A Quebec Woman Threw Out Her $500K Winning Lottery Ticket Before Realizing She Won

Some lottery players might be content with a free ticket or a $2 win, while others might be so bewildered with a vastly larger sum that they toss their winning ticket in the bin.

Well, that was the case for Mélissa from Saguenay-Lac-St-Jean — who won $500,000 from the $500 Mille scratch ticket. The lottery game, which costs $10 a ticket, first launched back on August 29, 2022, and offers players a one in 1,166,667 chance of winning the $500,000 grand prize.

Mélissa was, fortunately, that one.

According to Loto Québec, Mélissa had actually thrown her ticket in the garbage — not realizing it was worth half a million dollars.

"As soon as the retailer finished validating her ticket, Mélissa threw it in the garbage thinking she hadn't won anything...She picked it back up really quickly!" Loto Québec shared.

Safe to say that's a mistake that she will not be making ever again.

This isn't the only recent case of a lottery blunder. A Quebec man won the Lotto Max back on October 25 and didn't realize that he'd just become a millionaire.

Charles Beauchesne Girard went to validate his ticket and misread the total winnings — thinking he'd seen a few zeros, when, in fact, he'd won $1,000,000.

Moral of the story folks? Check your tickets, and check 'em good... real good.

This article's right-hand cover image was used for illustrative purposes only.