Friends Of People Who Won The Lottery Describe What Happened After They Got The Money
Most of us have had one of those fantasies about all the magical things we would do if we won the lottery, like starting an antique car collection, buying a mansion, or even more humbly paying off their or their family's debt.
But most of us have limited knowledge about what it's actually like to win the lottery or what their lives look like after winning.
Redditor RivalxGames asked:
"Have you ever actually met or known someone who has won the lottery? What happened to them?"
Cottage Core
"Friends of ours won 30 million dollars. They took a group of us on vacation. Then they bought a cottage and built a house."
"Not much really changed. They are doing great."
- Blondefarmgirl
Responsible Purchases
"My MIL (Mother-in-Law) won $33k on a scratch-off. She paid off some debt and got new windows installed on her house. The new windows in an 1890s farmhouse are amazing, don't think I've seen a happier woman!"
- CaseyBoogies
Spending Where It Matters
"I knew a welder who won a 30 million jackpot."
"He retired, bought two Ford GTs, and spends his time doing yard work, playing low-stakes poker tournaments, and raising his two young kids."
"His wife bought a crib from me used for their second child."
- PigStickerOnStone
Two Kinds of People
"I've known two people who won, actually."
"One was a friend of mine in high school who won $15k on a scratch-and-win. She rented a house downtown and threw a party."
"Somebody said I should stop by and check in on her, because they'd been down to the party and hardly recognized anybody."
"Sure enough, I got there, my friend met me at the door, put waaay too much money in my hands, and told me to go get a bottle of wine. She just partied with whoever was around until it was gone, which took about three weeks."
"Next was a friend of mine from Toronto who is mostly known for doing zombie walks. She won a 'cash for life' dealio and I think it's around ten thousand a month. She bought a theremin and started making 50s-style monster movies and is generally living a high-rolling rockabilly lifestyle."
- greihund
It's All About the Goats
"My neighbor won the lottery in his sixties, it was something like 1.2 million in the late '90s. We lived in a trailer park in a rural part of the US, a pretty low-cost-of-living area so the money stretched pretty far."
"He bought his trailer and land outright with the money and pretty much just spent every day drinking on his porch and yelling at his goats."
"If I remember correctly, he used a good chunk of what he won to put his son and grandkids through college. Died of liver failure at 85 or something. Not a terrible way to do it, all said and done."
- Kahazzarran
Oh, the Irony
"A neighbor won a few million, built an old folks home, named it after his mother, and she refused to live there."
- pascontent
People Letting Their True Colors Show
"Someone got 30k or something. Not too much, not too less. She got a lot of hate for not 'sharing her riches' whatever the f**k that means."
- Eveleyn
Family Matters
"I did see news footage before of someone in the US, I believe, who won a huge amount but somehow they worked it out that they could wear a 'Scream' mask or some sort of Halloween mask to the check pick up and photo session. And I can't blame that person at all."
"My favorite was I saw a legit story about an older woman who lived in a trailer park who won several million at least in the lottery."
"Her kids quietly moved her out of the trailer once they saw the ticket at her place and knew she won, they found her a new home in some retirement condo community that was nice with extra amenities and they packed all her stuff up for her. Whatever they didn't take from her trailer they just donated out and sold for her and sold the trailer off."
"Because they did not want her going back there after everybody found out she won all that money, especially when she was older and more likely to be manipulated with sob stories or demands."
"Some of the neighbors went on about how sad they were they never got to say goodbye and fair game, I can believe the odd one was sad. But I suspect most were sad they didn't get to see her to ask for a cut of that money or ask her if she could just help them all out."
- Dancingskeletonman86
Bragging Rights
"Technically, a kid from school's parents won a few hundred thousand. His parents were chill, and acted like they had the same money as before, but the kid was acting like a baller."
BaldEaglz1776
Romanticizing Life
"My aunt's husband won $36 million. They bought property and traveled. He liked to fish and drink and build stuff. He passed away three years ago, but he was an awesome dude."
Unable-Astronaut-677
Keeping It Simple
"I know two people who have won significant sums (well, significant for me)."
"The first guy won $100k back in the early 2000s. He and his wife agreed to split it between them. She bought a car. He slowly lost most of his half over the course of a couple of years playing in poker tournaments."
"The other people aren't friends, but I see them a few times a year. They won $61 million in 2013. They bought a home i my mom's neighborhood (lakeside property, but priced in the $200k - $500k range back in 2013, depending on which lot)."
