Any Big Winners Here?

[DrRoy]

Biggest is DW won ~$1000 at a casino about 15 years ago.

 

[f35phixer]

When I was a young test pilot back in 1996, I was good friends with one of the new engineers. We used to dabble on ETrade and talk about our wins and losses. $500 type stuff. One day he comes in and told me he won the lottery. $12M. He stayed on for 6 weeks and then quit. Before he left he showed me his brand new Land Rover.

I saw him about 12 years later somewhere around the outer banks. He had taken the 20 year payout and hadn't worked a day since he won the lottery. He and his wife seemed happy. Hopefully he saved enough to RE.

I remember him, can't remember his name thought.... You were YOUNG Back then ;-)

 

[corn18]

I remember him, can't remember his name thought.... You were YOUNG Back then ;-)

His first name was Matt. Can't remember his last name.

 

[HawkeyeNFO]

My wife won a nice Trek mountain bike back in '98 or '99. Was worth about $550 at that time.

 

[street]

Won a big screen TV playing poker one night. No money was used but the person with the most chips at 12am was the winner. There was about 10 or 12 tables of players.

Also won an iPad at a large gathering about 250 people got a ticket when we walked in, and I won the big prize of the night. Lol

The biggest lottery I won, is my life in general. I have been blessed with a great life and give thanks for that each day.

 

[yakers]

I won big when my (future) wife said yes

 

[erkevin]

Royal Flush with five quarters in. $1200

 

[Chuckanut]

Alas, I have no story of such luck.

Perhaps my lucky win was that on my first trip to Las Vegas as a young adult, I lost virtually all of the money I had brought on the first evening there. I spent the rest of the weekend sitting at the pool, ogling the gals in their bikinis. It think I drove out to Boulder Dam, also. Thank goodness the room was paid, and they still had 99¢ buffets back then.

The above experience cured my of any desire to gamble again. So, in a way I won big by not letting the gaming industry take my money.

 

[aja8888]

I'll have to say my ex wife won big when we got divorced in 1992! Me...not so much.

 

[cooch96]

The biggest thing I ever won was a $500 voucher for a kilt in a raffle at a Celtic festival. A quality kilt started at about $350 at the time. I had to ask my brother what clan we were, drive across state lines to the kilt tailor to get fitted, wait 8 months for the tartan material to be delivered from Scotland, then drive back to the tailor for pick up. I wear it to Renaissance Fairs and many other events (weddings to roller derby bouts).

I'd wear it more but kilts are uncomfortable when sitting. The pleats overlap so much you're sitting on up to 12 layers of heavy wool.

 

[aaronc879]

The State Lottery that i'm going to win tongiht is $1M annuity paid over 25 years or $600K lump sum pre tax. Which do you choose. Since i'm only 41 I think the annuity is better. I will pay way less tax and I could retire immediately. The lump sum after tax is probably less than $400K which would be difficult to retire even after adding in my current savings.

 

[oldphd]

This happened about 10-15 years ago...

One of those medium to bigger lotto prizes that hadn't been won for a few drawings... around $5-6 million, IIRC.

Day after the drawing, it's announced that there is ONE winner, and the location where it was bought, which happened to be the corner beer and wine store near my house! After a couple of days, no one had come forward. Everyone is buzzing with who it might be, thinking there's a chance we'd know them.

Then we hear from DW's nephew, that he was at work at a local old folks home, and one of the marketing managers came in from a long weekend out of town, didn't know any of this background. Subject of who might have won was all over. Guy says he had a ticket, but hadn't checked, and yes he had bought it there. He was so nervous, that he took the ticket out of wallet and handed it to my nephew who was there with another co-worker or two. They checked the numbers for him, and he had won. Said it was the most exciting thing to be able to see the numbers match, even though it was for someone else.

I asked if the guy did anything for them, buy lunch, etc. He said the guy bought his wife a new Jaguar that she'd always coveted, and brought it in to work one day and let the guys who had been in the office checking the numbers with him each take it for a drive.

He was a middle age guy with grown kids, but elected to continue working, at least for awhile. He would be retired by now any way.

 

[Music Lover]

I know a few people that won big:

- casual acquaintance at work won $4.5 million
- long time co-worker won a third of $2.2 million
- another long time co-worker's brother won $15 million

 

[splitwdw]

My sister won 1.2 million in state lottery.

 

[RobbieB]

Pops won small. Five grand to his choice of a new US made 1975 car or truck on a scratcher. Was going to get a Buick, but a VP of Ford who was a family friend said I can get you a killer deal on a Lincoln.

