A Winnipeg man is suing his ex, claiming she ‘ghosted him’ after winning $5 million with a lottery ticket he argues belonged to him. Lawrence Campbell launched the $5 million lawsuit in Manitoba’s Court of King’s Bench earlier this month against his ex-partner Krystal Ann McKay, as well as the Western Canada Lottery Corporation and Manitoba Liquor and Lotteries. According to the claim, it all started on Jan. 19, 2024, when Campbell went to the CanCo convenience store on Isabel Street to buy himself a 6/49 lottery ticket. At the time, the claim alleges Campbell and McKay were in a ‘loyal, committed and promising’ romantic relationship. After buying the ticket, the claim said Campbell handed it to McKay as he had recently lost his wallet. The ticket was then forgotten, until a few days later when Campbell found it on the ground at a friend’s house. The claim says Campbell scanned the ticket’s bar code on his phone. “…that’s when they found out he won, he couldn’t believe it. He had won the Lotto 6/49 jackpot,” the claim reads. After calling friends and family members, the claim says Campbell and McKay went to a nearby Shoppers Drug Mart to record a video of the two verifying their win. The problems started to arise when – according to the claim – the two spoke with someone at the Western Canada Lottery Corporation who told them Campbell would be ineligible and unable to claim the winnings as he didn’t have a valid government issued-ID. Instead, the claim said they were told to let McKay publicly claim the win. During a news conference on Jan. 30, 2024, McKay officially received a giant cheque for $5 million. “It was really overwhelming, exciting,” McKay said during a press conference, telling reporters the winning ticket was a birthday gift from Campbell. “She had been asking me for three weeks to get a ticket, but I never went and got one,” Campbell said during the news conference. “Then we drove by one, and I was like ‘OK, I might as well go get you one right now.’” The claim said McKay deposited the $5 million into her bank account, as Campbell didn’t have an active account. Then, in the days following the win, the claim alleges McKay did not return to the hotel room she had been sharing with Campbell. “(Campbell) states that that day he set out to visit a few of her known spots where she would party and sure enough after some investigation, he found her; in bed, with another guy,” the claim reads. It goes on to claim McKay told Campbell she wanted to end their relationship to be with this ‘new guy.’ The claim said she then ‘ghosted him’ – refusing to take his calls or answer his messages, blocked him on social media, and took out a protection order against him. “This case is about systemic karma vs. the system itself,” Chad Panting, Campbell’s lawyer, said in an e-mail to CTV News. “A situation created or certainly enabled by the state-owned Lottery Corporations administering lotto claims in Manitoba.” The allegations in the statement of claim have not been tested in court. Krystal Ann McKay’s lawyer, Conor Williamson, told CTV News McKay disputes the allegations against her and will be filing a statement of defence. Meantime, Campbell’s lawsuit claims the Western Canada Lottery Corporation gave him bad advice and didn’t warn him of inherent risks of allowing McKay to sign the ticket. CTV News has reached out to the Western Canada Lottery Corporation and the Manitoba Liquor and Lotteries Corporation for comment. As of Friday, no statements of defence had been filed.
