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Winning the lottery becomes a nightmare
Old 09-14-2007, 01:48 PM   #1
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Winning the lottery becomes a nightmare

Winner reflects on nightmare lottery - CNN.com
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Old 09-14-2007, 01:53 PM   #2
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I read that and my first thought was, wow, this was a guy who should have been able to handle it, because he was already a millionaire. Just goes to show...
Reason 5 billion why I have never bought a lottery ticket. It is a really sad story. And all too often exactly what happens to these lottery winners.
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Old 09-14-2007, 01:56 PM   #3
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Yikes! What a story.....money just isn't everything even though our society thinks that having it will make our lives better. Only we can do that for ourselves.
I hope he gets to help a lot of people....this story made me sad.
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Old 09-14-2007, 02:23 PM   #4
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Well, I would like to have the opportunity to see if I could handle that kind of money. I wonder how Warren Buffett handles his situation? He drives his own car, lives in the same house he has owned for 30 years and lives pretty much a normal life.

One thing for sure, I'll never know how hard it is to lead a normal life with 90+ million in the bank.
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Old 09-14-2007, 02:27 PM   #5
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The difference with Warren Buffett is he earned it, whereas the money dropped in this guy's lap like manna from heaven. And Warren Buffett knows how to handle and invest money.
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Old 09-14-2007, 02:34 PM   #6
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If I ever won this much money, I would move to a foreign country and never, ever tell anyone.
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Old 09-14-2007, 02:48 PM   #7
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His business was already worth 17 MILLION and an additional aprox. 100mil made such a great difference?

The statistical odds against both occurrences are enormous!

It's easy to see a normal person thrust into difficulty by a big lottery win, but he was rich, by any standard, already. Obviously the fame made him a target of strangers, but his family life should have already been geared to wealth.

Fishy. Has a bull left a deposit behind?
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Old 09-14-2007, 02:52 PM   #8
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His business was already worth 17 MILLION and an additional aprox. 100mil made such a great difference?
Apparantly it did.

Just because his business was worth 17 million, doesn't mean HE was worth that much, or that he had that much.
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Old 09-14-2007, 02:55 PM   #9
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I'd like to think I could handle coming into that much money and nothing would change in my life. I'm sure the reality would be much different. I wonder how many of my friends or family members would come to me for money and never speak to me again if I didn't give it to them. Or, if I'd resent them asking and not speak to them.
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Old 09-14-2007, 03:02 PM   #10
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Sometimes the press just like to report negative stories. The guy is probably having a good time everyday. Granted he had so much tragedies I guess it pays to play.

I heard of someone who won the lottery and moved back to his home country. 2 days later, kidnapped and killed.
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Old 09-14-2007, 04:09 PM   #11
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I wonder if Warren Buffett spends more than 60 nights a year in his own bed. Probably not.
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Old 09-14-2007, 04:19 PM   #12
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Why would anyone leave a briefcase with 245K in cash and three 100k cashiers check in his car parked at a strip club's parking lot
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Old 09-14-2007, 04:26 PM   #13
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I could handle it.

Sounds like this guy/family was messed up before he won the lottery...and the money made it worse.
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Old 09-14-2007, 04:33 PM   #14
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Why would anyone leave a briefcase with 245K in cash and three 100k cashiers check in his car parked at a strip club's parking lot
Yea, take the money inside. You get a lot more attention from the girls.
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Old 09-14-2007, 05:00 PM   #15
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Poor guy. That $300mm ruined his life.

It certainly wasn't the drinking, philandering, etc...

What kinda fool carries $250k in a briefcase and leaves it in his car outside of a strip club?

Kinda makes you wonder how he made the money he made before he won the lottery.
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Old 09-14-2007, 05:30 PM   #16
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In all, Whittaker says, he's been involved in 460 legal actions since winning

Man, I could see how that would get old fast. Given that this guy says he doesn't have any friends left and his family is fallen apart, it seems like it's time to change names and move somewhere else.
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Old 09-14-2007, 05:34 PM   #17
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In all, Whittaker says, he's been involved in 460 legal actions since winning

Man, I could see how that would get old fast. Given that this guy says he doesn't have any friends left and his family is fallen apart, it seems like it's time to change names and move somewhere else.
Perhaps, but how many of the 460 were due to his numbskullery? There are many other lotto winners. I have read that some have had problems with people wanting to borrow money and such. But this guy's antics seem a little, well, dumb!
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Old 09-14-2007, 05:52 PM   #18
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I really don't see how his daughter's cancer can be blamed on winning the lottery. And there are a lot of clues here that he was not the most sensible guy to start with.
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Old 09-14-2007, 06:05 PM   #19
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AHhhh how money change people! Funny I helped my younger sister be successful in her career. Now that she is successful no more communication. Head swell up.
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Old 09-14-2007, 06:06 PM   #20
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I'm from WV and until recently JW (the lottery winner)was in the news constantly, and still is occasionally. I think it is safe to assume that most of his woes are self inflicted.
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