My friends won £600k on lottery but have cut me out and now I’m suing them

A MAN has sued his friends who cut him out after they won £600,000 on the lottery.

Philip Tsotsos from Windsor, Ontario, Canada has been left out of the massive prize that was won by the group of sixteen pals last summer.

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The group of sixteen pals won the Maxmillion prize on a Lotto Max ticket from the Ontario Lottery and Gaming Corporation (OLG) last year CBC reported.

They claim that Tsotsos is not entitled to a part of the prize as he had not paid the amount required to stay in the lottery pool.

But now “hurt” pizza delivery worker Tsotsos has taken the matter to the civil court as he claims he should be declared the 17th winner.

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

He is suing the group of friends for £40,000 and other costs, including interest.

Tsotsos added he discovered the group had won on social media.

He said: “Why wouldn’t they tell me they won? These guys are like family to me.”

The group’s defence lawyer 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.”

But Mr Tsotsos insists he didn’t always pay for the tickets right away as the pool operated on a credit system.

He said he always ensured to pay his debts in the past and he’s never been cut off in the six years he’s taken part in the pool.

Tsotsos had reportedly a tab of £18 at the time of the draw, when the group’s organiser Steven Todesco messaged him he would have to repay the amount plus another £6 to remain in the group.

Tsotsos reportedly replied he would pay the amount (£25) that Friday and then said “just take it out of our winnings when we win.”

In response, the organiser joked he would charge him a high-interest rate.

According to reports Tsotsos received another reminder from a different member of the group to make sure he would pay the £6 to stay in to which he agreed that he would.

“Ok, just wanted it in writing before the draw lol,” was the purported response. 

Tsotsos said the day he found out about the win he had just brought the group a free pizza.

He said “the same guy that’s eating my pizza is holding a million-dollar cheque, and that’s how I found out,” which “hurt more than anything”.

He added that the winning ticket fetched approximately £49,700 divided 16 ways and it would have been just £3,500 less if he had been included.

He said: “It’s c****y what they’re doing to me. I don’t wish them anything bad. I wish them nothing but success in life, but why ruin my dream?”

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