Woman accuses son of taking $51 million lottery ticket

Comment #80

psykomo — Sun, 13 May 2012 21:30:43 GMT

Happy Mother'$$$ Day Sonnie!

Don't expect FLOWER's from Ms Etta May

Comment #79

psykomo — Sat, 12 May 2012 00:35:41 GMT

CONGRAT'sssssssss to Mr Ms Etta May $$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$

Your son Sonnie must be the RICHEST man in Bakersfield $$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$

and HONEST ^^^^^^^^ RICHEST man in Backersfield shake Sonnie'$$$$

hand when you meet^^^^^^^^ him on the street of this HAPPY FAMILY$$

home. Money bought this wonderful family HAPPINE$$$$$$$ FAME Congrat

Comment #78

psykomo — Fri, 11 May 2012 04:11:36 GMT

RDGR:

but, ur ass setss RDGR would bee knocked outta D parkBYD fed's 4 HIT'$$$URSON!!!

drink drug haveg@@D TIME JACKPOT$$$$

BULLY BULLY!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Todd coast 2 coast$

psyko

Comment #77

psykomo — Thu, 10 May 2012 00:02:39 GMT

They really L@@K HAPPY!!!!!

Her hand was shakin and Sonny stepped up to help her out^^^^^$$$$

and signed the ticket.

She concented and let him sign the ticket. Sonny took his MONEY RUN

to the car store and maby someday he will come home???????????????

Mama and her lottery chasing lawyer must keep themselves entertained

while Sonny the wild child has his fun spendin his money$$$$$$$$$$$$

CONGRAT'sssss to these MEGA JACKPOT million'sssss WINNER

Comment #76

Jill34786 — Wed, 09 May 2012 18:52:29 GMT

No, it's on the other side of town.

Comment #75

maximumfun — Wed, 09 May 2012 17:31:21 GMT

I have had people surprise me to the depths of both their generosity and depravity. it wasnt that i was blind to their 'tendencies' but i just didnt know how 'through and through' different aspects of their personality went...

so i suppose that i am saying that yes, it is possible for someone to be blind to how stupid/mean/evil/idiotic someone they love or are close to ... actually is. and sometimes we just simply blind ourselves. i would hope not to THIS degree.

i still hold that the mom... [ More ]

Comment #74

Scientistman — Wed, 09 May 2012 13:21:39 GMT

I wonder if thats true

Comment #73

Cletu$2 — Tue, 08 May 2012 21:10:53 GMT

You seem to be a chronic didn't knower'',resuccess.

Comment #72

ressuccess — Tue, 08 May 2012 20:58:45 GMT

I didn't know why this jackpot winning ticket start spending right away.

Comment #71

Cletu$2 — Tue, 08 May 2012 14:48:41 GMT

If I had son like that I'd knock him into last week...and start over

Comment #70

CARBOB — Tue, 08 May 2012 09:27:55 GMT

So is that sinkhole in your neighborhood, LOL

Comment #69

Simba774 — Tue, 08 May 2012 04:32:40 GMT

I seriously doubt that was the reason. She can always leave money to her kids and grandkids, but we're in the present, not the future. A legal team can take care of that. Her husband should have signed her name or his name or waited until she clamed down and she could have signed it herself. Her own son played her, but she should have known that unless this was the first time, which I also doubt.

Comment #68

Lucky4Life — Tue, 08 May 2012 00:04:46 GMT

So where is personal responsibility and accountability? Even if he gives her $$$ he will have to pay huge taxes on the gift. it's her fault she didn't sign it I don't care if she's his mother or his housekeeper. Sure, if everythin g she claims is true then he should be ashamed of himself. But take the lottery out of the equasion. What if she was going bankrupt and her son was a wealty person. Should the judge freeze his bank account for not helping his mom out? That's going quite a bit too far.... [ More ]

Comment #67

Jill34786 — Mon, 07 May 2012 22:11:37 GMT

Wow!! what a mess

Comment #66

maximumfun — Mon, 07 May 2012 18:41:45 GMT

For years I have been an advocate of putting vallium/diazepam in the water rather than flouride (I'm just sayin')... seems there was a reason why it was the favorite 'script for the wives of the '50's.

here is my public safety announcement: with said change (listed above) we would probably have less abuse of alcohol and illegal drugs. and at bare minimum we should have a 20 to 30 year study made to determine the plausibility of said change. (and i volunteer my neighborhood as the test subjec... [ More ]

Comment #65

haymaker — Mon, 07 May 2012 17:55:02 GMT

I'd rather have a bottle in front of me,

than a frontal lobotomy. LOL

Comment #64

dallascowboyfan — Mon, 07 May 2012 16:57:40 GMT

Yep

Comment #63

winwi5 — Mon, 07 May 2012 16:07:55 GMT

Her son is wrong his intentions were never good from the beginning he went along with the plan and in the end he is running around buying up cars and houses

The judge should automatically freeze his bank account and give the money to the mom this was a routine for her once she received her check every month she buy lottery tickets.

