Who ever thought of buying a lottery ticket and trying their luck, especially in the context of the ongoing financial crisis? A couple of extra millions could easily solve money problems and become a ticket to a happy life for any ordinary person. But Fortune is an unpredictable and moody goddess. Not everyone smiles on luck: someone buys tickets often, but never wins. And someone gets millions on the first try. Who are the lucky ones who were lucky to win the largest sums?
Jack whittaker
This person is the owner of the largest lottery winnings in the States in history - as much as 315 million dollars. Moreover, Whittaker was far from being the poorest person - at the time of such a joyful event, he was president of one of the largest construction corporations. However, the day the ticket was purchased did not make Whittaker happier. Jack decided to take the winnings not in parts, but immediately as a whole. After deducting taxes, he was left with the amount almost three times less than the initial gain - only 113.4 million dollars.
As befits a respectable Christian, Whittaker transferred ten percent of this amount to a fund of charitable religious organizations. He also gave the happy ticket saleswoman a car and a house.
But on this white line in the life of Whittaker stopped. Jack has been arrested several times for drunk driving. In the summer of 2003, thieves entered his car and stole almost half a million dollars. In January 2004, he was again robbed of 200 thousand dollars. And in the same year, Whittaker was arrested - the reason was the threat to kill the manager in a bar, where he was a regular and a drinker.
And the last straw was another robbery - now Whittaker's bank accounts have already suffered. In September 2006, fake check robbers cleared all the bank accounts of the former lucky man. That was the sad end of the biggest lottery win.
Brad Duke is a smart winner
But there is an opposite story - and this is the gain of Brad Duke, who worked as a manager in Ohio. He approached the money received much more rationally. The sum of $ 85 million, which was one of the largest lottery winnings, was divided into several parts. Duke invested 45 million in securities of those companies where the risk of losses was minimal and profit was highest. He decided to invest another 35 million in companies with high risks, but oil and gas corporations with big incomes. For those 5 million that remained, Duke went with his friends to Hawaii, paid for his studies and a loan for housing.
Win Juan Rodriguez
Another of the biggest lottery wins went to a native of Colombia named Juan Rodriguez. The amount amounted to no less than 149 million dollars.
Rodriguez worked as a watchman, and the constant lack of money was the reason for the ongoing scandals with his wife. At that moment, when poor Juan had only one dollar left in his pocket, the amount of his debts was already about 44 thousand dollars. It was then that he decided to try his luck and get a lottery ticket. However, this story was overshadowed only by the fact that ten days after winning the spouse of Juan filed for divorce. In court, the ex-wife said that he “could have won more.”
Generous Vietnamese
The largest lottery win in the world, inherited by the oldest winner, amounted to 310 thousand dollars. This amount went to a 97-year-old old man from Vietnam named Nguyen Van Het. He spent almost his entire conscious life in need.No one expected the old peasant to decide to play the lottery.
He bought a happy lottery ticket with the money that his relatives gave him. Immediately after it became known that the winnings, neighbors began to gather around his house. The old man was so happy that he began to give out money to everyone. So that he was not left without money at all, the authorities had to intervene.
Retired from South Carolina
Another of the biggest lottery wins of all time went to a resident of South Carolina, Solomon Jackson. He won $ 260 million in a lottery called Powerball. The pensioner decided not to announce his plans for the future. The only thing known about the winner is that he worked all his life as an employee and retired in 2000. The amount that went to Jackson was the biggest lottery win in the history of Powerball. A pensioner bought a lucky ticket for only $ 2 at a gas station.
The Story of Ralph and Mary Stabbnis
This story is one of the grim examples when luck is followed by a streak of serious setbacks. The couple won the American lottery called Mega Millions in 2005. It was one of the largest lottery winnings held by the company - $ 208 million. The spouses preferred to take the smaller part first, which was allowed by the rules of the lottery - 125 million. The remaining amount was to be paid to them for several decades. The Stabbnises planned to pay off their debts, buy a farm, invest the money they won in keeping and raising cows, and lead the life of ordinary provincials to the end of their days.
Mary and Ralph lived together for 23 years, they had three children. Both of them immediately left their previous jobs after winning - Ralph was an ordinary worker in the mining company, and Mary received about $ 7 per hour, working as a saleswoman. However, winning did not make the couple happy. In the fall of 2006, Ralph Stabbnis was charged with attempted murder of a friend of his daughter, as well as possession of weapons. In less than two months, he died of a heart attack.
Happy combination
Another Mega Millions jackpot wasn’t so unhappy. It was divided between two winners - a resident of Washington by the name of Jim McCullard and who wished to remain an unknown resident of Aihado. $ 380 million - such in 2011 was the largest lottery win in the world. What numbers fell to these lucky ones? It was a sequence of numbers 4, 8, 15, 25, 47 and 42. Residents of the United States noticed that this series was repeated several times in episodes of the series Lost ("Lost"). In the story, they also brought the hero of the series named Hurley luck in the lottery.
The story of a poor waitress
However, most often a lottery win brings misfortune to its owner. So it was with a Las Vegas waitress named Cynthia Jay. She decided to go to the casino after work. She was not going to leave a lot of money in the machines - she had only 27 dollars in her hands. Cynthia decided to play a lottery called "One-armed bandit." Gradually lost one dollar after another and was about to leave. Suddenly, a loud sound was heard all over the casino, which notified all visitors about the jackpot winnings.
The amount that Cynthia managed to win amounted to about $ 35 million. In order to earn this money, working as a waitress, it would take her 1165 years. However, luck did not last long. Less than a few months after the win, Cynthia was in a serious car accident. The poor girl was in a wheelchair. She later stated that she would give all the money, if only to walk again and work as a waitress.
Lotteries in the USSR
In Soviet times, lotteries did not bring such misfortunes. Perhaps this was because astronomical sums did not win in them - lotteries were created mainly for the development of the economy. One of the most popular lotteries of the past was the Sprint lottery (USSR).The largest gain at that time was 10 thousand rubles. In the first four days after the launch of the lottery, 2 million tickets were sold. Their cost was 50 kopecks. or 1 ruble. It was possible to win the Volga car, which was much more interesting for Soviet lottery lovers.
Also in the era of the USSR sports lotteries were very popular - “Sportloto”, “Sportprognoz”. It is believed that these draws were the first type of bookmaking in the vastness of the USSR. The prizes that lottery ticket buyers received were often scarce goods - televisions, refrigerators, washing machines and sewing machines.