Tennessee

Lottery ticket wins $1 million; Tennessee police say clerk tried to steal it

Published

1 year ago

July 24, 2024

Lottery ticket wins million; Tennessee police say clerk tried to steal it

MURFREESBORO, Tennessee — A man who won $1 million in the Tennessee lottery almost never saw his winnings.

That’s because a clerk at the store where he bought the ticket attempted to steal it without the the purchaser ever knowing he actually won, authorities say. Now Meet Patel, 23, is being held in jail on a $100,000 bond in Rutherford County on a charge of theft, CNN reports.

The Rutherford County Sheriff’s Office tells WSMV Channel 4 the victim purchased two $20 Diamond and Gold lottery tickets at a Shell gas station where Patel worked. The victim, whose identity has not been released, only scratched off the front bar codes on the tickets then asked Patel to check they were winners, WTVF Channel 5 reports.

Patel is accused of giving the man the $40 winner, but then tossing the $1 million winner in the trash. Authorities say store video shows Patel later remove the ticket from the trash and put it in his pocket.

“Mr. Patel is then seen later in the video celebrating in the store after scratching off the front of the ticket and learning it was a $1 million winner,” Det. Dennis Ward said, according to CNN.

Reports say Patel tried to claim the prize at the lottery headquarters in Nashville, but lottery officials immediately became suspicious. Ward said a normal line of questioning set off “red flags.” Lottery officials held onto the ticket and told Patel to “get his affairs in order.” Patel was later arrested and charged.

“The feel-good side of this story is the (the father) never knew he was the winner until we made contact with him,” Detective Lt. Steve Craig tells WSMV. “That is absolutely life-changing money.”

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Tennessee

Pavia, Vanderbilt overwhelm Tennessee, 45-24 – Knox TN Today

Published

4 hours ago

November 30, 2025

Press Room

Pavia, Vanderbilt overwhelm Tennessee, 45-24 – Knox TN Today

There are several words to describe what happened Saturday at Neyland Stadium – historic, decisive, disappointing, humbling.

Others are to be avoided. This is Sunday and KnoxTNToday is a family-friendly website.

Vanderbilt knocked down Tennessee and stepped on it, 45-24.

“Extremely disappointing second half that leads to an extremely disappointing ultimate result,” said Josh Heupel.

This was a new experience for the coach. His four previous teams defeated the Commodores. Three years ago, the Vols romped, 56-0.

This time Vandy did all the romping. It got a tying touchdown 12 seconds before halftime, totally dominated the third quarter, gave up a field goal in the fourth and slammed in two more touchdowns to be sure the Vols got the message.

Tennessee couldn’t contain Diego Pavia. Tennessee couldn’t block the blitz. The running game was snuffed out. Tennessee lost the line of scrimmage on offense and defense.

Vanderbilt gained 582 yards. Pavia passed for 268 yards and a touchdown. He ran for 165 yards and a score. He backed up what he said in the summer, that the Vols wouldn’t know what hit them come November.

“We can beat Tennessee literally any given Saturday.”

For the first time, Vanderbilt has 10 victories in a season. This might be the best Vandy team in a century or so. It pretends to think it belongs in the playoffs.

In case you are interested, success was purchased, not developed. Pavia, several other key players and at least four offensive coaches came to Nashville as a package from New Mexico State.

Retooling the offense was a brilliant move by coach Clark Lea. He was 1-23 against Southeastern Conference competition before he “adjusted” his staff.

Tennessee has an 8-4 record. The team is not as good as that sounds. It did not make consistent improvement. It almost beat Georgia but didn’t – and didn’t defeat any other really strong opponent. It made many of the same mistakes all season. It never achieved dependability on pass defense.

Heupel did not say this loss will lead to a fire drill. He did not say any assistants will be replaced. He did say he will evaluate the entire program.

“I’ll certainly take a hard look at all of it.”

Heupel said “the performance was not anywhere near the standard of what Tennessee football is.”

He said there were a lot of things the program had to deal with in the beginning and middle parts of the season. He didn’t get into specifics but he probably was talking about key injuries and Boo Carter.

“I told our players we’ve had some disappointing results, but this second half was extremely disappointing. Coaches and players, not just one.”

Defensive lineman Tyre West #42 tackles Vandy wide receiver Junior Sherrill #0 at Neyland Stadium on Saturday. (Photo By Andrew Ferguson/ Tennessee Athletics)

There were some Saturday examples.

DeSean Bishop, a warrior, scored two touchdowns in the first half. He finished with 98 rushing yards. He gained two in the second half. I don’t think the drop-off was his fault.

Joey Aguilar played quarterback with Commodores in his face or all around. It looked as if Vandy surprised all concerned with the blitz plan.

Joey was not ultra-accurate but he and Chris Brazzell combined for a 52-yard touchdown and he threw another strike that Mike Matthews dropped at the goal line.

