365个英语简短小故事-260. Woman Lies About Lottery

（单词翻译）

A 39-year-old woman admitted that she had lied. She claimed that she bought the latest winning lottery¹ ticket in Massachusetts, but then lost it. The ticket was worth $18 million after all deductions². Jean Fenn was charged with grand larceny³. A conviction⁴ could put her in prison for up to seven years.

The real winner of the ticket, Kevin Hayes, 66, presented it a week ago to the liquor store where he had bought it. That store will receive one percent of the prize, or $180,000. The owner of the store, Mark Abrams, 56, was overjoyed. “Last year we had a storm that blew half of our roof off. It cost $25,000 to put a new roof on.”

Hayes said he was reminded to check his numbers when he heard that a woman had lost her winning ticket. He and his wife had been camping in the mountains when the winning number was drawn⁵.

“But I feel sorry for this woman," said Hayes. "She only did this out of desperation. In fact, I'm going to help her out financially after she gets out of prison. It’s a shame that this wealthy country has so many poor people. So, I’m going to donate a lot of this money to different charities. What do I need $18 million for?”

The checks to Hayes and Abrams should arrive within two weeks, according to a lottery spokesman⁶. The spokesman mentioned that lottery players should remember that the odds⁷ of winning the lottery are only about one in forty million. Even so, most people think that SOMEONE has to win, and it might as well be them.