My wife keeps warning me that if we won a prize like that it would cause problems for us...I just don't see it. I think I could handle an instant, massive infusion of wealth pretty easily...and I am perfectly willing to risk it.
I came to the same conclusion as your wife eventually. IMO it's just too much money to come into suddenly like that. Obviously, few of us on this board would have a problem generating an income to live on from a sum of this magnitude but for me, the potential problems wold come from:
a) Deciding who to give money to and how much
b) Denying money to some who want it and the fallout that may come as a result
c) The feeling that this isn't really my money as I did nothing to earn it or grow it into that sum
I think that I could possibly find a way to handle a) and b). The counter-argument to b) is that it's a good opportunity to find out who your real friends are. As for c) I'm not sure if I'd ever feel as if it was really my money. If I'd earned that money from real estate deals, investing etc, it would feel like mine, but not when my only labor was to buy a lottery ticket.
Coincidentally, there's a comedy-drama series that just started on BBC television called
The Syndicate, that depicts a group of supermarket workers who form a pool to play the lottery and end up winning the jackpot between them. I've only watched the first episode (I think it's the only one that has aired so far) but it looks as if the drama of a group of working class folk who suddenly come into a lot of money is going to be thoroughly explored. You can watch it on the BBC iPlayer. If you're outside the UK, you need to go through a proxy server.
PS - My thinking on this is constantly evolving and I'm beginning to think that I could handle a sum like this. I'd be strict about the sums that I'd give to close family members. Then, I'd set aside an amount to generate my living expenses. It would be enjoyable to use the rest to donate to charities. Just the work involved in figuring out the good ones could be quite engaging.
And you'd still be able to easily afford the $44k Hassleblad camera to record the event.
Hasselblad H4D-200MS Digital Camera 70490520 B&H Photo Video
A 50MB sensor that is 4.5 x 6cm in size? I think I just drooled into my morning cup of coffee. Imagine the beautifully detailed landscapes you could shoot with that!