Won record-breaking jackpot, then suffered unprecedented string of bad luck
By Kate Northrop
CHARLESTON, W.V. — Andrew "Jack" Whittaker, a Powerball player infamous for the string of bad luck following his record-breaking jackpot win, died at the age of 72 on Saturday, June 27 after battling a long illness, according to his obituary.
In December 2002, Whittaker, 55, won the $315 million Powerball Jackpot in West Virginia, the largest-ever jackpot won by a single ticket at the time. He was well-known as someone who embodied the "lottery curse," a type of misfortune that ensues for those who win the lottery, including bankruptcy or other tragic events. After taking home about $113 million after taxes, Whittaker's life took an unfortunate turn.
Less than a year after winning the jackpot, the downward spiral began. He was riddled with personal and legal troubles, developed a drinking problem, and tended to frequent strip clubs. A wide-spread rumor began circulating that he had a habit for leaving huge amounts of cash on him wherever he went. In one instance, thieves reportedly stole a mindboggling $545,000 from his car in a strip club parking lot while he was inside the club. Not even a year later, another set of robbers broke into his car and stole a briefcase that held $200,000. Thankfully, the $200,000 was recovered by law enforcement, but unfortunately the $545,000 was not.
Whittaker also got involved in scams where people would look to gain access to his deep pockets. His company was slammed with frivolous lawsuits by strangers, which cost him millions in legal fees. At some point, he reported that thieves had drained his bank account. He was also sued by Caesars Atlantic City casino for bouncing checks worth $1.5 million to cover his gambling losses.
Sadly, robbers and legalities were the least of his troubles.
He had a very close relationship with his granddaughter, Brandi Bragg, 17, and gifted her four cars and a $2,000-a-week allowance. The continuous influx of cash backfired and attracted the wrong kind of attention. She began suffering from a substance abuse disorder, potentially fueled by the large sums of money he gave her. Whittaker used his money to help her curb her addiction, albeit unsuccessfully, and checked her into rehab centers multiple times.
In 2004, Brandi's boyfriend, Jimmy Tribble, 18, died of a drug overdose in Whittaker's home. Just three months later, Brandi met the same fate. Her body was found wrapped in plastic and dumped behind a van by a friend who panicked when he found her dead. Her cause of death was deemed "undetermined," although she had cocaine and methamphetamines in her system.
No one was arrested. For the rest of his life, Whittaker was haunted by his granddaughter's death. While attending his own hearing for a DUI he committed in 2003, he angrily criticized law enforcement agencies for an inability to find justice for his granddaughter.
"She was going to inherit everything," Whittaker professed.
In 2008, Whittaker's wife, Jewell, filed for divorce after 42 years of marriage. With the assets Whittaker possessed, the proceedings were ugly and drawn-out, lasting for three years.
In 2009, Whittaker's daughter and Brandi's mother, Ginger, died of cancer. He decided to leave his troubles behind and left West Virginia for a new home in Virginia.
In 2016, his Virginia home burned down while he was on his way to work.
On several occasions, Whittaker wished he had torn up that fateful Powerball ticket. He acknowledged that his legacy would be viewed in a negative light and frequently expressed remorse.
"I'm only going to be remembered as the lunatic who won the lottery," he said. "I'm not proud of that. I wanted to be remembered as someone who helped a lot of people."
Indeed, he had good intentions. After his win, he paid a 10% portion of his winnings directly to Christian charities and donated $14 million to the Jack Whittaker Foundation, which provides food and clothing to low-income families in West Virginia. Then, he gifted a $123,000 house, a new Jeep Grand Cherokee, and a $44,000 check to the woman who sold him the winning ticket at the C&L SuperServe convenience store in Hurricane.
Whittaker was also successful at the time he won the prize — he was worth about $17 million after having built his contracting and construction company from the ground up.
"I've had to work for everything in my life," he said. "This is the first thing that's ever been given to me."
RIP: Andrew Jackson!
His death should've galvanized a movement by lotto players to make all big lotto winners ID anonymous against vultures.
Unfortunately, most state lottos are more concerned about using lotto winners in their commercials than their safety.
RIP Jack, better luck next life.
Despite Jack's misfortune, l would bet there are millions of people who wouldn't have mind walking in his shoes. Winning the lottery, burning through your fortune & ending up where you started is an ongoing theme with many jackpot winners. David Edwards was one, another was that idiot in a hot tub with a glass of champagne in one hand and gold chains around his neck. I never knew Jack but l think he lived life to his fullest. One thing he has going for him- he is in the lottery history book.
Many lessons taught here. Avoid the media and don't flash your cash in public. Pledging and promising gifts to charities, friends and strangers is stupid.
Be quiet like you are now. Be satisfied with posting here on Lottery Post with a degree of privacy.
Learn from the experiences throughout life.
Why gamble and frequent strip clubs? Alcohol is another trap. Illegal drugs have shown themselves to be deadly.
I hope that Jack is together with his daughter and granddaughter in heaven. Do not deny the power of God.
Alcohol, ugh.smh. socially sure, but i don't even do that, not really, because it can become addictive "trap" you're so right.
I agree on strip club stuff too ...
MUSIC, you are 100% percent accurate.
When "strip clubs, do not do anything for a guy but T.H.C.(take his cash) $$$
(My brothers said this, as they have never gone to them,only 1 or 2 parties, bachelor parties.)but i agree, what a waste, and i wish he lived longer though, alot of people do,but GOD has him at peace now,with his beloved grand-daughter
+ daughter.
RIP sir.
Rest In Peace .............
Jack had Fortune and Misfortune in the same environment. From what I've heard,
he was a good person, until the lottery win. I hope he's at peace with himself now
RIP Jack Whittaker.