"I'd met them several times before finding out that they were 'screw you' rich. You'd never know they were more than a regular retired couple who had enough money in the bank to take cruises and such. They are some of the most down-to-earth people I know; nice cars, but nothing fancy, etc."
- Nythoren
Blasts from the Past
"I had a patient, a hairdresser who owned her own shop, who won about 6 million. Her winnings were announced in the local newspaper."
"She consulted the right professionals, worked a plan to sell her salon, and mapped a way to retire on her winnings without a change in her lifestyle."
"But she told me that she had old boyfriends, and even guys that barely knew her in high school, who called her with some variation of, 'You know, I always loved you...'"
"She just laughed and blew them off."
- Earguy
An Epic Pizzy Party
"I worked with a guy who won like $3k/week for life on a scratch-off. He continued working for like six months before he bought a truck and went and lived the O/O life in the oil fields of North Dakota. He bought everyone pizza on his last day."
- 0100100012635
Keeping It Humble
"A friend won 1 million. They paid off their house. Saved for their kids' education and basically don’t live paycheque to paycheque anymore. Both of them still work full-time."
- hornblower_83
That Darn Pandemic
"I met a girl at a party shortly after the pandemic who won 1 million pounds. She won it about six months before the pandemic hit. Her parents are already millionaires and her dad convinced her to put more than half of it into reliable stocks."
"She also planned a huge family holiday all around Asia... Well, the pandemic hit, canceled the holiday and disintegrated all her shares."
"She said she bought a house for 200k, a new car for 20k and she has about 100k left, and still has her same job."
- TheBrazenBeast
While some of these were extravagant by everyday standards, most of them were heartwarming in how the person continued to lead a simple, if not also humble, life after winning a large cash prize.
It's a great reminder that while money can afford someone stability, that money doesn't necessarily equate with happiness.
People Speculate How They Would React If A Relative Gifted Them A Lottery Ticket That Won Big
Lottery tickets are a pretty commonplace gift for the holidays. It's an easy way to give someone something completely noncommittal and kind of fun gift, where even if they don't win, they play a little.
But what if you did win?
It's a fun, though unlikely, thought. Still, not impossible.
Do you ever just let your mind wander a little bit into the realm of what it would be like if you won fabulous riches?
Redditor clooless46 asked:
"A relative gives you a $10 scratcher for the holidays and you win a $1,000,000 prize right in front of them. What do you do?"
Here were some of those fantasies.
What COULD Happen
"OMG, I remember a People’s Court episode over a scratch off. My mom loved that show."
"Apparently two friends went grocery shopping together. First one pays then asks second one if she can borrow $1. Second one gives her a buck. Well, first one bought a scratcher and won something like $500 or $1000."
"Second one demanded the money, as it was her dollar. Ended up in front of Judge Wapner, who ruled that second one only deserves $1."
"His point to her when she protested was 'if your friend bought a Coke with that dollar, would you sue her for it?' So there’s at least a similar TV court precedent, lol!"-LaLionneEcossaise
Hi-Ho The Glamorous Life
"It actually happened to a friend of mine. Gave his dad a scratch ticket for his birthday, and he scratched it like you do, and honest-to-f**k, he won $1,000,000."
"The son had posted a video, it was with a pre-iPhone camera phone (kids, they were terrible). He went to check it at the store just to confirm and it was like watching someone have an out of body experience."
"Generally, he’s relatively reserved. But watching him go and check it was completely different. He was screaming, having panic attacks, including hard time breathing. He couldn’t contain himself. It was pretty cool to watch."
"They came from lower/middle class, they bought a nice sized house, and gave the son a sizeable amount. I don’t know exact numbers, but he got a nice vehicle, and a few other nice things. It was quite the story."-four4youglencoco
-Shrug-
"Laugh. There isn't much to do."
"Like they give you a scratcher in hope for you to win, and if you win, then both parties should be happy, otherwise you shouldn't buy a scratcher for people if you don't want them to win."-MorrowFane
It's true that too much money can really turn some people a little crazy.
Pre-Empting Part One
"Split it. Straight down the middle, no hesitation. Actually surprised the top 5 comments have 100's of upvotes all effectively saying 'f**k you, that's my money.' 1 mil is no joke, half a mil is enough to change a life."
"Better to change both of your lives and have a shared life-changing event. I'd feel guilty as fuck, and depending on the relative maybe even slightly afraid, if I gave them just 10% or even nothing."
"That sounds like some deep rooted resentment waiting to manifest. Anyway, reverse the roles, you'd feel pretty jipped if somebody you cared enough about to buy a gift for decided to keep the lot for themselves."-ediblehunt
Pre Empting Part Two
"Seems like it wouldn't be a bad idea to just ask them straight up if they expect anything. They get one shot to be generous or greedy with their answer, and you can still say no to whatever they propose if you choose to."
