01/06/2025 19:16
A LOTTERY player is suing after allegedly winning the jackpot and losing it all immediately when his girlfriend collected the cash and ghosted him.
Lawrence Campbell from Winnipeg, Canada, claims he won $3.6 million ($5m Canadian dollars) in January 2024 after buying a 6/49 lottery ticket.
He thought the win broke a string of bad luck after having just lost his wallet, but rather than celebrating the prize with the love of his life, she left him in a hotel room and took the money.
When the happy couple accepted the winnings in front of lottery officials and reporters, nothing seemed out of the ordinary, but now, a lawsuit filed by Campbell reveals another side to the story.
The pair claimed the win on January 30, 2024, posing with a huge check bearing Krystal Mckay’s name.
At the time, Campbell said the lottery ticket was a birthday present for his girlfriend of over a year and a half.
“It was her birthday and she had been asking me for like three weeks to get a ticket but I never went and got one and then we finally drove by one and I was like, ‘I may as well go and get you one right now’,” he said.
McKay, told officials that her plans were to “take care of the family” with her new found money.
But now, Campbell claims the ticket and the prize money belong to him and that he was told put it all in her name with the understanding that they were in a trusting relationship.
The complaint filed last month sees Campbell claim he purchased the slip on January 19, 2024 and had asked McKay to look after it as he had just lost his wallet.
He then claims he found the ticket on the ground at a friend’s house after forgetting about it and he then discovered the win after scanning the barcode on his phone.
It was then that the pair met with lottery officials Campbell was allegedly told that because he did not have a valid government-issued ID, he would not be able to collect the winnings.
Instead, he was advised that McKay should take the ticket by signing it and publicly claim the money, the lawsuit claims.
She then put it all into her own bank account as he did not have one.
Less than two weeks later, McKay ghosted Campbell, failing to return to their hotel room and blocking him on social media.
Campbell claims in the lawsuit that he went looking for her and “found her in bed with another guy” and later discovered she took a protection order out against him.
He is now suing for all of the prize money, claiming that he had trusted his girlfriend who was “in a loyal, committed and promising romantic partnership” with.
McKay allegedly agreed to claim the prize as her own “on the understanding that she would hold the winnings for his benefit, until he received valid government issued photo-ID and set up adequate banking arrangements.”
McKay denies the allegations and will file a statement of defense in court, her lawyer said.
Lottery officials advise players immediately sign their tickets as soon as they buy them.
They should then place them in a safe and secure place, not sharing them with other people.
“Never hand an unsigned ticket to another person unless you are okay with that person claiming a possible prize,” the Virginia Lottery states.
“A ticket is a bearer instrument. By signing it, you protect yourself,” the organization adds.
