Most people dream of winning the lottery. But some winners have nightmares about the way their millions change their lives.
On a quick trip to the supermarket, one couple accidentally threw away their lottery ticket, but it turned out to be a million-dollar winner. That's just one of the many unusual lottery stories.
David Edwards
The story of David Edwards is a cautionary tale that shows not all lottery winners live happily ever after. He won a large sum in the Powerball jackpot and spent all of it in less than a year. The out-of-work cable installer went on a wild spending spree and bought a mansion and a slew of luxury cars.
He also donated stacks of cash to churches, diner waitresses, family members and strangers. Eventually, his big heart led to his downfall and by 2006, he was penniless.
He and his wife argued often and she eventually kicked him out of the house. He later contracted hepatitis and died in 2013 at the age of 58. He was living in a shed that was covered in human feces.
Bud Post
William Post III, better known as Bud, won the Pennsylvania state lottery jackpot worth $16.2 million in 1988. He was a traveling carnival worker and spray painter on pipelines who had spent most of his life working odd jobs to survive. When he won the lottery, Bud bought a mansion in Oil City, northwestern Pennsylvania and a boat. But soon his problems outnumbered his assets. He was sued by his ex-girlfriend and his landlady, who demanded a third of the winnings.
He poured money into family businesses, including a restaurant and a used car lot for his siblings, but they were unsuccessful. He also bought a plane that he wasn’t licensed to fly and ran into legal trouble. By the time he died from respiratory failure in 2006, he was $1 million in debt.
John Whittaker
A self made millionaire before winning the lottery, Whittaker became a local hero when he won the Powerball jackpot in 2002. But his $315 million was eaten up by bad habits, legal trouble and constant requests for money.
His home and car were repeatedly burglarized and he was arrested twice for drunk driving. At a strip club thieves broke into his Lincoln Navigator and stole a briefcase stuffed with $245,000 in $100 bills and three $100,000 cashiers checks. The briefcase was later found, but the money was gone.
Whittaker also donated a significant amount of his lottery winnings to Christian charities and built two churches. He also started a foundation that sent checks to people to cover their car and house payments. But the money seemed to slowly consume his good nature and he ultimately wished that he had never won the lottery.
Pearlie Mae Smith
When 72-year-old Pearlie Mae Smith and her seven adult children won the 파워볼사이트 lottery, it was a life-altering moment for them. The New Jersey family, who chose the lump sum option when claiming their jackpot, ended up with $284 million before taxes.
Although the family did spend some of their windfall on luxuries, they also made good on their promise to tithe at their church and invest in their community in Trenton. They established the Smith Family Foundation, which doles out grant money to grassroots organizations working to improve their community.
This is a powerful example of how some lottery winners can make catastrophic mistakes with their winnings. Others, however, can be just as successful when they take their financial advisors’ advice. In the end, it all comes down to how you handle your windfall.
Tom Crist
When Tom Crist won a $40 million lottery jackpot, he decided to do something really unusual. He donated the entire sum to charity. Crist’s wife died of cancer two years ago and he wanted to honor her memory by giving back to the community.
He bought a recurring subscription ticket in Canada and won. He kept the win a secret from his children for months. He wished to remain anonymous but the lottery rules required a picture and an announcement. He posed for the photo wearing a baseball hat and sunglasses.
High school teacher Les Robins thought it was a pity that kids today didn’t get the opportunity to enjoy the same kinds of activities he enjoyed as a child. He used his winnings to start a camp that brought joy to youngsters.
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