California and Florida winners should learn from mistakes made by Tennessee winners
Godspeed, John and Lisa Robinson of Munford, Tenn.
The 50-somethings may have been Average Joes a day ago, but not after Friday morning when they revealed themselves on national television as big time winners in this week's record-breaking lottery.
The Robinsons' decision to fly to New York City to appear on NBC's "Today" show several hours before claiming their stake in the Powerball jackpot left some lottery veterans uneasy about the couple's exposure.
"It's a good example of what not to do," said Jason Kurland, a New York attorney who has represented several jackpot winners.
"I definitely would not have recommended that — very ill-advised for a number of reasons," Karen Gerstner, a Houston attorney who has worked with 48 lottery winners, said in an email. "Now, every long-lost relative and friend will approach them with a sob story, asking for money, and all the 'financial crooks' will come after them."
The Robinsons, along with their adult daughter, Tiffany Robinson, and Memphis attorney Joe Townsend and his daughter, Eileen Townsend, appeared on the morning news show where John Robinson pulled a folded lottery ticket from his shirt pocket and told a national TV audience that he was one of three winners of Wednesday's world-record $1.6 billion Powerball jackpot.
"Shocking," said Danielle Mayoras, a Michigan estate planning attorney and co-author of the bookTrial & Heirs. "Putting it out there on the 'Today' show before you even make the claim, before you even get everything in order, was extremely surprising. It really put the lottery ticket as well as the family at risk."
To collect their riches — a lump sum of nearly $328 million after taxes — the Robinsons needed to go the lottery office in Nashville, which they did after leaving New York.
"Flying back and forth to New York when you have to submit the ticket and make the claim in Tennessee may not be the best idea," Mayoras told Yahoo News. "Whether you're carrying around a Powerball-winning ticket or not, we all know when you go to a big city there's things that can happen. People lose things, and traveling and everything else."
"Today" anchor Savannah Guthrie even seemed surprised by the Robinsons' desire to make a big splash.
"Why, though, did you decide not to go to the lottery officials yet and come to us first?" Guthrie asked during the interview.
"Well actually, it was his idea," replied John Robinson, pointing to his attorney, who was standing behind him.
Townsend, a longtime Memphis bankruptcy and divorce lawyer, explained how he enlisted his daughter, a local writer who covers the Memphis arts scene, to call NBC and get them on the "Today" show. Eileen Townsend described how she Google-searched NBC's phone number and talked her way past the switchboard.
"They were rightly a little bit suspicious," Eileen said. "We talked through it and decided to make it happen."
Townsend, wearing a suit and bright orange tie, said the Manhattan media appearance only 33 hours after the lottery drawing was his way of trying to control the Robinsons' story.
"I think the American public wants to hear from them," Townsend said on the show. "Even though they want to be private after this is over, they want to, you know, let the public know that they're the winners."
But the publicity plan appears to have backfired somewhat. Reporters raced to Munford, a bedroom community of 6,000 north of Memphis, to interview the Robinsons' friends and family.
Neighbor Mary Sue Smith told the Memphis Commerical Appeal that Lisa Robinson, 53, had called after stepping off the "Today" set to request a favor.
"They were asking us to put up some 'No trespassing' signs in their yard," Smith said.
Within hours, a handful of people had shared a 2014 family photo from Lisa Robinson's Facebook page.
"This is the family in Munford that won the Power Ball Jackpot," a woman in Mississippi wrote on Facebook. "CONGRATS TO YOU."
The City of Munford also celebrated the Robinsons' windfall with a number of posts on its Facebook page. While most residents congratulated the family, a few couldn't resist the opportunity to offer suggestions.
"So happy for you," one woman wrote in a comment. "Sorry, can't help myself — please remember Tipton County Animal Shelter can always use a helping hand. Many wonderful furbabies there."
Kurland, who has represented winners of $254 million and $336 million Powerball jackpots, said he advises his clients to scrub their social media accounts and have a plan to disappear for several days once they claim their fortunes. But John Robinson, a warehouse supervisor, and Lisa Robinson, who works at a doctor's office, both said they planned to be at their jobs Monday morning.
"The rest of your life, people are going to be looking for handouts and asking questions and trying to hit you up for charities and investment opportunities," Kurland told Yahoo News. "I think it's going to hit them hard when they realize how famous, at least for 15 minutes, they've now become, when they could have controlled that a little bit more."
