In a Bartow, Florida, courtroom, two men are dreaming of being a millionaire, but only one will.
Michael Ford and Abraham Shakespeare were once good friends and partners at work. Now they are battling over a winning $30 million lottery ticket.
Ford is suing Shakespeare because he says Shakespeare stole the lucky ticket from him.
Ford is being represented by long-time Tampa attorney Arnold Levine.
During opening statements, Levine told jurors they should question Shakespeare's truthfulness because he is a convicted felon.
"When you consider the testimony of Mr. Shakespeare, when he testifies under oath, and tells you what he says occurred, you're going to have the benefit of his history of dishonesty," Levine said.
Shakespeare's attorney is flamboyant self-made billionaire Willie Gary.
He says Shakespeare asked Ford to buy him a ticket, and he paid for it.
Gary says after Shakespeare won, Ford just got jealous.
"Michael Ford is a liar. He is a big liar, and he won't tell the truth, and he is trying to take something that is not his," said Gary.
The ticket was bought at a convenience store in Frostproof last November.
Testimony begins Tuesday. The trial is expected to last one week.
Say"No", when someone ask you to buy lottery tickets for them.
Why? What does the guy who bought the ticket have to lose? If you buy a ticket for somebody else you already know who the ticket belongs to, and it isn't you. If you buy it for yourself, then not buying for somebody else wouldn't change anything.
The real lesson here is never ask somebody to buy your tickets for you unless you're sure you can prove the ticket belongs to you. In this case there's apparently no dispute about who bought the ticket, but if Ford didn't buy it for Shakespeare, how did Shakespeare get it, and when?
There's a better article here:http://www.theledger.com/article/20071016/NEWS/710160398/1134 but the extra information makes it even harder to decide who's the liar. Ford claims Shakespeare stole two tickets from his wallet, which he supposedly left in their delivery truck, and he's apparently claiming it happened later on the same day that he bought them. Regardless of his past crimes, does it make sense that Shakespeare would steal $2 worth of lottery tickets from a friend who would presumably figure out they had been stolen? Ford is apparently claiming he didn't figure out the tickets were stolen until after Shakespeare had claimed the prize, which had to be at least two days later. Ford just leaves his wallet laying in the truck, and doesn't notice that his lottery tickets (and what about any cash that was in it, too?) are missing until at least two days later? That sounds pretty farfetched to me. OTOH, Shakespeare was apparently in the truck when Ford went in and bought the tickets. Why would you have somebody else buy the tickets for you if you're already right outside the store anyway? Neither one of them has a story that really makes sense.
Money does strange things to some people.
willie gary is really good so even if his client is lying he may still win the case. i wouldnt want to be in this situation they are in so i wouldnt ask anyone to buy me tickets again and i hope no one else asks me to buy tickets for them unless we sign a contract and then get it notarized.
This does not make sense:
Stealing 2 lottery tickets worth $2 from the wallet of your long time friend.
This makes sense:
Asking your friend to buy you a couple of lotto tickets as he goes inside the store while you're waiting inside the car. (I do this sometimes especially at gas stations).
After reading this news however, I will no longer ask anybody to buy my tickets, nor will I buy tickets for anybody.
"Why would you have somebody else buy the tickets for you if you're already right outside the store anyway? Neither one of them has a story that really makes sense."
If for some reason I had to remain in the truck, I would certainly expect them to hand me the ticket when they returned especially if I had handed them a buck to buy the ticket. It almost sounds like Ford is claiming Shakespeare stole the tickets out of his wallet when he was in the store buying them.
Sorry but this story isnt going to stop my graciousness and kindness when buying for a relative or close friend. I consider myself a person of good character judgement and honesty. Most folks that I do such deeds for have done likewise for my being in the past. Common sense and trustworthy folks are far and few between, but they are out there.
As to this court case, it will be a battle of verbal wit between the lawyers. Debating and twisting the truth is a careful science in which these guys have a knack for. I dont want to have to be in either sides shoes. They will each lose and the lawyers have only everything to gain.
I believe your right I just fliped through his web site and saw this tidbit of information on his new 737 airplane???/
Gary Unveils Newest Member of His Law Firm’s Fleet – Custom 32-passenger Boeing 737
Willie E. Gary unveiled the newest member of his air fleet – “Wings of Justice II,” a custom-designed, 32-passenger Boeing 737 that will be used to conduct business throughout the United States and beyond.
