Honest Woman Returns $5,000 Found in Her Domino's Box and Gets Free Pizza for a Year

Cole Saladino/Thrillist
Cole Saladino/Thrillist

Most people will agree that finding a $20 bill in your pocket is surprisingly terrific. The entire world, on the other hand, will agree that finding $5,000 in your box of chicken wings is a bonafide miracle, a condition of happenstance so friggin’ unlikely that it must be chalked up to some Domino's-loving divinity.

Well, that latter scenario occurred in San Jose, California over the weekend, when a Spacetel Wireless store manager ordered some Domino’s, only to find a ream of crisp Benjamins sitting in the box. At first, Selena Avalos didn’t know where the money came from -- could it have been Pizza-blood-money, perhaps a sign that Domino’s is really a vast, underground criminal network?

No, duh. Avalos returned the cash -- which was intended for a bank deposit -- and now Domino’s has promised her free pizza for a year. Originally, Avalos called the Domino's store back, hoping to return the mystery money. She didn't hear anything at first, so she alerted local media. Her local news team handled the issue with aplomb, contacting Domino's corporate, which awarded her with a year's worth of pizza. 

"I was like, I can't keep it, it's a crazy amount of money, it's not like it's $20 you find, you know. It's almost $5,000," she told local reporters. For her honesty, Spacetel has also given her a week off from work -- with pay, of course.

Avalos chose the righteous path, and is now the coolest Spacetel Wireless store employee the world has ever known. She could have taken the nefarious route, throwing that $5,000 in her purse and feigning ignorance if Domino’s ever raised a finger. She didn’t though, which raises a question: Why can’t we reward more good samaritans with pizza? It sounds like a positive social experiment.  

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Sam Blum is a Staff News Writer at Thrillist. Follow him @Blumnessmonster.