I bet the son bought houses for family members and girlfriends could be me because he would get his but beat for sure.

Comment #62

rad242 — Mon, 07 May 2012 15:52:23 GMT

Lol. Touche

Comment #61

Cletu$2 — Mon, 07 May 2012 15:45:30 GMT

Well,if I cashed in the original ticket,I'd have to share it with the cheapskate.Either way I'm only going to get 1/2 of the jackpot.If I was to burn the original ticket,Id still only get 1/2 the jackpot and the cheapskate wouldn't get sh#t! I like my way better.

Comment #60

dpoly1 — Mon, 07 May 2012 14:40:12 GMT

How sad ................

Comment #59

rad242 — Mon, 07 May 2012 14:27:52 GMT

The only downside to that is that you would be sharing the jackpot with an imaginary friend who over time woud never claim but half a jackpot is bettern than none assuming you were the only other person to be a part of the win

Comment #58

rdgrnr — Mon, 07 May 2012 14:09:02 GMT

Sounds like my kinda place.

Maybe you shouldn't have moved into a town with people you don't like.

Them are the Dust Bowl, Grapes of Wrath type people whose struggle is legendary.

I bet they're good people if you get to know them, unless years of California government help has taken it's toll.

I came here looking for something I couldn't find anywhere else

Hey, I'm not tryin' to be nobody I just want a chance to be myself

I've spent a thousand miles of thumbin'

Yes,... [ More ]

Comment #57

rad242 — Mon, 07 May 2012 12:59:05 GMT

I think you meant to suggest TWO VALLIUM

Comment #56

CDanaT — Mon, 07 May 2012 12:31:58 GMT

Maybe she should have a V-8 ??? or as a result of how this played out maybe she should have had a lobotomy

Comment #55

Cletu$2 — Mon, 07 May 2012 11:50:01 GMT

I wouldn't throw away the original ticket...I'd burn it.That way there would be NO proof that it ever existed and the cheapskate wouldn't get a dime.Now THAT'S poetic justice

Comment #54

Littleoldlady — Mon, 07 May 2012 07:33:20 GMT

He looks like he is mad as H3LL! I think he knew how it would end also. Look how the son looks. He is laughing like crazy! I guess so, his ship finally came in. Bet he didn't give them anything and the husband has probably chewed her backside off for being an idiot!

Scary thought here-wonder if he would have taken their lives if he wouldn't have gotten the money.

Comment #53

RJOh — Mon, 07 May 2012 06:59:14 GMT

He's not grinning like the other two like he already knows how it's going to end up.

Comment #52

CowboysFan — Mon, 07 May 2012 05:25:12 GMT

I've lived in Bakersfield the last 4 years and am not surprised. Most of the town is hillbilly USA except for a small part of it. They lived on the east side which is extremely poor so I'm not suprised the son is spending the money like crazy.

Comment #51

golfer1960 — Mon, 07 May 2012 04:40:50 GMT

You're right Ridge, I didn't notice that before. The step dad is not smiling at all while looking at the step son. I hope this turns out right for this woman. It's a shame if the son is ripping her off. Greedy son of a ....

Comment #50

rdgrnr — Mon, 07 May 2012 04:16:12 GMT

I think the look on the old man's face as he looks at his step-son says a lot.

Comment #49

golfer1960 — Mon, 07 May 2012 04:11:48 GMT

And here they are: Etta May Urquhart! Seems like a nice family but I'm also surprised they didn't seek counsel first. I will not make that mistake for fear of this type of screw up.

Comment #48

rdgrnr — Mon, 07 May 2012 03:15:16 GMT

Who is WE? I think WE is pretty much all of us here who happened to agree that you had to be a real cheapskate to give somebody a gift like that, the last time you brought it up.

I at first said I'd tell you to keep it but somebody else had a better idea: They said they'd go buy a ticket with the same numbers and throw away the original one, LOL.

That would make for some real poetic justice if those numbers won. And there wouldn't be a thing you could do about it either. It was a gift and... [ More ]

Comment #47

rad242 — Mon, 07 May 2012 02:59:53 GMT

Have any of you guys seen the promos for Dallas?