The Robinsons, who made it back to Tennessee to submit their winning ticket Friday afternoon, could have taken up to six months to redeem their prize. Tennessee Lottery rules also permit jackpots to be claimed in the name of a trust for more privacy.
"The short time between the day you win and the day you claim is your last chance at any normalcy," said Kurland, who offers a checklist of first steps on TheLotteryLawyer.com. "So you're better off sitting back and thinking about what you want to do, how to properly effectuate your estate planning, rather than parading around on the 'Today' show."
At a press conference Friday afternoon in Nashville, John Robinson, a warehouse supervisor, and his wife, who works at a doctor's office, said they hoped the family could now enjoy their good fortune in peace.
"We're common people," John, 58, said. "We're just like y'all are."
"... and ask that our privacy is respected," Lisa added.
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How do you expect to request privacy and the first thing you do is go to the TODAY show and now every Tom, Dick and Harry knows where you live?? The vultures will be out in no time! Remains to be seen but they absolutely made a mistake going to the media. At the end of the day it's their choice to make.
Honestly,I do not see anything wrong with Tennesse Jackpot winners!
They wanted to use the opportunity to be well known people in the globe.They knew the whole World was asking one question "Who are the most luckiest People on earth?"
Amateurs. Uninformed amateurs. We may witness the next Jack Whitaker/Billie Bob Harrell.
They honestly think they are going to be able to keep their jobs?! Look at what happened to Brad Duke; and he didn't win nearly as much money as they did.
Good luck to these people. They may want to consider getting a different attorney. Lol.
I agree, broadcasting this to the world may only bring heartache and misery. Money doesn't really buy you happiness, rather buys you freedom. That freedom may be unnecessary hampered.
Oi! They need to dump that attorney asap and get some real advice. Call up WE or Caprock or one of the other no-commission, non-bank affiliated, non-investment house affiliated Family Office firms. You are in the big leagues now folks, you don't want to use the lawyer that helped with Nana's will or the one that you used to sue the doctor that screwed up the operation on your crotch. You need a senior partner in one of the big top nationwide firms.
And I get that going to work is what you've always done but really it isn't worth your time anymore. Ultra conservatively invested you both essentially have a $1700/hour job forever. And reasonably invested there is no reason you can't bring in 2x or 3x that amount. Is your time better spent planning, educating yourself, and executing that or spending your day at whatever $20-25/hour job you had before you won? I know this country fetishizes the idea of lazy good for nothing rich people who only exist to be taxed but properly running a fortune the size of the one you now have is more then enough work for a person. And it can be very good, emotionally rewarding work at that.
Personally I'd love to create jobs for all my friends and family. Sure I'd be out to make more money but if I could do that while at the same time providing good jobs with great pay and benefits to folks I know I'd find that very rewarding.
A cry for attention from Them and the CEO of Tn,,she wants all she can get.If all of the US knew what she was doing to Tn people she wouldnt be very liked at all.She is hated here.She is a crook and scamming bad person.
The Uninformed should at least have a GOOD ATTORNEY.
Yikes! That whole situation sounds like a disaster.
Attorney gave them some bad advice. How soon before Joe Townsend and his daughter Eileen end up with most of the Robinson's money?
What lawyer never heard of claiming a huge lottery win thru a trust? They need to fire him and get another lawyer with common sense. They need to move and get unlisted numbers. They can forget privacy, normalcy after announcing to the world they just won the lottery.
What's up with that lawyer anyway?
These people hired a lawyer and followed his advice which proves even if you hire a lawyer you still have to do some of the thinking yourself.
Their attorney is nuts
NOT the way to stay out of the "limelight"
In Pennsylvania they will still publish your name if you use a trust to claim your prize!
IDK about TN ............
Easy to see their attorney's motivation $$$$$$$ Cha Ching!
He's in every picture I've seen, smiling like HE won the PB lol He ain't looking out for them, that's for certain.
Like the Cheshire Cat...
Lol, that's a puurfect analogy
Since they appear to be so kind, I wonder how many charities will come knocking soon?
Reminds me of the movie "The Jerk" when Steve Martin is handing out cash to all the crazy charities. "Cat Juggling, I heard about this. How much do you want?" ha ha.
In the end...."All I need, this ashtray, this paddle ball, the remote control and this lamp, that's all I need"
"Someone is shooting all the oil cans!! They hate oil cans!!
Something weird about all this ...
