Man Splits Winning Texas Holdem Scratch Ticket

Opting to just settle before his time runs out, an 83 year-old man who found a winning lottery "Hold 'em poker" scratch ticket in the trash has settled a suit filed by the family of the man who lost the winning ticket.

Edward St. John settled for $140,000 with the estate of Kevin Donovan, with the intention of enjoying the money before he dies. The settlement was approved by Worcester Superior Court Judge Paul Agnes Tuesday, Aug. 22.

According to St. John's attorney Scott Ambler, St. John had a hard time settling because he believed that the entire prize is rightfully his. However, St. John took into consideration the time it would take before the matter was resolved.

"The writing was on the wall," Ambler said. "If they didn't win this time, they would have appealed again. If Mr. St. John had passed away before he got a chance to enjoy anything, that would have been the biggest shame of all."

St. John found the "Hold 'em Poker" ticket in October 2005 while rummaging through the trash at a local convenience store, looking for discarded winning tickets, something St. John regularly did. Donovan claimed that he bought all the "Hold 'em Poker" ticket that day, but didn't realize that he was in possession of the winning ticket and threw it away.

Donovan's children continued the suit after he died of heart attack. He was 49.

Under the settlement, St. John will recieve $43,000 annually for 20 years, while Donovan's estate gets $7,000.

October 02, 2006
Jeremy Evans