Click on a label to read posts from that part of the world.
Furious Ryanair passenger eats his $13,600 winning lottery ticket
Despite all the weird things Ryanair manages to do to its passengers, they do have their fair share of wacky passengers as well. During one of their flights this week, a passenger purchased a scratchcard lottery ticket (one of the many ways Ryanair makes money). When he uncovered the numbers, he turned out to be the lucky winner of €10,000 (about $13,600).
And this is where the story takes a twist for the weird - when the passenger was told that he would have to send his ticket in for verification, and that the cabin crew don't fly around Europe with that kind of cash, he got furious.
Normal people would throw a tantrum, calm down, and accept the situation. Instead, the lucky winner ate his ticket.
Right in front of all his fellow passengers, this guy actually ate a $13,600 winning lottery ticket. The only upside to this story is that the winning prize money will go unclaimed, so it can be donated to charity. I'm not sure whether alcohol or just plain stupidity played a role here, but it sure seems like one of the dumbest ways to throw away money.













Reader Comments (Page 1 of 5)
Lauren Feb 27th 2010 11:33AM
I just checked my calendar and discovered that it is not, in fact, April 1st.
Dunk Mar 1st 2010 3:15PM
I've eaten $500 winning lottery tickets, but $13,000? What a fool. I hope it constipates him.
Rick Feb 27th 2010 6:18PM
Let me guess: German?
phil Feb 27th 2010 11:02PM
Not surprising at all, he is just another dumb one that flies Ryan Air, what can you expect.
acetracer Feb 28th 2010 2:03AM
Can I get a source for this? You link to nothing, and a Google search only turns up Gadling and people linking to Gadling.
Scott Carmichael Feb 28th 2010 9:34AM
The source is in the bottom left of the article. It came from the BBC, which I consider to be a fairly reliable news source:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/england/8539560.stm
John Mar 1st 2010 8:37AM
No one can be this stupid.
It's obvious you get your winnings from the company that creates the lotto instead of from the pilot.
What about the inflight boutique? Did he think there was a gapstore warehouse in the bowels of the plane? Or if he saw a nice private yacht in the inflight magazine did he think the stewardess would have been able to bring him that from the yacht parking garage in the cargohold?
jdo52tex Mar 1st 2010 6:04PM
John, he's European.
Ana Mar 1st 2010 8:11PM
Welcome to the world of a flight attendant. Yes, people can be this stupid and in astoundingly large numbers. You never realize how stupid many people are until you scratch the surface (pardon the pun).
Unexpected Traveller Mar 1st 2010 11:57AM
There are some things at Ryanair that make you want to go mad, this being one of them: http://unexpectedtraveller.wordpress.com/2009/10/26/first-past-the-post/
The Unexpected Traveller
blakk73 Mar 1st 2010 2:07PM
Thats gonna be...one expensive turd....LOL...
maria Mar 1st 2010 2:12PM
Hahahahahaha
David Mar 1st 2010 4:18PM
LOL! Thanks, blakk73, I needed a good laugh.
JD Mar 1st 2010 4:08PM
LMAO!!!
dan Mar 1st 2010 7:38PM
Ok.....now THATS funny!!!!!!
Jim Mar 1st 2010 8:44PM
First laugh i got after reading others.
Second laugh about reply. LOL
steve Mar 1st 2010 2:17PM
That's dirty money.
Dick Mar 1st 2010 2:19PM
I can see it. He didn't have the $13,600 when he got on the plane, he didn't have it when he got off. He saved on the tax he would have had to pay on the $13,600. So yeah, instead of giving the ticket away, he ate it! Could be he didn't need the money.
fattfreddy3 Mar 1st 2010 3:10PM
Dick unlike here in America where the gov gets 50% there is no tax on uk lottery wins.
rose Mar 1st 2010 3:26PM
Canada also does not take any taxes from lottery winnings. why can't USA do the same?