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Man who mistakenly thought he won football bet against bus driver wanted taxpayers to pay up

June 14th, 2012, 2:58 pm · Post a Comment · posted by

They say anybody can sue anyone for anything.

It’s true — and here’s proof:

A man who mistakenly thought he won a football pool organized by a city bus driver wanted Colorado Springs taxpayers to give him the money when the driver refused to pay up.

Don Miller said he gave a bus driver named “Ron” $10 on Feb. 3 to participate in a Super Bowl XLVI football pool.

“I had (a score of) 9 for NY and (a score of) 3 for New England at the end of the first quarter,” Miller wrote in a claim filed with the city.

“New York had 9. That was my number,” he wrote.

Just one problem: the score at the end of the first quarter was 9-0, which means Miller didn’t win squat.

The city denied the claim Feb. 14, saying that all personnel operating or maintaining city buses are employees of McDonald Transit, which is “the contractor through which transit services are supplied to the City of Colorado Springs.”

Jerry Triolo, general manager of Colorado Springs Transit Management Inc. and vice president of McDonald Transit, said Miller “apparently” didn’t understand how the football pool was won.

“This gentleman thought that just because he had one number, he wins the quarter,” Triolo said. “He was claiming (he was owed) whatever that quarter amount was, and I’m estimating that it was $250. Of course, the driver was like, ‘No, but you didn’t win.’”

Triolo said his company doesn’t approve of betting on city buses or during work hours.

“The driver was written up for that. It became a big deal because it’s not tolerated whatsoever,” he said.

“But the big issue was that (Miller)  didn’t know apparently how this game works, and he thought he only had to have one number to win it,” Triolo said.

Miller could not be reached for comment. The City Attorney’s Office redacted his contact information from the claim.

Posted in: LawsuitPeopleTransit
 
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