moon for Marketplace.
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