Seguro Ndabene, a father of three who lives in Airdrie, Alberta started his winning streak in 2004 when he won $1 million. He then won $100,000 in the Super 7 lotto in 2006, another $1 million and then $50,000 in 2008, and then the big one, $17 million in January 2009. It is his latest winning that has generated so much hoopla and resulted in litigation when a second party claimed the winning ticket was actually jointly purchased.
The convoluted lottery-related court claim has been dropped, paving the way for a Calgary-area man to take home $17 million — his fifth major jackpot in five years.
The Western Canada Lottery Corp., which routinely investigates any lotto wins of more than $10,000, had named Ndabene the rightful winner, but then a second party came forward to dispute his claim.
A man named Antonin Koprnicky said Ndabene's winning ticket was part of a group-buying venture organized by a lotto kiosk in Airdrie.
Seguro Ndabene says he plans to sue the Western Canada Lottery Corp. after his big lotto win in January — his fifth in the last five years — was held up by an investigation. (CBC)
The competing claims got so complicated that the lottery corporation turned over the case to the Alberta Court of Queen's Bench.
But Koprnicky's lawyer informed the court that there were no longer any challenges to the jackpot.
| "We're not resisting Mr. Ndabene's claim to have payments made out of court," Tyler Derksen said. Ndabene will receive his winnings when legal paperwork is completed.
"I feel I have been respected and my wishes come true," said Ndabene, who says he has no system for playing the lotto." |
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Ndabene has won four previous jackpots from buying hundreds of lotto tickets every week:
- $1 million in the Western 6/49 in 2004.
- $100,000 in the Super 7 Extra from a ticket bought in Calgary in 2006.
- $1 million and then another $50,000 in the Western 6/49 in Airdrie, Alta., in 2008.
Ndabene said he plans to sue the Western Canada Lottery Corp. for withholding his winnings for months and not paying any interest.
"This was amounting to torture, to torture me because I won several times. I cannot refuse to accept the money that I won rightfully. I played the ticket. They advertised the money. I paid for the ticket. I won the money and they refused to pay me right away," he said.
Yves Blanchette, who owns the Airdrie kiosk where Ndabene bought the winning ticket, can't believe his customer's luck.
"You know, I like this guy's horseshoes," Blanchette said. "This will be good for my business. They give you a picture of the winning guy to put on the wall, and if I have his picture on the wall I can double my income."
Koprnicky, the man who disputed Ndabene's claim, is Blanchette's brother-in-law.
"My brother-in-law has lots of problems and tried maybe with this to try and help himself," Blanchette said. "He was trying and then seemed to wake up and he realized, 'What the hell am I doing?' "
This article was sourced from CBC News, Canada and other sources.
Extreme luck? A Super system? Or is there something sneaky happening here? Some claim he has ventured into the future to get the numbers.
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