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May 28, 2008, 8:57 am (41 comments)
Mark Weir won a £2.7 million (US $5.3 million) Lotto jackpot, and then told the members of his former lottery pool, "You won't get a penny".
Father-of-two Mark, 45, hit the jackpot with a £1 Quick Pick ticket he bought in last Wednesday's UK National Lottery draw after failing to win anything for years in his office lottery pool.
As he picked up his winnings yesterday, plastics factory machine operator Mark, from Darlington, Co Durham, said, "The lads at work won't be getting a share.
"I paid into a [lottery pool] at the factory for years and never won anything to shout about. But the [Quick Pick] has got me the jackpot."
He and wife Julie, 44, who plan to continue working, are planning a shopping spree. Top of Mark's list is new fishing gear. He added, "I'd like a new car but now I can afford a dream model, I don't know what to buy."
Pharmacy assistant Julie said, "The only thing I want is a trip to New York."
Lottery Post Staff
I've always said you have just as good a chance of winning on your own as you do in a pool -- the difference being that when you play on your own you get to keep the whole thing.
My advice is to not go out of your way to start a pool. If there's an office pool kicking around then sure, it makes perfect sense to chip in. But don't make it your primary way to play.
I'd rather play on my own as well, I do not want to share a good jackpot with any other players. I have waited too long to win a good prize. Plus it would help with my survival, so that I may have a better life. And not worry about bills, etc,..
regards
I agree 100%.I don't want to share a jackpot with anyone else,either.
I agree with Todd but I'm not a real powerball player just here and there. When the jackpot gets high we do an office pool. I only participate because I'm scared if I don't and they win I will be the only one stuck still working. I always buy one ticket for myself when I do participate though.
Congrats to Mark. Maybe the office pool was jinxing him. He won on his own luck!
I used to think the same thing. After ten years at my last place, I retired. Then realized the odds were al ready so great against winning a jackpot, if I won, do I really want to share with these people? Nope. Especially, if it was not a gigantic jackpot. Then I would have to put up with twenty people telling me how they spent their $1500.
Sweet
they so jinxed him .. good for him! i NEVER play with the group .. i look at them, say no thanks and go buy my own ticket - i have been known to be messy at times in buying the EXACT numbers as some groups [have my people on the inside] but the most netted was $150 .. but groups, yeah, it always gets sticky with the dividing part, math is guaranteed to get fuzzy!!
what an awesome story!!! I hope one day when I win I have a story like that. My birthday IS on a FL lottery draw day this year....
I agree. I don't think lottery pools are a bad thing, but I've never wanted to join one. I like playing alone and if I win I want to win alone!
I have never played in a work pool and I never will! I'm to greedy, I want it all (for myself) and I want it now..... lol
I guess that's the attitude I have always had (all my life).
I don't trust lottery pool managers, they could leave the country with the winnings.
Or if I was a lottery pool manger and we won I don't think I could share the 2 or 3 million in my bank account and watch drop to 200,000 and go back to work, i'd want it all to myself and not work again.
If you are going to win, you are going to win. Most people win with 5 or less picks. Pools seem to win with 40 picks or more but it seems like more people win as compared to pools. If there is a 1 in a 100,000,000 chance of winning, 40 picks wont do much cause there are still 99,999,960 numbers that you did not cover!
I have a feeling this guy is going to be jumped. He better quit his job and move.
I take whichever group or on my own
I'd had a small two-person lottery pool happening in my office. We never invited anyone else in. She's the only person I would mind splitting the money with.
Great advice!! In Florida you do not have to be in a pool to have the winning numbers split a zillion to one. Example is last nights Fantasy 5 approximate $240,000 jackpot, however. there were eight winners so the jackpot was a little less than $30,000 each, what a bummer.
I'm in an office pool, and I play on my own, If anything good were to happen to me, I for one, wouldn't be smarting off to everyone in the pool.
I hope I'm wrong about this but, he almost makes out like, he never won because he was in the pool. And getting out was the catalyst for him winning.
Congrats to the winner though. I wouldn't be in the pool if I didn't want something good to happen.
i run 3 pools, and i buy my own tickets. i gues the funn wil start if any ever win and everyone starts demanding a share.
worst would be i win on my own tickets, and all the people in all the pools decide they deserve a cut and i get like 12 people all taking legal actions, :(
the reason i got 3 pools is once more than 5 people are in 1 , the split starts to look pretty sad. i really dont care to have 12 people sharing a mill, 5 i can deal with 200k ea.
Funny you should mention this! I just sent an email to a friend about last night's jackpot. Some people used self-picks and some bought QPs. I'd be happy with any win, but imagine your 5 numbers finally come up after 10 years and 7 other people win. Sunday nobody won at all and the jackpot was about $214K. I thought "Now tonight is the night I wish I hit it!"
The only thing I don't like about this news article is that the man sounds mean. I wonder why he keeps mentioning the people in his office pool. Maybe someone at work suggested he split his prize money with them. I understand that it's his money 100%, but if I won after quitting a pool, I wouldn't shove it in their faces or even bring it up for that matter.
Note: Nice to "see" you again, Floridian. I was wondering what happened to you.
I praise your thinking pattern! Copy the numbers, use them, and split the jackpot - only you get half! That type of thinking is what makes America great. I wish I could do that and win. I would love to sit around and listen to the whining. I would never have retired! (I would take a lot of vacations though.)
