I saw that story on the Internet and included it in one of my post.  I guess it's better for lottery winners to just collect their money and say nothing or as little as possible.

This family is going to learn the hard way, that keeping their mouth's shut and going on with their lives is the best thing to do.  They are amatuers and need to stay out of the media attention.  The media loves a news story, and then they love eating the story elements/people and spitting them out! 

Two groups you don't want on your front lawn.  The News Media and The United States Government.

Why would the winners of a $340,000,000 jackpot have to lower themselves to trying to hustle freebies for an interview? Something about that just doesn't ring true to me. With time, I think the Wests and Chaneys will learn to keep their words and actions more and more private. There's nothing positive that the media can do for them.

aye'

Ayenowital-

I am with you.  This is a sad indictment for a group that has come into that amount of money.  To lower yourself to inquire about freebies says a lot about a persons values. 

Buy your own damn plane, your own studio for that matter if you love the spotlight so. 

We are all going to forget Jack Whitaker shortly.  This is the group that can't shoot straight, the keystone cops, the list goes on. 

The only 'interview' I would do is the initial press conference and move on from there. I would be in Vegas blowing some of the $$  by now..........

What do they have to offer that is so compelling to warrant an interview on the networks ? They had the lucky ticket. After that, who cares ? 

Here is what it will be like---

Katie: How did you win this ?

The Wests and Chaney's: We bought a quick pick

Katie: Is this going to change your lives?

The Wests and Chaney's : No, we will still have a $20 limit on Christmas gifts.

Katie: Are you enjoying New York ?

The Wests and Chaney's ? Not really....too fast for us..

Katie: OK folks, thanks for playing our little game.....back to you Matt....

Matt, are you awake ???

lololololololololo

You go after freebies, because that is what all people with money do.  Remember, celebrities never go any where without a reward involved.  Tom Cruise is worth 10 times what these people won, and he doesn't cross the street without reimbursement.  His promotion budget for War of the Words was $10 million; thats money in his pocket.  The CMA's are tomorrow, every single presenter gets paid to be there - and a goodie bag worth thousands of dollars. 

These people should fly to NYC and give free interviews, when those benefiting from the interview are making money and publicity on it?  No way.  The networks want you for rating purposes, and ratings means money in pocket of every one associated with the network.  Two months ag, the networks couldn't have cared less if these people died in a freeway accident.  Now they should pay a portion of their profits from the interview.

I win, and every conversation would have a price.  Just like Clinton, Oprah, and the rest of them.  You don't get to keep money by giving away opportunities to make more.

Actually, my point was that I don't believe the winners made any such demands, but who really knows?

I've watched a number of interviews with lottery jackpot winners and they've all been rather boring. What's to be said? They got lucky. They won a huge amount of money. Now, they can buy most anything they want. They either keep on working or they don't work any more. That's pretty much the long and short of it. I wouldn't do anything to draw any added attention to myself.

aye'

Chewie-

The Clinton's, Oprah, Tom Cruise - these people are not.  They are veterans and part of the entertainment world.  Beauty is in the eye of the beholder, people who are average working class people that want to play that entertainment game, they have to deal with the upside and the downside of playing. 

$114,000,000 I can create my own world and the rules that govern it. 

From delS: The Clinton's, Oprah, Tom Cruise - these people are not.

Thank God for that.  I think the world can only take one of each of those people!

lolololololo

If the winner is not going to collect under an anonymous trust, probably the best thing to do is submit to one print interview, be as boring as possible and end it there. But what is the purpose of most interviews with the rich and famous?  Usually they are hustling a book, movie, CD, their brand name a la Trump or Martha Stewart or some type of money making product.  No one except a lottery winner does interviews where the main question is how it feels to have all that money. A lottery winner already has all the money they will ever get, and there is no real gain for them to do an interview except the thrill of being on TV, but they can look dumb because of their nervousness and inexperience. They have no need to advertise themselves unless they want to attract more kooks than they already get.   

The boring winners are the smart ones.

In New Jersey one must appear at a news conference.  The less one actually says at such a conference the better.

We had some people in this area win $213 million (annuity) in Powerball.  We never hear anything about them.  So much the better for them.