
Recent Canadian lottery winner Tom Crist shown right here with his now-deceased wife Jan was in a charitable mood after getting a phone call from the Western Canada Lottery Corporation
Even if you were to win a big jackpot if you don’t play the lottery very often, we’re sure that you’ve imagined what you would do. We’ve all show up with answers to that question on our own: just what we’d buy, how we’d invest, along with which of our friends and family we would share our newfound wealth. Many of us would additionally give some portion of our winnings to charities that are essential to us but it’s hard to imagine most people being nearly as generous as being a lottery that is recent in Canada has turned out to be.
Quite a Golf Game
Winner Tom Crist ended up being on getaway in California when he received a call from the Western Canada Lottery Corporation, alerting him to the truth which he had just won a $40 million (US$37.5 million) jackpot within the Lotto Max drawing the largest in the history for the WCLC lotteries.
Normally, lottery winners don’t read about their winnings via a phone call. But Crist who was playing golf in Palm Springs at the full time ended up beingn’t a lottery player that is typical. He was on a membership plan with the lottery that automatically purchased tickets for him on each drawing. The WCLC examined their figures automatically, and since is their policy, a victory of significantly more than $10,000 triggered a call to Crist.
‘I didn’t know very well what to think,’ Crist said about receiving the call. ‘I was speechless.’
Before the jackpot, Crist said which he had gotten a small number of little checks for small wins, but had never possessed a win of any amount that is significant alone a jackpot.
‘I’ve taken care of the membership when I have the renewal notice every and then I just file it,’ Crist said year. ‘Sometimes I’d obtain a search for $10 or $20, but we never expected this.’
The call came in May 2013 the drawing he won occurred on May 3 but he hadn’t come ahead to collect their winnings until this month. In fact, during the time of his win, he didn’t even tell his fellow golfers in regards to the jackpot that is massive had just won.
Maybe that’s because Crist was fortunate sufficient maybe not to need that newfound windfall at all. Once the president that is retired CEO of a wholesale electronics company, Crist had banked $1.14 billion in 2012 when he sold his business.
‘i’ve been fortunate enough, through my career, 44 years with a ongoing company,’ Crist stated. ‘I did perfectly for myself. I have done enough for my kids, so they can get looked after into the future that I can look after myself. I don’t really need that money.’
And that train of idea is apparently what spurred Crist to decide to change lives in the full lives of others alternatively.
Crist’s spouse Jan had died in February 2012, a passage that was the impetus to start a family members foundation. The lottery money will go to that now foundation, from which he and his children will decide where to donate the proceeds; most most likely it’s going to be distributed between a quantity of cancer-related charities.
For the most part, Crist has actually tried to downplay the significance of his win and his charitable gesture, also wearing sunglasses in required publicity photos taken by the lottery to create himself less familiar. Nevertheless, he did admit that he’s happy the money is going to a cause that is good.
Labour MP Ed Miliband Vows to Introduce FOBT Legislation
UK Labour MP Ed Miliband is on his soapbox about the nation’s proliferation of FOBTs. (Image: PA)
It looks as though UK Labour MP Ed Miliband could be grasping for public appreciation, as he has vowed to gear up his assault on the controversial high-stakes gambling machines which have become common in betting shops across British high streets.
FOBTs’ Spread Cited as Ominous
Promising to introduce new laws to control the spread associated with the machines known as fixed-odds gambling terminals, or FOBTs which accounted for approximately £1.6 billion ($2,634,876,977) of the gambling industry’s £3 billion ($4,940,394,332) in-store revenues this present year, the opposition leader has reported FOBTs target the poorer communities of the nation by offering big money prizes which look particularly enticing to people whom may be earning the wage that is minimum.
‘I have always been deeply worried about the spread of these machines,’ stated Miliband when speaking to your British press about FOBTs, that have now reached 33,000 in number throughout the British. ‘ They are becoming an epidemic in some right parts of the country.
‘They are four times more prone to take poorer areas than richer people,’ added the Labour leader. ‘ I don’t object to a wagering store or two on the traditional, but you are indian dreaming pokie app doingn’t need it absorbed by them. There’s evidence they are magnets for anti-social behaviour. There’s evidence individuals are getting becoming and harmed addicted to gambling through these devices,’ Miliband included.
