Those who suffered the "curse" of the lottery:

Reply #26

KY Floyd — Thu, 25 Jun 2009 05:52:05 GMT

That's true, but the money can also bring out the real you. Plenty of people just can't afford to be the losers they'd be if they didn't need to keep working for their money.

Reply #25

PrisonerSix — Thu, 25 Jun 2009 01:59:37 GMT

That is true. I also wonder if sudden wealth magnifies our actions as well. If winners had problems before, the sudden wealth of a lottery win can magnify them if the winners aren't careful. The things that lurk deep within us that we keep buried, sudden wealth can bring them to the surface, and no good will come of it. Just like the comment I posted from Jack Whitaker, he apparently got the idea that he had all that money so he could do whatever he wanted, and it has ended up costing him dearly... [ More ]

Reply #24

TheGameGrl — Tue, 23 Jun 2009 01:54:03 GMT

DelmarvaChick was right on the money with the accessment! Bravo for being unbias and non judgemental about the persons. Truly Bad things happen to good people and you cannot have enough money in the world when such comes about. Yes poor judgement , mismanagement occurs even to the richest of folks. Need I mention That some of the wealthiest folks LOST MILLIONS in what they constituted to be a great investement ( Ponzi schemes). The point is, Jack Whitaker lost a grandchild, flesh, blood . Rich o... [ More ]

Reply #23

PrisonerSix — Tue, 23 Jun 2009 00:30:20 GMT

The only option you have in most U.S. states is to find an anonymous way to claim, like through a trust or a corporation. That way, your name isn't plastered all over media and in the lottery's official records, your name isn't there, the name of the trust/corporation/etc. is.

This has been discussed many times on here before. Some states allow this, some don't, so I guess it depends on what state you live in.

Reply #22

myturn — Mon, 22 Jun 2009 08:43:09 GMT

In Australia winners do have a choice, state lottery can not release the identity of winners without their permission; and very few winners give it.

Reply #21

Capricorn27 — Sun, 21 Jun 2009 14:39:48 GMT

Hello Marcie!

Are you talking about staying with the same number , like in Pick 3 or Lotto, Cash 5 , etc?

**Also, do you think there's at least one person from each state that reads these threads daily?

Thanks

Reply #20

PrisonerSix — Sun, 21 Jun 2009 14:39:27 GMT

On January 6, 2004, Whittaker was arrested for misdemeanor assault after allegedly threatening the life of a bar manager in St. Albans, West Virginia. He has also been sued after allegedly groping a woman at a dog racetrack. Whittaker told a TV station after he was charged with drunken driving, It doesn't bother me because I can tell everyone to piss off.

That is a quote from the Wikipedia entry about Jack Whittaker that I think sums it up. People think because they have a lot of money tha... [ More ]

Reply #19

marcie — Sun, 21 Jun 2009 14:12:12 GMT

Hi Everyone the thing is to say on a number that you like, I will play my dreams, and look it up in The Three Wisemen, those numbers are good. I have won money from those books. Another thing you have to be Lucky! We can't win all the time, but it is about luck

Reply #18

Capricorn27 — Sun, 21 Jun 2009 10:50:19 GMT

I mean, if you win BIG , do you have a choice? Your very own state Lottery will advertise all over TV, that you

have won!! People that know you will contact you and even folks that haven't seen you in years will come out

of the woodwork. It's very hard to keep everything hush, hush

Reply #17

Capricorn27 — Sun, 21 Jun 2009 10:35:56 GMT

I don't know. The clerk just said that, and was confused also of the terminals msg.

Believe me, if I would have won $20K, I wouldn't forget the name of the ticket either!

**Congrats on your winnings

Reply #16

myturn — Sun, 21 Jun 2009 06:21:52 GMT

Back in 1960, a NSW lottery players won $100,000, worth million today, soon after his Eight-year-old son was kidnapped and a ransom of $25,000 was demanded. The money was paid, but the child was killed. As a result lottery procedures in Australia were changed after the Thorne case, with all lottery winners being given the option of remaining anonymous when collecting their winnings. Very few have opted for publicity.

Reply #15

myturn — Sun, 21 Jun 2009 06:01:17 GMT

It's not the curse of the lottery, it's the curse of publicity! A young rancher South Dakota who won $292 million on Powerball, was required to front the media after his win and have families private details revealed. The Mayor of his home town was interviewed on television, about how the town might benefit.

Reply #14

C5VetteMN6 — Thu, 18 Jun 2009 12:04:33 GMT

Money doesn't change people ... it changes everyone around you.

Reply #13

SmoothJuice — Thu, 18 Jun 2009 05:02:30 GMT

Already millionaires?? that's a good trait.

