Why do I fear another tragic story in the making?
Media has no class.
They go to basically make fun of a private guy’s living environment.
He looks a little like Woody Harrelson
I thought that was the life style the left wants ALL of us to live.
Great story. I see a future senator if he’s a conservative. I can’t say that I know too many cowboys that are libs. At least in Northern California all the cowboys are conservative - can’t say much for the rest of the nation.
I guarantee that this guy will be in bankruptcy court within 5 years of having deposited his check.
Don’t knock it, that much living space on the Upper East Side, even in today’s market, would go for about $2,000,000.
Nice job violating this (once) suffering family’s privacy.
Would spend some of the rest on a very high surrounding fence-wall with security.
If the winner had been black or an Indian immigrant or something, they would not have shown photos of their place. They would have spoken of their modest digs, but no photos, not in a million years.
They did this cuz they were white, rural, and poor. And because the home was a trailer, so it fits a template and provides an opporunity to feed a morbid fascination.
Doncha love the government? He gets to keep a third of it all to himself!
I probably understand these people better than most. Notice they own land, looks to me like they were trying to build a ranch from scratch- which means putting all your money into the land, cattle, horses- not houses and material things, that can come later. With the price of real estate, cattle, and feed building a ranch from little or nothing has been a near impossible task for many years. It requires a great sacrifice. Most ranchers today have inherited their ranch from many generations of family that struggled before them to get where they are- this is how it begins when you have a dream and little money. In our circle it is known as living like coyotes to get a ranch started- many have done this and as the years pass they are able to live better and better and pass something to be proud of on to their children and grandchildren.
I saw an interview with this young man and he plans to buy more land with the money, and improve and enlarge the ranch they have. I wish him and his family the best. I wish people weren’t always so quick to judge people without knowing more. There is a lot to the old saying about walking a mile in another’s shoes or boots as the case may be. I hope this young man continues to follow the path he was already on- and uses this money to make the dreams he has come true instead of chasing after glitz and glamour which is what ruins many lottery winners.
At least in South Dakota there is NO state income tax to take an additional whack out of his winnings.
I think that at some point in this guys life he’ll look back and claim that those pre-lottery win days were the best of his life.
The guy obviously needs the money. He didn’t turn to the trailer AFTER winning the lotto. He was literally at the bottom of the barrel.
I don’t get the point of the article.
Is it that someone who could use the money shouldn’t have won? Is it that he’s a poor country boy and not a city slicker?
So what about all of the scrap in the yard? The article itself refers to; "Last fall, the Wanless' larger mobile home was repossessed and Arlen was forced to sell scrap metal to make ends meet." So where do you store that inventory that is keeping food on the table? I wonder if the 'reporter' looked at the health and cleanliness of the family, trailer, animals and barn/coops? That would inform me a whole lot more than the visual pollution?
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.