Blood is thicker than water but OIL is thicker than them both

Comment #46

Lucky SOB — Mon, 07 May 2012 02:55:12 GMT

if you cant trust family who can you trust

Comment #45

maximumfun — Mon, 07 May 2012 02:43:36 GMT

LOL - Venom - thanks for explaining your reasoning behind signing the ticket-gifts that you give. Quite frankly we (my small circle of associates) were quite puzzled and could not figure out any plausible potential reason behind it. While it's not something that I believe I would do... I also would not go bungee-jumping while I would/have gone spelunking. Different strokes for different folks.

Comment #44

VenomV12 — Mon, 07 May 2012 02:38:53 GMT

Who is WE? I did not realize that everyone here gave you authority to speak on their behalf as a collective. If so then I am impressed with your power and authority, you must truly be a great and powerful person.

If you have an issue with what I do then clearly you are one of the people that I am speaking of that would screw over the person who bought you a ticket, or perhaps their own mother.

I am not buying you anything so I am not so sure why you are so concerned about it anyway. It is... [ More ]

Comment #43

RJOh — Mon, 07 May 2012 01:08:51 GMT

Yes it would be nice to see one of our LP family member win a large jackpot

Family members are suppose to help each others, right?

Since we all are just one big family, we could drop in any time and ask a favor, right?

I don't I would care to have members of LP knowing that I had ever won a large jackpot.

Comment #42

RJOh — Mon, 07 May 2012 00:14:17 GMT

I know the feeling. I got it once when I mistakenly thought I had matched all 6 numbers in the Ohio Lottery for an $18M jackpot.

Some how when I updated my data file I also added the winning numbers to my play file and when I checked the play file and saw a line of red numbers I almost fainted.(numbers that match the numbers in the data file turn high lite red and if the date matches it turns yellow).

I rechecked everything three times before actually checking the tickets, that when I fou... [ More ]

Comment #41

PERDUE — Sun, 06 May 2012 23:40:10 GMT

Remember the first time I held a billion dollars worth of checks in my hand at one time.

I was completely terrified. No these were not my checks but the idea of holding that much money in my hand was an extremely overwhelming event.

I remember laying the checks down on my desk, getting up and going on a one hour break to get my anxiety under control.

My hands were shaking.

I had double vision.

I felt like I was gonna hurl.

My heart was racing.

My knees were wobbly.

I had

Comment #40

HaveABall — Sun, 06 May 2012 23:31:34 GMT

Perhaps Etta has mid-level Alzheimers or Dementia.

If a lottery winner of several $M, net, wants to share their fortune, they should sign their own name and invite 2-5 additional people (or create a corporation, LLC, charity, foundation, etc.to sign the ticket). Even if it takes one month to decide the names, and how to fit on the tiny space at the back of the lottery ticket and the official claim form!

It is selfish (and ultimately mean spirited) for winning jackpot lottery ticket holders... [ More ]

Comment #39

rad242 — Sun, 06 May 2012 23:14:22 GMT

She was busy signing AUTOGRAPHS! She delegated that menial task to her son.

Comment #38

larry3100 — Sun, 06 May 2012 23:10:45 GMT

Etta May was shaking badly and was overcome with emotions.Wow.Etta could have at least signed the back of that lottery ticket with a big X ,witnessed by the lottery officials.

Comment #37

HaveABall — Sun, 06 May 2012 23:02:49 GMT

Geez, VenomV12, we STILL think it is time for you to buy people gifts that have NOTHING to do with the lottery or raffles

Comment #36

HaveABall — Sun, 06 May 2012 22:50:28 GMT

Not necessarily

Comment #35

VenomV12 — Sun, 06 May 2012 22:09:11 GMT

I do it all the time. That way I eliminate the stress for the recepient of having to decide whether they are going to be a decent person and share some of the winnings with me after I bought them a ticket that made them wealthy and also the almost suicidal thoughts that would be going through my head thinking I bought a ticket worth millions of dollars and then gave it away.

If you have a problem with splitting millions of dollars with me for the low low cost of nothing on your part, then fe... [ More ]

Comment #34

RJOh — Sun, 06 May 2012 21:01:19 GMT

Winning a lottery jackpot worth millions of dollars is a once in a life time experience even for seasoned lottery players. The only thing a seasoned player might know more about is cashing in tickets. The rest would be common sense and there's no indication that season lottery players have more of that than anyone else.

Comment #33

maximumfun — Sun, 06 May 2012 20:06:35 GMT

That would be wonderful - having Todd do the interview here at Lottery Post.