Reply #12

DC81 — Thu, 18 Jun 2009 01:59:51 GMT

I think another big issue is that many of these people are just flat out fools, goes for athletes, actors or many other entertainment professions where people become rich and then lose it all due to squandering on an excessive lifestyle, not paying taxes or being flat out ripped off by people who are supposed to be working for them. It seems like the few who do hire someone end up either not listening to the person they have hired or take a total hands off approach and let the person(s) have fre... [ More ]

Reply #11

CowboysFan — Thu, 18 Jun 2009 00:20:39 GMT

Its just like with pro athletes. I see stats all the time that say within like a 10 year period of retiring most of them go broke because a lot of them never grew up with money and therefore buy everything they can. They also don't plan for the future because they are living in the here and now but when the future does come they aren't ready for it and they have no money. Its important to plan for the future! If I ever won a large jackpot I would never want to go back to the way I was living bef... [ More ]

Reply #10

grandpajohn — Wed, 17 Jun 2009 19:09:33 GMT

I remember one guy like 20 some years ago hit the old Ohio Super Lotto and at that time was for a record ammout.He got his money went to a car dealership not far from where I live and wanted to buy a sports car.This was back when ''Smokey and the Bandit was out so he wanted that car it wasn't a month he wreack it charged with DUI and if I remember the story right they also found drugs in his car at that time.Sad

I have always told my wife if we won it big I wouldn't even tell my two kids that... [ More ]

Reply #9

Coin Toss — Wed, 17 Jun 2009 19:03:39 GMT

Can we say 'the more you have to flash, the less you'll keep your cash'?

Not sure it's not a matter of IQ, or maybe we could say street smarts .

For example, Jack Whitaker hanging out at dance clubs with hundreds of thousands of cash in the trunk of his car was really not a display of street smarts . In fact, that was asking for it .

Reply #8

MaddMike51 — Wed, 17 Jun 2009 18:43:24 GMT

So,why did the terminal say that it couldn't pay you you would have to redeem the ticket at Lottery Headquarters if it was only a $2 winner?

I won $21,000 on a $2 scratch ticket once and I haven't forgotten what kind of ticket it was doubt if I ever will.It was Double Blackjack ticket.

Reply #7

Capricorn27 — Wed, 17 Jun 2009 17:06:19 GMT

I guess it's the person. We don't have to worry about that now, maybe until we hit it!

*For example this happened to me a while back. I can't remember what scratch ticket I bought at the local

convenience store, it had to do with the Roses , match two alike symbols and win a dollar amount according

to the LEGEND. Well, I gave it to the clerk and the clerk ran it through the terminal and said he couldn't give me the cash

because the computer told him I needed to redeem my ticket... [ More ]

Reply #6

petergrfn — Wed, 17 Jun 2009 17:05:11 GMT

I'm not superstitious so I don't believe in curses.....I think the Curse of the Lottery is a made up line by Media who want to make an interesting story.

To avoid problems :

Avoid Media exposure as much as possible(would be easier with small jackpot then huge Mega Jackpot).

Avoid Friends that suddenly appear when you've won the money...Also New Girl/Boy Friends that appear.. ie GoldDiggers.

Avoid Making rash financial decisions..Anyone who offers you an unbelievable return on you... [ More ]

Reply #5

DelmarvaChick — Wed, 17 Jun 2009 17:03:47 GMT

I don't think any of us can speak to their traits because we don't know them personally. Who are we to say that Jack or Dave Edwards, or that lady in NJ who won twice, or that William Post person, were all depressed, all hardworking, drunks, druggies, or whatever? Our opinions come from news releases created by people who are paid to push drama.

I think the only person who would be qualified to say such would be someone who knew at least 2 unsuccessful winners. The only thing we can say is th... [ More ]

Reply #4

tiggs95 — Wed, 17 Jun 2009 16:17:29 GMT

I think a lot of winners who win millions want to spend it all before they die and that's a lot of the problem..

Reply #3

Texas Joey — Wed, 17 Jun 2009 15:55:37 GMT

I think, personally, that the I.Q. is their curse!! Consider the source of the problem. Not a curse but questionable winners!!!

Joey

Reply #2

lottolaughs — Wed, 17 Jun 2009 14:39:53 GMT

As far as a curse , I really don't believe in all of that. Each individual winner has their own back story as any one of us. I think it goes more by what kind of person you are and the life you led before winning the lottery. If you had a lot of drama in your life beforehand you can bet it will intensify 100 fold if you come into millions of dollars. What kind of people are in your life, what kind of friends do you have? What is your mental state? Are you a more depressed or happy-go-lucky sort... [ More ]

Reply #1

JAP69 — Wed, 17 Jun 2009 14:28:07 GMT

The first thing you do not do is tell that you are going to be generous with the money.

Those who suffered the "curse" of the lottery:

Jimhowlett — Wed, 17 Jun 2009 14:24:16 GMT

I have an idea for this thread: let's take into account the most notable examples of the lottery curse (e.g. Jack Whittaker, et al) and determine what traits they all share. The point of this exercise would be to determine what actually causes lottery winners to succumb to the curse and what we as LP members can do to avoid it should one of us ever win the big one.

Does someone want to go first or shall I