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Jul 29, 2022 · Ahead of huge Mega Millions drawing, how these lottery winners became big losers. By. Michael Kaplan. Published July 29, 2022. Updated July 30, 2022, 3:32 p.m. ET. 0 seconds of 2 minutes,...
- 2 min
- Michael Kaplan
- Lara and Roger Griffiths bought their dream home — and then life fell apart. Before they won a $2.76 million lottery jackpot in 2005, Lara and Roger Griffiths, of England, reportedly never argued.
- Bud Post lost $16.2 million within a nightmarish year after his own brother allegedly put out a hit on him. William "Bud" Post won $16.2 million in the Pennsylvania lottery in 1988, but he was $1 million in debt within a year.
- Martyn and Kay Tott won a $5 million jackpot but lost the ticket. Martyn Tott, 33, and his 24-year-old wife Kay, from the UK, missed out on a $5 million lottery fortune after losing their ticket.
- Sharon Tirabassi won $10 million but eventually returned to her old life. In 2004, Sharon Tirabassi, a single mother who had been on welfare, cashed a check from the Ontario Lottery and Gaming Corp.
- From Winner to Robber
- With Friends Like this...
- The Cookie Crumbles
- A Modest End For A Record Winner
- The Man Who Wanted A High-Flying Lifestyle
- A Christmas Gift They'd Like to Return
- Devilish Payouts
- The Wig Seller's Fall
- A Hard Lesson in Sharing
- The Broken Borrower
James Hayes was working as an overnight security guard in 1998 when he won $19 million playing California's SuperLotto game. But he quickly went from winner to loser: His ex-wife reportedly took half the jackpot money, and Hayes developed a heroin habit costing him $1,000 a week. Authorities say he resorted to robbing banksto keep up his lifestyle....
Jay Sommers was just 20 years old in 1988 when he became one of five winners sharing a $28.9 million lottery in Michigan. A professional race car driver, Sommers blew through his first annual installment of $290,000 buying five luxury cars. He couldn't keep up with his taxes and asked a business-savvy friend to help him manage his money. The "frien...
Another young winner, a British trash collector named Michael Carroll, was 19 when he bagged a lottery prize worth $14.4 million in 2002. He went a bit crazy: moved into a mansion, bought gold jewelry and got addicted to drugs and alcohol. He found himself in prison a couple of times, and the prize money was gone within 10 years. Carroll took a job...
In 1981, Lou Eisenberg's $5 million lottery win was the biggest ever seen up to that time. The New Yorker was able to retire early from his handyman job installing lightbulbs, and he started following through on nearly every suggestion from friends and family on how to spend his money. He bought a beachfront condo and traveled the world with his wi...
William "Bud" Post III struggled with money: He worked odd jobs and served time for writing bad checks. When he won $16.2 million from the Pennsylvania lottery in 1988, he thought his problems were solved. But he quickly found himself in debt. He tried to help his siblings start a restaurant and a used-car business. Post purchased a plane, though h...
Construction company owner John Whittaker had the most magical Christmas morning in 2002 when he woke to discover he had just won Powerball, making him $315 million richer overnight. A religious man, he donated $15 million to build two churches. And, he founded the John Whittaker Foundation, which sent checks to cover people’s car and house payment...
When Alex Toth won $13 million from the Florida Lottery in 1990 and opted to take the money in installments, his annual payouts were calculated at $666,666. Maybe he should have taken that as a bad omen. He and his wife Rhoda lived large, traveling a lot and meeting celebrities including Oprah Winfrey and Donald Trump. But Toth frittered away much ...
Janite Lee was was an immigrant from South Korea working in a wig shop when she won $18 million from the Illinois Lottery in 1993. She moved her family into a mansion in St. Louis and gave $1 million to the Washington University School of Law, which built a library in her name. Lee also donated to politicians, including Bill Clinton and Al Gore. By...
Thomas and Denise Rossi were married 25 years and shared everything — even their electric toothbrush. But when Denise Rossi won $1.3 million from the California Lottery in 1996, she didn't tell her husband about it and promptly filed for divorce. It turns out she had been unhappy for years, and she thought she'd found the ticket to leaving the marr...
Suzanne Mullins won $4.2 million from the Virginia Lottery in 1993 and opted to take annual payments. But when her son became ill and ran up $1 million in medical bills, Mullins found she couldn't wait for her money. She borrowed nearly $200,000 from a special foundation that helps lottery winners, and she used her prize as collateral. Mullins was ...
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- Sandra Grauschopf
- Jack Whittaker: "Since I Won the Lottery, There's No Control for Greed" Unlike many winners, Andrew "Jack" Whittaker was already wealthy when he won the largest jackpot ever awarded to a single Powerball winner.
- Curtis Sharp, Lottery's $5 Million Man. Curtis Sharp, Jr., who won a $5 million jackpot in 1982, was a dream come true for the lottery's public relations department.
- William Post III: "Nobody Realizes the Nightmares" If you had less than $3 in your bank account, would you buy a lottery ticket? While that's not a great idea, William Post, III, known to his friends as Bud, went a step further.
- Powerball Winner Willie Seeley: 'The Drama Is Nonstop' It seemed like a blessing when "Wild" Willie Seeley and 15 of his co-workers formed a lottery pool that won a big jackpot in August of 2013.
Jan 25, 2021 · Shannon Quinn. Mon, Jan 25, 2021, 6:40 PM 10 min read. These unlucky lottery winners lost all their millions. Within the span of just a few days, an unnamed lottery player in Maryland won...
Lottery Winners Go Broke Lara and Roger Griffiths spent their lottery jackpot winnings of $2.76 million in 2005 on a million-dollar house, an expensive car and luxurious trips.
Apr 8, 2024 · Ibi Roncaioli. One of the more bizarre and tragic stories of lost lottery fortune is the tale of Ibi Roncaioli, a Canadian woman who won a $5 million lottery jackpot in 1991 and died in 2003. Five years later, her husband, Dr. Joseph Roncaioli was convicted of poisoning her.
