When Massachusetts resident Danielle Alexandrov received a package delivered by FedEx, she was surprised to find it contained $20,000 worth of lottery tickets. Alexandrov told local television station WCVB that she had no idea how or why someone would send her such a valuable and unusual gift and began to wonder who would have sent her such a strange package.
“I start going through the boxes, everything is normal until I get a box that is very heavy,” Alexandrov told WCVB. “I open it and it’s a box of scratch cards. And I’m like, ‘Is this a joke?’ Until I look at the receipt and see the value is $20,000 worth of scratch cards.”
The tickets were supposed to be delivered to Kenyon’s Market on East Falmouth Highway, but were mistakenly delivered on Nov. 10 to Alexandrov’s office in East Falmouth, where she works as a recovery coach.
“We looked at the receipt and where it went and then went to return the box,” Alexandrov told WCVB. “Doing the next right thing – I played the tape in my head. What would happen if I kept these? Could I sleep at night? Things like that – and I thought, ‘No, the right thing.’ to do is to give it back.’”
The tickets are actually worthless until they are delivered to authorized lottery retailers. While it may seem tempting to keep them, the tickets have no value until they are validated by an authorized retailer.
“Unless these tickets are activated by a retail agent, they really have no value,” Christian Teja of the Massachusetts Lottery told WCVB. “If someone tried to take one of these tickets, if it was a winning ticket, took it to a retail store, there would be a message flagging it and they would not be able to redeem the ticket.”
A video provided by the Lottery Post captured their reaction.
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Where can you buy lottery tickets?
Tickets can be purchased in person at gas stations, convenience stores and grocery stores. Some airport terminals may also sell lottery tickets.
You can also order tickets online through Jackpocket, the USA TODAY Network’s official digital lottery courier, in these states: Arizona, Arkansas, Colorado, Idaho, Massachusetts, Minnesota, Montana, Nebraska, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, Ohio, Oregon, Texas, Washington DC and West Virginia. The Jackpocket app allows you to select your lottery game and numbers, place your order, view your ticket and collect your winnings – all from your phone or home computer.
Jackpocket is the official digital lottery courier of the USA TODAY Network. Gannett may generate revenue through audience referrals to Jackpocket Services. Must be 18+, 21+ in AZ and 19+ in NE. Not affiliated with any state lottery. Gambling problem? Call 1-877-8-HOPE-NY or text HOPENY (467369) (NY); 1-800-327-5050 (MA); 1-877-MYLIMIT (OR); 1-800-GAMBLER (all others). Please see jackpocket.com/tos for full terms and conditions.