and some stranger in the foreground. No, didn’t go in, not my thing.
republished at BoingBoing:
www.boingboing.net/2009/12/08/stooper-supports-a-f.html
Jesus Leonardo is the king of the “stoopers” — people who pick up discarded betting slips at racetracks and betting parlors and double-check them to see if they’re actually winners. He makes about $45,000 a year at it, working 10 hours a day, and declares his “winnings” to the IRS.
Mr. Leonardo, who is married with two teenagers, is hardly living on the fringes. He said that stooping brings him $100 to $300 a day, and more than $45,000 a year. Last month, he cashed in a winning ticket from bets made on races at Santa Anita Park in Arcadia, Calif., for $8,040. His largest purse came in 2006, when he received $9,500 from a Pick 4 wager (choosing the winners of four consecutive races) at Retama Park Race Track in Selma, Tex.
Wow. I’ve thought about doing that, but never did. We go to the OTB about every other year for Derby Day. There were hundreds, maybe thousands, of discarded tickets on the floor the couple times I’ve gone back to get my winnings.
My daughter picked up a face down scratch off lottery ticket outside at the gas station a couple weeks ago. It had never been scratched. She won $2.