Pizza Delivery Driver Sues His Friends Who Won $1M Lottery And Didn’t Share With Him

Philip Tsotsos has accused his friends of stealing his dreams, and he’s suing the group of 16 for $70,000 and other costs. The Ontario-based believes he should have been recognized as a winner, even though his friends say he didn’t pay to enter. He claimed his friends are like family to him, yet they left him out of his share of the winnings.  

The Pizza delivery man has named each of the 16 friends in a lawsuit and wants to be named the 17th winner. 

But a lawyer, David Robins, representing the group, revealed the man did not pay into the pool for the winning ticket and, therefore, he’s not entitled to any part of the prize. “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.”

In disagreement, Philip told CBC News that for six years, he was a member of a lottery pool that won the Ontario Lottery and Gaming Association’s Maxmillion prize with a Lotto Max ticket last summer and that he remained a member of the pool of ex-colleagues at an auto-parts delivery business even after quitting the job shortly before their win.

“Why wouldn’t they tell me they won? These guys are like family to me. Their dreams came true. Why should they steal mine? He stated. 

Philip attested he had previously owed money, with his tab even stretching to $100, but he always paid it back. Amid the big win, he allegedly had a tab of $30 and was told by the group’s organizer, Steven Todesco, to repay the debt plus another $10 to remain in the group. He said he responded by offering to pay the $40 and joked: “Just take it out of our winning when we win,” but Steven said he would be charged a high-interest rate. 

Philip further stated he has text messages to prove he was in on the pool and was devastated to learn online that his ex-coworkers won the prize and left him out. 

“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,” he said. Philip claimed via his court filing that the pool worked on an opt-out system, and he could not be disqualified without it having been communicated to him.

However, if divided among 16, each will pocket $62,500, and if Philip is included, they would have $58,000 each.