Posted on 04/08/2007 6:25:41 AM PDT by rightwingintelligentsia
On Christmas morning in 2002, Jack Whittaker woke up to perhaps the biggest gift imaginable. Whittaker had won the Powerball lottery jackpot -- a whopping $315 million.
"I got sick at my stomach, and I just was [at] a loss for words and advice," Whittaker said. "You know, I was really searching for advice, and it's, like, Christmas Day."
It was a made-for-TV Christmas story, and Whittaker's hardworking family became celebrities overnight. Whittaker's wife, Jewel, and their granddaughter Brandi Bragg would appear on no fewer than eight television shows. But as Whittaker celebrated his good fortune, he had no way of knowing that he was embarking on a journey that would lead to tragedy and the loss of everything he held dear.
(Excerpt) Read more at news.aol.com ...
'Trespassers will be shot. Survivors will be prosecuted'
So cheery and uplifting!
LOLOLOLOLOLOLOL
Great post!!!
You need a plan. If you enter the Lottery you need a plan in case you win. If you run for President you need a plan in case you win.
Warren Buffet pays for whatever education his grandkids want to pursue and then they are on their own.
Giving young people a huge amount of money is very destruct to good values.
“Give them enough so they can do what they want, but not so much that they do nothing.” ....... Warren Buffet
Well, lahhhdeedaah. A dollar for a dream is cheaper and better for you than a pack of cigs or a can of chew.
When Kentucky started the lottery with scratch tickets one of my coworkers, who was flat - dead broke, spent $1000 on a roll of scratch offs. He and his wife spent a weekend scratching off the cover and then on Monday he cashed in about $750 worth of winning tickets. A loss of 25%.
The Kentucky Lottery Corporation has a jingle that goes: "Somebody is bound to win, might as well be you." My family has changed that to: "Most people are gonna loose, and it will probably be you."
Actually, given the odds, they did remarkably well. Although I play the Powerball, I do it with money that I would normally spend elsewhere, by not going to movies, or other things I could be spending it on. It works out to $5 a week, which isn't going to hurt me. But it's astonishing to see how blind most people are when it comes to lotteries. I guess things were slowing down with the Powerball, the multistate lottery when somebody came up with this winner of an idea. "Lets add more numbers, and promote it as a good thing!" They added more numbers to choose from, effectively reducing the odds of winning, but promoted it as "More ways to win!" They did increase the minimum winning jackpot from (I believe) 10 million to 15 million.
Mark
You do have to reveal your name though. I believe it is the law...JFK
It was $400,000 in fact, and it was stolen from him at a strip bar in Cross Lanes, West Virginia called the Pink Pony.
I used to see it every weekend as I drove by on the way to Marshall University Football games. It used to be a Kentucky Fried Chicken before it was a nudie bar.
They love you as long as you’re giving, but people will turn on you in a big hurry.
If I ever remember to buy that winning lottery ticket, some of the friends I now have will benefit. If they aren’t friends now when I’m a poor boy, I surely don’t want them when I’m rich.
I agree. That would make a world of difference.
That said, was Jewel mentioned anywhere except at the beginning of the article? I may have missed it, but didn’t see it. What happened to her?
I dont think thats true.
I’m with you on all but the last point. As soon as it was confirmed that that chunk of change was mine, working for a living would become a thing of the past with me. And I’d never look back.
Man, what it would be like to be in that position.
I understand the winning numbers were 6-8-15-16-23-42
bookmark
“Well, lahhhdeedaah. A dollar for a dream is cheaper and better for you than a pack of cigs or a can of chew.”
Obviously you missed the message. Gambling is a waste of money.
But let’s examine the Powerball “dream”:
The chances of winning are one in 146,107,962. Let’s assume you go to a capacity Ohio State game. They are going to pick one seat for a prize. Do you hold your breath thinking your seat will be picked when you look at the size of that crowd? Now consider that only one seat is to be picked out of 1,438 Ohio State Stadiums that Saturday. That’s the Powerball win probability. Personally, I’ll take the buck.
To each their own. I equate the lottery as a fun chance to dream of having financial security. I play rarely and when It gets to a certain point. Is that any different than paying 15 bucks for a movie ticket? Or bowling or a pack of cigs?
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