By Kate Northrop
A Canadian pizza delivery driver is lawyering up against his 16 friends who won a $1 million Lotto Max Maxmillion prize, saying that he is owed a portion of the money despite not paying for the winning Lotto Max ticket.
Philip Tsotsos of Windsor, Ontario claims he deserves a $70,000 share of the $1 million prize his 16 friends split last summer in a Maxmillion Lotto Max drawing, accusing the group of "stealing his dreams."
Last June, a lottery group consisting of 16 members won a $1 million prize in the Ontario Lottery. The group did not include Tsotsos among its ranks, who says he was betrayed by his friends.
"Why wouldn't they tell me they won?" Tsotsos told CBC. "These guys are like family to me."
Tsotsos named each of the 16 friends in his lawsuit, which claims that he is owed $70,000 and other costs, including interest, and that he should be named the 17th winner.
"Their dreams came true," he said. "Why should they steal mine?"
Defense lawyer David Robins, who is representing the group of 16 winners, says that Tsotsos does not have much of a case.
"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," Robins contended. "In this instance, he did not play and he was not included."
Robins said he will be filing a statement of defense within the next few weeks, and the issue is likely headed to civil court.
However, Tsotsos says that the situation is not as black and white as it seems. At his previous job at an auto parts delivery company, he was involved in a lottery pool with his coworkers. Although he switched jobs, he remained with the group. The group had suspended play when the pandemic took off in 2020 but resumed buying tickets again in March 2021.
"I was approached in June, saying, 'Phil, there's a major on. Do you want in?" Tsotsos recalls being told by a group member.
"Of course I'm in," he replied.
Tsotsos says the group had a credit system, meaning that he did not always immediately pay for lottery tickets leading up to the next draw. There were several instances where he owed $100, which he says he always paid off. In the six years he's participated in the group, he was never kicked out.
"The pool operated on an opt-out basis," Tsotsos' claim reads. "If a member chose to exit, they would have to communicate same to the organizer."
Along that same vein, should a member be disqualified from the group, it would have to be clearly communicated to said member.
This is where the situation gets a little convoluted. Leading up to the drawing last June, Tsotsos had owed $30 to the group and was told via text message by the group's organizer, Steven Todesco, that he would have to pay back the amount plus put another $10 into the pool in order to remain in the group.
Initially, Tsotsos agreed, but then pushed back.
"This Friday I will, 40," a transcribed text message from Tsotsos reads. "Actually I won't have to pay you anything. Just take it out of our winnings when we win."
"Ha, OK, but I charge interest, a high interest rate. I have kids to feed lol," Todesco responded, according to the court filing.
Another group member, Jessie Reid, reportedly reminded Tsotsos to contribute the $10 he owed to the pool so he wouldn't get kicked out, but he replied that he would be participating for certain.
"Ok, just wanted it in writing before the draw lol," Reid texted.
In an interview with CBC, Tsotsos said he would cook for members in the group and bring them pizzas. He discovered the group's win on social media in October 2021 when he recognized one of the members holding a check for the winnings in a photo.
"I got online and I was just going through social media and what comes up," he recalled. "The same guy that's eating my pizza is holding a million-dollar check, and that's how I found out. How would you feel? That hurt me more than anything."
After the group won the $1 million prize, each individual took home about a $62,500 share, which would have been slightly less had Tsotsos been the 17th winner.
"We all would have won $58,000," he said. "This is all over a difference of $4,500."
Tsotsos and his lawyer, Joseph De Luca, say that this situation is a prime example of how group lottery play can go awry, and that should a player choose to participate in one, there should be checks put in place to protect oneself and other participating members.
"It is regulated and there are forms available, and this type of problem can be avoided," De Luca explained.
The Ontario Lottery offers Play Smart cards on their website, which can help track group lottery play online to record who is paying.
"I don't want anyone else going through this," Tsotsos said in the interview.
While De Luca and Tsotsos have tried to negotiate and settle with the group and their legal team, Robins said they are not seeking options outside of court and will be filing a statement of defense in the coming weeks.
Tsotsos says the group had a credit system, meaning that he did not always immediately pay for lottery tickets leading up to the next draw. There were several instances where he owed $100, which he says he always paid off. In the six years he's participated in the group, he was never kicked out.
