An aspiring comedian from Kansas City, Missouri, might have thought his eyes were playing tricks on him when he learned he was the winner of $300 scratch-off lottery ticket.
That’s because when he tried to collect his prize money at Walmart, the employee offered him $5. In a viral video, the winner, who goes by Darius So Hilarious on social media, is certainly not cracking jokes. He’s getting increasingly agitated as the Walmart employee shortchanges him by $295 and quickly stashes the ticket away in a drawer.
“You can’t win $5 on a $30 lottery ticket!” Darius exclaimed, before demanding that the associate return his ticket, knowing that something was amiss. The employee, however, blamed the machine, saying, “I’m not trying to rob you, I’m not losing my job over this,” yet stalled on returning the ticket.
The video cuts to Darius threatening to call the police. After a store supervisor inspected the ticket, the Walmart associate scanned it again, and the correct price amount suddenly appeared.
“Thank you! Give me my f**king money, man!” But before he gets his winnings, he’s lectured about his attitude by the employee and questioned about the recording.
“I’m recording for my safety,” said Darius.
The video has gone viral on social media, with many sharing their own stories of being scammed out of lottery winnings in the comments section.
“This is very common. Always understand how to play and double-check yourself. Many businesses have lost their gambling licenses for lying about lottery winnings in an attempt to cash in tickets themselves!”
“He thought he had $295 to collect at the end of his shift!” said one person, which was followed by “Not even an apology… he tried to get an attitude with the victim.” Many urged Darius to “call corporate and forward the video.”
The comedian posted a follow-up video on Facebook, saying, “These lottery ticket machines, they do not make mistakes. Once you scan the code… I don’t give a d*mn what the problem is, unless that machine is down for the day. Once you scan this code, it’s going to tell you exactly how much you won. That dude in the last video did not scan the ticket.”
Lottery scams are common, and many lotto-ticket-selling clerks are behind bars for stealing winnings, from convenience stores to big box retailers.
In 2024, two teenage Walmart employees in San Angelo, Texas, were charged with stealing one million dollars over the course of six months, allegedly creating fake winning lottery transactions and pocketing the cash. Meanwhile, Walmart is making a major push into lottery sales, potentially allowing the sale of tickets at all registers, according to LotteryGeeks.com. Atlanta Black Star reached out to Walmart, but the company has not commented on Darius’s video.
