Sometimes a story comes along that reminds lottery players of the folly of throwing away old lottery tickets. An Anne Arundel County man ran across some old mega millions tickets in his truck and in an astonishing stroke of luck found out one of the tickets was worth $250,000! The Maryland man was on his way to purchase more Mega Millions tickets when he ran across the old Mega Millions tickets.

He decided to scan the old tickets and was surprised when he was told "Cash at Lottery." He thought he had made a mistake of some kind and had to ask what 'cash at lottery' meant and was told he had to cash the winning Mega Millions ticket at the Maryland Lottery headquarters. The man, whose name was not released, said, "I scanned the ticket three times because I thought I was doing something wrong. I immediately called my wife to tell her the good news."

The winning Mega Millions ticket was purchased at a local 7-eleven store in Crofton Maryland. The Mega Millions ticket was purchased for a drawing on April 7th. The couple plan to use the Mega Millions winnings to pay off bills and save for their children's college education.

Many states now allow the cross sales of Powerball and Mega Millions lottery tickets. Most states are expected to begin selling lottery tickets for both mega jackpot lotteries sometime in 2010. Cash strapped states are hoping the cross sale of tickets for both lotteries will boost sales and fill empty state coffers. In many states lotteries fund education programs and college scholarships and a decline in lottery generated revenue could put college financially out of reach for many students.

Several states are thinking about following the lead of several European lotteries and allow the sale of online lottery tickets. European countries that allow citizens to purchase lottery tickets online report increased sales. Online lottery websites allow players to check for winning numbers from a home computer or mobile device eliminating the need to make a trip to a lottery retailer to check numbers. Players who can purchase lottery tickets online appreciate the convenience that an online lottery purchase provides. Security measures are in place on European lottery sites making transactions safe and secure and eliminating the possibility of lottery fraud.

This should be a lesson to all of us who play lotteries. Never, I repeat, Never throw those old tickets away until they have been scanned!