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.
announcedThieves will always find a way to try and part us from our money. They will never rest.
And thanks to the internet and the rise in dominance of social media, it has never been easier to be a convincing scammer.
One of the most fury inducing aspects of this issue is that half of the scams are LEGAL.
In many instances the most restitution we can get is having our case brought before a civil court.
Good luck with that.
So we only have ourselves—we have to be smarter and share intel and warnings.
Redditor F1yff wanted to hear about the ways people are still trying to fleece us all, so they asked:
"What is a legal scam that is still happening in 2022?"
This all started with Columbia House.
A curse and a plague on that house..
Damn 10 CDs!
Fees...
"'Printing' fee for digital tickets." ~ eastherbunni
"When this first became a thing, it was cheaper to just get them mailed (maybe still is). So f**k you ticketmaster, you can print and mail those to me." ~ butterflavoredsalt
GiphyREAD YOUR MAIL CAREFULLY!!
"If you’re a personal business owner, you may receive what looks to be a bill in your mail from the US Domain Authority. At first glance, you’re under the impression that you need to pay 289 dollars to renew your website domain name. HOWEVER. There is very fine print stating that you are not legally required to pay the listed amount."
"It’s actually an ad requesting you pay that amount in order to have your website listed on the US Domain Authority site. I can’t imagine how many people have been tricked by this. READ YOUR MAIL CAREFULLY!!" ~ RecentLingonberry821
Lies
"That news in America is entertainment. Can get away with saying pretty much anything and still call it 'news.'" ~ flowachild357
"It frustrates me how normal weasel words are in news cast these days and how many people cant distinguish them easily, 'new study show there may be a link between eating m&ms and your hair color!?!' Yea that also means it may not... but that doesn't get views." ~ nemgrea
FINAL NOTICE
"I recently moved and I keep getting a bunch of home warranty advertisements in the mail. Except they don’t look like ads - the envelopes say things like FINAL NOTICE and the letters are printed on pink paper. When you open them they say things like “This is your FINAL NOTICE that your opportunity to purchase a home warranty from may be expiring!” This crap is so f**ked up." ~ DramaLlamadary
Denied!
"Extended warranties, so many promises made, but when time comes for a claim, almost all are denied." ~ ggs_golf
GiphyI despise Ticketmaster.
How do we end them?!
And who are these warranty people?
I want home addresses.
Poor Martha...
"Insider trading within Congress. But if WE do it, we end up in prison." ~ vabeach23451
"Martha Stewart sold stocks and made 45k and it was called insider trading Politicians sell stocks and make millions and that’s called a free market." ~ 7212gopew22
GiphyBuy the Answers...
"Look, OP, if you want to get in on some legal scam, you have to do your own research. That's why I recommend you buy my book, What YOU Can Do To Legally Become Rich In Twelve Easy Lessons. Just 24 easy payments of $199.99 and you will have the secrets to being a millionaire unveiled right before your eyes!" ~ AAlHazred
Capacity...
"Private prisons. You're telling me that they charge the government for the beds and the taxpayers still gotta foot the bill if those beds are empty so the company running it 'doesn't lose money?' Freak you." ~ Silverback_Vanilla
"Here in Arizona in 2020 the governor announced the closing of the State prison in Florence, as a ‘cost saving measure’. It was costing the state $71/per prisoner/per day to operate."
"They’ve announced in the last week they are moving the inmates to a private prison that’s going to cost the State… $85 per prisoner per day to operate. Also, they’re guaranteeing the private prison that they’ll maintain at least 90% capacity, which is just another way of giving judges an incentive to find people guilty." ~ RobertAPetersen
Bad Apps...
"Time shares. I figured AirBnB and VRBO and all the other temp rental disrupters would have put a stop to this predatory own-little-pay-mucho cash grab which destroys local housing markets and creates wet paint ghost towns."
"But alas it persists and we have to stare at lines of cheap shacks, or soviet bloc style complexes left vacant on off seasons or occupied by flightless grey birds who only fly south because some Iowa idiot got conned in a Ramada Inn on a Tuesday looking for a free golf bag."
"Arguably these apps have created more of a problem but I figured it’d be better." ~ EatEmUpJack
WTF?
"Civil forfeiture. You're going to tell me that a cop thinks that my property might be used for illegal activity, and that cop is going to steal it from me and pad their departments bottom line? What the actual F?!" ~ MYule90
"Enough people don’t know about this. Unless you’re one of the victims it happens to, then you’re like WTF the police just robbed me." ~ bw1985
GiphyIt's a jungle out there.
The more you know!
Be aware at all times.
Want to "know" more?
Sign up for the Knowable newsletter here.
Never miss another big, odd, funny or heartbreaking moment again.