KEY POINTS:
It's what punters joke about, but rarely actually happens - throwing away a winning ticket.
However, it happened in Auckland on Friday - and thanks to some quick-thinking TAB staff, winner and ticket have been happily reunited.
The result means an Auckland man is $10,921 richer after accidentally betting on the wrong horse race.
The man had thrown his ticket in the dustbin, thinking it was a losing one.
TAB racing manager Michael Dore said a mix of the TAB's security cameras and perseverance from an Onehunga TAB staffer, combined with her knowledge of her regulars, led to the man being identified.
The TAB was alerted to the win after a trifecta of three outsiders in Race 8, which should have paid more than $7800, paid only $2184.
"TAB investigators knew they had found the reason for the under-sized dividend when their screens showed that someone had struck $5 (times $2184) with a bet placed in Onehunga," Mr Dore said.
A search of the TAB's security camera footage identified the man placing the bet, and showed him walking out the door, screwing up the ticket after watching Race 6 - the race he thought he had bet on.
"Clearly he had marked Race 8 by mistake and had no idea that he had struck $2184 five times," he said.
"Onehunga TAB agent Pauline Saunders was contacted. She recognised the man in the security footage as a regular and after trolling her rubbish bins and the surrounding area she found the mystery ticket scrunched up in a car park."
The 67-year-old man found out about his big win when he returned to the TAB on Friday night.
"He was completely unaware of all the fuss ... and absolutely blown away to be tapped on the shoulder and told that he had, by mistake, won $10,921," Mr Dore said.
"It was extremely satisfying to match the man to the money."
- NZPA
