Search

Record Powerball winner's wealth may have contributed to kin's deathNews Story
Sdventeen-year-old Brandi Bragg was laid to rest on Friday, almost two years to the day after her doting grandfather came into the great wealth that some say was Brandi's misfortune.The only granddaughter of Jack Whittaker, winner of the richest undivided lottery jackpot in U.S. history, was found dead earlier this week of what may have been a drug overdose.Whittaker and others say her sudden access to vast wealth had brought new friends and dangerous habits. Since she won the lottery she had to
Dec 24, 2004, 4:37 pm - Lottery News

Details of lottery winner kin's death still sketchyNews Story
The 17-year-old granddaughter of the nation's largest lottery winner was found dead near her boyfriend's home, her body wrapped in a sheet and plastic tarp. Brandi Bragg, who lived in the nearby town of Hurricane, was last seen alive Dec. 4. She was reported missing five days later by Jack Whittaker, who won a $314.9 million jackpot on Christmas Day 2002 but has battled legal and other problems since then.The cause of death was under investigation. Authorities said there were no obvious signs o
Dec 21, 2004, 10:51 am - Lottery News

Record Powerball lottery winner's granddaughter found deadNews Story
The body of record Powerball winner Jack Whittaker's 17-year-old granddaughter was found Monday in a rural area in western West Virginia, State Police said.Brandi Bragg's body was tentatively identified based on tattoos on her neck, said State Police Sgt. Jay Powers. The troopers (at the scene) had talked to her in the past and knew her, Powers said.State Police found the body behind a junked vehicle in a grassy area on Scary Creek Road outside Scott Depot in Putnam County, across the road from
Dec 20, 2004, 5:43 pm - Lottery News

Record Powerball lottery winner's life a mess after big winNews Story
The worlds first glimpse of Jack Whittaker, winner of the richest undivided lottery jackpot in U.S. history, was of a boisterous, happy-go-lucky guy in a big cowboy hat who loved his family, work and God and promised to share his good fortune with the church and the poor.Two years later, the picture the public is seeing now is a mug shot of a haggard, somber Whittaker.Whittaker, 57, has been arrested twice on charges of drunken driving in the past year and has been ordered to go into rehab by Ja
Dec 14, 2004, 1:16 pm - Lottery News

Record Powerball Lottery Winner's Granddaughter MissingNews Story
Record Powerball winner Jack Whittaker has reported his 17-year-old granddaughter missing, police said late Thursday. Family members had not seen or heard from Brandi Lasha Bragg since 9 p.m. Saturday when she was at her Hurricane home, Putnam County Sheriff's Sgt. Lisa Arthur said. At this time we're treating this as an unusual disappearance, Arthur said. Normally someone would see her at least on a daily basis, someone in the family. Arthur said Whittaker reported Bragg missing sometime this
Dec 10, 2004, 10:01 am - Lottery News

Record Powerball lottery winner ordered into substance abuse programNews Story
A man who won a nearly $315 million Powerball lottery -- the largest single jackpot in history -- was ordered into substance abuse treatment today after his second drunken driving arrest this year.In an agreement with prosecutors, Jack Whittaker, 57, will check himself into rehab by Jan. 2, must surrender his license and may not drive until he provides written proof he's completed the 28-day residential program.Whittaker was charged with drunken driving last week, violating his $150 bond for a s
Dec 8, 2004, 1:07 pm - Lottery News

Record Powerball winner arrestedNews Story
A West Virginia man who won a record $315 million in the Powerball lottery was arrested on charges of drunken driving and carrying a pistol, authorities said.Jack Whittaker, 57, was jailed Tuesday night after his Hummer struck a concrete median near Beckley.Senior Trooper M.J. Pinardo reported that he smelled alcohol, but Whittaker refused sobriety tests and was extremely belligerent. Troopers also said he was carrying a small pistol in a boot and $117,000 in cash.He was released after he was
Dec 6, 2004, 8:01 am - Lottery News

California lottery winner shot to death in SeattleNews Story
A man shot to death by police outside Qwest Field in the wee hours before the St. Louis Rams-Seattle Seahawks game has been identified by his family as a California lottery winner.Relatives also disputed police accounts of the death of Rick Camat, 32, who was shot by an officer as dozens of people fled to avoid gunfire and fighting outside a Pioneer Square bar early Sunday.Camat, one of 13 Starbucks employees in Los Angeles who split an $87 million jackpot in 2000, fired into the air to try to b
Oct 13, 2004, 8:40 am - Lottery News

You've won the lottery! Now what?News Story
Believe it or not, jackpot winners face both a pile of cash and a mountain of problematic decisions. Here's a practical to-do list. Keep it handy for the next time you strike it rich.Hitting the jackpot may be a fantasy, but what's the harm in dreaming? Here's some realistic advice on what to do if those numbers prove to be magic.It's after 11 p.m. on Saturday night, a night like any other Saturday night. You're ready for bed and yelling at the dog to get out of the garbage. With little enthusia
Oct 7, 2004, 8:59 am - Lottery News

Powerball jackpot winner diesNews Story
Melvin Rhodes who won a big Powerball lottery jackpot four years ago has died in Maryville, Tennessee at 78.Rhodes was a part-time biscuit maker at a McDonald's in Clinton, Tennessee in April 2000 when he won the $80 million dollar jackpot on a ticket he bought in Kentucky.He lived his latter years in a mountaintop home overlooking Norris Lake.Melvin's son, Michael Rhodes, remembers the day of the big win. He come out there and said he'd won and I said, 'You're crazy, dad. You better go and che
Sep 29, 2004, 9:09 am - Lottery News