Almost as a punchline in a joke, a man walks into a bank Saturday morning and leaves the teller a note stating he planned to return with a weapon and kill everyone inside if he did not receive $1,000. At the bottom of the note, he signed his name: Thomas Mason.

Donna Goeppert has defied all odds against her - taking home the lotto jackpot, not once, but twice - in the same year. Goeppert, a Pennsylvania resident, won $1 million playing a Pennsylvania Lottery scratch-off ticket earlier this year. She tried again, and won another million dollar prize.

The Ap reports Patrick Simboli, a Massachusetts convenience store clerk, pleaded not guilty to cashing a winning lottery ticket belonging to a customer. Prosecutors say he told Elizabeth Geladeras that she had won $2 on a "cash winfall" ticket, when, in actuality, the ticket was worth $32,000, after taxes.

If you want to increase your chances of winning the lottery, you might consider heading to the Show Me State. For the third time, a south St. Louis QuikTrip store makes a local resident a millionaire. The convenience store is located at 8205 Gravois and its most recent winner came on April 9th for $1. 3 million. A Spokesman for the Missouri Lottery says, "This is one lucky location. " Besides the lucky winner being paid handsomely, the store selling a winning ticket gets a 1-percent bonus - or $13,000 in this case. The same store sold winning tickets in June 1995 ($4. 4 million) and December 1996 ($1. 6-million). The latest winner has until Oct. 6 to come forward, since Missouri Lotto winners have 180 days to claim their jackpot.