'I was given £7million lottery ticket as a waitress tip - but it ruined my life'
A woman who was given a $10million lottery ticket says it ruined her life - which has been marred by lawsuits, a shooting and attempted kidnapping.
Tonda Dickerson was given the ticket while she was a waitress at a Waffle House restaurant in Grand Bay, Alabama, in March 1999. Tonda was in her late 20s and divorced, and when she claimed the winnings her life was transformed - but not in the way she hoped.
Edward Seward, a diner at Waffle House, decided to give Tonda a lottery ticket as a tip for her service on March 7, 1999. Six days later on the 13th the results were announced - and Tonda found out she had won an incredible $10million (£7.3million) jackpot. Taking into account inflation this would be worth $18.9million (£15.6million) today.
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Tonda quit Waffle House and chose to go for $375k per year over 30 years - but her former colleagues decided they wanted a cut of her own. The waitresses accused her of breaking a promise she made to split the winnings of the lottery ticket given to her by Seward.
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Tonda leaves the courtroom in 1999 with her husband James (Mike Kittrell)Court battles and shootings
She was taken to an Alabama court when she was sued for millions by four waitresses at Waffle House - and in just 45 minutes the court had ruled against her, according to local news website AL.com. She had been testified against by a couple at the restaurant who said Tonda had told them about the deal she brokered.
Tonda rejected an offer from the court to keep $3million, and started putting the cash into a family business she had set up. Things looked up when in 2000, the Alabama Supreme Court overturned the initial decision - on the basis that the deal made between the waitresses was a form of illegal gambling.
But Tonda’s woes were far, far from over.
Seward, the gifter of the ticket, returned. He argued Tonda had promised him a new truck if she won the lottery - which her lawyers argued was simply a throwaway comment. Seward’s claim was rejected, but only days later things took a dark turn.
Reporters question Tonda about the nightmare situation in her father's home (Mike Kittrell)Tonda’s ex-husband, Stacy Martin, kidnapped her and took her to a boat jetty in Jackson County, North Alabama. With a .22 calibre handgun, Martin did not allow Tonda to contact anyone. But a quick thinking Tonda managed to grab hold of his gun and shoot Martin through the chest before he was rushed to hospital. Bizarrely, Martin did not face any charges for the incident.
Slow return to normality
Tonda was asked to pay $1million in “gift taxes” on top of her income tax. In 2012 it was ruled that she had to pay taxes on her jackpot - but they allowed her to not pay the full amount. She was asked instead to give a percentage of the “gift portion”, Forbes reported.
Ultimately, she was able to keep the bulk of her winnings. Tonda passed much of it onto her family, and according to AL.com, went back into work. In 2021 her social media profiles appeared to show her working at Gold Nugget Casino as a poker dealer in Biloxi, Mississippi.
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