Winning baby: What happens to Florida Woman when she wins big?
Winning money is a dream for many; let’s face it, we’ve probably all found ourselves daydreaming about winning the lottery at least once in our lives – or twice. Luckily for Florida resident Sue Burgess, she didn’t have to dream about winning money.
Not so lucky
Burgess, 62, was one of the lucky ones who won $1,000 after playing the lotto. Although she may have been a winner, Burgess wasn’t that fortunate as her ticket got lost in the mail. Yikes! Like many would have done, Burgess fought back to receive the money she won.
Burgess proved she was lucky after all as she ended up getting her cash prize in the end. She said lotto officials agreed to give her the check after a debacle with the U.S. Postal Service almost cost her the winnings. “I’m just thrilled to death that the lottery commission sent me the check,” Burgess stated.
What happened in the first place?
Sue Burgess won the state’s Second Chance Lottery game in July; however, the coronavirus pandemic prevented her from claiming her winnings at any of the local lottery offices since they were closed. (The coronavirus never fails to make life rough. Sigh.)
Determined to receive the money, Burgess followed the state lottery’s instructions, which stated she had to send in her ticket via certified mail. According to a news report, Burgess said she felt it would be safer to send her ticket via certified mail with the U.S. Postal Service in any case – package tracking definitely relieves anxiety.
After weeks went by with no word from lotto officials, Burgess discovered her ticket never arrived. (Talk about a major bummer.) “With COVID, I understand the mail is a little bit slow. But for safety sake, certified mail usually has priority,” she said.
“I was horrified to find out that the lottery commission had never received my ticket. After I had to pick myself up off the floor, I learned the ticket was still in transit,” Burgess added.
The tracking information shows the ticket arrived at the Tallahassee post office but the package was never delivered to the lottery office.
When Burgess called the lottery officials to explain the situation, she was told that without a ticket, the prize would be given to an alternate winner. In fact, their response was: “No ticket, no prize.” (Could you imagine the heartache she felt when she heard those words?)
Victory
Feeling helpless & confused, Burgess turned to her local NBC affiliate WFLA’s consumer help segment, Better Call Behnken. When her story went public, FedEx arrived at her doorstep with a check from the lottery commission. (Looks like next time you have a problem, you too better call Behnken.)
Burgess was relieved when she finally received her money. “Now we have a happy ending,” she said. Sue Burgess plans to use the $1,000 check to fix her broken washer and get new car tires. (You go, girl!)
