If you could win the lottery, would you want too?

[Timber Loftis]

Originally posted by Rokenn: Actually just last week the winner of an $87 million dollar jackpot here in California said if she can find were she put the ticket she is going to give the money to charity.

The italicized portion tells me she's just scheming to try to get some of the money when she has no proof she's won.

[ 02-03-2003, 04:18 PM: Message edited by: Timber Loftis ]

[Animal]

Originally posted by Rokenn: quote: Originally posted by Animal: I don't think there's anyone who would say they wouldn't want to win the lottery. I get a kick out of the people who say that it wouldn't change their lives, and they'd continue to work at the same job, etc, etc... That's complete crap. Money would change your life whether you wanted it to or not, it's the nature of the beast.

Actually just last week the winner of an $87 million dollar jackpot here in California said if she can find were she put the ticket she is going to give the money to charity.[/QUOTE]Bit it's a whole other card game when you've actually got the money right in front of you.

$87 million dollars!
You hand someone $87 million dollars, and charity is the last thing on their mind, as is a job. The only thing they'll be thinking of is how much better that money is going to make their lives, and what they can buy.
Like I said, it's the nature of the beast. It's something we've all dreamed about at one point, being rich, but most of us never will be.
The temptation of something so elite would overcome any other ideas, me thinks.

[NiceWorg]

Actually just last week the winner of an $87 million dollar jackpot here in California said if she can find were she put the ticket she is going to give the money to charity.

OMG! I would go insane if I´d lost the winning ticket! I would turn the whole house upside down panicked with tears in my eyes. Talk about the real nature of the beast. We know that money can make our lives easier, so we seek after it.

[arion windrider]

if i won the lotto.. i would take care of bills,buy a house for me and then for my lil sis.take a nice vacation, somewhere outside the u.s. and then invest it...

[Rokenn]

Originally posted by NiceWorg: quote: Actually just last week the winner of an $87 million dollar jackpot here in California said if she can find were she put the ticket she is going to give the money to charity.

OMG! I would go insane if I´d lost the winning ticket! I would turn the whole house upside down panicked with tears in my eyes. Talk about the real nature of the beast. We know that money can make our lives easier, so we seek after it.[/QUOTE]hehe, at the news conference her husband look mightly PO'd.

Of course this all begs the question. If she did not want the money in the first place why did she even buy a ticket!

[Sazerac]

Believe it or not, my answer is "no." I may joke about wishing to win a lottery, but that's only because I know there's a greater chance of getting struck by lightning. I've heard of many people who have had to move, change their names/identities, or at least their phone numbers to get away from everyone who was after them for their money.

I want just enough money to be happy and not so much that it's more trouble than it's worth.

-Saz

[Animal]

Originally posted by Sazerac: Believe it or not, my answer is "no." I may joke about wishing to win a lottery, but that's only because I know there's a greater chance of getting struck by lightning. I've heard of many people who have had to move, change their names/identities, or at least their phone numbers to get away from everyone who was after them for their money. I want just enough money to be happy and not so much that it's more trouble than it's worth. -Saz

But to play Devils Advocate, at what point does enough become enough?
I find it hard to believe that if someone walked up to you tomorrow and said, "Heh Saz, here's $87 million dollars, have fun!" that you'd respond with a "No thanks, quite allright."
If so, then you're a bigger man than most.

[Sir Krustin]

Saz is quite right, there's a book out there (can't remember the name) that pursues the lives of a dozen lottery winners worldwide. There wasn't a single happy story among them.

One guy was totally miserable. His entire family wasn't speaking to him; he gave them all money and every single one of them figured he didn't give them enough!

Then there's the girl who was single and won $25 million...her phone rang off the hook for weeks by potential suitors...

My favourite story, though, is the one about the blue collar man that won a fortune and bought his favourite pub and a limo. He'd drink himself unconcious every day, and have the limo drive him home. Within a year, he was dead.

[VulcanRider]

Originally posted by Sir Krustin: Saz is quite right, there's a book out there (can't remember the name) that pursues the lives of a dozen lottery winners worldwide. There wasn't a single happy story among them.

Since there are obviously a whole lot more than 12 lottery winners in the world, it sounds like they deliberately picked the worst stories they could find just to skew the story...

One guy was totally miserable. His entire family wasn't speaking to him; he gave them all money and every single one of them figured he didn't give them enough!

My brother-in-law has family like that. No matter how much he gives, and he's not rich, it ain't enough. With relatives like that, I'd be happier if they did stop talking to me...

Then there's the girl who was single and won $25 million...her phone rang off the hook for weeks by potential suitors...

I can solve that problem with 2 words: UNLISTED PHONE.

My favourite story, though, is the one about the blue collar man that won a fortune and bought his favourite pub and a limo. He'd drink himself unconcious every day, and have the limo drive him home. Within a year, he was dead.

I'd say he got exactly what he wanted--just a little quicker than he'd planned.

With a little planning & foresight, I don't see how anyone could be worse off with money dumped in their lap. If you win a substantial amount, a good financial advisor (check references before you hire!) can guarantee you won't go broke in your lifetime. With the need for providing food/shelter/clothing/etc for yourself & your family taken away, that's a lot of stress out of your life. No more putting up with a job you hate 'cause you need the paycheck, or deciding between necessities (like seniors choosing between medication & groceries). Better health care isn't just a dream anymore. Granted, some conditions don't have cures, but access to better treatment & doctors is going to improve your quality of life.

Edit:

Cerek the Barbaric wrote: It is a statistical fact that most lottery winners have spent all of their money within 3 years. I would definitely try to overcome those odds.

Cerek, would you mind providing a source for that statistic? Or does that include ALL winners, even the ones who match 3 of 6 for a whopping $5 ?

[ 02-08-2003, 10:21 AM: Message edited by: VulcanRider ]

[Sir Krustin]

Obviously, there are a lot more than 12 lottery winners in the world. But what I understood was these people were picked at random, and he did his research from the day they won. In other words, he didn't know what the results were going to be before he started.

This isn't new for me either, I've been hearing stuff like this for years. about 15 years ago, there was a story locally about a guy on welfare that won a million. He bought the house he was renting, and lived high on the hog for a year - paid for his friends drinks, etc, etc. Within a year, he was back on welfare and lost his home.

Nevertheless, I agree with you it doesn't have to be this way. I think the root problem is a lot of these people just don't know how to handle money. Rich people get rich by learning how to manage money, and by the time they get it they know how to hold onto it. This isn't necessarily true with poor people, the ones most likely to buy into the lottery. I like to think I could do much better with a winning ticket than these people.