OSU student loses sleep, misses an exam after family wins huge Powerball prize
Who can think about school when your family's net worth suddenly stretches to nine numbers?
Curtis West, the son of the reported $340 million Powerball jackpot winners, said he was so excited about the news that he missed one of his midterm exams at Oregon State University.
"I ended up not getting any sleep and when I did finally fall asleep I slept through my exam," the freshman wrote in an e-mail to the Mail Tribune newspaper.
"Everyone is really excited and I am as well, but it has just happened too quickly and I'm having kind of a hard time adjusting to the fact that my life is going to be different," he said.
While Curtis West had an e-mail exchange with a reporter, his parents, Steve and Carolyn, continue to maintain their silence.
Steve West, 48, plans to validate his winnings in Salem later this week, said Chuck Baumann, a lottery spokesman who took the rare step of contacting the family on Monday.
"I invoked the $340 million rule for calling winners before they called in," Baumann said.
Baumann said he was also calling to investigate rumors that the winning ticket was bought by a 17-year-old, which would violate Oregon law.
If true, it would trigger an investigation of the retailer, believed to be Ray's Food Place in Jacksonville.
"I don't think it would have jeopardized the prize," Baumann said.
Steve West said the ticket was purchased by an adult, but he didn't name the buyer. Randy Lewis, manager of Ray's, said his store checks the identification of all questionable players.
"We don't sell to minors," Lewis said.
Meanwhile, Curtis West, one of the family's four children, is once again hitting the books. An honor student who graduated from North Medford High School in June, the liberal arts major said he's coming to terms with the jackpot.
"The whole thing just feels very surreal to me because this kind of thing doesn't happen to people you know, much less yourself or your family," he wrote.
Talkative group aren't they! Not a good sign.
Chewie-
You and I think so much alike. They are releasing entirely too much info about themselves and their kids need a HUGE GAG ORDER PLACED ON THEM! To reveal what schools they are attending, etc. Emailing the press and being talkie. Oh well, I give them 6 months and we'll hear stories about they wished it would all go away.
They are evidently ill-prepared for the moment!
I stillwish them the best, its early and they can come to themselves.
Yes, with a last name like West...maybe the kids could've stayed fairly hidden. Not now. Change schools.
Chewie-
You and I think so much alike. They are releasing entirely too much info about themselves and their kids need a HUGE GAG ORDER PLACED ON THEM! To reveal what schools they are attending, etc. Emailing the press and being talkie. Oh well, I give them 6 months and we'll hear stories about they wished it would all go away.
They are evidently ill-prepared for the moment!
I stillwish them the best, its early and they can come to themselves.
6 months??? I don't give them half that. They're talking too much and now rumors of a minor purchasing the ticket. Who are they trying to be anonymous from? They've revealed where they live, their names, sons name and school, grade. I'm lost!!!
They will need to hire a security firm to keep people off of them. It will be like a pit bull seeing and smelling blood. Its ashame. What ashame. But they have time to turn things around before it becomes a nightmare.
I already know of one, most likely former, LotteryPost member who is stepping off the plane in Portland, just having finished his 20 page essay to the Wests.
THIS IS A PUBLIC SERVICE ANNOUNCEMENT.
Did you have to go the Paris to get that Yves St. Laurant original dress? Do you have the terrible problem to decide whether to go to Barbados for deep sea fishing, going to New England to learn how to make Shaker style furniture? Did you have to go the Vanuatu (Tahiti), sip champagne while semi-naked women fan palm leaves to cool you off? Did your wife go to Rodeo Drive to purchase a 40 carat diamond ring?
Yes, yes. Ladies and Gentlemen, this is a very terrible sign of "JACKPOT SUDDEN WEALTH SYNDROME". People with this illness have been known to purchase Ferrari, Bently, BMW, Mercedes etc.
I know you are all sad and shocked at such terrible condition that falls on people with this condition.
