TORONTO - After two months of waiting, a group of Toronto-area Bombardier employees are officially millionaires.
Ontario Lottery and Gaming Corp. presented cheques today to the winners from the Jan. 28 $50-million Lotto Max jackpot.
Each of the 24 winners is getting just over $1.9 million including about $2,400 in interest.
The payout was withheld while lottery officials investigated after additional claimants came forward.
All but two of those claims have been rejected and OLG divided the jackpot into 26 shares -- two of which will be held by the court until the claims are decided.
It's not the only disputed jackpot win -- a group of 19 Bell Canada workers won $50 million in a draw last Dec. 31 but a portion of that jackpot is the subject of a lawsuit.
The nine claimants are co-workers of the 19 Bell workers who were paid $31.7 million by the OLG.
A statement of claim filed in February maintains that the nine co-workers had been part of a group of lottery players at a Toronto Bell office since early 2010.
They claim the 19 winners withdrew from the group and formed their own group without notifying the others.
The group of nine is seeking equal shares of the jackpot, plus $2.7 million for breach of contract and punitive damages of $4.7 million.
OLG urges all groups to follow its guidelines to manage group purchases and offers forms for group players on its website.
