Parent gives teacher shocking $500,000 end-of-year gift in NJ

You may hate it, but we parents all do it. We give our kids' teacher a little gift at the end of the school year. We might want to make it just a $10 Dunkin' gift card, but is that enough? Next, you start comparing what the other parents are giving because you don't want to look bad. Suddenly it's a $25 Target gift card, or even a $50 Amazon card. Especially if you didn't send something in for Christmas.

If you check with other parents to compare, one parent in New Jersey has completely ruined it for all of us. They gave their child's teacher a gift worth $500,000.

Here's what happened.

A parent gave some New Jersey Lottery scratch-off games to the teacher instead of a gift card or scented candle, or coffee mug. The teacher had them in their car since June, when school ended.

"I had a stack of cards as gifts, and I had forgotten I left them there," the player explained while claiming their prize at the New Jersey Lottery Commission office. "One morning, I went out to the car and thought I'd see if I won any gas money."

The teacher won far more than that.

$500,000 to be exact. It was on a Shore Thing game, and the winner shudders when thinking of what could have happened to that ticket left in the car for weeks. They often travel with their puppy, who is known for chewing.

$500,000 is a game-changer. I only know two things. One, that teacher is never going to leave lottery tickets in a cup holder in a car again. And two, we parents aren't getting away with a $10 coffee card anymore.

Opinions expressed in the post above are those of New Jersey 101.5 talk show host Jeff Deminski only.

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