The aircraft, which sports an interior renovation that cost more than $11 million, includes an 18-karat gold sink, plush leather seats, carpet, a $1.2 million sound system, and a full-service kitchen.
well just think if he looses will this othere guy have to payoff the lawyer in cash?// I bet it all comes down to a verbale- aggreement ;
But the way I see this story if your my friend and I say will you play this number for me or get me a quick pick ......here is the money ....and as my friend I play it and you win .......a real man would share his new found wealth - with the main person who helped him win ...... this dude with the ticket must be of the wrong seed ,...because he never compensated the person for buying the ticket at the right time and place;
"this dude with the ticket must be of the wrong seed ,...because he never compensated the person for buying the ticket"
He says he planned to give Ford $200,000. It seems that Ford didn't waste much time in claiming the ticket was really his, and filing the lawsuit. How much would you give to somebody who was trying to steal $17 million from you?
One day someone i knew asked me to buy him a lottery ticket,i did and he won $100.But to be honest,buy a ticket for someone is something i don't like to do,it's like giving your luck away.
Years ago a friend told me "when you buy a ticket to someone you play the same number,so if the person wins you win too". That was a good advice.
Ticket is a bearer bond. Nuf said. The man who takes care of the cemetary where my brother and parents are buried won the lottery and his best friend sued him for half. He pointed out that he hadn't scratched one box on his ticket and it won 2 million. He felt he deserved half for pointing it to the owner. The winner was a very nice man but he lost his friends and people gossiped about him. He said he saved the money for his kids and he is still a very nice person. <-one disappointed friend>
YOU ARE 1000% correct : I agree its like giving away your luck I get asked all the time and I wont do it I would rather give them the money to play then play others numbers or lottery for them......
where are you reading this I never saw no mention of 200,000.00
2. I f the one person got you 17 million and before he bought the ticket he was just average its no wonder he got sued;
I f it was the other way around it would not be the same Mr/ Ford would have shared the money, ..................!!!!!!!!!1
As soon as I saw the name Shakespeare, I thought of "Double, double toil and trouble."
Ya gotta admit it's funny that the names of the players are Ford and Shakespeare. The whole thing sounds staged to me.
Ford or Shakespeare. Shakespeare or Ford. Tough choice, eh.
I'll go for Shakespeare on this one: "Though I am not naturally honest, I am so sometimes by chance."
Ford would probably feel cheated even if he bought the ticket for Shakespeare. A person can only hope to buy a lottery jackpot winning ticket once in a life time and buying it for someone else probably feel like having your one lucky time stolen. Most people avoid buying lottery tickets for others because they don't want to gamble that their one lucky time will come up when they're buying a ticket that's not their own.
Youve clearly got access to a computer and call yourself computerhead so theres a decent chance you can find it yourself youve got the tools its just a question of whether or not you can use them
If a friend of mine won and gave me 200K I'd take it and be happy. If someone other than I has to win, let it be a friend and not someone I don't know. I'm sure if I were in a desperate situation and my friend had won (and not lost all of the money) they would help me. Of course that 200K becomes 160K or thereabouts after double taxation. Also it would be a reward in itself if I helped someone else win, even if I got nothing. How much the purchaser helped depends on whether it was QP or manual selection and by which person. QP can involve microsecond-level timing of the exact moment the purchaser said "5 QuickPicks please." and the clerk hit the button on the machine. If it's manual selection then "I could just have played them myelf later, with the same exact result". It is also possible that Mr. Ford bought extra tickets and only gave the losing ones to Shakespeare after seeing the results? "Yeah I bought you 5 quick picks, yours didn't win, but one of my 5 quick picks DID!"
Sorry , this is not good, it looks like snakes on a plane !
All I Can say is this, If they were truely good friends,then none of this would even be taken place,I mean,this is juz sad,whatever is the truth behind this,God knows,an whats in his will, "Will be"...
It's all pretty comical............once they both pay off these high powered attorney's they'll be left with Z E R O...........hmmmmm, how much is that??? zilch, nada, $000000.00 !!!!
I guess there's no chance that either of these guys has enough sense to suggest splitting the money amongst themselves rather than giving it to thier 2 needy attorney's.
Greed will get you nuthin' but bad karma.
another he said-he said......its said that friends arent friends over lottery winnings...i guess they really werent friends to begin with.....thats why youre better off just playing a ticket by yourself...and even with that...youre not safe from some gold digger looking for a dishonest buck...really sad to say the least!!!!!
I agree. Actually, I did buy a $2 Powerball QP for my neighbor once, but I made sure to get a playslip and play the same numbers that were on her QP just in case.
What's the purpose of playing the same numbers for yourself? Guaranteeing that you're playing for half the jackpot or less? Making sure she's only playing for half the jackpot or less?
The only person who has every bought lottery tickets for me is my mother and that is because she is heading to the store when I'm not. She goes out and about a lot, so she offers to buy them for me. However, I give her the money to buy the tickets and she understands that this is my hobbie so if I were to win, then it would be my money. (Although, she knows that I would take care of her.) I know that I would never ask anyone else to buy me tickets. No one. I either buy them or my mom does. That's it.