Arizona couple won a lotta lottery grief
In Snowflake, Ariz., between the White Mountains and the Petrified Forest, 16 hectares of tomatoes grow under massive greenhouses -- the dream and downfall of one of Ontario's largest lottery winners. Parkhill mechanic Bernie Nauss won $22.5 million in 1998. But it only took him and his wife, Krista, a few years to lose one-third of their fortune trying to grow hydroponic tomatoes.The town of Snowflake, 310 kilometers northeast of Phoenix, wasn't named for its climate: In the dead of winter dayt ...
Feb 22, 2005, 8:57 am - Lottery News forum
Survey: Few lottery winners go wild
In the eight years since he won a $1-million lottery, Bill Clifford has enjoyed one aspect of being wealthy more than any other -- not having to shovel out his car on winter mornings. The Goderich man allowed himself few luxuries after winning a fundraiser for the Heart and Stroke Foundation of Ontario. He continued driving the same car he had for another five years.But he did buy a new home, something he had planned before the lottery win, a house with a garage that kept his car clear when it s ...
Feb 21, 2005, 10:30 am - Lottery News forum
Record lottery winner's wealth cost him dearly
It was coming up on Christmas, and Brenda-the-biscuit-lady was inexplicably happy as she walked to work in the predawn darkness. Brenda didn't just make biscuits over at the C L Super Serve for $6 an hour. She served up good cheer. How you doin', honey? she'd greet customers, with such enthusiasm that they had no choice but to smile back. Dad-gonnit, you are growing up on me! she'd call to schoolchildren, just to see them grin. What grade you in now? At 39, Brenda Higginbotham didn't have muc ...
Jan 31, 2005, 9:36 am - Lottery News forum
Lottery winner evaded taxes, fined $375,000
Jefferson, 71, won $12.5 million; admits to making out false invoicesThe winner of a CDN$12.5 million lottery prize who runs a benefit plan consulting firm is a little less rich today after admitting he fabricated expense claims and service invoices involving his business.Walter Jefferson, chief executive officer of Toronto-based Global Benefit Plan Consultants, pleaded guilty to five counts of income tax evasion in court this week and paid a fine of $375,000.Jefferson, 71, did not report income ...
Jan 12, 2005, 8:54 am - Lottery News forum
MITCH ALBOM: Win the big lottery, spoil the marriage
I'm sure winning the lottery is good for something. But that something obviously isn't marriage.Take the recent case of Robert Swofford, a postal worker in Florida. He had been separated from his wife for three years. That's a long time to be separated. That's longer than many marriages. You figure that much time apart, you might as well finalize it. But they never got around to it.Then Swofford won the lottery. A fat $60 million. And wouldn't you know it? Just like that, his wife served him wit ...
Jan 11, 2005, 10:51 am - Lottery News forum
Can a lottery win make you happy?
The first Euro Millions lottery draw takes place on Friday, with the prospect of multi-million pound jackpots. How do windfall winners come to grips with their newfound wealth - and does it make them happy? For the price of a newspaper and a chocolate bar, any one of us can buy into a multi-million pound dream. It is a dream that lottery operators are keen to sell to yet more of us with the launch of EuroMillions, a mega draw for the UK, France and Spain aimed at boosting our flagging interest i ...
Feb 12, 2004, 6:39 am - Lottery News forum
Investing a windfall
What to do when a pile of money is suddenly dumped into your lapI expect to receive a windfall of about $500,000. Buying a house is first on my list, but I'm not sure how to invest the rest. I'm open to real estate ventures or just about anything else, but I'm wary of the people passing themselves off as financial advisers. What do you suggest?Tammy, Statesville, N.C.It's not often that I invoke the lyrics of rapper Eminem in this column. In fact, I think I can safely say that I've never done it ...
Jan 16, 2004, 11:17 am - Lottery News forum
Winners wish they'd lain low
Anonymous veteran millionaires share drawbacks of hitting jackpotTalk to former lottery winners and they agree -- the biggest mistake Mega Millions jackpot winner Rebecca Jemison made this week was coming forward herself to claim her winnings. She's going to be hounded, said an Akron-area man who won $8 million about a decade ago.It seems keeping a low profile, if that's possible when the paparazzi are on your tail, is vitally important when you realize that the little piece of paper stuck betw ...
Jan 9, 2004, 5:47 am - Lottery News forum
Winning a big lottery not without its own cost
If Donald Trump won the $162 million Mega Millions jackpot, he could lasso the windfall like a seasoned financial cowboy, invest his winnings, and fly off to a luxurious ski trip with his playmate of the month.But what about the guy in blue jeans beaming into a news camera with an oversized lottery check?That Average Joe might want to enlist in Susan Bradley's lottery boot camp for instant millionaires. Really rich people do play the lottery, but nine out of 10 times it's someone who's more aver ...
Jan 3, 2004, 9:10 pm - Lottery News forum
Millionaire antsy
Lottery winner wants to land himself a full-time jobHe's got a million reasons to retire, but the idea of sitting back and relaxing in his plush new west-side home is driving lottery winner Donald Majore to distraction.That's why the 60-year-old former truck driver's new year's resolution is to find a new job behind the wheel - after discovering stacking supermarket shelves wasn't for him. Winning was a nice feeling but after I quit my job I went to work at the supermarket to keep fit, he said. ...
Dec 29, 2003, 5:06 am - Lottery News forum
