One $120m Powerball, but the ticket is outta here

The owners of a Kalgoorlie newsagency which sold a winning ticket in February’s $120 million Powerball jackpot syndicate are taking a customer and Lotterywest to court amid a dispute over the winnings.

City News Kalgoorlie owners Tania and Kevin Parkes made headlines last month after the syndicate their business ran earned its 250 subscribers a share of more than $60 million.

But the win appears to have been marred by an ongoing ticket ownership dispute, which has now been escalated to the Supreme Court.

According to a writ lodged this week, Tania and Kevin Parkes allege customer Mark Ing is falsely claiming to be entitled to a share of the winnings after lodging their personal ticket as his own.

In the writ, the Parkes’ claim they personally subscribed for tickets in syndicate two, earning themselves a share of the powerball drawn on February 24.

At the request of Lotterywest, the Parkes’ claim they travelled to the lottery company's Subiaco offices alongside most of their fellow subscribers to present their tickets and claim their prize money.

Despite having allegedly not subscribed to the winning syndicate, Mr Ing attended the offices, insisting he had done.

City News' owners had not been able to find any record of Mr Ing having purchased a ticket in the syndicate, but when he persisted and asked for his ticket, they claim they handed over their own.

After returning to Kalgoorlie and reviewing City News’ records, the Parkes’ claim they found Mr Ing had not bought a ticket in the winning syndicate, but had instead bought a ticket in syndicate one.

In the writ, the pair claim they asked Mr Ing to inform Lotterywest that he was in fact not a ticket holder.

But the Parkes' allege Mr Ing has maintained his claim for payment and is now refusing to respond to the pair's inquiries.

In the meantime, Lotterywest has paid out the winnings to registered subscribers, with the Parkes’ missing out.

Despite a formal dispute of ownership filed by the Parkes’, they allege Lotterywest is hamstrung and intends to disperse the winnings to Mr Ing as the legal ticket bearer.

Now the Parkes’ want the court to issue a declaration that the ticket presented by Mr Ing is actually their property, as well as the coverage of any associated legal costs.