Dispute erupts over Big Game lottery ticket

Wayne Parry

Friday, April 26, 2002 | 10 a.m.

HILLSIDE, N.J. -- An office dispute has apparently erupted over who owns one of the lottery tickets good for a one-third share of the $331 million Big Game prize.

A man and a group of people who say he was part of an office pool have asserted dueling claims to the $110.3 million ticket.

Carole Hedinger, acting executive director of the New Jersey State Lottery, said Thursday the commission has heard from two lawyers, each claiming a share of the prize for their clients.

One lawyer represents the man who brought the ticket to the gas station where it was purchased to validate it the day after the drawing.

The other represents a group of people claiming to be part of an office pool that collected money for tickets.

Hedinger said the lottery commission is reviewing its rules governing such situations. She declined further comment and would not identify the lawyers.

The ticket was one of three winners in the April 16 drawing. The others were sold in Georgia, where 20-year-old Erika Green has claimed her share of the prize, and Illinois, where no winner has come forward.

The jackpot was the second-biggest lottery prize in U.S. history.

The buyer of the New Jersey ticket chose to take the payout in a $58.9 million lump sum. After taxes, that leaves about $43 million.