Read it and weep.
The New Jersey hardhat accused of filching a $77 million jackpot from his co-workers in the same lottery pool as him presented what he said was documented proof that his winning ticket was a side bet — and not part of the group’s bet.
Americo Lopes, who took the stand in his own defense, explained to a Union County jury why the winning ticket is indisputably his and his alone.
The computer-generated ticket, he said, shows five rows of numbers — labeled A, B, C, D, and E — all of which are his own picks that he made with his own money.
HARD HAT COULD SETTLE LOTTO SPAT
One of those rows, D, features a series of numbers that he has personally for the past 28 years: 02-12-29-31-42-44.
Lopes testified that he considers the series lucky because it once won him $40 in the Canadian lottery.
The jackpot winning numbers are on that same ticket, just in row A: 08-21-29-34-37-15.
Since he only placed his “Canada” numbers on his personal tickets, Lopes said that proves that he made a side bet after he bet the pool’s money.
But his five coworkers say that he used their money to hit the winning number in 2009, and that they’re each owed $4 million each.
The men, all from Portugal, worked at Berto Construction in Elizabeth, NJ, where Lopes organized a lottery pool in 2007.
For five years, the group of six hardhats would throw in $2 each to buy tickets for the Mega Millions lottery.
But when one of the tickets hit the 2009 jackpot, Lopes, who was in charge of buying the tickets, hid the news from his buddies, his former pals claim.
Americo Lopes testifies during his trial today. (NYP)