He’s Not Entitled to My Winnings
I worked as head bartender for a local restaurant for a number of years, and there was a regular customer who was there very frequently. I interacted with this customer frequently, too. They tipped exclusively in scratch tickets and specifically called to ask for my schedule, asked me out on multiple occasions, et cetera. Probably about 40 years my senior.
Then I won something from the scratch ticket that wasn’t five or 10 dollars; the final amount after taxes was about three months’ salary for me, and I was making good money. I specifically didn’t tell the customer, not because I thought they wouldn’t want it but because I didn’t want them feeling like I owed them something or that I should be thankful towards them.
I did tell a co-worker, and it got to the customer through the grapevine. The next time I came in, he congratulated me, and asked me a question that sent a shiver down my spine.
He asked how we wanted to split it. I sternly told him that it was my tip and long story short, he went to my manager, who took his side. I actually quit since I had been planning to anyway since I’m about to finish school. But that wasn’t the end.
My manager then GAVE THIS GUY MY EMAIL and he (the customer) emailed me saying that if I didn’t agree to give him 50% of the winnings he’d take court action. Do I need to worry about taking his threat seriously?
Is there anything I can or should do to protect myself? I’m assuming this is a bluff but I want to have my bases covered. Story credit: Reddit / Clean-Transportation