New Laws to Be Introduced
To help combat the ‘epidemic’ of the fixed-odds betting machines, Miliband has explained that the next Labour government would change preparation and licensing laws to offer power to regional authorities to better control the amount of betting stores in their area, because well as letting them dictate the quantity of FOBTs in each venue.
‘ We are going to give communities the proper to pull the plug on fixed-odds machines,’ stated Miliband, who admitted to usually placing down several pounds on the annual Grand National horse race each year. ‘Councils will be able to declare ‘fixed-odds betting-free zones.”
Whether or otherwise not this would mean local authorities would be able to bulldoze existing shops to reduce the numbers, or perhaps the authorities would simply be able to limit new outlets, has not been specified precisely, but reports do declare that neighborhood authorities is able to revoke licenses.
Bookies would also be required to introduce longer breaks between each play, and consist of pop-up warnings to help reduce the rate of shelling out for the machines.
An estimated £46 billion ($75,752,713,093) was spent on gambling machines into the British year that is last all helped by the fact punters can lose up to £100 ($165) every 20 moments on the machines, which were branded the ‘crack cocaine’ of gambling.
Despite some obvious upsides to Miliband’s proposals, it should be noted that how many FOBTs in Britain increased dramatically under the last Labour government when they relaxed gambling legislation in 2005.
Miliband has additionally stopped short of meeting recent demands to reduce steadily the limit on fixed-odds gambling terminals from £100 stakes down to £2, simply stating that the issue will continue to be evaluated.
Former Pittsburgh Steelers Mike Merriweather Suing Area Casino
This football trading card from the mid 1980s shows Mike Merriweather during the height of his job; he’s now suing a Pittsburgh area casino.
Mike Merriweather had been a staple of the Pittsburgh Steelers defense in the 1980s. From 1982-1987, he played because of the NFL group, making three Pro Bowl games and recording as much as 15 sacks in a period. He was also named the united team MVP in the 1987 season.
Legal Proceedings Against Meadows Racetrack
But that was all long ago, and except among serious football fans, Merriweather’s playing career was mainly forgotten. Now, he’s making headlines in Pittsburgh for an entirely different reason: his lawsuit against a neighborhood casino, alleging he was unjustly fired from a position because of stereotyping that is racial.
In accordance with a lawsuit filed by Merriweather, he was hired at The Meadows Racetrack and Casino in April 2011, to become the property’s director of sports marketing. His work was primarily one of advertising: he would promote special Steelers-themed events, along side bowling and blackjack tournaments. He had been paid an income, along with commissions from the amount of money spent in the casino by clients he actually attracted to The Meadows.
In the lawsuit, Merriweather states that Meadows vice president and manager that is general Sullivan said the retired player could potentially make over $100,000 a year in the career. Sullivan and Merriweather were teammates during the University associated with the Pacific, before Merriweather began his professional profession.
Racial Discrimination Alleged in Suit
But according to Merriweather, what needs to have been a friendly environment soon turned into a nightmare. According to him, white managers started initially to make reviews him became progressively worse over time about him often, but not always, as jokes and the casino’s treatment of.
‘He was a sizable, obviously fit, black colored male who was understood to have played in expert soccer, and white co-workers often acted as him,’ the complaint states if they feared. Managers are quoted as saying things such as ‘ I do not want to get him mad’ or ‘I do not want him to beat me up.’ If true, the statements were specially misguided when directed towards Merriweather, who is an ordained minster and has received certification being an anger management facilitator.
Moreover, Merriweather alleges that the superior during the casino repeatedly neglected to code the play of clients that Merriweather had brought into the casino, costing him commissions. After bringing his concerns to Sullivan, friends of managers every one of whom were white stopped replying to his emails or greeting him within the hallways. Eventually, an excellent extracted Merriweather from an office, forcing him working in an area that is common. In January 2012, he was fired through the position.
According to the complaint, the owners of The Meadows (Cannery Casino Resorts and The Washington Trotting Association) violated federal and state anti-discrimination laws. It additionally accuses those owners of breaking wage laws by withholding commissions that were promised to Merriweather. The lawsuit asks for payment of missing wages, legal fees, and damages that are punitive.
Spokespersons for The Meadows haven’t commented regarding the situation, saying that they can not comment on litigation beginning.
This is not the time that is first Western Pennsylvania casino is accused of racial bias. Earlier in 2010, the Rivers Casino was accused of discriminating against black groups who planned activities at the casino, also eliminating events and promotions that catered to African-American clients.