Leading up to the drawing last June, Tsotsos had owed $30 to the group and was told via text message by the group's organizer, Steven Todesco, that he would have to pay back the amount plus put another $10 into the pool in order to remain in the group.
"This Friday I will, 40," a transcribed text message from Tsotsos reads. "Actually I won't have to pay you anything. Just take it out of our winnings when we win."
These people should have had a clearly written, legally binding operating agreement, and definitely no "credit system." Pay to Play. Anything else is asking for trouble with a side of grief. It's absolutely wild to me that Tsotsos thought he could play without contributing anything and the group would just take the cost of tickets out of his share.
"They stole my dreams and they're eating my pizza!"
* Found Phil's mug in the Toronto Sun online, and the guy looked pretty loaded for an interview. In all seriousness- Phil's chances of winning are the same as a donkey beating Secretariat at Churchill Downs. Just my opinion..
He's acting like the victim after mooching off his friends to play the Lottery.
Like my Daddy always said....."You play with fire and you'll get burnt"
They asked him to pay and he didn't.
No soup for you!
You have to pay to play. He should get nothing.
Do the winners have a moral obligation to pay him a 1/17th share test: if they didn't win, would his tab have been increased by $10 from $30 to $40? If yes, he's included; if no, he's out. Legally is obviously a different issue. Integrity- what you do when no one is watching.
Sounds like this guy is the deadbeat of the group. If he had ponied up his share, we wouldn't be reading this.
I already seen this story on msn. Really sad about people and something isn't adding up right on this story. The guy that is doing pizza delivery if what I read, isn't getting a dime. Not worth suing. So tired of people taking advantage of such things.
I already read majority of the story. I don't quite understand somethings to it.
if it goes to court, waste of time. The judge will throw this out. Period.
Sorry for the fourth time commenting.
If it does go through court, he will be paying more than anything that would be won. Not worth it. not worth suing. He might have to show some assets if he owns anything to cover for the costs. You all really think a lawyer or judge wants this case. It's not worth it. If it was over a will, deed or something else different story.
Maybe they just didn't like this dude, and had every intention of stiffing him from the beginning
"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," Robins contended. "In this instance, he did not play and he was not included."
He "did not pay to play"; what am I missing?
The guy that said he charges a high interest should raise the interest on what he has to pay to cover all that he's claiming
But the fact that they let him play before on credit and pay later is what happened here, right? We have seen prior cases where people did this ...fast and loose verbal "rules"...so he has a case.
And did he pay the $40 by Friday or not and how serious was that statement? Would the owed amount been increased again if he did not pay?
The guy sounds like an idiot. This is why I don't play with other people.
I'd like to know more backstory about how this group operated. So many unanswered questions:
That he doesn't address any of the above, but whines about his pizza, makes me suspect he doesn't have anything else to convince a judge/jury besides what he said in the interview. And this article only tells his side. The 16 former coworkers must have a very different version of events.
I'm sure he'd settle his amount once they won a substantial amount. Don't know if that's fair to the group.
I agree. If the group had not won a million, I'm willing to bet he'd owe the group more than 40 dollars. G5
I can't stand cheapskates and that's what this guy is, a cheapskate. A penny-pinching, tight-ass, miserly tightwad. I can't stand people like that but I had the misfortune of working with one like that when I ran a pool with the guys I worked with many years ago.
Every week this guy was shy and promising to double up the next week and I knew he'd be the first one to be wanting his cut if we won. And I had to chase him around for the money when he didn't come around with it like he said he would. A real p.i.t.a. That got old real fast and I told him he had to pay up front or he was out from that point on and that was the end of him playing with us.. I wish we would have hit the big one after that but didn't.
This guy Tsotsos should get NOTHING and he should be ashamed of himself for suing his purported long time friends.
Well if his friends allowed others to pay on credit and then cut him out and treated him differently, they were never his friends. But this is not an integrity issue. It is a process fact issue. If you advance credit to others (even one person and one time), he has a case. It is not based on his "likeability."
this case is bs. they will throw out the case.
I have read what I did, I can't stand people like this. I don't believe something of this story.
I see most are ruling against him. I think he is in the right. He texted with both Reid and Todesco that he would pay the $40 on Friday and with Reid saying "I am in for certain". They both respond with lol. Neither said, no you need to get the money in now to be in the draw. Further, they seemed to keep the win a secret, they knew they we're screwing him to get an extra $4000 each. <snip>ty move on their part. If they don't see each other regularly, it's a pain in the butt to meet up every time just to give $10. Canada doesn't have cash app and PayPal charges. I can easily see him just saying I'm in, and then pay his balance (40 or 50) when he sees Todesco.
