Fri, July 21, 2006
Would $21M change you?
By JOE WARMINGTON
Somewhere in Ontario is an unclaimed lottery ticket worth $21 million.
Don't go hunting for your stubs just yet because we believe the winners know who they are.
But according to a mystery phone call to the Toronto Sun, there might be a a couple feuding over the ticket and some smiling lawyers more than willing to help decide on just who is going to cash it.
Who says winning a lottery makes you happy? If this story is true, it will join a long list of woes from hitting the motherlode.
"We don't comment on tickets that have not been claimed," said Kathy Pittman-Feltham of the Ontario Lottery Corporation's prize office, who is also a fine softball player and chicken wing eater.
She handed me off to OLC media spokesman Teresa Roncon, who I wish was still on CTV or CITY-TV where she was a terrific reporter for a decade. "We don't comment on tickets that not have been claimed."
Where have I heard that before? First Pete and then Repeat. They must have a script. But you can't blame them for not wanting to get involved in this one. So we rely on this call, which came into our city desk Wednesday evening at 7 p.m. from a man who told assistant city editor Lisa Lisle, "We have a lottery winner."
But he went on to say a "common-law" couple are embroiled in a dispute over the Lotto 6/49 ticket which had the winning numbers from the July 8 draw.
"He kicked the girlfriend out after they won," said the anonymous man, who described himself as "close to the couple" who live near London, Ont.
He said they have difficulty speaking English, have been co-habitating for 13 years "and had played the lottery together."
But now the relationship has soured and lawyers may become involved. "Her lawyer is planning within days to put an (order) to stop the man from collecting the money," the man told Lisle. "He said the girl was destitute."
Now I know what you are thinking. If it is as he says, trying to divvy up $21-million should be a nice kind of problem. Maybe even fun. I am sure there are some volunteers out there who would be prepared to give it a try.
Feel free to let me know what you would do with the money. I'm not sure what vacation spot I would hit first but I can promise there would be beautiful women there. And, perhaps, a couple of those brand new SeaDoos.
Yeah, I'd give $21million a shot to make me happy. Just think of the blast you could have. But it doesn't seem to work that way for everybody. Ask Bob Campbell. He's a heck of a guy -- a family man -- who in 1987 scored big with a $6-million purse up in Sault Ste. Marie. It didn't put a smile on his face. He helped out a bunch of people and spent a large portion of it in the first year.
"I'm not broke yet but still working on it," he joked recently.
His brother Todd said he gave the clerk at the store who sold him the ticket $50,000 and $2.6 million to his girlfriend at the time. That's one way of doing it. Generous.
NOT THE FIRST TIME
Perhaps this couple should get Campbell to mediate. Time will tell if this mysterious phantom duo will find a solution to their $21-million problem. In the past the winnings from a ticket have been paid out to a court, which later decided who took the money home. And people may remember the other London-area case of $30-million lotto winner Ray Sobeski, who was embroiled in a court battle with an ex. That case was later partially resolved when the court ordered him to pay her $9,000 a month.
Yes, these lotto dreams can become nightmares. How will this one turn out? The winning ticket has not yet been cashed. So whoever you are, give me a call and we'll tell your story.
Free of charge.
Previous story: Phone scams may be funding terrorists: Cop
Next story: Bandidos suspect to make bail bid
Would $21M change you?
By JOE WARMINGTON
Somewhere in Ontario is an unclaimed lottery ticket worth $21 million.
Don't go hunting for your stubs just yet because we believe the winners know who they are.
But according to a mystery phone call to the Toronto Sun, there might be a a couple feuding over the ticket and some smiling lawyers more than willing to help decide on just who is going to cash it.
Who says winning a lottery makes you happy? If this story is true, it will join a long list of woes from hitting the motherlode.
"We don't comment on tickets that have not been claimed," said Kathy Pittman-Feltham of the Ontario Lottery Corporation's prize office, who is also a fine softball player and chicken wing eater.
She handed me off to OLC media spokesman Teresa Roncon, who I wish was still on CTV or CITY-TV where she was a terrific reporter for a decade. "We don't comment on tickets that not have been claimed."
Where have I heard that before? First Pete and then Repeat. They must have a script. But you can't blame them for not wanting to get involved in this one. So we rely on this call, which came into our city desk Wednesday evening at 7 p.m. from a man who told assistant city editor Lisa Lisle, "We have a lottery winner."
But he went on to say a "common-law" couple are embroiled in a dispute over the Lotto 6/49 ticket which had the winning numbers from the July 8 draw.
"He kicked the girlfriend out after they won," said the anonymous man, who described himself as "close to the couple" who live near London, Ont.
He said they have difficulty speaking English, have been co-habitating for 13 years "and had played the lottery together."
But now the relationship has soured and lawyers may become involved. "Her lawyer is planning within days to put an (order) to stop the man from collecting the money," the man told Lisle. "He said the girl was destitute."
Now I know what you are thinking. If it is as he says, trying to divvy up $21-million should be a nice kind of problem. Maybe even fun. I am sure there are some volunteers out there who would be prepared to give it a try.
Feel free to let me know what you would do with the money. I'm not sure what vacation spot I would hit first but I can promise there would be beautiful women there. And, perhaps, a couple of those brand new SeaDoos.
Yeah, I'd give $21million a shot to make me happy. Just think of the blast you could have. But it doesn't seem to work that way for everybody. Ask Bob Campbell. He's a heck of a guy -- a family man -- who in 1987 scored big with a $6-million purse up in Sault Ste. Marie. It didn't put a smile on his face. He helped out a bunch of people and spent a large portion of it in the first year.
"I'm not broke yet but still working on it," he joked recently.
His brother Todd said he gave the clerk at the store who sold him the ticket $50,000 and $2.6 million to his girlfriend at the time. That's one way of doing it. Generous.
NOT THE FIRST TIME
Perhaps this couple should get Campbell to mediate. Time will tell if this mysterious phantom duo will find a solution to their $21-million problem. In the past the winnings from a ticket have been paid out to a court, which later decided who took the money home. And people may remember the other London-area case of $30-million lotto winner Ray Sobeski, who was embroiled in a court battle with an ex. That case was later partially resolved when the court ordered him to pay her $9,000 a month.
Yes, these lotto dreams can become nightmares. How will this one turn out? The winning ticket has not yet been cashed. So whoever you are, give me a call and we'll tell your story.
Free of charge.
Previous story: Phone scams may be funding terrorists: Cop
Next story: Bandidos suspect to make bail bid
(kidding)
Meant around my town but if I had a way of knowing "around here" I would give ya'll some too just for prodding me along...and protecting me from bad-bad lotto scammers 
around us.