But luckily, "JACKPOT SUDDEN WEALTH SYNDROME" can be cured.
Mr. West ... simply send all of your winnings to me. Then you will be healed.
Thank you. THIS HAS BEEN A PUBLIC SERVICE ANNOUNCEMENT.
I just hope the don't lose the ticket.
I get the feeling that they would be worst than Jack W.
I already know of one, most likely former, LotteryPost member who is stepping off the plane in Portland, just having finished his 20 page essay to the Wests.
LOL! You wouldn't happen to be talking about Manmeat would you? I haven't seen him on here for awhile.
I hope they don't become the next Jack W. I had enough of him as it is!
JW was unique - he will never be repeated. However, there are always more than one clown in every circus.
Chewie-
All I can say is you should have been a comedian. lolololololo More than one clown in a circus! Thats good!
I already know of one, most likely former, LotteryPost member who is stepping off the plane in Portland, just having finished his 20 page essay to the Wests.
LOL! You wouldn't happen to be talking about Manmeat would you? I haven't seen him on here for awhile.
That just might be who I'm talkin about! Tough to post when you're hitchhiking to Oregon.
I don't know about that comment regarding only one Jack W...
I bet there are plenty of them, in fact, the West's are starting to resemble an intellectually challenged bunch.
As said before- keep your mouth(s) shut, get the press conference overwith and disappear before one of your loved ones does.
DD
Curtis West, the son of the reported $340 million Powerball jackpot winners, said he was so excited about the news that he missed one of his midterm exams at Oregon State University.
Do you think the Head Cheerleader and about 600 female students (and a few males) just started inviting this guy to the Sorority parties?
hahahahahahahah His invitation list is quite diverse these days. He has access to people and things that he never imagined. I hope they learn to quickly shut up and move away!
Curtis West, the son of the reported $340 million Powerball jackpot winners, said he was so excited about the news that he missed one of his midterm exams at Oregon State University.
Do you think the Head Cheerleader and about 600 female students (and a few males) just started inviting this guy to the Sorority parties?
I wonder how attractive he is?
I'm betting they'll let the kid take the exams in absentia.... prolly his chances of failing any of them under any circumstances just plummeted. But so did his chances of ever needing a degree to get a job. Henceforth this young man can do just about whatever he wants to do without giving a lot of thought to the hoops most young people have to jump through to survive.
Power to him. He's faced with an entirely different set of challenges than most. And there's no reason to suspect any of us here on LP know any more than the attendant down at the convenience store about what those challenges are.
The winners probably will get by without any dire warnings and dark admonishments from people who've never won.
The man who owns this jackpot was a financial success before he won, judging from what we know. Probably he wouldn't have been prone to take advice from people who aren't notably successful before he won, and he won't be taking any now. Likely he believes he's as savvy as any of us, which he probably is.
Jack
1130 people viewed this news posting, I'd say there is more than a glancing interest in this family's fortunes.
All I can say is...
Congrats to the West family in Oregon!!!! ... Now they can let me win the next one so I can go back to Oregon and buy a little house and enjoy the clean air there .. ~smiles~....God Bless your entire family
Hi again .... This goes out to all those who think these folks are wrong for letting their name and info come out. Rude awakening folks ... it will get out anyways. Some how or another. As far as for where the young man goes to school... I have to laugh. If you have never gone to OSU let me tell you that is a mighty huge campus and there is always something political going on there. Police and media are always on hand. And the Portland Oregon police are totally awesome. Wish we had their squad cars here in the northeast. That family is OK for sure. And folks don't anyone go take a plane to Portland... it is a long way to medford. Past the mountains and past the cows.
1130 people viewed this news posting, I'd say there is more than a glancing interest in this family's fortunes.
Something stronger than an interest, I'd say.
Nineteen year olds have always believed they had more than enough wisdom to know what they should do with their own lives. But until the last generation or two they withheld their opinions about what people twice or three times their own ages should do with theirs. They wouldn't have dared suggest they knew what a person of 25 ought to do.