Comment #32

CDanaT — Sun, 06 May 2012 19:26:13 GMT

It would be nice to see one of the L.P. members win a large sum....Then maybe announce the win on here. Have Todd do an indepth interview from start to present on their plans just after finding out the won - versus - actual actions taken. While I do support anonymity, I would enjoy reading that kind of story. These kind of stories just reiterate the lack of intelligence and morality that runs amuck in this country......A fool and their money are soon departed

Comment #31

rad242 — Sun, 06 May 2012 19:04:06 GMT

Seasoned lottery players who would know step by step exactly what to do are the ones that rarely win

Comment #30

mcginnin56 — Sun, 06 May 2012 18:53:15 GMT

Totally agree. You have developed your character throughout your entire life by the decisions, and morality stands you affirm.

The money just pushes all that under a microscope for all to see. It may or may not be a pretty sight.

Comment #29

RJOh — Sun, 06 May 2012 18:37:30 GMT

Money doesn't change people as much as it exposes their character.

It been said that money and power corrupt people but I think corrupt people are exposed when they get money and power.

There use to be a TV ad that said Don't leave your keys in your car and help a good kid go bad and I would think what 'good kid' goes around looking for keys in cars to steal

Comment #28

dr65 — Sun, 06 May 2012 18:36:51 GMT

Lottery officials witnessed the signing of the ticket and were present when Etta May was too shocked to function. There are people who

saw what happened that day. I think the son is in for a rude awakening.

Her husband probably thought it was a good idea for her son to sign it also. Really, in all that excitement, who is thinking about the

technicalities? It's easy to say: don't do this, don't do that but the thrill of it all and trust in family sometimes makes all of what you should... [ More ]

Comment #27

Lucky SOB — Sun, 06 May 2012 18:21:00 GMT

here comes another story about how winning the lottery broke up a family

but how could a son do that to his own mother

Comment #26

dallascowboyfan — Sun, 06 May 2012 18:12:15 GMT

Yep

Comment #25

rad242 — Sun, 06 May 2012 17:59:52 GMT

This dude had a plan!

If he had his mother's interest at heart he would have ensured she signed that ticket before they left to meet with lottery officials. Instead he was the one according to the report that discouraged her from signing it so she could avoid the barage of requests that would come as a result of this very PUBLIC WIN

He's an opportunist with no scruples and mother or stranger he would take advantage of any chance that came his way. Here he is living HIGH OFF THE H... [ More ]

Comment #24

dallascowboyfan — Sun, 06 May 2012 17:58:47 GMT

Welcome to the LP mrylndw

Comment #23

maximumfun — Sun, 06 May 2012 17:57:52 GMT

I have never understood that mentality. One of my colleagues got a 'gift' of a lottery ticket that was signed by the giver. We all kinda looked at it perplexed.

What kind of a gift is that? One with strings

Comment #22

dallascowboyfan — Sun, 06 May 2012 17:53:14 GMT

Money changes people RJOh

Comment #21

RJOh — Sun, 06 May 2012 17:51:01 GMT

Some people do even when they are buying them as gifts for others.

Comment #20

mrylndw — Sun, 06 May 2012 17:49:06 GMT

Thank you

Comment #19

maximumfun — Sun, 06 May 2012 17:45:32 GMT

That would have definitely solved this problem! (and welcome to Lottery Post mrylndw

Comment #18

mrylndw — Sun, 06 May 2012 17:44:37 GMT

Sign it when you buy it.

Comment #17

rdgrnr — Sun, 06 May 2012 17:44:11 GMT

I think we've all known jerks who had mothers who thought they did no wrong, who thought the sun rose at their beck and call.

I know I have.

Comment #16

dallascowboyfan — Sun, 06 May 2012 17:32:01 GMT

LOL... I would be in jail...

Comment #15

rdgrnr — Sun, 06 May 2012 17:31:15 GMT

I think it's easy to analyze from our perspective and maybe she would have shared our opinions if she wasn't at ground zero of this event.

I think she's probably just a very excitable woman who wasn't thinking clearly at the time. Things were moving too fast for her. In hindsight she'd probably do all the things you suggest and she's probably driving herself nuts now with second-guessing and regrets.

Maybe there's some kind of friction between her husband and her son that affected her deci... [ More ]

Comment #14

dallascowboyfan — Sun, 06 May 2012 17:28:53 GMT

Comment #13

dallascowboyfan — Sun, 06 May 2012 17:27:52 GMT

That sorry no good Ba

Comment #12

Piaceri — Sun, 06 May 2012 17:27:38 GMT

As to why didn't she have her husband sign? It could be that she wanted her children to be the ones to inherit later, not his. In this world of extended families, there exists a conundrum for older remarrieds regarding inheritance for their children from earlier marriages. Maybe she does not get along with his kids from an earlier marriage and did not wish for them to benefit from her winnings.

