A 77-year-old woman has revealed how, due to a mistake made over 30 years ago, she lost approximately 1 billion rupees (around 12 million dollars) and spent her entire life raising her children in poverty. New York’s Janet Valenti, after her husband Bruno’s tragic death in 1984, struggled to raise her two children, Kevin and Jennifer.
1 billion rupees thrown in the garbage
On July 17, 1991, she purchased a $1 lottery ticket in Graniteville. That day, she left to spend the weekend with her friends. The next day, a friend told her that a winning ticket had been sold on Staten Island. When Janet checked the winning lottery numbers, she realized that she had won approximately 12 million dollars (about 1 billion rupees). She began searching for the ticket at home but remembered that, in a hurry, she had thrown the ticket in the trash when leaving her house.
‘First Time a Neighbor Took My Trash Out’
In a hurry, Janet attempted to find the ticket in the trash but couldn’t locate it. Valenti told Staten Island Advance, “My neighbor, who had never taken my trash out in my entire life, took my trash out that day. After that, the garbage truck came and took away my life-changing 1 billion rupees too.”
Upset and Ill for a Long Time
Janet immediately contacted lawyers to try to rectify her mistake. However, she was told that the only way to claim the prize was with the lottery ticket. Even getting surveillance footage of her buying the ticket from a convenience store wouldn’t help. Valenti explained to Staten Island Advance, “I lost it before I even had it. By the time you can claim the prize, it’s too late. It was the biggest unclaimed lottery prize in the state’s history.”
‘One Day, I’ll Win Again
Although Janet has no regrets about losing the winning ticket and believes it could have negatively impacted her life, she still plays the lottery with the hope of winning again one day and keeping her ticket safe this time. She said, “In my winnings, I’ve gotten free plays or a few dollars at most.”
