‘Closure’: Settlement made in $1 million Windsor lottery group lawsuit

Settlement reached in $1 million group lottery lawsuit. CTV Windsor’s Robert Lothian reports.

A settlement has been reached in the case of a Windsor, Ont., man who took his coworkers to court after allegedly being cut out of a winning work lottery pool.

Phil Tsotsos told CTV News the settlement was reached in the fall, ending a four-year long battle to receive what he believes is his share of a $1 million winning ticket.

Launched in 2022, Tsotsos’ lawsuit sought to carve out one-seventeenth of the Lotto Max prize collected in his workplace lottery pool.

“So there was never any issues with the lottery prior to when all this happened. After they won, all the negativity, all the mud slinging happened after they won,” he told CTV News.

“After the win, I became the Jeffrey Dahmer of Lotto, and it’s pretty hard to swallow.”

When asked about the terms of the settlement, the delivery driver cited a non-disclosure agreement that barred him from sharing the details.

“I have to say that an NDA is not an admission of guilt on their part. But for me, what it is, it’s closure that we’re done with this because I have had enough,” he said.

In 2021, while working as a part-time driver for an automotive parts company, Tsotsos said he was a regular member of the 17-person lotto pool.

At times, Tsotsos said he wouldn’t work at the shop for several weeks, and it wasn’t unusual for him to keep a tab or pay in advance.

“I remember that one time I owed 80 bucks, and the one guy called me and said, ‘Phil, you’re at 80 bucks. I think it’s time you come in and pay.’ No problem!” he recalled.

“I went, I gave him 80 bucks, and I gave him 100 bucks on top of that.”

However, one day, Tsotsos, who also works at a pizza shop, decided he would bring a pizza to his coworkers.

“Walked in, gave a pizza. I’m like, ‘What’s up, guys?’ And they kind of looked at each other. I kind of had a funny feeling about it,” Tsotsos explained.

The driver asked whether he owed any money for the lottery, and left after being told it was all square.

“I get back to my car, I get on my phone, hit Google, and the first thing that comes up, the guy eating the pizza, he’s holding a $1 million cheque,” Tsotsos said.

The coming months and years were “draining” for the driver, who said he was often labelled as “greedy” for asking for his share.

By Tsotsos math, his share was about $58,000, but each member could keep $62,500 if he was excluded.

“Having your friends slam you like that over what, $4,000?” he said.

While he’s thankful the process is over, Tsotsos wants his story to be a reminder for others to operate group lottery pools correctly and establish the rules upfront.

OLG now offers options for players to use group lottery play rather than the more traditional methods.

For Tsotsos, the experience, although grueling, has not stopped him from buying tickets.