"My guess is no matter what you offer, your idea of fair and their idea of fair is highly likely to be different and I think it would be a rare relative that wouldn't manage to have hard feelings if they feel shorted somehow."
"You'll never convince them it's fair unless it was their idea."-MDF247
Expectations Vs. Reality
"Just to point something out immediately, they bought YOU the Scratchcard. You don't owe them anything, but common decency would dictate you should show your gratitude."
"I'd likely pay to take their family on a holiday, and pay off any debts or a mortgage they have. And maybe a car. If I bought someone a scratchcard and they won big, I wouldn't expect them to give me half their money, but I must admit that if they won a million, I'd at least would want them to pay off my 15k debt, I wouldn't want anything else."
"I bought them the Scratchcard as a gift, which I've done many times, and that gift has no strings attached."-Dangerous-Jaguar-654
Sharing Is Caring
"Of course I share with my entire family, no hesitation at all."
"Not just the person who gifted it to me. It was a gift. It became mine, win or lose. Imo, it is legally and morally my money to do with as I choose."
"I would choose to share with my family. Not out of obligation or with the gifter because of 'owing them.' I would choose to share because it is my money and that would be how I'd 'spend' it. ❤️"-4letters1name
There is a lot of pressure to immediately figure out what you are going to do with this money once you get it.
To The Vault!
"Keep my damn mouth shut and not make any promises. Get the ticket in to a safe deposit box as soon as possible. Give it a few days and decide what I want to give them."
"Some relatives would get half the after-tax amount, some would get far less and I'd enjoy watching them explode over such a slight."
"Once I've come to a decision I'd have my lawyer draw up paperwork. No handshake agreements, no verbal agreements, ink and paper!"
"Once the paperwork was drawn up, signed, and notarized I'd retrieve the ticket. Cash it, divide as agreed, and go about my day."-NS8VN
Just In Case.....
"I'm sure this will get lost in the comments... but years ago (like 2002) my boss asked me to go get him a quick pick for the lottery while I was at lunch. The lottery in my area was north of 300 mil at the time. He gave me the money to snag it for him while I was out."
"When I was going in to buy it, I had the sudden realization that the ticket I buy might win him millions and I would have literally handed that over to him. I spent about 10 minutes trying to figure out a solution to this realization and did the only thing I could think of to do."
"I purchased his ticket with quick pick as he requested (computer assisted.) I then took his ticket and went and manually played the numbers the computer picked for his ticket and purchased that for myself."
"That way if somehow he won, he'd at least be splitting it with me."
"I never told him this story and I still have lunch with him to this day every so often despite not working for him since 2004. In fact, ironically enough he called me today to wish me a late happy thanksgiving."-jackfirefish
Touching
"I work for a very large lottery operator. On my first day they gave us a tour of the facilities and there was an elderly couple there who’d won a price of approximately $10k per month for 10 years and they were there to collect."
"It was like watching two people have an out of body experience and they were waiting for someone to wake them up or something."
"Increasingly heart warming stuff when they started talking about all the really mundane stuff they were going to do with the money that they couldn’t do before. Like, fix the air con, visit their daughter interstate et."-Linkan1234
Some people have a clearer idea of what they need wealth and riches for. Some people have no idea--they just know that having it would elevate their status.
But some people could really see their lives change for the better with an influx of money. And that's why so many of us dream of things like winning the lottery.
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It feels like it would be a dream come true... "winning a lifetime supply!" That makes you feel lucky and special. It's backed up the idea there you'll never go without. It's exciting at first thought. That is until you realize you need to be specific about what you hope you get an bottomless inventory of, because unless it's money... there really is nothing else we need a lifetime supply of. But it's still a fun story.
Redditor Kelvin_Inman wanted to know about the aftermath of winning all can have for life by asking...
Redditors who won a lifetime supply of something...what is it, and are you sick of it yet?
Wrenched....
Giphy"My brother-in-law went to a contractor's trade show, and one of the guys on his crew won a lifetime supply of some kind of locking wrench."
"They gave him one - because it comes with a lifetime guarantee." Ganglebot
Kitty No Like....
"My Dad won a year's supply of cat food, but a) it was delivered in one go and b) the cat didn't like it (of course). The people at the shelter were super happy though, so it ended well!" HazelKathleen
"So i read this like you gave the food to a homeless shelter... and i was like WTH... then i thought about is and i hope it was to an animal shelter..." Hobdar
Rinse & Repeat....
