SLUMDOG MILLIONAIRE - DILAPIDATED DIGS OF $232M LOTTO COWBOY

Here's a peek at the "palatial" digs where newly-minted $232 million lot tery winner Neal Wan less hangs his cowboy hat at night.

Scrap metal, refrig erators and a mess of tables, lawn chairs and tires litter the grounds in front of the ramshackle trailer where the once-im poverished cowpoke lives with mom Nancy and dad Arlen.

Sheep, geese and ducks run freely on the grounds of the 320-acre ranch in this rural town of 900 where the aver age annual income is about $7,500.

The Wanless family's mobile home, standing behind a wooden gate with family members' names carved in it, is so cramped that they use three broken-down cars as storage space for clothes.

I have never seen so many clueless judgemental people on a single thread here. The young man that won said in interviews that he plans to expand and improve the ranch he and his family are putting together. The article says they have 320 acres of land. I found a 475 acre place for sale near them for $792,000 with no houses, just land. Their place could be worth less depending on several things of course, but I bet the land is worth more than most of you think by far. How many of you own 320 acres or more? How many of you without several acres of land live in a house valued at over $700,000?

Different people have different priorities in life, not everyone is hung up on their house. If he and his parents are trying to build a ranch from scratch their priority is land, cows, feed, and enough equipment and or horses to work the ranch. The type of house one lives in is a low priority in these situations until enough profit is made to pay for such things. His father has been bringing in money selling scrap iron- so they are not afraid of work.

Not everyone chooses to invest all their money in their home, some have other things more important to them. I have friends that have a ranch worth somewhere around $17 million and I doubt most of you would approve of their house. It certainly isn’t up to city standards. Hubby and I have never made a priority out of putting money into our house- we have invested a tidy sum in livestock and other related things so I totally understand.

If this young man does what he says he plans to do and invests his winnings in expanding and improving the ranch- he will be in good shape as will his future heirs. The cattle and or crops will provide steady income as long as folks want to keep food on their tables. That is better than you can say for most investments you can make these days.

I think what most people are saying is that we all hope we would be responsible and prudent given a windfall like this. However, experience shows many of us would turn idiot and end up broke. It's nothing against this young man in particular, the odds are simply against him.

God bless him. We'd all love to be wrong.

Unfortunately, you can look up the officers of almost any corporation with the State.

Someone in a recent lottery in Illinois won and had their lawyer claim it. It was wonderful to see. The lawyer said the winner was going to remain anonymous and that was it.

We still don’t know who the winner really was. That is how it should be.

It is a flower planter made out two wheels (one painted red, the other white) from an antique dump rake, w/buckets possibly from a grain leg belt (what elevates grain at a grain elevator). The desired effect is, of course, the ferris wheel look.

(using my Mr. Haney voice) I’ve got two dump rake wheels in my barnyard which I would gladly sell to the young man for the paltry sum of 10,000 dollars.

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