After $10M lottery win, Mass. woman plans 'exceptional Christmas'

Comment #15

KY Floyd — Thu, 26 Nov 2009 07:30:24 GMT

imagine if 20 years ago someone won the Zimbabwean Lotto for $10 million and took an annuity?

How would that be different than having taken the money up front and invested it? Inflation affects the money you have now as well as the money you earn in the future. Of course you can eliminate effects of Zimbabwe's economy by investing on other countries because Zimbabwe's economy is far too small to have much effect in other countries. If you live in a country with a major economy and that econo... [ More ]

Comment #14

OldSchoolPa — Wed, 25 Nov 2009 23:01:14 GMT

Sounds like a ringing endorsement of Fidelity Investments...I just met with a client who wanted his money to work for him...and he had it invested with Fidelity Investments. Not knocking Fidelity Investments...good funds, but the key is actually finding SOMEONE who is more focused on YOUR interests than THEIR benefit.

Comment #13

maringoman — Tue, 24 Nov 2009 23:09:20 GMT

You guys supporting the annuities are kidding, right? Didn't you see what

happened to New Jersey this summer? The NJ state politicians slapped 11% state

taxes on lottery winnings and back-dated them to the beginning of the year!

So if you win $100,000 you got to pay $25,000 to the federal government then $11,000 to NJ department of revenue.

People who won and took lumpsums last year in NJ are not affected by the new law.

So if you ever hit just meet up with some smart people from... [ More ]

Comment #12

OldSchoolPa — Tue, 24 Nov 2009 02:23:12 GMT

Well written Cal-LottoPlayer...I was going to say the same thing. BTW I just saw the How The Lottery Changed My Life marathon last Saturday night on TLC. I was really glad they featured both those who have successfully handled winning the lottery. They also featured one guy who won $3.6 million at age 18 and is now working a regular job to support his family...he lost the majority putting his trust in a business partner and not having put in place any protection in his 2nd business venture (i.e.... [ More ]

Comment #11

LckyLary — Tue, 24 Nov 2009 01:36:42 GMT

I remember when the Chubbies won (is that what you would call them, the Chubb people) I said take the cash option, and buy oil NOW!!! - had they done so they would have doubled their winnings in less than 1 year. I would say now to take the cash option and buy some gold, and some real estate. The only problem with a 20 year annuity is who knows what the value of a dollar is in the future with the Gov't printing so much and spending so much. i.e. imagine if 20 years ago someone won the Zimbabwean... [ More ]

Comment #10

savagegoose — Mon, 23 Nov 2009 15:41:30 GMT

well , annuity means if you blow it for 1 year, you only have a year to wait to blow it all again. after 20 years of blowing 500k a year you should have some practice at not losing all your money.

Comment #9

Todd — Mon, 23 Nov 2009 12:45:28 GMT

Too funny, I didn't notice that. They must have meant Nov. 16.

Comment #8

CAL-LottoPlayer — Mon, 23 Nov 2009 06:24:09 GMT

It's better to get the entire jackpot upfront. In the past, things were different. However, now the USA has huge trade deficits and huge federal government budget deficits. You can expect the value of the US dollar to further drop in the future. You may not have noticed, but the US dollar has already dropped in value. The price of gold has zoomed in price for US dollars. The main reason why gas has risen in price is because the value of US dollars has dropped (we buy foreign oil with US dollars... [ More ]

Comment #7

Nino224 — Mon, 23 Nov 2009 02:34:37 GMT

I think this story is from the future.

Comment #6

JKTAYLOR1 — Sun, 22 Nov 2009 22:35:23 GMT

I'm truly happy for her, but how did she claim her prize on Monday Nov. 23 when today is Nov. 22nd. Just asking a question.

Comment #5

ThatScaryChick — Sun, 22 Nov 2009 18:52:15 GMT

Congrats to her, on her win

Comment #4

hearsetrax — Sun, 22 Nov 2009 16:22:33 GMT

and or other XXX investment ideas

Comment #3

Littleoldlady — Sun, 22 Nov 2009 15:39:53 GMT

I have always thought it was the smarter option because it takes 20 years worth of worry off your mind and you don't really know what the stock market will do.

Comment #2

Rowen — Sun, 22 Nov 2009 15:35:34 GMT

Smart lady. Wish IL would do a similar game. Sound like it a scratchoff version of pick 6 or jackpot games.

Comment #1

dopey7719 — Sun, 22 Nov 2009 15:28:29 GMT

Good for her!!! It's not often I see someone pick the annuity option.

After $10M lottery win, Mass. woman plans 'exceptional Christmas'

Lottery Post — Sun, 22 Nov 2009 14:09:32 GMT

Debra A. Roberto, a Stoneham mother, won a $10 million grand prize the largest instant prize in America last week in the new Mega Cash game from the Massachusetts State Lottery.

She cashed in her winnings Monday, Nov. 23.

I've won a little [money] in the past, but I never even dreamed of winning this amount, she recently told the Sun. I scratch a lot of tickets, so when I scratched this one my husband said, 'Maybe now we're even.'

Her grand prize ties the record for the largest instan... [ More ]