A photo session which was intended to be a celebration a massive lottery prize of CA$1.2 million turned into a family war yesterday after an aunt and a nephew clashed over the win.
Seconds after Barbara Reddick and Tyrone MacInnis, who is her nephew, were photographed while holding a large cheque to celebrate their win at the Chase the Ace, Ms. Reddick pointed her finger at her nephew and told him they would see each other in court. As reported by CBC, the woman then shared that only she had the right to claim the lotto prize, as it was her who purchased the ticket in the first place. Ms. Reddick shared that her nephew was lying in order to get 50% of the price, claiming that she suggested him to split.
The woman explained that she intended to start a legal action against him to prove that she had truly suggested they split, but the suggestion was made for the 50/50, and not for the Chase the Ace. The proceeds are to be shared by the North East Margaree Volunteer Fire Department and the Margaree Volunteer Fire Department, which are to get new fire trucks with the money.
In order to participate in the lottery, players purchase tickets as they will normally do in a 50-50 draw, and in case that their ticket is the one drawn, players receive a certain chunk of the overall sales. The jackpot is won in case that the player drew the ace of spades.
There were only two cards left by the Wednesday night’s draw.
Aunt Intends to Take Nephew to Court
Despite the fact that both her and her nephew’s names were on the winning ticket, Ms. Reddick denied that the two of them had agreed on splitting the prize and said that she had absolutely no intention of giving Mr. MacInnis a share of the winning. Her nephew, however, claims that such an agreement existed.
Ms. Reddick said that she wrote the young man’s name on the ticket only for good luck because Mr. MacInnis was like a son to her. However, it was not only the name of the nephew which was put on the ticket. The contact number written on the ticket was the one of Mr. MacInnis who currently lives in Glace Bay, Nova Scotia.
The Margaree Forks Chase the Ace committee’s chair Bernice Curley said that she was completely baffled. Ms. Curley explained that she split the winning in two, giving each of the individuals whose names were on the winning ticket 50% of the prize. She further shared that she had first addressed the Nova Scotia’s alcohol and gaming division in order to make sure she had the right to do such a thing, and the regulatory body had never disagreed with that. Ms. Curley also commented on that happened later on Thursday, saying that she was really disappointed with how things turned out in the end.
