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Man sues his friends who won $1m and didn't give him anything

Man sues his friends who won $1m and didn't give him anything
Lottery winner says first thing she did after £115m win was ‘put ...
Sky News

A man is suing his friends after they won $1m and didn't give him anything, claiming that he deserves a cut of the winnings.

Pizza delivery driver Philip Tsotsos from Ontorio, Canada is suing 16 of his friends for $70,000 after accusing them of 'stealing his dreams'.

The win itself came last summer, when the group won a Lotto Max ticket from the Ontario Lottery and Gaming Corporation.

While the 16 friends celebrated the win, Tsotsos believes he should also be awarded a cut of the prize.

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It’s an argument which his friends disagree with, as they claim he didn’t pay to enter.

Tsotsos told CBC News: “Why wouldn't they tell me they won? These guys are like family to me.

“Their dreams came true. Why should they steal mine?”

Tsotsos has named each of the 16 friends in the lawsuit and wants to be named as the 17th winner.

The total prize was $62,500 each when shared out among 16, but it would be $58,000 if Tsotsos was included.

The defence lawyer who is representing the group of 16 friends, David Robins, said: “Mr Tsotsos did not pay to play, so we deny that he is entitled to any of the relief that he is seeking, and we'll be vigorously defending the claim. In this instance, he did not play and he was not included.”

Should the man be awarded a cut of the prize?Creative Commons

Tsotsos said that he had been part of the group for six years and had paid into it on a credit-based system, owing up to $100 at a time.

When the group won, he owed $30 and was told he had to repay the money plus an additional $10 if he wanted to stay part of the group.

Discussing the moment he discovered he group had won, he said that he’d bought a pizza for everyone.

He said: 'I got online and I was just going through social media and what comes up. The same guy that's eating my pizza is holding a million-dollar cheque, and that's how I found out.'

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