Now it's every man for himself. People of every age group so overburdened with wisdom they can't contain it by just following their own counsel.
Jack
hahahahahahahah His invitation list is quite diverse these days. He has access to people and things that he never imagined. I hope they learn to quickly shut up and move away!
I wonder if Paris Hilton will be calling him. She likes rich young boys. But maybe he might be too smart for her....he is in college.
It was my understanding that the ticket was a group family ticket and thus being split amongst other siblings/inlaws...So its not the grand amount ppl are making it. I agree though anything over 2 mill is well worth getting notoriety for yet I sense this family is still in the fog stage of how they will manage the wealth. Kids will talk and neighbors will continue to be nosey, those things rarely change. The key in this will be the *adults*. I sense that this family will pull thru this just fine and still have the kids get a degree.
hahahahahahahah His invitation list is quite diverse these days. He has access to people and things that he never imagined. I hope they learn to quickly shut up and move away!
I wonder if Paris Hilton will be calling him. She likes rich young boys. But maybe he might be too smart for her....he is in college.
DD
honor student.
i can't say what curtis did was smart. i wouldn't give him an honor if he costs the whole family a big problem. such as? refer to jack's story. as for his huge campus, if a lot of people in your town knows how much you're worth, anybody can do terrible things,especially desperate people. imagine how many people already know so much about them- they don't even live near oregon. helllooooo!!!???
who waits for later when you know you won the jackpot??? they don't seem like they need it that bad.
mr. and mrs. west remain their silence... what silence? when you plan to buy a ticket, you plan what you're going to do with it if you hit it. then you talk to your whole family to keep their mouth shut. sure people would know eventually but wouldn't you even wanna at least enjoy your millionaire life for few months before you let everybody else make their plans or moves on how they're going to take it from you.
if these people have big hearts and would help a lot of crisis victims and all, my prayers and best wishes are with them.
dude like curtis is desperately looking to get laid that's whay he doesn't mind letting the whole world know about his fortune. sure he was having a hard time adjusting. whatever.
there, i done said it all.
Straannnnngggeeeeeeee!!!! Okay, is all of this a hoax? Why bother to give a public family biography. Do you or do you not know (apparently) that this kind of JackPot won by one person or two or three family members, definitely got attention nationnwide. Did the 12/02 jackpot not do the same???? Nothing but regrets have I read about. Do you want your children disillusioned by the negative elements that are sure to follow?
Another strange thing. I thought that the Lottery people could always tell WHERE the winning ticket was purchased. No specific store has been mentioned. WHY??? Was the ticket sold to a minor and no one wants the Powerball to get a bad name? Would that mean that the prize would be forfeited and go back into the pool? Now talk about a jackpot? That would be super great. Then maybe the winner(s) will be some Hurricane Diaster Victims winning a $340 million plus jackpot.
Maybe the West Family did not win at all. Maybe they just want attention. The ticket ... WHo knows where it is and who owns it. Maybe they will wait until the claim time expires!
In early 1999 a minor in Iowa claimed half of a Powerball jackpot. (IA players must be 21).
Has any one figured out that an adult can buy a ticket and give it to a minor, say their child, and it is perfectly legal? Not an uncommon event. In NJ, you can claim as a minor, just can get anything until you're legal.
Only adults can win.
Some states (eg Virginia) do not allow minors to claim tickets. What does a kid there do if s/he finds a winning ticket?
Only adults can win.
W-R-O-N-G !!!!
Look it up.
Some states (eg Virginia) do not allow minors to claim tickets. What does a kid there do if s/he finds a winning ticket?
Give it to someone who can claim it. Preferable someone who will share the after taxes winnings with s/he.
