Curse of the lottery
This is one Powerball winner who wishes he had never won the lottery.
Store clerk sees opportunity, ends up in prison
It’s a typical scene: customer comes in convenience store and hands the clerk a lottery ticket from the previous day’s drawing to see if it is a winner. Clerk says it is not a winner, and customer is not all that surprised. But what if the ticket was actually a big winner, and the clerk just keeps it and claims the big prize? That is what happened recently to a man in Baton Rouge.
The store clerk, Melissa Trahan, told him the ticket was no good. It was in fact a winner of about $800,000 total. She pocketed the ticket and later gave it to her mother. Her mother agreed to present the winning ticket in return for $150,000 of the winnings.
Store cameras later revealed the scam, and mother and daughter are now in prison. They could be sentenced to as much as 20 years behind bars.
Here’s the sad part - the actual winner may not even receive the money he was rightfully due. The money has been seized by authorities as evidence.
Prank fake lottery ticket
There are fake scratch-off tickets that you can buy and give to an unsuspecting victim. Of course they are all “big winners” until they read the back of the ticket and see that it is a joke. As much as I love a good prank, I think this is just going too far. It’s sad to see this girl so happy to win $50,000, knowing as you watch it that she is just being pranked. She took it well though.
Why Lottery Winners Lose it All
You might think “that would never happen to me, you would have to be really dumb to lose all that money…”
Yet the very reason that these individuals let their money run through their fingers is the very reason that most of us are still working pay check to paycheck.
It is a lacking mindset that is responsible for our financial difficulties. Those with money that work their way up from the bottom or build the wealth they have easily, have the one thing that most of us lack - a million dollar mind set. All wealth begins with it and all wealth is maintained by cultivating this feeling of prosperity.
I would bet that most of us could compile a list of hundreds of things that we “want.” That sense of wanting means that we feel that we do not have these things. When we replace this wanting feeling with the sense of already having wealth, amazing things start to occur within our brains. We begin to come up with ways of having wealth instead of merely wishing and wanting it.
How do we create this million dollar mindset?
1) Think about being wealthy and write down any thoughts that come up.
Write down the objections that already play in your mind. Write down the excuses like “It takes money to make money.”And write down all the things that you wish you could have if only.
2) Release on those thoughts. Let them go and keep letting them go until the negative emotions go away with them.
3) Replace negative thoughts with positive ones.
4) Fill your mind with the images of what you want and picture yourself already having them.
5) See yourself as you will be. Feel what you will feel. Add audio and even the things that you will smell when you reach that state. ex. the type of perfume you might wear, the sound of bankers begging to give you loans, the feel of silk upon your skin, etc…
6) Keep releasing your negative emotions and thoughts until you have what you have been wanting all these years.
7) Act upon the incredible ideas that your subconscious shares with you fearlessly.
Gaining wealth is easy. It is simply a matter of letting go of your fears and doubts and going for what you truly desire.
Tags: Lottery Winners
How to be a Successful Lottery Winner
Every lottery player has often dreamed what they would do with their winnings if they were fortunate enough to win a large jackpot. The prospect of suddenly having millions of dollars makes the most rational mind indulge in flights of fancy. All lottery players at one time or another have dreamed of expensive cars, huge mansions, luxury vacations, and all the things that a lot of money can buy.
As it turns out, for some, winning the lottery has brought nothing but broken dreams and disappointment. Most lottery winners are not adept at money management and in many instances some players find themselves in a financial mess. Take the case of William Post of Pennsylvania. In 1988 Mr. Post won $16.2 million in the Pennsylvania lottery. Mr. Post found himself the subject of lawsuits and as if that wasn’t enough his brother was arrested for trying to hire a hit man to kill him so he could inherit his new found wealth. Mr. Post also made several bad business investments and within a year found himself a million dollars in debt. Said Mr. Post, “I wish it never happened. It was totally a nightmare.” Mr. Post now finds himself living on $450 a month from Social Security and food stamps.
One of the more well known cases is that of Jack Whittacker who won a $315 million Powerball jackpot in the West Virginia lottery. Mr. Whittacker chose the cash payout option and received a check for $113.4 million after taxes. Mr. Whittacker started out with good intentions donating money to several church based charities and set up a foundation to provide food and clothing to low income West Virginia residents. A month after winning Mr. Whittacker was arrested for drunk driving. His problems spiraled out of control very quickly. Mr. Whittacker spent over $100,000 at a strip club and while at the club thieves broke into his car stealing $545,000 in cash. Thieves then broke into Mr. Whittacker’s car another time stealing $200,000 in cash. None of the money in either incident was ever recovered. Mr. Whittacker was the target of numerous lawsuits most of which were settled out of court.
After winning the lottery jackpot, Mr. Whittacker’s life quickly spiraled out of control. He became the subject of numerous lawsuits and thieves emptied his bank accounts. For example, Mr. Whittacker was sued by an Atlantic City casino for gambling debts and was sued for wrongful death in the case of a drug overdose that occurred at his home. Mr. Whittacker has stated that he wishes he had never bought that fatal lottery ticket.
Many who win the various lotteries are not sophisticated when it comes to finances and find themselves in financial trouble fairly quickly. Says Susan Bradley author of the book Sudden Money: Managing a Financial Windfall, “People who are not used to having money are fragile and vulnerable, and there are plenty of people out there who are willing to prey on that vulnerability - even friends and family.”
Winning the lottery need not be all doom and gloom. There have been some winners who have managed their new found wealth well and many have managed to invest their winnings in such a way that they and their families will be secure for generations. Brad Duke, who took an $85 million dollar payout after winning a $220 million dollar Powerball jackpot in 2005, is an example of a winner who has used his new fortune to provide for his family’s long term security. Instead of immediately spending his winnings Mr. Duke quickly assembled a team of financial advisors with the goal of becoming a billionaire in mind. Here is how Mr. Duke has spent his money so far.
$35 million: Aggressive investments like oil and gas and real estate $1.3 million: A family foundation $63,000: A trip to Tahiti with 17 friends $125,000: Mortgage retired on his 1,400 square-foot house $18,000: Student-loan repayment $65,000: New bicycles, including a $12,000 BMC road bike $14,500: A used black VW Jetta $12,000: Annual gift to each family member
Obviously Mr. Duke has not indulged in the frivolous spending that seems to be the hallmark of many lottery winners. He has carefully planned his investments with long term goals in mind.
These examples represent different reactions to sudden wealth. Most of us have at some time or another fantasized about winning the Powerball or the Mega Million and what we would do with all that money. Some of us see winning the lottery as a chance to indulge is pleasures and luxuries, while others see it as an opportunity for long term security for ourselves and our families. The question is, if you were to win the lottery, which would you choose?
You may now increase your chances of achieving your dream by playing several state lotteries online from the comfort of your own home. Simply log onto your official state website. These sites explain how to purchase tickets, and often times tickets can be purchased online so you can play most state lotteries from the comfort of your own home. You can also refer to official state websites for custom lottery news. Many sites offer lottery number generators to help make your lottery number picking easier for you. If you would like to purchase your tickets in person, you can also visit a local lottery terminal. You can also log onto Lucky Lotto for all your lottery needs. This site offers the player the opportunity to play most state lotteries from the comfort of their own home. Make sure to visit LuckyLotto for all of your custom lottery news and check out our new LuckyLotto lucky lottery number generator! No matter how you choose to purchase your tickets, or which tickets you choose to buy, you’re bound to have some fun!
Tags: Lottery Winners, Pennsylvania Lottery, West Virginia Lottery