I'm sorry but you are very wrong.
You just win the lottery or in this case the most publicized Jackpot ever in history.
And your first instinct is to go to the Today show? And not claim your prize?
Not only are the prize winners idiots, but so is their attorney and the attorney's daughter.
If you watch the video, the hosts of the Today Show (who are puzzled) make it clear that the winners went to great lenghts to contact the Today Show.
AND what kind of attorney gets their daughter involved in a client's legal business?
The Today show clip I saw had the female host saying 'ya know I have relatives in Tennessee, I could be your cousin!'
So even the Today show HOST was trying to hit them up for money!!!!
She was just making a joke. You should watch the entire video and "read between the lines". The folks at Today think these people are idiots too.
you kinda missed the point, even someplace they 'trusted' joked about hitting them up for money. Imagine what professionals will do to them?
Yes, I get you. That's what she was trying to tell them.
If my lawyer gave me that advice I would have FIRED him on the spot. BIG mistake folks I'm glad for them but something tells me we haven't heard the last of these folks.!
No Doubt! The lottery curse hits big time.
The winners should take up to six months or a year before getting the ticket validated.
Jason Kurland, The Lottery Lawyer, can be found on You Tube.
The winners should interview at least three lawyers. The first one will seem to be the best fit but go ahead and interview two more. Or more than three.
I have posted on many past topics about hiring legal, financial, health counselors. You have the money now. Try to be smart about your new life.
www.lotterypost.com and www.usamega.com should be a daily read for lottery winners.
I just read about a past lottery winner of $112 mil who recently declared bankruptcy. She split the jackpot with her Dad and brother but was living like she had the whole amount to spend. Sad, very sad.
Hopefully when the other 2 winners come forward these people will drop from the limelight.
And everyone can leave them alone and let them enjoy their winnings.
That is exactly what will happen, too. Congratulations to the family, but people will not care or remember them in a couple of months anyway. Only the folks who are after their money will care and that was gonna happen anyway. Live and let live is my opinion on this one.
Could it be that the lawyer gave this advice in order to get publicity for himself?
That's what I'm thinking. But anyone with common sense will steer clear of this attorney
Yeah. You're talking about Cynthia Stafford. I thought she'd be smart with the money because she seemed to have a good head on her shoulders. I feel sorry for the kids.
After the bad move they made, I doubt they will fade anytime soon as potential 'targets' to everyone with an outstretched hand. No, I think they will be hounded for a very long time.
The other two winners will probably make their claims through layers of trusts and/or LLCs. It has only been 3 days, but I hope they are getting their ducks in a row before making their claims.
I read somewhere that if your State requires that your name be published, you can go to court and ask a judge to grant you permission to remain anonymous because you feel that your life would be in jeopardy if revealed. If there was ever a time to feel vulnerable, I would think it would be making a claim for $328,000,000! The lottery can't release your name if a judge grants you permission.
I'd go live in Amish country for awhile. They definitely haven't heard of you.
I watched the interview on the "Today Show" and one of the last questions went something like " John, you have security protection? " And John said " Oh, yes." That's the first thing I would get, if I won it big in the lottery. One more thing, I noticed after John Robinson was showing that $500 million+ winning Powerball ticket in his hand, putting it in his left front pants pocket! Wow. Another thing, when the reporters were asking questions to the Robinson's, they never ask the question " John, you did sign that winning ticket,right? " Sound like a dumb question but in all that excitement of winning, you never know. I'll bet the Robinson's got a security protection force you would never believe, waiting to pounce on anybody who would come near their family!, lol.
When he pulled out the ticket, it can be seen that it was signed.
I don't see anything wrong in this. It's their money and decision to do what they want to do with their way they claim their prize or exposing they are the winners on national television. If it were me, I probably would have did the press conference or news interview to get it OVER with because the news media will dig into their personal lives and stalk the winners to get the exclusive interview. BETTER TO GET IT OVER WITH and spin the story the way you want before the media does, plus now the big focus is on the Florida and Cali winner.
The issue is not that they went to the Today Show. The issue is that they went to the Today Show FIRST, before going to the Tennessee Lottery HQ.
It is completely illogical.
It's like me having a cavity and instead of going to the Dentist I go to a Beauty Salon first .
The commentaries on here have nothing to do with envy
I agree very much. They went the wrong route and I am afraid it WILL bite them in the a$$. Tennessee has a privacy policy and should have took it.
