Winning the lottery can be a game-changer for anyone struggling financially. It’s like hitting the jackpot in life, but only if you’re the one holding the winning ticket.

However, one individual felt entitled to a share of the winnings, even though the ticket was a gift to their nephew. Feeling like luck had slipped through their fingers, they asked their nephew for a significant portion of the prize.

When their family started distancing themselves, they turned to Reddit for judgment. Keep reading to find out what happened!

Taking to Reddit’s ‘Am I The A*****e‘ thread, the Redditor (who goes by the username accountforaita33) began their post by writing: “I may have seen a post like this on here a few years ago, but I honestly don’t remember the outcome.”

Accountforaita33 continued: “I’ve had a really rough year, laid off from my job, and out of unemployment options. I manage to scrape by paying my property taxes and insurance with odd jobs, but I’m basically surviving on ramen.”

Wanting to do something special for their nephew’s birthday, the Redditor scraped together what they could and bought him some lottery scratchers. To their amazement, he won big on one of them, pocketing a sum in the mid-five figures. However, instead of celebrating his good fortune, the Redditor saw it as an opportunity for their own financial relief.

“My sister and her husband, my nephew’s parents, are very well off,” accountforaita33 explained. “My nephew has a fully funded college fund and every material thing he could ever want. When I found out, I told my sister it would be cool if my nephew gave me at least 3/4 of the winnings. She asked if I was serious, and I said I felt I was being generous because I really need all of it. She hung up on me. I texted my nephew, and I think he blocked me.”

Desperate for financial stability, the Redditor defended their request, highlighting their urgent need for the money. “Here’s the thing, I NEED this money. It’s a matter of me eating or not eating. He doesn’t,” they wrote. “Am I the a*****e for thinking he should share the winnings of the gift I gave him?”

Reddit users weighed in with their opinions, with one person saying that the Redditor was being an a*****e: “You don’t get to ask for part of someone’s gift. It sucks you’re having it tough but still doesn’t mean you’re ‘generous’ for asking for only part of the gift. Sure ask them for help, but don’t ask for his gift.”

Another person added: “Yeah you are sorry. It was a gift. That means it is all his and you are not entitled to any of it. You could always try asking for a loan from family if they are that well off.

Someone else chimed in with: “Unless the ticket came with an agreement like ‘if this wins I get half’, then the ticket, and any resulting winnings, are a gift. Trying to take back a gift is an a*****e move. Your financial situation and his are both 100% irrelevant. It doesn’t matter if he’s Jeff Bezos and you’re homeless. A gift is a gift.”

Ultimately, the verdict was clear: while winning the lottery may bring fortune, it doesn’t entitle others to claim a piece of the prize, especially when it was given as a gift with no strings attached.