Do you agree with the ruling by The Massachusetts Lottery...

[The Dude]

...Commission that the man finding the million dollar lottery ticket in the trash become the rightful owner and is entitled to the Million? Or should have the guy who bought the ticket been awarded the Million?

Man Settles Over Lottery Ticket in Trash

BLACKSTONE, Massachusetts (AP) -- A man who retrieved a $1 million lottery ticket from the trash reached a settlement with the family of the man who claimed he accidentally threw it away. [more]

http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/W/WINNING_TICKET_TOSSED?SITE=1010WINS&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT

Ya right he "accidently threw it away" .. He would say that now!!!

Hey..He threw it away......I think the guy who found it should be able to keep all........

[UrbanKhoja]

if he paid for it surely it should still be deemed legally his, however if he threw it away he gave up ownership so yes it should then go to the guy that found it.

darren

[jwenting]

A lottery ticket always states that the price goes to the person presenting the ticket.
If you throw your ticket away, tough luck.
If someone else finds it, it's his lucky day.

IF the decision had been different, the lottery organiser would from then on have the legal obligation to find every single winner of every single prize no matter how small in order to present them said prize.
After all, now prizes unclaimed go back to the organiser, so effectively they're cashing in the lost and forgotten tickets.

IF the tickets are made out to name and address, it's a different story (unless they still say they're to be paid out to holder).
In that case the organiser does have a way to track down their winners and make sure they get their prizes. But such lotteries are relatively rare (there are some though, but there you generally don't get a ticket because you pay by automatic bank draft and the prizes are returned to that same bank account).