Trashed Mass. lottery ticket a $1M winner

NORTH ATTLEBOROUGH, Mass. (AP) — A Massachusetts couple have won $1 million on a scratch-off lottery ticket that they dug out of the trash after inadvertently throwing it away.

The state lottery commission says Joseph and Joanne Zagami of North Attleborough bought the $5 ticket from a vending machine while doing their grocery shopping.

They stuck the ticket into one of the grocery bags and forgot about it.

The next day, Joseph Zagami asked his wife if she had scratched the ticket. She said no. They dug through the trash and found it mixed in with the discarded grocery bags.

The couple claimed their prize Wednesday. They opted for the one-time lump sum payment of $650,000 before taxes. They plan to pay off their mortgage and other bills, and to take a vacation.

Cox Media Group