"I won a life time supply of shampoo, they come in mini bottles each month and are great gifts for people who you don't like that much but you don't want to offend." reddituser9871
"If you run out of people to gift them to, I imagine a homeless shelter would love your extras." 3141592653yum
"sick of them"
"In a contest, I won a lifetime supply of high-quality coffee beans."
"(Contestants had to guess how many beans were in a large glass barrel on display.)"
"Each month, 3 pounds of my choice arrive at regular intervals. As I noted here some time ago, I give away the excess to friends and family - and no one is "sick of them" yet!" Back2Bach
Doritoed!
Giphy"My coworker has a life time supply of Doritos after Doritos truck hit her. She hated Doritos in the first place and donates her weekly/monthly amount to homeless shelters." ItsJust4Dream
Where are the buns?
"I know a family that won a lifetime supply of hotdogs. The problem was the company decided that the average person eats 3 hotdogs a day (no clue how thats the number they got).... this sounds fine at first but they didn't want to ship 90 hot dogs a month they sent the full value of 1 avg lifetime on pallets. 90/month X 12months × 82 years avg lifespan."
"88.5 THOUSAND hot dogs. In 1 shipment."
"They bought a whole extra freezer to store a bunch. But that couldn't hold all, so they ended up donating a massive amount to local churches and homeless shelters." damndingashrubbery
"so what are you going to do about this?"
"I didn't really "win" a lifetime supply of something but I still got a lifetime supply of Eskimo Pies. For Europeans or other redditors that don't know Eskimo Pies are vanilla ice cream bars coated with dark chocolate. Pretty standard freezer section at the grocery store fare."
"Anyway, about 15 years ago I bought a box of Eskimo Pies and went to eat one. And promptly cut the crap out of my lip because there was a big piece of broken glass inside it. I'm aware that this could have been a big payday for me, but i'm not real sue happy, but I still wanted something done. So I took photos, called the makers, and wrote them a letter with the pictures included basically asking "so what are you going to do about this?"
"They sent me a letter with a check for $600 and a phone number to call whenever I wanted free eskimo pies with the letter stating that if I cashed the check they are absolved of any responsibility. So whenever I want, I call and get a coupon for free of Eskimo pies. It makes for a good thing to give to coworkers and things like that." ToxicMasculinity1981
Honeycomb Kids.
"Growing up my next door neighbor won a lifetime supply of honeycomb. The company would ship them a case a month, they planned for like a family of 2 adults and 3 kids. He was the only kid in the house. They had boxes and boxes of the stuff."
"Hanging out meant you came home with a box of cereal. They moved were slow to update the move with the company and the new neighbors gave me the shipments. I thought it was great, I'm lactose intolerant and in the 80's honeycomb was one of the best cereals to eat dry. Non milk alternative were super expensive in those days." tdasnowman
People Explain Which Conspiracy Theories They Believe Are 100% True | George Takei’s Oh Myyy
Subs Away....
"My brother had a friend who won a years supply of sandwiches a local sub shop when he was in college, that guy was sick of subs by the time his year was up, but he still went there almost every day cause he was broke college student, who wasn't on a cafeteria plan." finedayredpony
Yes Swanson!
Giphy"I worked at company that was doing a promotion with Swanson that was giving away a year's supply of Swanson frozen dinners, with 365 coupons for a free meal. There was some legal reason the contest couldn't go through, so my co-worker gave me a stack of like 50 of them."
"I lived next door to a grocery store so for about a two weeks I got one every night. I started to just feel awful during the day, I was just sluggish and couldn't breath as well. I left the remaining stack of coupons sit in my junk drawer for years before I just tossed them." dougiebgood
Snap Away....
"When i was 13 or so, my dad won a Year supply of Snapple among other prizes (a Jeep, a trip to Florida, a bunch of skateboard gear, a meet and greet with Tony Hawk)"
"I remember like a booklet of vouchers, like 365 of them, and it was 6 Snapples worth a voucher or something. My mom used some coupon voodoo and bought it on sale with the vouchers and we got like 3-4 years of this crap."
"Anyways, long story short, my dad hated Snapple so he let me and my brother pick it all out. we had a garage full of the stuff. We drank a ridiculous amount of Snapple we gave it away to friends, we brought it with our lunches. We ended up throwing some away as it started to fade and taste funny."
"We pretty much got sick of it halfway through and started drinking it to get rid of it." nanaki989
Pizza! Pizza!
