A Tampa gas station owner allegedly told an undercover lottery agent a $1,000 winning ticket was worth $5

A Tampa gas station has lost its Florida Lottery ticket inventory after undercover state agents said the owner scanned a $1,000 winning scratch-off, told the customer the ticket won $5, and kept the ticket for himself.

Florida Lottery special agents went to the Zoya Shell station off West Gandy Boulevard on August 19 for what the agency called an undercover compliance investigation, the Florida Lottery said. One agent brought a winning $1,000 scratch-off to the counter along with a losing ticket and two energy drinks.

The owner, Amar Yasser Hamden, scanned the winning ticket and the terminal confirmed a prize above $599, according to investigators. He allegedly told the agent it was worth $5, then took the ticket out to his vehicle, apparently to claim the prize later.

When the agents identified themselves, Hamden said he had thrown the ticket in the trash, investigators said. They recovered it from his car.

The lottery suspended sales at the gas station and removed all of its ticket inventory. Hamden was issued a notice to appear for violating a state law on the unlawful assignment or transfer of the right to claim a lottery prize, officials said. 

"Our retailers are entrusted with serving Florida Lottery players and handling winning tickets with honesty and integrity," Florida Lottery Secretary Reginald D. Dixon said in a statement. "We take that responsibility seriously, and when a retailer violates that trust, we will act to protect our players and the integrity of the Lottery."

A Florida store can pay a scratch-off prize of $599 or less and anything above it has to go to a lottery district office or through the mail.

The Tampa case follows a data investigation published in May by Fresh Take Florida and WUFT News, which found that roughly 30 licensed Florida retailers had each claimed 50 or more prizes of $600 or more since 2015, totaling more than $26 million. A Fort Myers retailer claimed 118 tickets totaling about $234,000. A Pompano Beach retailer claimed 117 for about $700,000.

Statisticians told the outlet those counts are hard to reach by buying tickets. Will Cipolli of Colgate University calculated that the Fort Myers retailer would have needed to buy more than 370,000 tickets to win that often. Mathematician Skip Garibaldi told the reporters he was "quite shocked at the number of prizes that some of these people claimed." 

The Florida Lottery said players should confirm the value of a ticket before leaving a store, and keep the ticket and the receipt afterward. The state's mobile app scans a ticket and reports the prize, and many stores have a self-service checker on the counter or the wall. Signing the back of a ticket before handing it over also makes it far harder for anyone else to claim.

Sources

WFLA: Tampa gas station owner told undercover lottery winner $1K ticket was worth $5

WTSP: Florida Lottery says Tampa store clerk tried to keep $1,000 winning ticket

Fresh Take Florida and WUFT News: Florida lottery retailers rake in prizes