NATIONAL BRIEFING / AND FINALLY . . .

A passion for gambling shared by two once-inseparable octogenarian sisters has ended up dividing them, with the Connecticut Supreme Court ruling that one can sue the other for a share of a winning $500,000 lottery ticket.

The court said 83-year-old Theresa Sokaitis of Middletown can try to enforce a written contract she signed with her 87-year-old sister, Rose Bakaysa, of Plainville, agreeing to split any gambling winnings.

Sokaitis says she is due a share of a $500,000 Powerball jackpot won by Bakaysa and their brother in 2005.

“We had an accountant, we had a contract and we had a notary public,” Sokaitis said. “We signed the contract together, and we agreed to split anything. And when it came time, they didn’t even tell me; I saw it in the paper.”