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.”
I read the post that he lost the house, everything. Go figure.
It says he "lost the house", so either it was repossed or she got it.
Wealth can buy the latter two, and he never had the first one to begin with.
So if the husband is a working guy, and the wife is not a working person, she can nail the neighbor, and if they split up, he still has to pay extra money for her, even if there are no kids?
Folks, folks, the story is NOT REAL. You're arguing about something that DID NOT happen.
Seems to me that the topic that I am now talking about is very real to some of the people responding to me. You'd have to argue that with them.
I find this part supremely sad. Million bucks.....and pockets WELL under a third of it when all is said and done.
The Candadian Press has picked up this story as News.http://www.ctv.ca/servlet/ArticleNews/story/CTVNews/1089499332278_35/?hub=Canada
A great reason to live off shore for a bit
So, if this were a real story, take $1 million x .4 = $400,000 x .6 (federal and state taxes) = $240,000.
Sure, you can say the guy is still way ahead. But consider that the lotteries use the inflated numbers to get mostly working people to pay what is basically a regressive tax. And also consider that if someone on Wall Street pulled a scam like this they'd be doing a whole lot more time than Martha Stewart.
I checked the Hoosier Lottery site. The winning numbers are correct and the estimated jackpot for the 17th was indeed $1 million. But the site lists only winners that appear for their "Millionare" game show, not drawing winners.
So who knows?
We know, but like a good fictional story, it highlights an underlying reality.
$289K out of a million dollar prize! That is a crime!!
Sure...don't expect men to be treated fairly and you will be fine...even if your wife is a cheating tramp.
I'd argue we're better off blasting real-life cases than throwing brickbats at fake ones.
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