Posted on 07/26/2004 10:37:17 AM PDT by UnklGene
Man wins Hoosier Lotto jackpot two days after divorce from cheating wife finalized -
By Ben Jennings, THG News
July 25, 2004
Until last Saturday, 2004 had been the worst year of Randy Fletcher’s life.
On a cold mid-January day, the 29 year old Brownstown resident took a half-day off of work due to a severe case of diarrhea, only to find his wife of four years, Tara, in bed with a neighbor.
Two months later, he wrecked his mint-condition 1956 Chevy that he had spent three years carefully restoring when a deer ran out in front of him.
May brought even more heartache; Fletcher’s 12 year-old German Shepherd Molly was diagnosed with cancer and had to be put to sleep.
Fletcher, who works as a union electrician, felt that his life was cursed after losing his house and most of his life savings in the divorce proceedings that were finalized on July 15.
That is until July 17, when his life changed forever. Fletcher purchased five dollars worth of Hoosier Lottery computer picks for that night’s drawing, like he had done every Wednesday and Saturday for the past several years.
When he checked his ticket numbers against those in the Sunday Indianapolis Star, he had to do a double take—the third row of numbers on his ticket matched those in the newspaper: 5-15-27-37-39-46!
Randy Fletcher had just won the $1 million jackpot.
“I was in complete shock for several hours,” said Fletcher, “It took me several minutes to catch my breath. It was the most unbelievable and amazing feeling I have ever had, especially after all that had happened this year.”
Fletcher says he plans to use the approximately $289,000 he will be taking home after accepting the cash option and paying federal, state, and local taxes to get back on his feet. “I am going to buy a new house, probably get Harley, and a new puppy, probably another (German) Shepherd. Get a whole new fresh start on life. I also want to head to Cancun for a few days this winter.”
The life of Randy Fletcher is a prime example of how every cloud has a silver lining. When asked what advice he has for anyone else whose life is in shambles, Fletcher advises, “Just keep plugging away. Sooner or later things will look up. I am a prime example of that.”
What a great story!!!
P.S. - Get a foreign woman from Latin America or the Phillipines.
Ten bucks says his ex calls him to "congratulate him"
Ouch!
The judical lottery will find a way to award her half.
Good for him -- but bad for all the other math-impaired lottery addicts who are going to take this as evidence of some kind of statistical inevitability that they'll win.
I do pro-bono financial advising from time to time, and nothing makes me sadder than people who work very hard for a living, at $15 an hour jobs, tell me, when I ask why they make such a small 401k contribution, or no contribution at all, that they don't do it because they need to set aside $50 or $75 a week to buy lottery tickets.
Suh-weeet!
With this guys luck, a deer will run in from of him and his new Harley...
I have always KNOWN there was a God. This is proof!
So is wealth more important than a faithful wife, a great antique car and a devoted pet?
Glad the guy got a happy ending but I'm not sure he's a winner in the long run.
>Ten bucks says his ex calls him to "congratulate him"<
Twenty bucks says that some liberal circuit court will find some way to give her a part (most) of the money for some riduculous reason or another.
My thought exactly. I'm sure they'll try and claim that he bought the ticket before the divorce was final or some other nonsense.
Uh, this isn't real. Check the source. The Hoosier Gazette is a satire site.
I wondered how much winners of these jackpots really get after all the taxes.
Lotteries should either be tax free or they should be banned completely. At the very least they should be exempt from federal taxes. Give the state a flat 5-10% tax of the jackpot.
Great story, nevertheless....
He wins $1,000,000 but after taxes he only gets $289,000?
Really? That is too bad. If they were going to write a fake story, you'd think they would have given the guy more than $289,000.
LOL!!! Great story!! Good for him...
No the divorce was final two days before, and she no longer can get his money since she got house and the other possesions...her part was awarded on 15th.
God blessed him on 17th.
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