I just researched this and there is a Cynthia Stafford in WV and FL that has filed bankruptcy. Not sure if we are talking about the same Cynthia.
Cynthia Stafford from Beverly Hills, California. Past lottery winner of $112,000,000.00 She did good with her money but she failed at budgeting.
Of course, I am envious and jealous. I feel sad that I did not win. But I think that I have comments to make that could help future lottery winner here at Lottery Post.
If you see someone who is about to step in front of a truck do you remain silent? or try to help?
It's possible why they decided to come forward first and the playing "Ma and Pa Kettle" may have been an act. Appearing on the Today Show before validating the ticket was strange, especially pulling the folded ticket out of his shirt pocket, but that could be part of the act. We probably know more about Gloria Mackenzie than these winners.
Im with you Music. I was disappointed I was not one of the winners, am envious and a tad jealous, ok, ok a lot jealous. I was imagining myself having all 6 numbers, now I am imagining what it must be like getting all things lined up to collect.
This sounds like I am an idiot but I just feel one of these days, lol. I am sure people I talk to are sick of hearing me, including my LP friends hahahaha.
I look at the drawings for the games I play and when I think I made an agreement to a three way split, these jackpots arent enough for my dreams lol. Yes, they will build again, I have no tickets so have to watch them and decide when to join in again.
Good luck.
You would be pretty safe especially if you took a million to build them a huge barn, church, buy a 100 cows, horses & buggies.
Shoot, they would never give you up to the media. What a great deal that would be. Love it!
lejardin, Thank You. I am also changing my lottery playing. I think that I can wait till the jackpots for Mega Millions and Power Ball reach $150 - $200 million before I play.
Most of us here at LP know the odds but when the jackpot breaks records then we all hope that it will be one of our tickets that wins.
I am dissolving any agreements, promises, pledges that I made for this past PB run. I start clean for another record breaker.
We are here at LP to commiserate with one another after a major win. And definitely celebrate when one of us wins.
Im glad they went public to get the fame they deserve! If they still want to work, save, and not be bothered much they should move to Salt Lake City, Utah where those kind of things are appreciated. When Inflation ravages this country and food shortages happen because of wrong headed voting for the past 100 years it might be the safest place to live. The mormons are savers. To many jealous athiests, southern baptists, and presbyterians here complaining. The bible teaches you to not hate people who have money and save.
One way to have alot of fun without spending any of that lottery money would be to have about 1000 Christmas cards printed up with a santa claus on the front holding a sign that says: " Have a very billion dollar Christmas!"
Sent every enemy and jealous person you know one every year at Christmas with a dollar bill inside. I can think of about 30 posters here id send one to each year because of their envy disease. Just saying! Want to quess who is on the list? What would your list look like!
Would any of that constitute mental anquish?
Congrats to the winners!
This is why you need a lawyer who specializes in the right field. The local bankruptcy/divorce lawyer just doesn't have the right experience to make good decisions about sudden wealth.
Fortunately, the State Of California's Lottery Commission has help at www.calottery.com You can find the Winners Handbook by moving the cursor to Win and then you will see the Winners Handbook listing. It is located on the top left handside of the page. "I've Won Now What" it is easy to locate.
Yea. this might be why all of this happened. An attorney who really knows nothing about how to handle this, giving advise and getting paid for it.
And that's why I said "most of the comments" and not "all". Most of your comments are reasonable.
"If you see someone who is about to step in front of a truck do you remain silent? or try to help?"
As I said in my last post, it's possibly an act hoping much more attention will be paid to one of both of the other winners. Each news agency that reported a record jackpot had "expert opinions" on what jackpot winners should do, but from what I read it wasn't much different than we read on LP.
It might take up to six months or more to get things setup and maybe years before the winners understand their new wealth. I see lots of LP members who never won a jackpot being very critical of what an actual winner does. IMO, it wasn't a good idea to have the winning ticket in his pocket (if that was actual ticket) on the Today Show before having it validated, but there were no problems.
So if she failed at budgeting and filed for bankruptcy, how did she do "good" with her money?
She gave away $1 million....a drop in the bucket compared to the original prize and most likely that was by the advice of her accountant.
Not downplaying her donation but I have known many with far less who have given away far more.
The bottom line is she blew her money on stupid stuff and fell into the same trap as many other lottery winners before her.
