Record powerball lottery winner reflects on sad life

Comment #45

fastball 9 — Mon, 17 Sep 2007 23:20:38 GMT

Jack Whittaker seems to, even after a 6 year weird and strange ride, gotten is life together. He doesn't seem like what has happened to him has beaten him.

Compare him to David Edwards, who only lives about 50 miles down the road in Kentucky, who isn't made of the same stuff and, when given the big bucks blew up like the space shuttle. He, according to the latest story, either is on his deathbed in a rural KY hospital or recouperating nearby. And broke.

Edwards turned his cash on himsel... [ More ]

Comment #44

DoubleDown — Mon, 17 Sep 2007 15:40:14 GMT

Nope- His last post was February 24th.

Comment #43

rundown99 — Mon, 17 Sep 2007 14:37:12 GMT

You could say that..... LOL

Speaking of Cash Only , does he still post on Lottery Post. I haven't seen a message from him in over a month.

Comment #42

guesser — Mon, 17 Sep 2007 04:57:57 GMT

Some things that come to mind here, regarding 'trust':

If I won a million, or 300 million, it makes no difference as I am sure some folks would be asking me for $5,000-10,000, these are folks I would not trust with $5 let alone $5,000.

My friends are friends I can call, and they call me, it's not a one-way friendship. And by the same token, I EXPECT them to call me when they need help, be it moving, painting, or cutting down a tree, etc. If I don't have a two-way friendship, then those fo... [ More ]

Comment #41

four4me — Mon, 17 Sep 2007 04:53:03 GMT

Jack wasn't that kind of guy (he was a proud boastful man ) and there are many like him he was a good old boy who was an upstanding citizen. When he won the lottery he never dreamed that people would treat him differently than they did before the win. Something snapped after he won he went trough some really weird conversations with the elders of his church whatever happened after that is history now. Nevertheless he snapped an went on a wild trip. Shortly after his win it was said that his wife... [ More ]

Comment #40

justxploring — Mon, 17 Sep 2007 04:05:53 GMT

Are you the Cash Only of anonymity?

Believe me, I agree with you 100%.

Comment #39

rundown99 — Mon, 17 Sep 2007 01:01:08 GMT

If this story does not convince people to remain anonymous after winning a jackpot, I don't know what will.

Comment #38

Coin Toss — Sun, 16 Sep 2007 17:12:24 GMT

Well we definitley can say winning a then record jackpot, hanging out in strip clubs and letting it be known that there's a quarter of a milion dollars cash in the trunk of your car is not a real good idea.

Comment #37

dingo — Sun, 16 Sep 2007 16:07:57 GMT

After reading this article, http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A36338-2005Jan25.html, it seemed that this man had become very arrogance after hitting the power jackpot. His problems were mostly consequenced from giving excessive allowances to his granddaughter, $5000 a day. Therefore she attracted peers that liked her money more than her life quality. He was the one to blame for her death by providing a massive resource to her drug habits, money.

This windfall can be consider... [ More ]

Comment #36

SoBe Yourself — Sun, 16 Sep 2007 06:08:17 GMT

I have a hard time feeling sorry for this guy. He made a lot of mistakes and blamed the lottery for it all. There's a smart way and a dumb way of handling the winnings. This is just a classic case of how not to handle the winnings.

Comment #35

justxploring — Sun, 16 Sep 2007 06:00:05 GMT

If there's anyone who wants to give me a million bucks, I'll take that chance! After all, if I'm going to be poor miserable, I might as well be rich miserable.

Comment #34

fwlawrence — Sun, 16 Sep 2007 05:24:22 GMT

On the old television show the Millionaire that guy gave away a million dollars to different people and it ended up ruining their lives.

Comment #33

Coin Toss — Sun, 16 Sep 2007 04:20:45 GMT

Lee123

A jackpot winner as interviewed oin one of the documentaires and he told of giving people a million dollars each- and every single person he gave a million dollars coming back asking for more.

I think when we're talking about hitting a jackpot it's a little different than loaning out $100 or so.

