In brief
A lottery player in Bitonto mistakenly tossed a €1m winning ticket in a local shop’s bin. Local waste‑collectors discovered the slip while searching the waste, turning a mundane day into a near‑miracle. The ticket, once marked “non‑payable”, was recovered after a two‑day search. The owner, who had signed a declaration to cover search costs, was paid the prize and the workers celebrated with a €50 scratch card win.
A lottery player in Bitonto mistakenly threw a €1m (€857,158) winning ticket into a local shop’s bin after a clerk displayed a "non‑payable" message and the player was told it was too large for the shop to pay out. The ticket was discovered three days later by local refuse workers after the owner and family realised the mistake.
Roberto Nicola Toscano, director of SANB, said the recovery was "nothing short of miraculous". He located the bin truck before its contents were compacted, then led a two‑day search in a "mountain of waste". A worker found the ticket hidden inside a hole‑ridden bag of damaged papers.
Toscano noted that the winning ticket was one of the few intact ones and that the recovery cost will be borne by the winner, who had signed a declaration to cover these expenses. In a light‑hearted end, the waste team bought a scratch‑card for €50 after the search.