Sad news there. If he had any financial advisers they weren't much help, but then again seems like he may have had his own agenda. Loose lips sink ships and many bottom feeders got the best of him.
RIP Jack.
This might be the first peace he's had since his lottery win. RIP Jack.
Thanks for setting an example NONE should follow! Hope there are lots of hookers and cocaine wherever you ended up!
But how's the lady in the convenience store doing ? Just kidding .......RIP had not read his story but we would all like to think that winning the big jackpot wouldn't go to our heads but unless you have then you really can't say I've known people that won big sums of money and it was not a happy outcome (not as much as this man just a few million) His wife left after 42 yrs she must have been really fed up with the SB's and party lifestyle but notice she probably didn't want out until the money was gone . Me personally b/c gamblers usually win the money I think they should have a waiting period and maybe you should take a class on how to manage your money ..........just b/c a TRUE gambler has no restraint we have to have that person tell us no . I'm sure he had good intentions with no self control . RIP Jack !
RIP Jack.
I still think the best think to do is a CDARS Account held in a LLC with the ticket cashing in process handled by an attorney shielding the person's identity.
When reading the 1/2 million stolen out of the Car at the Strip Club back in the day.
Had a feeling this wasn't going to end well, Hope he had a Will. Thanks for the update.
He was worth $17 Million before he won the lottery ? He was already a very high net worth individual it’s not like he was earning $20K or $50K per year before winning the lottery, he was a multi millionaire before winning it
R.i.p. Jack.
The idiot l spoke of..
Nothing wrong with hard work, but for goodness sake show some appreciation for your once in a lifetime good fortune.
That’s the price paid by any Alcohol or Drug addict and add cigarettes and weed I consider those two part of drug so what difference does it make
This is 19 year old Michael Carrol of the UK. He won 9.1 million pounds.
He could have still been on easy street. He lost it all except for 1 million pounds.
He did not take advice. At least he is still alive.
William Bud Post III "Buddy"
There was the youngest British winner who died soon after winning at age 16.
The Georgia black man who was shot and killed by a gang.
These are helping change lottery policies about anonymity. It is a shame when criminals change our way of life.
Jack became famous because he won a record jackpot. Doubt anyone outside their families remembers the names of those winning smaller jackpots or matching five numbers winners.
He wasn't that old, but even lots of money can't prevent the inevitable when people have serious health problems.
RIP!
l checked out a YouTube piece on this guy music, and l called it correctly. He went on some British TV show where he was asked " do you regret losing your lottery fortune?" He's reply " No, can't you see l am still smiling?" Said he bought a house or two, gave a mil to his Mom & so on.
Next he was asked " What did you spend most of the rest of the money on?" He said " Orgies ."
So was he an idiot? Yeah, big time!
It's that "found or won a fortune" syndrome again where some people trying to win a jackpot are critical what winners do with the money. We probably wouldn't be talking about Whittaker, Edwards, or any of the people if they hadn't purchased a lottery ticket. In a way you could say they got lots more for their dollar than the rest of us even if the results weren't they really wanted.
We can't say for sure how things would end hadn't they won.
Speaking for myself- l like it when folks win the lottery, why? because it tells me that its a level playing field and that anyone can win. What people do with their fortune is their business, however, we can point out the foolishness of winners. Do folks have a cause for " complain" when an inmate on death row requests a kidney transplant? l reserved critical judgment on Jack because he lived life on his terms- this guy.. please.
This man was already a multi-millionaire when he won the jackpot, so he had advantage over most lottery winners who do not come from big money. Surprisingly he did not have a handle on managing his money. The truth is that a good deal of his post-win problems could have been avoided by using common sense. Giving a teenager more money than most people earn by working and buying her several automobiles, going to strip clubs and telling everyone that he keeps money in his car and drinking excessively- those were poor decisions. But he was a good hearted person and it is a terrible shame that the money caused him so much grief. I can't help but think he died prematurely from all the heartbreak. Rest in peace.
He said (after all the troubles plagued his life) that he regretted not tearing up that Powerball ticket. That's not exactly living on his terms. He suffered one misfortune after another. And I bet his life was a whole lot more happy when he was worth $17mil from the company he built with his own hard work. Money that falls into our lap without having to work for it is easy to throw away.
A lotto winner needs a plan.
There have been thousands of million+ jackpot winners over the last few decades but all we ever seem to hear about are the handful of idiots who can't handle the sudden windfall.
The meme that every lottery winner suffers maladies and tragedies is a media invention that is just plain stupid. Clearly the majority of jackpot winners handle their windfall just fine. Most buy property and are fairly smart with their winnings but we don't hear about them because their stories are too boring and don't "sell newspapers" so to speak.
Rant off.
If it bleeds it leads.
We do not hear about all the non-winning tickets.
I agree that winners need a plan but those plans do change when reality hits. Plans for a $70 million jackpot are different than plans for a billion dollar jackpot.
Count your blessings if you win in an anonymous State.
In California winners can usually negotiate how much media attention they are forced to do.
But how's the lady in the convenience store doing ?
LOL but I'm more interested in how his ex-wife is doing. Did she manage the money from the divorce properly? Did she screen the future husband and avoid someone who just wanted her money for hookers and blow? Is she living in a beautiful home engaging in her hobbies and enjoying her golden years?
Regrets huh- ok.
The lady you referenced from the convenience store had to sell the house Jack had bought her and get another one further away as she was getting harassed. She was also gifted a brand new vehicle. Jack did help a lot of people but was very foolish in how he flaunted his wealth.
I hope his ex-wife is doing well and enjoying her life with the millions she received from the divorce settlement.
He spent a few years living out his wildest dreams, ran out of money before the lifestyle killed him, and is now making an honest living. I can think of worse fates.
"Easy come, easy go. Going broke is the best thing that happened to me and, believe me, I had a great time doing it."