Comment #32

Lee123 — Sun, 16 Sep 2007 03:33:20 GMT

You don't loan friends money ,If you have it to spare you give it to them. that way you don't look for nothing back.

Comment #31

Prob988 — Sun, 16 Sep 2007 03:32:57 GMT

Common Sense is way over rated.

In many lexicons the word common implies worthless.

The fact is that so called common sense consists largely of a bunch of meaningless platitudes of the one size fits all kind of thinking that has attempted to substitute banalities for reason and garbage sound bites for careful analysis.

It is easy to engage in lazy thinking that tries to place values by appeal to a few largely irrelevant examples. It is far more difficult to judge individual e... [ More ]

Comment #30

LuckyLilly — Sat, 15 Sep 2007 22:14:45 GMT

Amen!

And I'd probably add that if a friend asks for money and you don't give it to them, you can't be friends anymore. So since you're gonna lose a friend either way, I think the choice is clear. Hold onto your money and let 'em walk away if that's what they're gonna do.

Comment #29

Coin Toss — Sat, 15 Sep 2007 21:58:23 GMT

If we get nothing else out of this, I'd say remember this from the OP folks:

Every friend that I've had, practically, has wanted to borrow money or something and of course, once they borrow money from you, you can't be friends anymore.

Comment #28

jeffrey — Sat, 15 Sep 2007 15:23:11 GMT

I was thinking about Jack Whittaker saying he had a sad life. He doesn't have a corner on a sad life. Bad things happen to the good, bad, rich, poor, white, black etc. Grief does not discriminate. God help us all. I personally have had a lot of sadness in my life. My father committed suicide, my mother had MS and needed medical treatment. I used all my savings and my retirement fund to help her. My brother had leukemia but couldn't get a transplant because he didn't have $200,000. He died the h... [ More ]

Comment #27

Lee123 — Sat, 15 Sep 2007 14:44:38 GMT

OLD POOR PITTY ME.

Comment #26

PrisonerSix — Sat, 15 Sep 2007 14:41:34 GMT

I don't necessarily feel sorry for him either, based on some of his behavior. You point out he got robbed a few times in front of a strip club, but he also had hundreds of thousands in cash in his vehicle. Who keeps that much money in cash in their car? Not a smart thing to do.

I also read an interview with him, I wish I could find it, where he basically said he could tell everyone to kiss off. It's referenced in the Wikipedia article about him.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jack_Whitt... [ More ]

Comment #25

PrisonerSix — Sat, 15 Sep 2007 14:21:48 GMT

It also went by the wayside when media outlets, in a rush to be first, put out a story without getting all the facts or any facts for that matter, and the public forms opinions based on that. In worse cases, the media outlets deliberately omit certain facts, just to make the story more interesting. The news media, in my opinion, is supposed to just tell the story with all the facts, but these days, they do that less and less.

Comment #24

Unreasonable — Sat, 15 Sep 2007 13:00:44 GMT

Why on earth would you feel sorry for jack whittaker? because he has ( or had ) 314 million dollars? Feel sorry for me because I do NOT have 314 million dollars. Yet.

You reap what you sow. Should you feel bad that he got robbed a few times? Maybe, until you find out he was robbed at strip clubs. Not the kind of place where good people hang out.

The thing you need to realize is you CANNOT change your morals just because you win the lottery. He may or may not have been a moral person... [ More ]

Comment #23

hearsetrax — Sat, 15 Sep 2007 11:57:44 GMT

Meanwhile, Jack had so much mail that he hired three people to open the thousands of begging letters. He hired a private investigator to sort out which supplicants claiming to have a child with cancer didn't even have a child.

============================

just my .02

Quicker solution would've been to used them all as kindling and heat the house for the years to come ..... surely less of a headache ..... and yeah I know it seems rather cruel to ignore the inqueries of the truely needy... [ More ]

Comment #22

justxploring — Sat, 15 Sep 2007 07:54:55 GMT

I think one problem with posting is that many of us are misunderstood since there is no face to face dialog. It's often hard to express what you want to say in a few words. Then the person who is reading them might be in a good mood, bad mood or simply read them too quickly.

