Movies & TV

It Could Happen to You: The Real Lottery Promise Behind the Movie

FutureEdges

Updated October 26, 2026 · 5 min read

It Could Happen to You (1994) stars Nicolas Cage as a New York cop who, short of cash, promises a waitress (Bridget Fonda) half of any lottery winnings in place of a tip. The ticket wins. He keeps his word. The movie is a romantic comedy, but the premise comes from a real story, and it raises a very practical question: what is a promise worth when a lottery ticket wins?

The Film

In the movie, an honest police officer can't afford a tip, so he offers the waitress a deal: if the ticket he's buying wins, they split it. When it turns out to be a multi-million-dollar winner, he honors the promise, even though his wife wants him to keep it all. The film adds a romance and a lot of Hollywood invention.

The Real Story

The real events involved Robert Cunningham, a veteran police officer from Dobbs Ferry, New York, and Phyllis Penzo, a waitress at a pizzeria in Yonkers where he was a regular. According to reports, Cunningham joked that he would split any winnings with her instead of leaving a tip, and the two picked numbers together. The ticket won $6 million, and he gave her half, about $3 million.

Sources give slightly different dates (the win is generally placed in the mid-1980s). Unlike the film, the two reportedly were friends rather than romantic partners.

Film vs. Reality

	The film	Real life
The promise	Half the winnings instead of a tip	The same
Who chose the numbers	He bought the ticket	They reportedly picked numbers together
The prize	About $4 million	About $6 million
The relationship	A romance	Friends
The outcome	He keeps his word	He keeps his word

A Two-Person Pool Is Still a Pool

This wasn't an office pool, but it was a pool in every way that counts: two people, one ticket, one shared understanding. And it shows exactly what can go wrong or right in any group.

What went right

The agreement was made before the draw.
The terms were simple: split in half.
Both people trusted each other.
Choosing the numbers together made the shared ownership obvious.

What could have gone wrong

The promise was verbal. Had he changed his mind, she would have had a difficult time proving it.
There was no record of who had picked which numbers or who paid for the ticket.
His family might have disagreed with the deal, as happens in the film.

Courts do sometimes get asked to decide verbal lottery agreements, and outcomes depend on the evidence and the jurisdiction. We aren't offering legal advice here; the practical lesson is simply that a written, shared record is a far stronger position than memory.

The Tax Side of a Promise

There's a second reason to settle a split before the draw. If one person claims the whole prize and then hands half to someone else, the IRS may see the claimant as the winner of everything, and the transfer as a large gift. When both people are recognized as co-owners from the start, the lottery can report each person's share separately using IRS Form 5754, and each person pays tax only on their own half.

That only works if the shared ownership is real and can be shown. A written note made before the drawing is the simplest evidence there is.

How to Make Your Own "Promise" Bulletproof

Write it down. Even a text or an email that states "if this ticket wins, we split 50/50" is better than nothing.
Record the ticket. Photograph it, and share the photo with everyone in the deal.
Name the terms. Who pays, who holds the ticket, what happens to small wins.
Include everyone affected. A spouse or family member should understand the deal before the draw.
Plan for taxes. A split after the win can have tax consequences. Talk to a CPA before claiming.

A two-line agreement you can copy

"We, [Name] and [Name], agree that the [game] ticket bought on [date] for the [date] drawing belongs to us equally, 50/50. Any prize it wins, large or small, will be claimed and split equally between us."

Send it to each other by text or email before the drawing, along with a photo of the ticket. It takes thirty seconds.

💡 Make the Promise Visible

FutureEdges lets even a tiny group record who is in, who paid and what ticket was bought, so a handshake deal has a dated record behind it.

Frequently Asked Questions

Is a verbal lottery agreement legally binding?

Sometimes, but proving it is the hard part, and the answer depends on the evidence and local law. A written record made before the drawing avoids the question entirely. If you're facing a real dispute, see an attorney.

What if I want to share a win with someone who wasn't part of the ticket?

That's a generous gift, but it's a gift, with its own tax rules. Talk to a tax adviser before handing over large sums.

Does this apply to coworkers who "go in" on a ticket casually?

Yes. Any time two or more people share a ticket, they're a pool. Write down who's in and how it splits. Our group agreement guide scales from two people to fifty.

The Bigger Lesson

The charm of the story is that two people kept their word. But a group shouldn't have to rely on character alone. The best way to protect a friendship is to make the agreement so clear that no one has to be tested.

"Keeping your word is admirable. Writing it down means you never have to prove it."