Lessons learned: don't go to the place you bought the ticket to verify winnings. Verify yourself,... [ More ]

Comment #11

Piaceri — Sun, 06 May 2012 17:22:06 GMT

A Mother's love is blind. Happens all the time. She got her eyes opened now, that's for sure. However, I bet she is still making excuses for him.

Comment #10

maximumfun — Sun, 06 May 2012 17:20:08 GMT

That's true... but aren't there degrees of jerk-dom? My eldest child personifies ... everything I raised my kids NOT to be, but REALLY didn't show her true colors until she had some of what she considered power , then she really went full-throttle... and no one expected what happened.

So what could have happened is that mom knew his proclivities, just not the degree to which he would succumb; or mom was just sadly blind to who/what her child was. In the latter case, YIKES! why oh WHY didn't s... [ More ]

Comment #9

RJOh — Sun, 06 May 2012 17:15:11 GMT

If she raised him, she should have known he was a jerk. People don't just all of a certain become a jerk.

Comment #8

PERDUE — Sun, 06 May 2012 16:35:11 GMT

But Ridge, WHY didn't she ask her HUSBAND to sign the ticket?

He was RIGHT THERE!!

The husband could've signed her name and they would'nt be in this mess.

Why not wait until she calmed down and sign the ticket herself?

It's not like they only had 10 minutes left before the ticket expired?

She could've signed the ticket when she checked the numbers in the newspaper.

All she had to do is flip the ticket over and sign her name.

This woman doesn't strike me as someone who's shor... [ More ]

Comment #7

rdgrnr — Sun, 06 May 2012 16:17:31 GMT

What it sounds like, PERDUE, is that she had complete faith and trust in her son.

And then found out he's really a jerk.

Comment #6

PERDUE — Sun, 06 May 2012 16:02:03 GMT

She later checked her Mega Millions ticket against the numbers in a newspaper, and saw she had won, the lawsuit said.

Once Mrs. Urquhart saw that this was a winning ticket, why didn't Mrs. Urquhart and/or Mr. Urquhart, her husband sign the ticket?

Urquhart and her husband, Orender's stepfather, later went with Orender to the Mobil station where they met with lottery officials.

Lottery officials requested the winning ticket be signed, the lawsuit said. Etta May was overcome with em... [ More ]

Comment #5

rdgrnr — Sun, 06 May 2012 15:50:03 GMT

If I had a son like that I'd knock him into next week.

Comment #4

KY Floyd — Sun, 06 May 2012 14:45:27 GMT

Why did she feel she had to go public (Dog and Pony Show)?

There's something really bizarre about that part of the story. There's no way the lottery had her doing the publicity thing before the ticket was claimed through the usual process, so why was she meeting lottery officials at the gas station with a ticket that wasn't signed, and therefore must not have been presented to lottery officials yet? I saw another article that makes it sound like she checked the numbers and then went to the g... [ More ]

Comment #3

Cletu$2 — Sun, 06 May 2012 13:18:47 GMT

This story should be good for a few laughs as it plays out.I'm guessing that we'll see more of these folks on How The Lottery Ruined My Life.

Comment #2

Cletu$2 — Sun, 06 May 2012 13:11:03 GMT

What a dysfunctional family

Comment #1

rad242 — Sun, 06 May 2012 12:40:07 GMT

She went into a feeding frenzy with an UNSIGNED TICKET?

HRH Todd - You should facilitate a course.

Why did she feel she had to go public (Dog and Pony Show)? If she was that overwhlemed she should have taken a few weeks to confer with consultants (investment/tax/legal). It will prove a hell of a lot cheaper than the attorneys they have representing them now!

Plan to win and have a plan

Woman accuses son of taking $51 million lottery ticket

Lottery Post — Sun, 06 May 2012 12:22:44 GMT

A California woman has sued her son and accused him of making off with her $51 million Mega Millions lottery ticket, and then racking up expenses on houses, cars, and cash gifts.

The legal dispute between Etta May Urquhart, 76, and her son Ronnie Orender, who had been a truck driver, centers on who owns the ticket. She admits he signed it, but she is the one who lottery officials acknowledge bought the slip of paper.

In May 2011, Urquhart went to her local Mobil gas station in Bakersfield,... [ More ]