Anyway, What I meant by don't be ridiculous is I thought you were saying that maybe it's not such a good thing to win money and I would love to win a million dollars, even 2! I actually don't want the responsibi... [ More ]

Comment #21

shrapnel19 — Sat, 15 Sep 2007 05:04:27 GMT

jack! hurry up and write a book

Comment #20

Guru101 — Sat, 15 Sep 2007 03:53:58 GMT

Comment #19

four4me — Sat, 15 Sep 2007 03:51:42 GMT

Does winning the lottery put a different mentality in people towards the person that won.

Thats a big YES

Comment #18

jeffrey — Sat, 15 Sep 2007 03:46:23 GMT

Jack needs to take back his life and learn to say no. People who beg God for things need to re-evaluate their relationship with the creator. I think Jack should take care of himself and his family and tell the rest of the world to go to blazes. His generosity has destroyed both his life and his soul. There is a lot to be said for working behind the scenes. There are many causes he can give his money to discretely. He can pick a new heir or adopt. Have faith Jack, there are people who wish you we... [ More ]

Comment #17

LckyLary — Sat, 15 Sep 2007 02:47:21 GMT

I would have been willing to be friends with Mr. Whittaker and not ask for money, only thing is Kanawha/Putnam is a solid 500 miles from here. Sometimes he goes to Atlantic and sometimes we do so there's a remote possibility of one day shaking his hand and being honored to meet him.

My best suggestion for him is to somehow get back together with his wife, get back to Church, and doing good deeds more indirectly (giving to charities, not individuals), and promising to henceforth live his life... [ More ]

Comment #16

TheGameGrl — Sat, 15 Sep 2007 01:04:29 GMT

Thank you Chuck for rechecking the data. Its important to get the facts :) I love this case for two reasons -1 it brought about the Labeling on items - such as warnings or cautions. 2ndly- MCD's scuffed at this lady when she asked for restitution for her claim. MCD thought they were to big to be tampered with. The justice system thought otherwise :) Sometimes its the principal of the matter -which most legal cases are fought upon.

Think what ya will of J Whitaker, poor judgements (which we... [ More ]

Comment #15

chuck32 — Sat, 15 Sep 2007 00:30:54 GMT

I think it is a few things. (1) The simple notoriety. Some may think that he is rich but may not be sure or just not even be aware of a wealthy person until he/she gets press. (2) The ease of the wealth also plays a factor; people assume that easy come to someone else will mean easy go to them. (3) There may even be some entitlement feeling - either because they also put money into the game or because this was fate money and they deserve such a thing too.

Those who build up wealth slow... [ More ]

Comment #14

JAP69 — Fri, 14 Sep 2007 23:53:21 GMT

Jack was already a millionare before winning the lottery. Did people prior to winning the lottery constantly ask for money from Jack. Was his homes and vehichles broken into for money prior to winning.

His private life was only known by a few.

Does winning the lottery put a different mentality in people towards the person that won.

Comment #13

chuck32 — Fri, 14 Sep 2007 23:30:39 GMT

The case is Liebeck v. McDonald's Restaurants, P.T.S., Inc., No. D-202 CV-93-02419, 1995 WL 360309 (Bernalillo County, N.M. Dist. Ct. Aug. 18, 1994). McDonald s had settled more than 700 burn cases before this one came up some of them settled for up to $500,000. The woman had asked for $20,000 from McDonald s but was refused. The jury found her 20% negligent. I checked on the facts and found that the medical costs were not as high as I had remembers. Guess I need to check my facts too. B... [ More ]

Comment #12

justxploring — Fri, 14 Sep 2007 23:16:13 GMT

From what I understand, she was in her 80s and underwent numerous skin grafts. When the jury was shown the photographs and listened to the real story, they decided she had suffered and awarded her a lot of money. There had been several other lawsuits for over a decade that were settled quietly. This is what happens when the media gets a hold of a story.

