Tennessee man loses $1 million winning lottery ticket, then finds it in parking lot

SPARTA, Tenn. — It’s the worst-case scenario for someone winning a big lottery jackpot -- losing the ticket.

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However, a Middle Tennessee man was fortunate to find his winning $1 million lottery ticket on the ground in a parking lot after retracing his steps, WZTV reported.

You could say Nick Slatten got lucky twice.

Slatten bought a Tennessee Cash lottery ticket in Sparta on March 11, hours before that night’s drawing, according to WATE.

When he checked the winning numbers the next day, Slatten discovered his ticket was worth $1,178,746, the television station reported.

“I was stunned. I couldn’t believe it,” Slatten told Tennessee lottery officials in a news release. “I can’t express it. It was something else.”

After sharing the good news with his fiancee, Statten ran some errands, including stopping at an O’Reilly’s store to buy a car part, WZTV reported.

About an hour later, the unthinkable happened.

“I couldn’t find it (ticket) anywhere,” Slatten said in the news release.

Slatten retraced his steps and found the ticket in the parking lot of the auto parts store.

“It’s a million-dollar ticket, and someone stepped right over it,” Slatten said in the news release.

Slatten scooped up the ticket and took it to lottery headquarters, WBIR reported. He told lottery officials that he and his fiancee will continue working, and they plan to buy a house and new vehicles. They also plan to invest the rest of the cash.

Mainly, their plan is to live life with “not a whole lot of worries,” according to the news release.

Cox Media Group