These people were STUPID to go public in the manner that they did, and their ego-centric attorney [Joe Townsend] and his publicity hungry daughter Eileen Townsend, who is a Memphis Art Scene reporter [Duh !!], should be slapped and fired for giving such BAD ADVICE !!! Pay the attorney ASAP and kick him to the curb, b/c he probably intends to milk them dry of their MONEY $$$ in any clever manner that he can figure out how to !!! The attorney, Joe Townsend, specializes in BANKRUPTCY and DIVORCE, which is exactly what John and Lisa Robinson will need, eventually !!!
Cynthia gave her children and step children from her brother who was killed by a drunk driver, a good start in life. Some may not be eighteen yet. She might have set up trusts for them.
I agree that the one million dollar donation to the Geffen play house was ridiculous. Plus the cars. And she even looked at airplanes.
She might have continued her support for UNICEF.
The attorney, Joe Townsend, specializes in BANKRUPTCY and DIVORCE, which is exactly what John and Lisa Robinson will need, eventually !!!
That attorney needs to be fired!
My mother and father in law live in Munford and my parents use to live there too and so did I. I live very close to Munford and from what I have heard the Townsend's are a shady family. I think one of them own a used car lot in Millington. Looking forward to seeing if they will help the little city in Munford. Me and my husband were married in Munford,TN in 2006.
I wish the winners the best of luck!
"Tennessee Lottery rules also permit jackpots to be claimed in the name of a trust for more privacy."
The Tennessee Lottery doesn't have an information on claiming in the name of a trust.
Can the winner of a large Lottery prize remain anonymous?
It is the policy of the Tennessee Lottery to treat such information as a public record. The Lottery will therefore disclose the name, home state and home town of winners if a request is received for such information.
Tennessee Lottery FAQ
These folks are not playing with a full deck of cards. Their actions have created the conditions for something bad to happen. It was wreckless for them to start off on the path they've chosen. A thumbs down on this one....
Can anyone spell STUPID? They are going to live in the same house, go to the same job, shop at the same stores?? Oh geez!!
They showed a picture of their house on National TV!!!!! Now if I were a crazy person don't you think I would bee line to that house and kidnap one of them for ransom?
Why work at the same job with winnings like that ?
Why did they even bother to play that dang lottery if they weren't going to ENJOY life?
Maybe they are still in shock? Or just plain stupid!
When I win, I am going to wear a wig, body padding, high platform heels and so much makeup even my mother wouldn't know me. Oh, a Clown outfit!! They never said you have to show your real face! That's it!!! So if you see a Clown on TV accepting the winnings ..... it ain't me! Why would I wan't anyone to know my outfit? LOL!!!!
It's said that God looks over fools.
Yet they were fine. Who cares what others question is not their business. Most are fine unless they had issues before winning or were just really stupid afterwards. Plus no one knew he had the ticket on him anyway and it was signed. All the bad instances are also in the minority the majority have no issues usually. They also got the media done with and now the focus is on wo else won. The world doesn't stop because someone won the lottery, most people move on and forget them in a week or less. Here is the press conference. http://www.cbsnews.com/news/powerball-winners-tennessee-identified-john-robinson-lisa-robinson/
I wish them all the luck and wisdom in the future. im beginning to see its non of our business. or anyones, except to have a laugh and point.
Notorious lottery winner Mickey Carroll today has a word of advice for the couple who landed £33million in Britain’s biggest jackpot.
Emigrate.
And he reckons if they don’t do what he says, then the size of David and Carol Martin’s win could put their family at risk.
The ex-binman became known as the “Lotto lout” after scooping £9.7m when he was just 19.
Carroll was wearing an electronic tag when he bought a lucky dip ticket in November 2002.
He went on a spending spree on cocaine, gambling and hookers that nearly killed him.
You can see him hold up 4 fingers in the security camera video for 4 QP's lol. He asked the lady if should would share and she said sure, now the question is will HE share?
With large prize money, there should be a cooling-off period before winners receive the money. When players win such large amounts, in all the excitement, they can make rash decisions. How about a three month cooling-off period for prizes over 500,000?
I'm changing how many lines I play and my numbers. I'm going to reduce my 10 lines down to 2 lines. I will play the same numbers in both MM and PB. Had a thought yesterday. What if my MM numbers come up in PB and vice versa? I'd be pissed! I will also start adding the multiplier. I'm going to get a 20 draw ticket. If this run goes back up to a billion, I'll already be in the pot.