I agree there many be many frivolous lawsuits, but most of them never make it to court. Many years ago I was seriously injured by a doc... [ More ]

Comment #11

chuck32 — Fri, 14 Sep 2007 22:22:41 GMT

No. Common sense vanished when folks started listening to one-sided views of reality and stopped checking out things for themselves (or applying a little common sense). The McDonald's case is a good example. Did you know that this store intentionally prepared the coffee to such an extreme temperature that no rational person would even think about taking it into their car if they knew about it; that the store had been repeatedly warned about it. Did you know that this woman did not just burn... [ More ]

Comment #10

DC81 — Fri, 14 Sep 2007 21:22:07 GMT

Common Sense finally gave up the ghost after a woman failed to realize that a steaming cup of coffee was hot, she spilled a bit in her lap, and was awarded a huge financial settlement.

While I agree with the rest of your post, please look up the facts of the case since it looks like you don't know them.

Comment #9

gocart1 — Fri, 14 Sep 2007 21:13:40 GMT

hello justxploring.....what i was trying to say ,was just to have a plan ready to go if you were to hit big ,or a plan B for that matter

Comment #8

Todd — Fri, 14 Sep 2007 19:55:43 GMT

Awesome post, hearsetrax!

I think you're right about that spilled-coffee award. I think that was the legal event that opened the floodgates -- when lawyers realized that the citizens of this country were willing to award millions of dollars to people who made dumb mistakes and hurt themselves.

Comment #7

hearsetrax — Fri, 14 Sep 2007 19:51:38 GMT

Mr. Sense had been with us for many years.

No one knows for sure how old he was since his birth records were long ago lost in bureaucratic red tape.

He will be remembered as having cultivated such value lessons as knowing when to come in out of the rain, why the early bird gets the worm and that life isn't always fair.

Common Sense lived by simple, sound financial policies (don't spend more than you earn) and reliable Parenting strategies (adults, not kids, are in charge).

His heal... [ More ]

Comment #6

Todd — Fri, 14 Sep 2007 18:56:58 GMT

The guy is/was a self-made millionaire (on paper). This is the kind of person -- at least work-ethic-wise -- that we want in this country, no? I look at it that someone up there was rewarding him for his hard work and determination.

The fact that he has a sad life now is a testament to his lack of common sense.

Comment #5

justxploring — Fri, 14 Sep 2007 18:47:27 GMT

Don't be ridiculous. The majority of Lottery winners go on to live very happy lives. Regarding your friend, I understand what it's like not to trust people, but those are the people you don't want in your life anyway.

Miss NYC, I guess it just goes to show you that anyone can win. I agree that it's frustrating when people with everything just get more and more of what they don't need. I just saw Todd's post below, and I agree that Mr. Whittaker handled his money very foolishly. It's a v... [ More ]

Comment #4

MissNYC — Fri, 14 Sep 2007 18:40:41 GMT

Am I the only one here who is irritated by the fact that someone already worth millions won the lottery? That's like when Jennifer Lopez's mom hit a million dollar slot machine jackpot. Sometimes I think God likes to have fun with us, perhaps because he knows it doesn't really mean anything.

Comment #3

JackpotWanna — Fri, 14 Sep 2007 18:23:20 GMT

To play or not to play, that is the question.

Comment #2

gocart1 — Fri, 14 Sep 2007 18:03:00 GMT

GOD, I feel so sorry for jack.I wonder if jack ever reads this lottery post websight.i know of a person that hit for 18 million dollars in the new yok lottery.this person ,like jack doesn't trust anyone .funny how all of us in here would love to win a lottery.i guess that saying ''be carefull what you wish for,you just might get it'' comes to mine.

Comment #1

One2Adore — Fri, 14 Sep 2007 17:29:21 GMT

So sad....

Record powerball lottery winner reflects on sad life

Lottery Post — Fri, 14 Sep 2007 16:45:24 GMT

In his darkest moments, Jack Whittaker has sometimes wondered if winning the nearly $315 million Powerball game was really worth it.

The jackpot that was the stuff of dreams turned into a nightmare: His wife left him and his drug-addicted granddaughter his protege and heir died. He endured constant requests for money.

Almost five years later, Whittaker is left with things money can't cure: His daughter's cancer, a long list of indiscretions documented in newspapers and court records, a... [ More ]