CHARLESTON, W.Va. - One man's trash was Tom Smith's ticket for cash.
Smith won $10,000 on a lottery ticket that another customer decided not to buy, lottery officials said Thursday.
Smith had stopped at a convenience store in Morgantown to buy his usual Powerball tickets, but was instead coaxed by a clerk to purchase two Hot Lotto tickets that another player decided he didn't want for the April 21 drawing.
"I really just bought them to help out, since they couldn't be canceled," Smith said. "The clerk told me how Hot Lotto is played like Powerball but has better odds of winning. And the next thing I knew I'd won the biggest prize I've ever had."
Smith, a pharmaceutical distributor, said he gave his prize to his wife and two teenage daughters.
Smith won $10,000 on a lottery ticket that another customer decided not to buy, lottery officials said Thursday.
Smith had stopped at a convenience store in Morgantown to buy his usual Powerball tickets, but was instead coaxed by a clerk to purchase two Hot Lotto tickets that another player decided he didn't want for the April 21 drawing.
"I really just bought them to help out, since they couldn't be canceled," Smith said. "The clerk told me how Hot Lotto is played like Powerball but has better odds of winning. And the next thing I knew I'd won the biggest prize I've ever had."
Smith, a pharmaceutical distributor, said he gave his prize to his wife and two teenage daughters.