At the Centre of the Dispute
The California State Lottery Commission has secured a decisive victory in court, with a judge dismissing a lawsuit from a man who claimed he was wrongly denied a $750,000 prize, while ordering the plaintiff to pay over $150,000 in legal costs.
Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Kevin C. Brazile signed off on the judgment on Thursday, disposing of the breach-of-contract lawsuit filed by James Densley. Densley had argued that he purchased a ticket in September 2021 that revealed a flush, which he contended was a winning hand over three queens under the state’s lottery programme, entitling him to a prize of $75,000 multiplied by 10, or $750,000. He claimed the commission denied his claim without explanation three months later.
However, the Attorney General’s Office countered with a starkly different narrative. In court filings, the state’s legal team contended that the original ticket was torn into pieces and reassembled with cellophane tape, thereby rearranging the play symbols to fabricate a winning hand.
Judge Brazile granted the Attorney General’s motion to dismiss the case, siding with the commission and awarding it $153,200 in attorneys’ fees and costs. The ruling brings a definitive end to Densley’s legal bid.
At the centre of the dispute lies the physical condition of the lottery ticket. Densley asserted that his ticket, purchased in September 2021, constituted a winning combination for a high-stakes poker-style game, entitling him to a substantial payout. He maintained that the commission’s refusal to honour the ticket was arbitrary and unexplained.
The state’s prosecution painted a