Aunt doesn’t want nephew to share lottery jackpot
HALIFAX — A Nova Scotian woman at the centre of a family feud over a $1.2-million lottery win says she is right to keep her nephew away from his share of the jackpot, even though both of their names are on the winning ticket.
Barb Reddick and Tyrone MacInnis each won $611,319.50 from a Chase the Ace lottery in Margaree Forks, N.S., on Wednesday. Reddick insists the full amount — $1,222,639.00 — is hers.
Reddick, 57, said Friday she sent MacInnis money to buy $100 worth of tickets and told him to put his name on them for “good luck.” She said there was no discussion about splitting winnings.
During a celebratory photo on Thursday, the two relatives were handed separate cheques. Reddick then told 19-year-old MacInnis she intended to take him to court.
“I’m not being greedy,” she said Friday at her home in Guysborough. “Tyrone’s like a son to me. I bought Tyrone everything — and he wanted big-ticket items.”
Reddick said MacInnis, who lives in Glace Bay, doesn’t deserve the money, saying she had bought him a car and sent him cheques to cover college expenses.
MacInnis could not be reached for comment, but a family friend wrote online that she was saddened by the situation, describing MacInnis as a “great guy.”
Chase the Ace, a popular fundraiser in Nova Scotia, is similar to a 50-50 draw, but with a twist. Instead of giving half of the ticket sales to the person whose ticket is drawn, they instead get 20 per cent — and the chance to draw an ace of spades from a deck of playing cards for a larger jackpot. If they fail to draw the ace, 30 per cent of the ticket sales are added to a growing pot until another winner draws the ace.
When the winning ticket was drawn Wednesday at the local firemen’s club in Margaree Forks, neither Reddick nor MacInnis was there, and their attendance was not required. A fireman drew the card on their behalf.
A spokeswoman for Nova Scotia’s Alcohol, Gaming, Fuel and Tobacco Division said if names are listed on a winning ticket, the agency expects the lottery licensee to split the prize equally amongst those named.