American Timothy Elliot couldn’t believe his luck when he won $1 million on a lottery scratchcard.  However, he might not be so lucky after all.

The reason for this is he is a convicted bank robber and under the terms of his probation he isn’t allowed to gamble.

The 55 year-old man from Hyannis, Massachussets was given five years probation for attempting to rob a bank in Cape Cod in January last year.  As he had a gambling problem, the court ruled he was to be banned from gambling.

A court hearing has been scheduled for 7th December in Barnstable Superior Court to decide if Mr Elliot has violated his probation by buying a $10 ticket for the “$800 million Spectacular” game at a supermarket in Hyannis.

Mr Elliot had already collected the first of his 20 annual $50,000 cheques as his prize from Massachussets’ lottery commission.  He was even photographed holding his cheque, which was posted on the lottery’s website on Monday, however the picture was removed by Wednesday.  He was also pictured in the local paper.

Court officials then received an anonymous tip that he had won the jackpot, and he was taken in for questioning.

Mr Elliot’s probation terms state that he “may not gamble, purchase lottery tickets or visit an establishment where gaming is conducted, including restaurants where Keno may be played.”

As well as being put under probation he was also under the care of the state Department of Mental Health and sent to Taunton State Hospital for treatment.

State officials refused to comment if Mr Elliot is still receiving treatment.  However court documents cited by the Cape Cod Times, have revealed he is allowed off hospital grounds unsupervised during the daytime.

On Wednesday a telephone number for Mr Elliot could not be found and also it wasn’t clear if he had a lawyer.

Lottery spokesman Dan Rosenfeld said, “This has not happened before as far as we know.

“It’s kind of new territory.”

He also added that the lottery cross references the names of lottery winners with the state Revenue Department in order to see if they owe taxes or child support.  If they do then the winnings are transferred straight to the Revenue Department.

Edina Russ, the shop owner who sold Mr Elliot the lottery ticket believes he should be able to keep the money.  She said, “Whatever he had done in the past has nothing to do with his life today.  He didn’t steal that ticket.  That’s his money.”

It is now up to the court to determine whether Timothy Elliot should be sent to prison and what should happen to his lottery winnings.

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