All of us might have dreamt about winning the national lottery and Euromillions but realistically, you know your chances might be slim. Now imagine someone just gifting you the lucky number that ends up getting you a million dollar fortune?
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Even though that sounds near impossible, it happened in case of one waitress.
As Mirror recounts, Tonda Dickerson, who worked as a waitress, was tipped a lottery ticket that made her a millionaire. Unfortunately, it was also the beginning of a twisted turn of events.
Waitress tipped a lottery ticket worth millions
Dickerson was working as a waitress at Waffle House restaurant in Grand Bay, Alabama. On March 7,1999, she was given a lottery ticket as a tip by a diner, Edward Seward. The waitress was a divorced single mother at that point.
When the result of the lottery was announced 6 days later, Dickerson realised that she had won a staggering $10million (£7.3million)! The amount would be worth around $18.9million (£15.6million) today.
She accepted her winning in the form of $375k per year over 30 years. But, as she quit her job and got ready to enjoy her life, her former colleagues at the Waffle House sued her.
They allege that she had promised to split the winnings of the lottery ticket.
Dickerson's life turned up-side down by the lottery millions
Though the 4 former colleagues sued her, in 2000, and won, Dickerson appealed the decision. In 2000, the Alabama Supreme Court overturned the initial decision, saying that the deal made between the waitresses was a form of illegal gambling.
On the other hand, Steward, who gifted Dickerson the ticket claimed that although she promised him a new truck, she never delivered.
As if these claims were not bad enough, Dickerson's ex-husband, Stacy Martin, kidnapped her at gunpoint. Luckily, she was successful in escaping her fate, accidentally shooting Martin in the process.
Fortunately, that was the end of the ex-waitress' woes. She had to pay taxes on her winning but no further legal claims or attacks have been made on her since then.
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Sources used:
Mirror: ''I was given £7million lottery ticket as a waitress tip - but it ruined my life''