I think they won and realized hey he still owes this $10 so we could say he's not in and that's an extra $4000 each.
Tsotsos says the group had a credit system, meaning that he did not always immediately pay for lottery tickets leading up to the next draw. There were several instances where he owed $100, which he says he always paid off. In the six years he's participated in the group, he was never kicked out.
Agreed . The facts are in his favor.
I thought this post by Aerist77 would have ended this thread;
But the fact that they let him play before on credit and pay later is what happened here, right? We have seen prior cases where people did this ...fast and loose verbal "rules"...so he has a case.
And did he pay the $40 by Friday or not and how serious was that statement? Would the owed amount been increased again if he did not pay?
But yet the 'jailhouse lawyers' keep showing up to try and refute the real one!
Lol Coin Toss. Thank you. But you never know what a judge will do. I hope he appeals in a worst case scenario. Inconsistencies will benefit him and maybe send a needed message about sloppy and inconsistent "rules."
And this is why I skip lottery pools.
I don't know if he'll win or lose, I just don't like the guy.
He's the kinda guy who disappears from the bar when it's his turn to buy a round.
I think he should be drawn and quartered.
Who would read this article and say "This must be a complete and true account of what happened and Mr. Tostitos has a real case!" As if people and their lawyers do not lie to and conceal facts from the press all the time. LMAO. The defense lawyer obviously told his clients to be quiet. As my auntie says, what doesn't come out in the wash will come out in the rinse.
His unpronounceable last name also irks me.
I think that was a part of it too.
https://www.howtopronounce.com/tsotsos
* What's next, I don't like my Social Security #, so l want it changed? All this talk about " they allowed him to play" on credit had better be in writing cause l doubt any of these so called friends are going to be happy shelling out money to Phil.
* There's a reason he wasn't told that the 16 won, he knows it & so do we!
"deserves a $70,000 share of the $1 million prize" but the people that did pay to play got less. "After the group won the $1 million prize, each individual took home about a $62,500 share".
And he was told he had pay to play or get kicked out. "Another group member, Jessie Reid, reportedly reminded Tsotsos to contribute the $10 he owed to the pool so he wouldn't get kicked out, but he replied that he would be participating for certain." Apparently he never paid the $10 he owed the pool.
Tsotsos' text acknowledged he knew he had to pay $40 if he wanted to play and he replied with "This Friday I will, 40," and added "Actually I won't have to pay you anything. Just take it out of our winnings when we win." Canadian Courts are different but if the burden of proof is on Tsotsos, he better stick to selling pizza.
Artist77,
Funny how the refuting still goes on.
Agree with you totally on pools.
A lot of Maven University grads here, whose motto is OPINION OVER KNOWLEDGE!
The Toronto Sun recently covered this story and they are reporting some extra facts that are not in this article. https://torontosun.com/news/provincial/lottery-winners-wont-dish-out-share-of-1m-prize-to-pizza-delivery-driver-lawyer
Here is an excerpt:
Their winning ticket was in the June 22, 2021 draw — nearly three weeks after his last working day.
The last draw Tsotsos took part in was on May 25, 2021. He asked to be included in a few more draws but had to borrow money from co-workers to take part and more often than not, never repaid the loans.
Three weeks later, Tsotsos told Reid he was having issues with his girlfriend and “looking at going into rehab.”
He was not heard from again by anyone at his former workplace for about three months.
The following month, the group of 16 won the $1 million prize, each of whom had paid to play.
Tsotsos “was not entitled to share in the prize because he did not ask to be included, he did not pay any money to play, he was still indebted to Steven Todesco for money he borrowed to play in four prior draws, and [he] was presumed to have checked into rehab to address his personal and substance issues,” the court document reads.
Well, in light of such new factz concerning that case.. He soundz like a deadbeat, that'z also a Crackhead..!!
So,.. "Tough Tiddie"..!!
He ain't gonna get Jack Schitt.
Maybe somebody should buy 'im a Jack Daniels then..hep him git ova it..!!
I'll drink to that!
Uh oh. He no longer worked there and disappeared??? Very Substantial new fact. Ok.I agree he is likely out of luck now.