Aguilar finished 29-of-44 for 299 yards. One of those completions was a sensational shoe-topper by freshman Radarious Jackson. Joey did not lose an interception.

Jalen McMurray was flagged for a late hit to Pavia’s head on an incomplete pass. It wasn’t a fierce blow but the penalty led directly to the Vandy touchdown a few seconds before intermission.

Heupel said what everybody knew – “not smart football.”

Pavia didn’t blow a lot of smoke after the game but he did wave goodbye to the Tennessee multitude.

Vandy fans (or maybe just his relatives) were chanting “Heisman, Heisman, Heisman.”

Why not?

Score by quarters:

Vanderbilt 7 14 10 14 – 45

Tennessee 7 14 0 3 – 24

Scoring summary:

TENN – DeSean Bishop 2-yard run (Max Gilbert kick)
VANDY – Sedrick Alexander 28 yd run (Brock Taylor kick)
VANDY – Makhilyn Young 3 run (Taylor kick)
TENN – Chris Brazzell 52 pass from Joey Aguilar (Gilbert kick)
TENN – Bishop 35 run (Gilbert kick)
VANDY – Tre Richardson 6 pass from Diego Pavia (Taylor kick)
VANDY – Alexander 5 run (Taylor kick)
VANDY – Taylor 35 field goal
TENN – Gilbert 25 field goal
VANDY – Pavia 24 run (Taylor kick)
VANDY – Alexander 39 run (Taylor kick)

Marvin West welcomes comments or questions from readers. His address is marvinwest75@gmail.com

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Tennessee

Saturday Predictions: Vanderbilt at Tennessee

Published

22 hours ago

November 29, 2025

Press Room

Saturday Predictions: Vanderbilt at Tennessee

Well, this is definitely the biggest Vanderbilt-Tennessee game in a long time. Vanderbilt heads to Knoxville today looking for its first win over the Vols since 2018 — and looking for its first ten-win season in school history, along with possibly maybe a playoff berth? That looks less likely after yesterday’s results (which saw Utah pick up a come-from-behind win over Kansas, and Texas beat Texas A&M), but it’s still within the realm of possibility. Will Vanderbilt make it a 10-win season?

You know, I’ve seen a lot of people out there still picking against us like they doubt us. I have also seen a lot of Tennessee fans on Twitter posting about Diego Pavia’s mom behind burner accounts, which let me just say is exceptionally weird. And in some cases psychotic. Give me Vanderbilt to win this one. 10-2 it is.

The Pick: Vanderbilt 38, THEM 27

The SEC Upset Pick of the Week: An underrated one here: ARKANSAS (+3.5) is 2-9 but actually has a positive point differential on the season. This is their last chance to actually get one, so I am picking them to beat Missourah (spits.) How a game between an SWC and Big 8 team counts as “The SEC Upset Pick of the Week” is not clear.

This game screams “First to 50 wins.” Diego’s going to make sure, in his last regular season game, conference game, and rivalry game, that that will be The Gridiron Dores.

It really is that simple. Nothing sucks like a big orange.

The Pick: Vanderbilt 52 – Buttchuggers 49.

The SEC Upset Pick of the Week: The fact that so many of the games have already happened makes this prediction less impactful, so go ahead and give me The South Cackalacky Game Penises over Clemson. Wait… the penises are actually favored in this one??? Ah hell, I guess I’ll do the ol’ “I picked Vanderbilt to win, didn’t I?” canard.

This is a game of great offenses versus less-great defenses. Rivalry games often come down to big moments. Vanderbilt has, at times to a fault, been committed to preventing the big play on defense. They have also turned the ball over once for every two Tennessee turnovers. Turnovers and long TDs are often the plays that swing these games. Vanderbilt has the edge in both.

It is funny seeing the normal “rival trying to ruin their opponent’s season” script flipped. Granted, some results have already fallen that have Vanderbilt’s CFP hopes on life support. Still, the chance to go to the Citrus bowl, which Steve Spurrier called out as the rightful home of the 90s and 00s Vols, hangs in the balance. The Dores have the driver’s seat unless the CFP committee screws them in favor of Texas after the Longhorns’ win over Texas A&M.

Frankly, throw the stats out. The Dores have Diego Pavia who has been on a mission both for New York and for his team’s postseason chances. That baaaad man is not going to be denied in Neyland after struggling horribly against THEM in the 2024 contest.

The Pick: Vanderbilt 48, Tennessee 21

The SEC Upset Pick of the Week: Iron Bowl in Jordan-Hare with Auburn surging under an interim coach? That is absolutely the setup for an upset there. War. Damn. Eagle.

They lowdown.. They dirty. They suck. Go ‘Dores.

The Pick: Vanderbilt 41, Tennessee 31

The SEC Upset Pick of the Week: Upset? Volunteer fans after we whoop the only thing that brings those overgrown brats any joy.

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