A lottery player in Italy has successfully recovered a winning ticket worth €1 million after it was accidentally thrown away. The woman, who has chosen to remain anonymous, discovered her ticket was seemingly non-payable at a local store in Bitonto, Puglia. Believing the message meant the ticket was worthless, she discarded it.
It was only upon returning home that the woman realized the numbers she habitually played – 2, 4, 8, 10, and 51 – had been drawn. She then rushed back to the store, only to learn that the rubbish, including her winning ticket, had already been collected.
Following contact with the local waste collection company, SANB, a recovery operation was initiated. Roberto Nicola Toscano, an administrator for SANB, stated that the journey of the ticket was reconstructed, initially with little hope of retrieval as it had already been picked up by a garbage truck.
Authorities managed to identify the correct garbage truck and halted its route. A significant challenge during the search was the presence of potentially hazardous materials in the waste. To address this, the vehicle was taken to a specialist company equipped for such an operation.
After a laborious two-day search, the ticket was found intact. Mr. Toscano described the winner's reaction upon being informed of the recovery as tears of emotion. He noted that he would have liked to hug her but they were speaking on the phone.
Before returning the ticket, Mr. Toscano mentioned he touched it in the hope of good fortune. Shortly afterward, he won £42 on a scratch card.