Wheww alot of dumb in this story. I agree with other posters, why would an attorney encourage a public announcement of winning. Why would you listen to that? Herd mentally in action folks. I win any size jackpot im gonna try every possible way to remain anonymous, or at least just keep it limited to the lottery website. They just put a big flashing bullseye on their back.
Money can't buy common sense.
I watched the recent lottery special. She spent $200,000 on hand bags alone! 2 Bentleys worth $400,000. She didn't even want to mention how much she spent on art. What was up with the gold chair?! No wonder she's broke. All of that money would have been better spent by getting educated in finance and economics to help with investing.
Myturn it's people like you that drive me certifiably nuts. You're so easily tricked and can't read between the lines.
Also, why is someone in Australia talking about my own state lottery as if they know it better than other people who live and play here? I live in TN and I know my own state lottery better than 99% of the player base on here. so let's get down to it.
First off we have an anonymous winner just from the last jackpot before this one was even won. To copy and paste from another post of mine:
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http://www.tennessean.com/story/news/2015/12/03/1441-million-antioch-powerball-winner-claims-prize/76743512/
"The identity of the lucky winner or winners will remain anonymous as the winnings were claimed in the name of a revocable trust."
http://www.antiochtenn.com/2015/12/04/antioch-lotto-winner-claims-prize-remains-anonymous/
"The $144.1 million ticket, purchased at Hobson Tobacco and Beer, 2216 Hobson Pike in Antioch, was claimed by the Avondale Revocable Trust."
http://fox17.com/news/local/winning-1441m-powerball-ticket-sold-in-antioch-claimed
"Not much is known about Avondale Revocable Trust. The communications director for the Tennessee Lottery says it is not a business, there was only one winner and they are located in the Nashville area."
https://www.tnlottery.com/newsroom/newsitem.aspx?nid=1569 -I mean for gods sake there is no name even on press story report from the lottery own website.
------------------------
Ok now that that's out of the way. Let's go back to the very same FAQ page and look right above the "Can the winner of a large Lottery prize remain anonymous?"
Let me put it the other way for you.
The Powerball winner of the Powerball jackpot worth 144.1 million that was won on November 4th, 2015 in Tennessee was......... drum roll music................
The Avondale Revocable Trust.
See now? The public has the winner(s) name! The name of the trust.
Exactly as I said. I find all the negative comments to be odd and screaming of envy. Why in the hell would anyone even how a total stranger who won the jackpot spends their money and what decisions they make? They are just mad they did not win it so they trash them. Yet if they were never revealed and did it anonymously those same people would be saying it was "rigged" and that no one really won it. They are also mad because this goes against all of the conventional wisdom/advice of so-called "experts" yet there was no catastrophes to speak of. This only further proves that you don't even need a lawyer. Just because something is not a "good idea" also does not mean there is going to be a problem for certain. So many "experts" on here giving legal advice when they don't do it for a living, and all the brash assumptions that the lawyer is going to bleed them dry etc. You lost get over it. If you want to do all that crap if you win then so be it. But it is no one's business what these people do. I highly doubt they will have any issues like the minority cases do.
Also as I said before it is their choice if they want to keep working not yours. I don't agree with the mindset that all lottery winners should all the sudden do all moral things and help the world just because they won a jackpot. They won and it is their life and can do whatever they want to regardless of how much money they got. But it is kinda stupid to go back to a 9 to 5 when you could make a lot more money and have a lot more fun being self-employed. Also if they really wanted to help people they could start a huge business and create jobs. But some just want to relax and enjoy life. But for many work is all they ever knew and for many that does not change. They like to stay in their comfort zone, the money is just a bonus and financial security after the house and bills are paid off. Also not every one who winds the lottery is hounded as much as you think, only those who are really stupid or are in bad situations already. Kinda like Marie and Jack which were extreme cases and in the minority. But why would you even care anyway it is not your problem. I don't, I worry about myself not how others are handling their winnings. If I did not win I don't care.
