Texas Woman Sues Over Winning Lottery Ticket

May 25, 2006, 2:26 pm (13 comments)

Texas Lottery

A woman who claims she was part of a $36 million Lotto Texas jackpot pool but was excluded from the winnings has sued six women and the Texas Lottery Commission.

Betty Domingo of Lubbock claimed in her lawsuit filed Friday that she is due $2.9 million, her share of the April 29 Lotto drawing. The six women named as defendants selected the lump sum $20.9 million cash value option.

A judge issued a restraining order Friday to prevent the commission from distributing the money until the dispute is settled.

Domingo did not immediately return a phone call seeking comment Tuesday. Her Austin attorney, Arthur Walker Jr., declined to comment.

Efforts by phone to reach the six women named in the lawsuit were unsuccessful.

According to the lawsuit, Domingo agreed to join the pool and asked how much she owed one of the women, but was told the amount had not been determined. One woman promised to buy Domingo's portion and let Domingo pay her later, the suit states.

Lottery spokeswoman Leticia Vasquez said a lawsuit involving people who have pooled their money for tickets is rare.

Given the number of disputes that arise from disgruntled lottery pool members, many may see Vasquez's statement as putting a "good spin" on a troubling lawsuit.

Lottery pools have frequently been the subject lawsuits and complaints around the world.

AP

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bellyache's avatarbellyache

These lawsuits seem to be showing up more and more with lottery pools.

Bradly_60's avatarBradly_60

"Lottery spokeswoman Leticia Vasquez said a lawsuit involving people who have pooled their money for tickets is rare."

Rare...yeah right....there is always some poor sap that thinks they should get what their co-workers got and tries to get their hands on some of the money.

Brad

lmatlaw

It's regrettable that it has come to this. I think in the future participants in lottery pools ought to get a receipt for the money they have put in so these arguments will be put to rest.

pigsNtrees's avatarpigsNtrees

 The six women named as defendants selected the lump sum $20.9 million cash value option.

 

Excuse my math but Texas has no state tax. So 36 million minus 25% is 27 not $20.9

whitmansm2's avatarwhitmansm2

pigsNtrees, in Texas that happens a lot.  I did a search for lottery loser stories ( I love reading lottery stories- winners or losers ) and I found a site that really HATED Texas and told of a bunch of things that Texas is known for doing.  One happens to be improper math. 

The important thing for Texans, or anyone for that matter,  to do is to know how much they are suppose to get before they collect.  Then call the officials on it, if you get less.  Some people don't care.  If they're getting 20 mil they might not care that 7 mil is taken out for "fees" or whatever.  (I sure as hell would! )

Thought I would share.

As for this article, the moral of the story is don't join a pool.  Or like Imatlaw said, get a receipt.

Todd's avatarTodd

 The six women named as defendants selected the lump sum $20.9 million cash value option.

 

Excuse my math but Texas has no state tax. So 36 million minus 25% is 27 not $20.9

They are referring to pre-tax dollars.  $36 million was the annuity jackpot amount, before taxes.  $20.9 million is the pre-tax cash value.  The article is accurate.

pigsNtrees's avatarpigsNtrees

Thanks Todd for clearing that up.

RJOh's avatarRJOh

"According to the lawsuit, Domingo agreed to join the pool and asked how much she owed one of the women, but was told the amount had not been determined. One woman promised to buy Domingo's portion and let Domingo pay her later, the suit states."

That's the old scam of coming up with money to join a lottery pool after it wins.  A person who wanted to play in the winning lottery pool always has an excuse for not actually paying to be in the pool and think that excuse should entitle them to share the winnings. 

Wishing you had paid and actually paying to join a lottery pool are not the same win or lose.

Before I retired, I had co-workers who always wished they had extra money to join the lottery pool and was relieved they didn't when the pool didn't win enough to cover the cost of being in it.  Had the pool won big, they would have been in line with the rest of us expecting to pay a couple of dollars late and sharing the winnings.
 

whitmansm2's avatarwhitmansm2

That's the old scam of coming up with money to join a lottery pool after it wins.  A person who wanted to play in the winning lottery pool always has an excuse for not actually paying to be in the pool and think that excuse should entitle them to share the winnings. 

Wishing you had paid and actually paying to join a lottery pool are not the same win or lose.  Before I retired, I had co-workers who always said they wish had extra money to join the lottery pool and was relieved they didn't when the pool didn't win enough to cover the cost of being in it.  Had the pool won big, they would have been in line with the rest of us expecting to pay a couple of late dollars and sharing the winnings.
 

AMEN!

I Agree!

pigsNtrees's avatarpigsNtrees

pigsNtrees, in Texas that happens a lot.  I did a search for lottery loser stories ( I love reading lottery stories- winners or losers ) and I found a site that really HATED Texas and told of a bunch of things that Texas is known for doing.  One happens to be improper math. 

The important thing for Texans, or anyone for that matter,  to do is to know how much they are suppose to get before they collect.  Then call the officials on it, if you get less.  Some people don't care.  If they're getting 20 mil they might not care that 7 mil is taken out for "fees" or whatever.  (I sure as hell would! )

Thought I would share.

As for this article, the moral of the story is don't join a pool.  Or like Imatlaw said, get a receipt.

Sorry whitmansm2 I somehow missed your message when I posted. Thanks for the info. I would hope my accountant would keep the powers that be in Texas honest.

fja's avatarfja

"Lottery spokeswoman Leticia Vasquez said a lawsuit involving people who have pooled their money for tickets is rare."

Rare...yeah right....there is always some poor sap that thinks they should get what their co-workers got and tries to get their hands on some of the money.

Brad

I Agree! 

The only rare part of this is when "lottery pools" hit a jackpot.  I'm sure if you counted the number of "Pooled" jackpot winners versus the number of lawsuits filed the percentages would be pretty high!

 

RJOh's avatarRJOh

The rare part is when "lottery pools" win big and some one doesn't sue.  Too many "would be members" want in after the win.  Many of those "would be member" are the same people who in the past never covered the extra money spent for their tickets when the pools didn't win.

CASH Only

I can't blame her for suing. What does she have to lose?

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