Tonda Dickerson

There’s an old saying that goes “when it rains it pours” and few people have experienced that quite like Tonda Dickerson. Dickerson was working as a server at a Waffle House when a customer left her a lotto ticket as a tip. That weekend, she earned $10 million. Then danger arrived.

In many establishments, tips are combined. Dickerson's employees thought that they all deserved an equal share of her victory, so they filed a lawsuit. She lost at first, but won on appeal because she won the lottery in Florida but resided in Alabama, where gambling was outlawed.

Dickerson was subsequently sued by the man who had issued her the ticket. He said the waitress had promised to purchase him a vehicle if she won. That claim was dismissed. But the situation was far from finished. Dickerson was divorced two years before she won the lotto. Her ex-husband attempted to abduct her. She actually managed to shoot him and then take him to a hospital afterward.

Lottery Winning Year: 1999

Nationality: American