Just goes to show you that not every "rule" applies all the time and most of the time you are not going to have any issues unless you are really stupid and have a shady lifestyle to begin with. Only the hardcore players on here care usually not most people out there. They lose and move on with their lives as those on here should do also. I personally would have not done the press conference until I had the cash. But this only goes to show you that not everyone needs to be worried even if they are not prepared. People act like every criminal in the world was out there waiting for them when in reality no one gave a crap and nothing happened at all. Not like he is carrying all that cash around in the open t was a signed lottery ticket, and as he said no one even knew him or who he was. So maybe it was smart to get it done quick before his identity was known. The fact is though you don't know what you will do until you get in that situation. That kind of money can change your thinking fast, especially if you are not a hardcore player and well prepped for it. I have been well prepared for a long time but even I want know for sure how I will feel and react until I win that large amount. But unlike most of these casual players I am prepared and ready and have been for a long time. And I think paying a team is a waste of money so I have prepared my own team for 10 years now which consists of me, myself, and I. Those are the only ones who will be getting a piece of the pie. I would be more worried about family, friends, accountants, lawyers, and financial advisors who usually are the real "crooks" you have to watch out for.
Yikes, we haven't heard the end of these 2.
Nah you would become their slave then.
No way could I go without my PC and Internet that long. 
And I also said many times before that I would not run or hide from anyone if I won, so I applaud them for sticking their ground and not letting preconceived negative thoughts change who they are and scare them off. That is not how a lottery winner should live, and would only make you a prisoner of your own self-centered paranoia. You should be having fun and enjoying it not trying to hide because you think every criminal in the world is now looking for you. They are not, and those who had issues as I said are in the minority and already lived shady lifestyles before they won.
I lived in Kentucky for 11 yrs and People in the Southern State's are a lot different there, their hard working, down home, what you see is what you get, their friendly, and just all around honest good people, a hand shake is as binding as a Legal Document! They trusted their Attorney and did what he suggested! The Attorney was the one that wanted to be on National T.V. with his Daughter, Just like it said in the story above!! DON"T EVER TRUST AN ATTORNEY THAT'S A FATAL MISTAKE!! Hopefully they learned from that and hired a new one that is out for their best interest and not his!!!
Thank You for your comment I APPLAUD YOU and completely agree with you, the comments i've read on here are way out their and i can't sit here and reply to every STUPID ONE! They live in a small town and out their the Neighbors take care of each other and I am sure they will watch out for them and do what they can!
No you wouldn't bee line their house just like most other sane people wouldn't. Also you would probably get shot and just because some "crazy person" would want to try something like that does not mean they would be successful and there is a good chance it would not end well for them. They stated they had security also and the local police is probably watching the house. But in reality this rarely happens, I only read about it happening to a few who were rich way back in the 80's and because they were shady to begin with and had bad behavior and made a lot of enemies. In this day and age it is not so easy to do, and most are not going to target a lottery winner they never heard of. It is not that easy and they know they don't even have the money yet. Chances are good it would not end good for the crazy person and most are not going to throw their lives away because someone won lottery, just like you wouldn't. Just because something is "possible" does not mean it is probable or likely to happen. We call this self-centered paranoia. It is good to prepared but most will move on with their life and forget them.
Also I live in PA so thanks for telling me you complete disguise as I now know it will be you. Your "costume" will be a dead giveaway.
Thank you, I Love it!!! But she wasn't smart enough to go to school, nor did she have time she was out shopping!!
HELL NO. I have been cool waiting my whole life for a win, once I get it I will be HOT.
But I am well prepared and every day is time wasting, and time is MONEY. The majority are fine and do well just because there are few bad insurances is no reason to be biased against everyone. Also you don't have any right keeping someone's winnings from them because you think they need to "cool off." Some of us are cool all the time and do not make brash decisions and blow money. It is not the job of the lottery to act as a psychologist and financial advisor. I waited long enough and I am well prepared so I would start my new life immediately not wait months. As John sated "tomorrow is not guaranteed." You got to live now not just for the future.
Yeah but the police won't be there forever. this fanfare will last a month and the most and then the media will go back to other top stories. Once the other PB winners come forward this tweedle dee and tweedle dumb will be forgotten. Then they will be back in the news because they were robbed or something similar
To be fair, he is a divorce and bankruptcy lawyer, not a "real" lawyer. That was their first mistake.
That's the thing about the lottery. ANYBODY can win. Unfortunately these two don't seem to have a brain between the two. As others have said, we will see more of them.
A very stupid move to say the least!
In this day and age especially when it involves big money, "BE CAREFUL". People do whacky things. 
It's a known fact that your life changes when you win big money. 
Exactly, and I am sure they will help them out too with some nice gifts. But you got all the "experts" of law, money, and crime on here who seem to think they know it all and are counting on their demise and failure because they lost.