Ex-con held onto his lotto millions and started new life

Comment #21

grengrad — Mon, 22 Dec 2008 14:40:38 GMT

Nice story.

Also, the $80,000 a year he spends is less than CDs would return to him, so his fortunes should be growing slowly.

News of his criminal past made people leery to ask for money, he says.

Note to self, when claiming my jackpot, reminisce about the triple homicide I got away with.

(obviously I didn't really

Comment #20

time*treat — Sat, 13 Dec 2008 01:10:11 GMT

Of course a little more irony is that far more people die every year from the oh-so-legal drugs in their medicine cabinet than die from the illegal drugs on the street.

Comment #19

justxploring — Fri, 12 Dec 2008 23:33:44 GMT

Good post, Coin Toss. I agree, except I'm not totally convinced that being a good money manager is indicative of one's upstanding character. There are some very wealthy people who die alone and miserable.

Comment #18

Coin Toss — Fri, 12 Dec 2008 23:05:40 GMT

Anyone see the irony here?

Consider these two thread titles:

Ex-con held on to his lotto winnings and started new life

Lottery winner almost out of cash three years later

Norman Vincent Peale often said character is not nmade so much by what happens to you in life as much as how you react to what happens to you in life.

Comment #17

justxploring — Fri, 12 Dec 2008 22:40:32 GMT

More than the millions, the birth of his first son turned him away from street life and selling drugs, Robelin says.

Maybe the birth of his son and winning the lottery was his epiphany. Maybe he saw this as his second chance at life.

ThatScaryChick

Okay, TSC, you have a point, but it sounds as if he turned away from that life because he was busted. This is just one article and I really don't know anything about this man. Sure, people do change. I get that. I was only saying he lived a... [ More ]

Comment #16

ThatScaryChick — Fri, 12 Dec 2008 17:45:52 GMT

Huh? I don't think this is such a heart-warming story.

I never said it was a heart-warming story, but I do think it's a good story. Sometimes people with sketchy pasts win the lottery. It happens. If they become good, productive citizens, so what?

There is nothing here that tells me this man turned his life around,except that he doesn't have to work any more because he won a lot ofmoney. He didn't give up crime because he had an epiphany.

More than the millions, the birth of his first... [ More ]

Comment #15

RJOh — Fri, 12 Dec 2008 08:18:31 GMT

I'd rather read about someone who spent his life helping people or working in a coal mine or an immigrant farm worker who picked fruit until his hands bled......

Those folks have stories too, but you'll never read them in a lottery news forum unless they win a lottery.

Comment #14

justxploring — Fri, 12 Dec 2008 05:16:36 GMT

Huh? I don't think this is such a heart-warming story. There is nothing here that tells me this man turned his life around, except that he doesn't have to work any more because he won a lot of money. He didn't give up crime because he had an epiphany. He got caught and went to prison. In the article there is not one word that shows remorse for his past criminal activity. I'd rather read about someone who spent his life helping people or working in a coal mine or an immigrant farm worker who pick... [ More ]

Comment #13

time*treat — Fri, 12 Dec 2008 04:50:02 GMT

That's the thing. You may not want the money to change the things you enjoyed doing and the places you enjoyed going, but it changes the behavior of the people who knew you when... (and even some of those who didn't know you). In many ways, you have to change too.

Comment #12

RJOh — Thu, 11 Dec 2008 21:29:17 GMT

It was one of the police officers who helped put him in federal prison on drug smuggling and weapons charges.

The cop congratulated Robelin on his new life as a millionaire and bought him a beer.

Robelin, 40, took the meeting as an omen and stopped spending so much time in Hamilton Street bars.

I think if I had ever won a lottery jackpot and walked into a bar and one of the regulars recognized me as a millionaire, I wouldn't go back either. Patrons might expect me to set'em up for every... [ More ]

Comment #11

RJOh — Thu, 11 Dec 2008 18:19:46 GMT

News of his criminal past made people leery to ask for money, he says.

Maybe people figured he would expect to be paid back or he would go criminal on them. People who ask lottery winners for money aren't asking for a loan but a gift. Even when friends and relatives ask for money, they are really asking for a gift not a loan, that's the reason I don't accept requests for money from anyone.

Comment #10

gwendaniel — Thu, 11 Dec 2008 18:17:59 GMT

what a very nice xmas picture. what is the most popular cash three number everyone is exspecting too fall gwen

Comment #9

ThatScaryChick — Thu, 11 Dec 2008 18:09:15 GMT

I agree. This is a wonderful story. I am glad he was able to turn his life around and is now leading a life that is crime-free.

Comment #8

Tenaj — Thu, 11 Dec 2008 17:56:18 GMT

News of his criminal past made people leery to ask for money, he says.

That part cracked me up.

It's good to hear success stories like this with lottery winners. Congratulations to him.

Comment #7

myturn08 — Thu, 11 Dec 2008 17:43:35 GMT

i like how he kept it simple and focused on the more important things in his life

Comment #6

vicnurse — Thu, 11 Dec 2008 13:57:12 GMT

SEE WHY CAN I WIN LORD KNOWS I HAVE BEEN PLAYING FOR YEARS I HAVE BEEN GOING TO THE STORS WHERE THE LOTTERY COME OUT GET YOU TO BUY 20.00 DOLLAR TICKETS OH WELL MAYBE ONE DAY Ill GET IT LUCKY MAN YOU ARE WINNING ALL THAT MONEY

Comment #5

autoprt — Thu, 11 Dec 2008 06:09:54 GMT

this is a great story, thanks for sharing.

i am so glad he was smart with the money. good for him and his family.

Comment #4

dphillips — Thu, 11 Dec 2008 03:08:53 GMT

Yes, Virginia, there is a Santa Claus -- some people have all the luck! Congratulations to the winner and may he choose his opportunities wisely.

Comment #3

JackpotWanna — Thu, 11 Dec 2008 02:55:46 GMT

WTG! Second chance in life

Comment #2

konane — Thu, 11 Dec 2008 01:54:45 GMT

Awww what a nice ending. Continued good luck to him and his children

Comment #1

DC81 — Thu, 11 Dec 2008 01:32:49 GMT

Good for him for starting a new life... Curious about that protection order though... But as to why someone would move to Saginaw (specifically in or around city) I have no idea, family or not.

Ex-con held onto his lotto millions and started new life

Lottery Post — Thu, 11 Dec 2008 01:27:37 GMT

While having a few drinks at a Hamilton Street bar, Aristeo Robelin saw a familiar face.

It was one of the police officers who helped put him in federal prison on drug smuggling and weapons charges.

The cop congratulated Robelin on his new life as a millionaire and bought him a beer.

Robelin, 40, took the meeting as an omen and stopped spending so much time in Hamilton Street bars.

Three years after winning $3.7 million in the Mega Millions lottery, the father of two and ex-con has l... [ More ]