New Jersey Policeman Has Lotto Luck, Lotto Bad Luck Winning Ticket From Unlicensed Dealer; Texas Won’t Pay

A New Jersey police officer felt the curse of Friday the 13th in full force Friday when Texas Lottery officials refused to pay him a $10.5 million jackpot because he bought his winning ticket from an unlicensed, out-of-state dealer.

Scott Wenner, 37, of Riverside, N.J., plans to sue to collect his winnings from the Nov. 23 drawing.

Nora Linares, the lottery’s executive director, said Wenner’s claim was denied because he bought the ticket through the Pic-A-$tate Lottery Service of Lakewood, N.J.

The lottery said Pic-A-$tate is not a licensed Texas lottery retailer; the ticket was bought over the phone; and the price was higher than its face value - all against the rules.

Wenner’s lawyer, Dale Ossip Johnson, said the dispute should be with Pic-A-$tate, not with Wenner.

“Mr. Wenner selected the winning number and that is the beginning and the end of it,” Johnson said.

In 1993, a Pic-A-$tate customer won $23.4 million in a lottery drawing and Florida officials ultimately paid, said a Pic-A-$tate lawyer.