A Kansas City comedian is going viral for all the wrong reasons. Well, the wrong reasons for Walmart, that is.
In a now widely circulated video, Instagram user @darius_so_hilarious documented a heated exchange at a Missouri Walmart, where he alleges employees tried to scam him out of his legitimate $300 lottery ticket win, offering him just five bucks instead.
“I’m not trying to rob you,” one employee insists in the video. But Darius isn’t buying it. “You can’t win $5 on a $30 ticket!” he fires back, repeatedly asking for his ticket to be returned and demanding that it be scanned properly.
According to the footage and follow-up posts, Darius had purchased a Missouri state lottery scratch-off, revealing a $300 prize. When he brought it to the Walmart counter to cash it in, a male cashier initially offered him $5 and then stashed the ticket in a drawer. The rationale? “That’s what the machine is telling us.”
But Darius knew better. He pressed the issue, and only after threatening to call the police did the staff escalate the matter to a supervisor. Once scanned again, the ticket showed the correct value: $300.
“Give me my f***ing money, man!” Darius shouted once the truth came out. While he was eventually handed the payout, the confrontation didn’t end there. Instead of apologizing, the staff warned him to calm down and questioned why he was filming.
His response: “I’m recording for my safety.”
The reaction online has been swift, loud, and largely in support of Darius. A comment from Redditor @ironangel2k4 summed up the general sentiment: “Absolutely justified. I’d be this animated too if I won 300 dollars and someone tried to hand me a f**in fiver.”*
Others were more blunt. “He thought he had $295 to collect at the end of his shift!” joked one Instagram commenter. Another said, “He did not want to give that ticket back… he tf knew.”
Many speculated that this wasn’t a simple mistake. “This happens a lot,” one liquor store worker commented on Instagram. “My customers tell me some real crazy stories. People have gotten their tickets stolen for way less.”
While some debated whether the employee’s disability complicated the situation, most agreed that the facts stood on their own. “Being in a wheelchair doesn’t give you a free pass to steal,” one user noted.
Unfortunately, this isn’t an isolated incident. In recent years, lottery scams involving retail clerks have made headlines across the U.S. In 2024, two teenage Walmart employees in San Angelo, Texas, were charged with stealing over $1 million in fake lottery payouts.
“Always understand how to play and double-check yourself,” one Redditor warned. “Many businesses have lost their gambling licenses for lying about lottery winnings in an attempt to cash in tickets themselves.”
Darius posted a follow-up video on Facebook, insisting that he knew the Walmart employee never actually scanned the ticket the first time. “These machines don’t make mistakes. If it’s scanned, it shows the right amount. He never scanned it.”
As of this writing, Walmart has not issued a public statement addressing the incident or confirming whether the employee involved is under investigation.
Darius, meanwhile, has gained thousands of new followers thanks to the video and a reputation as someone who won’t be played.
“I’ll flip that Hot Wheels over,” one Instagram fan joked, referencing the employee’s wheelchair. Another offered a more serious suggestion: “Call corporate and forward the video. This ain’t over.”
With trust in major retailers continuing to erode and more everyday shoppers recording their interactions, Darius’s video may serve as a cautionary tale: know the value of your win, and keep that camera rolling.
