They say one good turn deserves another and this uplifting story proves it. A man in Silver Spring, Maryland did a favor for one of his relatives, who decided that he deserved a reward. And so, on impulse, the relative pulled into the Exxon station on Veirs Mill Road in Silver Spring and decided the perfect gift would be a $10 Double Your Money game.
As the anonymous man explains:
“I was on the phone with him when he pulled into a gas station. He told me that, while he was there, he would buy me a scratch ticket as a ‘thank you’ for the help I’d been to him.”
The man asked his relative to scratch the ticket while still on the phone. In a nice twist, it initially seemed as if he’d won a $100 prize:
“We were both happy, but then he told me to hang on, that he might have read it wrong, so my excitement faded a bit.”
He had indeed read it wrong, as there were three more zeroes to be revealed for a gigantic prize of $100,000. As the winner said:
“It was impossible to believe. I never win anything!”
Would you be honest?
It’s a heartwarming story, particularly because (at least on the details we know) the relatives seem happy for each other, and the prize hasn’t generated any conflict. But, in some ways, this tale is a useful litmus test of your morality.
After all, if you’re on the phone with the person you’re giving the scratchcard to and realize you’ve just bought a $100,000 winning ticket, what’s stopping you from making a disappointed sound, telling them they’ve lost, and then keeping the winnings?
Ownership of a winning lottery ticket can also end up in court. For example, in Jan. 2024, in Canada Lawrence Campbell bought his girlfriend Krystal McKay a lottery ticket. He handed it to her, and she went on to win $5 million. They broke up, but Campbell claimed he has the right to the money because he’d purchased the ticket. That case is ongoing, with Campbell apparently seeking a settlement.
But, thankfully, cooler heads have prevailed in Maryland, and it seems this man and his relative have worked something out. One thing’s for sure though, if I bought someone a winning lottery scratchcard as a gift, I’d like to think they’d take me out for a nice dinner to say thank you.
But as for the rest of the money? If you buy someone a lottery ticket, you have to be able to let go if they win big.
Published: Dec 16, 2025 09:25 am