Pizza delivery driver sues friends who kicked him out of $1million lottery prize

Content of the article

A pizza delivery man in Windsor, Ontario is suing his friends after failing to get a share of their $1 million lottery win.

Content of the article

The pals of Philip Tsotsos, who are all named in the suit, won a $1 million Maxmillion prize on a Lotto Max ticket last June.

Tsotsos believes he deserves a share of the prize and is suing the band of 16 for $70,000 and other costs, accusing the band of “stealing his dreams”.

He told CBC News: “Their dreams have come true. Why should they steal mine?

Tsotsos also wants to be declared the 17th winning ticket holder – even though he technically didn’t pay.

According to Tsotsos, he had quit his job at an auto parts delivery company, but remained in the lottery pool with his former colleagues.

Their play was suspended during the pandemic but resumed in March 2021. He said he was approached in June for a “major” and asked if he wanted to participate.

Content of the article

He did but didn’t pay for the tickets right away – something Tsotsos often did as the tickets ran on a credit system. He said he previously owed money, sometimes as much as $100, but always paid it back.

At the time of the big win, he had a $30 tab and the band organizer told him to pay off the debt plus another $10 to stay in the band.

Tsotsos offered to pay the $40 by Friday this week, joking, “Just take it out of our winnings when we win.”

However, the lawyer representing the group of 16 told CBC: ‘Mr. Tsotsos did not pay to play, so we deny that he is entitled to any of the remedies he seeks, and we will vigorously defend the claim. In this case, he did not play and he was not included.

Tsotsos said he only found out about their victory in October on social media.

“Why don’t they tell me they won?” ” He asked. “These guys are like family to me…it hurts more than anything.”

Split into 16, each member won $62,500, but if included in the pool, they would each have received $58,000.

“All of that is a difference of $4,500.”