Straannnnngggeeeeeeee!!!! Okay, is all of this a hoax? Why bother to give a public family biography. Do you or do you not know (apparently) that this kind of JackPot won by one person or two or three family members, definitely got attention nationnwide. Did the 12/02 jackpot not do the same???? Nothing but regrets have I read about. Do you want your children disillusioned by the negative elements that are sure to follow?
Another strange thing. I thought that the Lottery people could always tell WHERE the winning ticket was purchased. No specific store has been mentioned. WHY??? Was the ticket sold to a minor and no one wants the Powerball to get a bad name? Would that mean that the prize would be forfeited and go back into the pool? Now talk about a jackpot? That would be super great. Then maybe the winner(s) will be some Hurricane Diaster Victims winning a $340 million plus jackpot.
Maybe the West Family did not win at all. Maybe they just want attention. The ticket ... WHo knows where it is and who owns it. Maybe they will wait until the claim time expires!
I wondered the same thing about them not knowing where the ticket was sold. When I was in KY they could tell you what city, store and the time the ticket was sold. Something sounds fishy to me.
MUSL knew exactly where and when that ticket was sold within three seconds of the drawing. The information is released piece-meal to the general public.
I get the feeling we will be hearing that there is another actual winner of the 340 million. They still have not validated the ticket, even after being contacted by lottery officials. I hope no one can be that idiotic to really give out all of their information upon winning a massive lottery such as this one. d
Surely, at the store where the winning ticket was sold, there is video of the sale. Shouldn't be that hard to get a copy - they do it on Law & Order every week.
Funny how Jack was at a lottery conference only 36 hours or so after the numbers were drawn, along with other (smaller!) winners.
LIKE I SAID BEFORE...THIS DUDE IS LOOKING TO GET LAID. WHAT A HORNY DOG.
EXACTLY RIGHT, THEY CAN GET A COPY OF THE VIDEO OF SALE OF THE TICKET SINCE THEY KNOW WHAT STORE AND WHO WON THE JACKPOT- SO THEY SAY. WHO KNOWS HOW DESPERATE THESE PEOPLE ARE FOR ATTENTION.
LIKE I SAID BEFORE...THESE PEOPLE MUST NOT BE HURTING FOR MONEY.
AS FOR MINOR OR ADULT WINNING A JACKPOT- THAT'S NOT EVEN WORTH A DISCUSSION. HELLOOOO! COMMON SENSE, DEPENDS ON STATE- MINOR CAN'T WIN, GIVE IT TO DAD OR MOM, SIMPLE AS THAT!
AS FOR MIDNITEMADNESS
-PLEASE REFER TO MY REPLY POSTED ON OCT. 26. LAUGH AS MUCH AS YOU WANT. BUT DON'T YOU THINK THAT WAS TOO MUCH OF *** KISSING TO THESE PEOPLE? THEY WON'T GIVE YOU MONEY OR GAIN ANYTHING FOR DOING THAT ESPECIALLY IF THESE PEOPLE ARE FAKE---BUT WHO KNOWS, RIGHT?I MUST SAY, SINCE YOU WANNA GO BACK HOME SO BAD, YOU MUST BE COUNTING ON GETTING A SHARE? YOU SEEM SO ATTACHED TO THEM LIKE PEOPLE ARE TALKING SOOO BAD ABOUT THEM.
HMMMN... TRUTH HURTS, BUT NOTHING PERSONAL, K?
sand:
You seem to be right. We all have our fantasies.
LIKE I SAID BEFORE...THIS DUDE IS LOOKING TO GET LAID. WHAT A HORNY DOG.
Sounds like an extremely worthy goal for a teenage boy! With $340M now in the family, he probably has a 99 percentile chance of success. Let me hit PB/MM and the only reason I would kick those money-grubing sweet things out of bed, is because there is more room on the floor.
chewie:
You only trust yourself? I trust anyone who prefers lump sum over annuity.
chewie:
You only trust yourself? I trust anyone who prefers lump sum over annuity.
That means you would trust me automatically - and that would be a very bad decision.