Giphy"I knew someone who won free pizza for a year from a chain (mind you, we live in NJ with some of the best pizza there is. No one is ordering from a chain). He bought the whole "year worth" in one shot and threw a pizza party for the kids at an underprivileged youth camp." Not_quite_a
Call the Doctor....
"My mom got a year supply of Dr. Pepper. But, it came at a price. Back in the 90s she got a Dr. Pepper from a row of vending machines right as the delivery guy was loading up the last one. There was a hunk of something when she took the first drink, but she thought it was just ice from it being freshly loaded."
"She bit down on it. It was a damn cockroach. Since the distributor saw it all go down, she got free Dr. Pepper for a year. It's been almost two decades and she still will not drink a beverage out of the original container. She has to pour it into a glass first." emmajo94
It's a Bugle.
"It wasn't a lifetime supply but my mom used to work for a charity that visited prisoners and gave them cookies and tried to start bible studies. Anyways, a Frito-Lays distributor several pallets of Bugles to the cause. We didn't have anywhere to put them so they loose boxes just kind of spread through the house."
"She'd wrap them at Christmas (3 years, maybe 4) so they'd look like decor. She did the math and realized that the prisoners weren't going to eat them all before they expired. They were ours as well now."
"She refused to buy any other chips and after a while, any other snacks. We'd get pumped when she bought crackers for a recipe because we knew she couldn't keep us from getting to the leftover crackers. She sent several cases to my sister's when she was at college."
"When my brother moved not only did he get several cases whether he wanted them or not, he packed a lot of his thing in bugle boxes. She cooked with them. We had walking tacos instead of regular tacos. The PRISONERS were complaining about Bugles by the time they were gone and they only got them twice a month." mike_d85
"free list suspended"
"Not lifetime supply, but my mom left her job managing a cinema, and got an unlimited 2 year free pass 2 tickets per visit."
"Close to the end of the two years we lost the pass and reported it lost, and they replaced it with a brand new 2 year pass. so almost 4 years of cinema for free."
"Never got sick of it and love going to the cinema still."
"FYI: If you ever see "free list suspended" on a movie, it means you can't use these type of passes." thundercats88
Sugar Free....
Giphy"My Aunt won a year's supply of Diet Coke. It was 365 cans on a mini palette delivered to her home. It didn't last nearly a year. She has three kids and would share with family and friends. I think it lasted a few months tops." NucularRobit
Chewitt's!
"My mom won a years supply of Chewitt's when me and my brother were kids and we basically had this massive brown box filled with outers of Chewitt's dropped off at our house. We were taking packets of them into school for weeks just trying to get rid of them! FYI this was second prize, she had wanted the first prize of a new tv." emma_sometimes
Rented.
"I won a year's worth of free video rentals a long time ago. Basically they gave me a card that allowed me to get one per week for a year. If I didn't get one that week I lost it. I did get rentals most weeks, but forgot once in a while. I think it was good for new releases, which was cool. Unfortunately I moved a few months before the year was up, so I gave the card to my ex MIL (current MIL at the time). I was super poor so it was nice while it lasted." PM_ME_VEGAN_STUFF
2160....
Giphy"I was given a few cases of Reese's Peanut Butter Cups. (we didn't win them... they were just given to us by a store manager)"
"2160 Reese's Cups."
"It took us months to get through them all, even after giving a lot of them away. I didn't eat Reese's anything for at least 15 years after that." Spritzertog
Wan On, Wax Off....
"I remember a comedy bit from a long time ago, but I don't remember who it was. It was about game shows at the time that would give as a consolation prize a year's supply of Turtle Wax. "What does a year's supply of Turtle Wax even look like? I have half a bottle of Turtle Wax in my garage... it used to belong to my father." tfurrows
Winning isn't everything but free stuff is pretty great.
Do you have similar experiences to share? Let us know in the comments below.
Woman's BF Wins Lottery And Wants To Help His Ex-Girlfriend, And Current GF Worries What It May Stir Up
Redditor u/FarRush1 has a quandry. Money always leads to trouble if you're not careful. It can cause issues you've never even dreamed of. For instance.... My [24F] boyfriend [26M] won a lot of money, wants to help his ex.
There is nothing better in life than hearing the phrases... "You WON!", "Free" and "Lifetime Supply!" Hearing those sentiments can make your heart melt; no matter what the prize is.
Heck, give me a lifetime supply of Corn Flakes and I'll jump for joy. The victory of winning is a highly potent drug. If only all the times we won something money could be involved, then we'd all die happy.
One Redditor asked Anyone who won a "lifetime supply" of something, what did you win, and are they still supplying it to you?