I know a fellow who used to regularly win. 2K here, 50K there, 10K the next time. I don't know that he ever won less than 500 bucks. He'd go a few months losing and say "well it's about time for another win" and pretty soon his numbers would hit again. All playing the same set of numbers on one of the state's lower odds lottos. Pick5 I think it's called.
He died a couple of weeks ago. Can't take it with you.....

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You're a daisy if you do.
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84 Euro 240D 4spd. 220.5k sold
04 Honda Element AWD
1985 F150 XLT 4x4, 351W with 270k miles, hay hauler
1997 Suzuki Sidekick 4x4
1993 Toyota 4wd Pickup 226K and counting

^ Going for the lower payout drawings is the way to go if one is going to do it methinks.

Here they have 'Lucky For Life' scratcher games for $1, $2, $5, AND $10. Lump sum payout for the $1 game is $375K. For the $2 game: $750K. And so on. Since a $750K windfall would be welcome I go with the $2 game. Never the expensive games. I figure the chance I would win any of them to be pretty small, so buying the $10 ticket does not increase the chances of winning a large prize, just makes for a larger prize in the remote chance you do win.

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1986 300SDL, 362K
1984 300D, 138K

I know one person that won $3.2 Mil before tax, over 20 year payout. Wrote about him before here.

The Texas State lottery has increased the odds considerable,I think maybe 8 people yearly may win ,I like to think of the odds in real terms ,stack 10 books of the Houston Yellow Pages together and turning to the right page and then the right phone number gives a better explaination of the how the odds stack up against you winning.

Why the extra 9 books?

I had a neighbor that won $20 million back in the mid 1990's. He took the cash pay out, and moved. He burned through the cash in under 7 years. It's a good thing he didn't sell his old house...he ended up moving back into it, and drives a second hand GM now.

It was sad to see that happen to him, but he had no idea how to handle having that much cash.

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1987 560SL
85,000 miles

Perhaps blowing it away is not as common an event today as it once was. Winning big must bring more contact with your siblings especially. Plus every relative you barely new probably makes an appearance.

I am pretty certain that every charity out there gets your number and calls.

I see this comment more often than not. It always begs the question: how should you handle having that much cash ? When I was in school, I was always looking for the class "BUS102 - how to handle a large cash windfall" but never found it

My thoughts are 3 pronged: I am open to comments.
1) Pay off a house, or buy a reasonable one outright (much homework here...) $500k should get you a liveable house in any part of the country you wish to live.

2) Set aside $3M or more in a stable/secure investment account (A Bank savings account ?), plan to live on the interest of this. (Interest on $3M is $60K/yr or more ? that's enough for the midwest where I live...)

3) If you have any left over, consider one-time gifts to important people or charities in your life.

4) do not buy more machines/toys/hobbies than you have time to commit to. I see these dudes with 10 motorcycles and I feel sorry for them - they'll spend more time deciding/maintaining machines than riding them.

5) Buy some art, a Picasso or a Garfunkel

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2009 Kia Sedona
2009 Honda Odyssey EX-L
12006 Jetta Pumpe Duse
(insert Mercedes here)

Husband, Father, sometimes friend =)

Get a good attorney, accountant, and financial adviser.

They will tell you what % of your money you can live on to make it sustainable.

$1m is a lot but you won't be living like Trump on that; its enough to give you realistically income in the $40k-$50k a year range.

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1999 SL500
1969 280SE
2023 Ram 1500
2007 Tiara 3200

As my grandpa used to say, people are poor for a reason.

A one time payout on $20M is probably $11m ish, $500k in income per year is safe. If he did that he would still be driving a $60k GMC if he wanted to.

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1999 SL500
1969 280SE
2023 Ram 1500
2007 Tiara 3200

Unless he were a balance sheet millionaire or better before he won that money, then no, he wouldn't - (know or even have a clue as; 'how to handle it.....')

Jack Whittaker from West Virginia, won over $100 Million dollars after taxes, and ended-up with little or none of it in a few short years.

The case study that was noteworthy and interesting, was that Jack Whittaker was a self-made millionaire of about 50 years old, married, and was a sole proprietor company-owning contractor with dozens of employees worth approx. $18 Mil before he won the lottery. There's any number of true life stories available on the Net about the poor guy, and how it changed his life.


100% of ppl return to their previous lot-in-life. None, or dam near no exceptions. That's not changing - ever.

It doesn't really matter what the person tries to do - they'll always return to where they were - or at a lesser point financially and otherwise. Make book on it.

All of that is pretty astonishing, and so is your vehemence in insisting that's it's all true.


So I am wondering, SRJ, WHY it is this will always happen.


Maybe it's true, all the time, but WHY?????

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1991 560 SEC AMG, 199k <---- 300 hp 10:1 ECE euro HV ...

1995 E 420, 170k "The Red Plum" (sold)

2015 BMW 535i xdrive awd Stage 1 DINAN, 6k, <----364 hp

1967 Mercury Cougar, 49k

2013 Jaguar XF, 20k <----340 hp Supercharged, All Wheel Drive (sold)

Its because people with money think differently than those without, which is why they have it, and keep it.


Do you think the old money families of Europe and the US are that way because of an accident? The kids are raised and breed into it, to take over the family office.

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1999 SL500
1969 280SE
2023 Ram 1500
2007 Tiara 3200

Jim,
Not all the time, but almost all the time.
Something happens - something snaps or clicks in the person's mind.......or perhaps one's innate gyroscope or compass is already pattern-set on a course, if you will. The money jacks with the system of behavior of the person's life. I have read that sudden wealth or riches doesn't really change the person, but that it just intensifies what's already there. If one was a mean, miserly, obnoxious person, it intensifies it. If one was a gregarious, happy, easy come easy go personality - it would intensify and expand that personality. Perhaps it's just a race to return to the same financial state as before. Many, many winners comment as Jack Whittaker did; that they wish they would have just tore up the ticket. Jack Whittaker neglected his business and let it flounder. He showered his Grandaughter with loads and loads of cash - which ended up killing her of illegal drugs. Jack spent time toting around huge sums of cash in his briefcase losing it to thieves once. He gambled and was enamored with strip clubs. His Wife divorced him and his Daughter died. He's still out there living in West Virginia from the last story written about him some months ago, where the author was able to interview him and his Pastor at one of his properties of his all but abandoned construction company. He (Whittaker) stated that he doesn't do interviews unless it's for money, but he started talking to the reporter anyway.