Sparta Man Nearly Loses $1M Lottery Ticket

A Sparta man almost lost his chance at becoming a millionaire.

Nick Slatten lost his Tennessee Cash ticket worth $1,178,746 last Thursday.

“I couldn’t find it anywhere,” Slatten said.

Turns out, Slatten dropped the ticket at Sparta’s O’Reilly’s Auto Parts as he helped his brother in the parking lot. The ticket was lying on the asphalt for more than an hour. Slatten retraced his stops in Sparta and found the ticket, right where he dropped it.

Slatten bought the ticket in Smithville and discovered last Wednesday he had hit all the numbers for the drawing.

“I was stunned. I couldn’t believe it,” Slatten said. “I can’t express it. It was something else.”