So pops got a fully tricked out '75 Town Car with a 460 Lincoln motor that weighed 5200 pounds. Barley fit in the garage and floated down the road. Wrote a check for twenty two hundred.

 

[Lawrencewendall]

My luck is like a bald guy who just won a comb.

 

[Koolau]

My luck is like a bald guy who just won a comb.

Reminds me of a "win" we got many years ago. We were at a national convention of DW's small business association. Sitting in a coffee shop in LVNV, waiting for the shuttle to take us to McCarran Intl. to return home, we heard our name on the PA. I went to see what it was about.

We had won a TV set (a door prize from the trade show.) Thankfully, it was a 13 inch and was still in a box. I carted it to the airport and they couldn't promise it would arrive safely, but I did check it through. When we arrived, all looked good. That's when I noticed that the TV had been shipped to LVNV from our home town!

We didn't need a TV so we gave it to the neighbors who had taken care of the kittys and the house while we were gone. Not a big winner but a good story - I guess though YMMV.

 

[rodi]

Several years ago when the power ball was huge I read a discussion on how to handle the claiming of the winnings of a HUGE pot.

- You don't have to claim right away - you have a year... so take your time.
- Legally change your name. Get ID, etc in new name. Open account in new name.
- Wear a disguise to claim the prize. You are obligated to get pictures taken - but there are no rules about disguises.
- Deposit money in new account.
- Legally change your name back, change account name back to your real name.

This allows you to collect the winnings without anyone but the taxman knowing who you are.

Apparently scam artists, 'investment advisors' etc come out of the woodwork to 'help you' handle your winnings. Friends and relatives might come looking for hand outs. Etc. By doing the name change and disguise you avoid those scenarios.

If I ever win big - I will do this. But it's unlikely to happen since I only play the lottery a few times a year.

 

[aja8888]

The more I read this thread, the more I remember....

OK, previously posted:

Won two free round trip airline tickets to London in a raffle (trip ended up costing me $5K)

Then big loss on 1992 California divorce,

Latest...

Just recalled winning a 19" TV set (before flat screens) about 15 years ago - a co worker's high school fundraising son sold me a ticket for $10.

 

[jollystomper]

I now remember (hey, I'm old ) seeing an interesting big win. I was a presenter at a tech conference at a large hotel in Las Vegas in the early 2000s, one of those with several concurrent sessions. At my particular session, hotel security came in to politely interrupt me and ask if a particular person was in this session. He happened to be in my session, and they asked him to please come with them. Of course, we were all worried that some personal tragedy may have happened. A couple of his friends from the same company followed him out.

We later found out was that his wife, who had come with him to the conference, decided to go to the hotel casino while he was attending sessions and hit some large jackpot on some game, over $500K. She was so shocked and nervous that she almost passed out, and begged them to get her husband.I believe he and his wife left the conference and hotel that day to return home.

 

[KCGeezer]

Let’s see,

Largest percentage win, $3 bet won $750 at dogtrack 30+ years ago

Most fun, went to the Kentucky Derby, bet 2 full days of races, and only cost me a total of $6.

DW and a comfortable ER has to be the biggest though.

 

[Music Lover]

Apparently scam artists, 'investment advisors' etc come out of the woodwork to 'help you' handle your winnings. Friends and relatives might come looking for hand outs. Etc.

The woman I worked with whose brother won $15 million had a lineup of people looking for handouts, and some of them were angry when they were told to get lost. They changed their phone number within a week.

 

[Scrapr]

I won a radio with a CD player on top. Big like the boom boxes you put on your shoulder (BITD). I still have it. i did not declare on my income tax.

you know the saying: You can't win if you don't play? That's me

 

[RetireBy90]

Won a World Series pool in78, there was a payout for every inning of each game, so my $100 winnings seemed like a lot then. Took girlfriend to a fancy dinner, was supposed to be part of the winnings but I ended up with a check for $125.
She married me next Feb.

 

[bolt]

My life experinces added up to my mindset of public/private lottos & such are all rigged sometimes, someway & somehow.
Then, I found out the woman who lived next door to my parents worked there. Then News outlets claimed her daughter, son, and DILaw supposedly all hit big numbers.
The DIL collected hers under her maiden name.
There was no final news 20yrs back.

A number of her family worked for state lottos for 40yrs., this reinforced my thinking.

Me, no, other than born healthy.
I've heard of some big winners though.
Good luck & Best wishes.....