Last week in Ocean County, a Shell Gas Station in Toms River was robbed of several cartons of cigarettes and thousands of lottery tickets.

lottery ticket
Flickr User Robert S. Donovan
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The incident raised many questions, such as f there was a winning ticket in the pile? According to officials, the thief is automatically a loser.

The New Jersey Lottery Commission is very strict when it comes to their rules and regulations of the game. Each individual lotto ticket features a tracking number.

If a ticket or a number of tickets are stolen and reported by the business owner, they will automatically be nullified and there would be no way to get cash from it - no matter what the jackpot is.

According to Duane Daniels, Deputy Director of Security with the Commission, "The general public must recognize and realize that the theft of lottery tickets is not gonna be your ticket out. Period."

"The moment a ticket goes MIA, it becomes nothing more than colorful wallpaper. And then I'm sure the authorities will want to know how you acquired such a lovely decoration," Daniels said.

While their department doesn't formally go after those responsible for stealing the tickets, Daniels tells Townsquare Media News, "we provide law enforcement with any necessary information they may need to help capture a suspect. This goes for local and state police, and in some rare cases, federal authorities."

So far, the incident at the station in Toms River is under investigation with no leads.

For more on the New Jersey Lottery, visit their website.

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