I BELONG to a lotto club, there is 15 of us in it. someday we will hit it big
1. How did they jinx him?
2. What kind of pathetic excuse do you have for not playing with the pool and then deliberately playing the same numbers as them? Did they do something terrible to you, or do you think their numbers are especially likely to win? On the off chance those numbers won a jackpot, do you think it would be unreasonable for them to think you stole half of their winnings?
the is nothing wrong with lotto pool , it just means extra tickets , hopefully they are not just buying quick picks for all. they should mix it up between quick pick and theirs
wowowow there!
1) jinx is a common phrase and superstition belief [if you're into that sort of thing, which i am] i believe that having him in that energy circle was not good luck for him
2) i already stated that i have been know for being MESSY - i only did it once with a group whose energy [there goes that superstitious belief again] i didn't care for and i know they are fuzzy with their money and math and didn't want to be in any debates about the proper division of a simple $150 between 14 people. I, we, won that day and I got my $150 alone and they dealt with a simple lunchtime meal ..
3) and of course it would be unreasonable for them to think that i 'stole' anything of theres .. numbers are free to all to play .. the same way multiple people win the SAME jackpot all the time .. new jersey winner cant and shouldn't be mad at ohio for getting the same exact numbers thus cutting him out of the full share - ? ... like i said,
they jinxed him, his fate was to have that money solo and that's that .. don't worry, if you have numbers to contibute, i won't be touching them with a 253 mile pole! so, you're safe
I agree Sandra Dee. There are people that just have bad energy. Can't even count on 2 hands how many times I have warned my husband or other people about someone with bad energy. Guess what? they found out the hard way because I was right every single time! I can sniff a person with bad energy out a mile away.
I do agree that a person in a group with bad energy can jinx the whole group effort. Also there is another side of the coin. Did you ever hear of the term Luck rubs off? Yep a person with good energy can rub off good energy as well. Moral of story, if you feel someone has bad energy stay away. Just like the man in this story was trapped in a group with bad energy. As soon as he got out he won! Its common sense!
I onced belonged to a Lottery Pool of 10. I liked being in a pool because you played with everyone's money, not just your own. We had 2 designated people that we wanted to buy and distribute the copies of tickets. Our problem was, the nay sayers! OMG too much negativity brings negative vibes and we really didn't win anything. We chose half and half (QP and self picks). We did this for about a year and I was the first to break camp b/c of all the negativity. Some members couldn't afford to play for 3 weeks and still wanted a share of the jackpot if we won EVEN though we all signed a contract stating that if you didn't pay you didn't get paid unless there was a medical emergency. And even then, you could only get away with 2 weeks. This is a contract we all looked over and agreed to and signed. It had gotten to be a bit much to deal with. So after that, the total pool disbanded. We even had a disbanded lottery pool letter for everyone to sign, just in case someone won then nobody could say we are in a pool and some of that money is mine. Now people want to re-start the pool again but I will not go into another pool with that group of people for nothing!
I enjoy playing alone at least for now.
you know what's funny ? A lottery pool started because i casually mentioned how i play every now and then. and then all of a sudden i am the one the collects the money and buys this tickets. I collect it once a month but it is hard to collect when it comes time...I feel like a bill collector. There are currently 5 of us, the one I never have to asked more than once has already paid. I like to buy the tickets and makes copies b4 the drawing. I am the only one who does not have a car so I cross this industrial street to buy the tickets. If this happens again next month I may say no more. its a headache collecting, buying, photocopying and distributing.....
I feel just like that guy if i were to win on my own. no one gets a dime and they wont know cause i will collect it in a blind trust.
sneaky!!
well, if the burden is all on you in collecting, buying, copying and distributing, they can't all be too interested, eh?
It's called stealing if you didn't put your money in to the pool and then played their numbers and won taking half of their winnings.
My wife plays in an office pool for the mega millions when it gets over 100 mil. She brings home a copy of the tickets before the drawing, I would never think of going out and playing the same numbers for myself and cheating all her friends if they won, when not putting in to the office pool. It's just not right, but that's just me.
Don
As he won on a Quick Pick he bought, not part of a pool, he shouldn't give any of his win to anyone else. However, I don't understand why he decided to go public. In the UK winners can remain anonymous. He will learn the hard way that, discretion is the better part of valour.
Floyd, the better question is, why on earth would anyone (knowingly) play the SAME numbers as somebody else ? Does this clown know if he wins - they win - and they split it ? What a tool.
The question is, if THEY won, would they share with you ? Highly doubtful.
'stealing' ??? How do you figure ?? He's not 'stealing'. Being stupid = yes, but 'stealing' ? No.
Whoever in the pool that is giving someone else the numbers so they can play them - THAT is the idiot in the group, they should know they have nothing to gain by feeding the guy the numbers, that they are giving away half the winnings IF they hit it.
And yes, most wins are done with 5 games or less because that is how most games are played.
It would only be sneaky if i played the numbers we played. I play my own numbers that I "feel" or do a quick pick.
Well guess what? When I told them if this happens again next month I am out. All of a sudden everyone paid up. Its only $8/month per person on average depending on the weeks of the month.
If the person tried to claim a share of the pool's winnings without having contributed to the ticket purchase there wouldn't be any question that they were trying to steal a share. How is it different when they take several shares by taking the numbers the pool was using? Sure, nobody has an exclusive right to the numbers, but we're not talking about playing the same numbers as a result of random coincidence or using some system that produced the same result. We're talking about deliberately using the same numbers beause they knew the pool was using them, with no apparent reason to think those numbers were especialy likely to win. It seems pretty clear that the motivation had to do with messing with the group. A tool, indeed.
As far as being stupid, it's not stupid if you had a reason to believe that the numbers were actually likely to win. It is stupid to pick numbers with no reason to think they're especially likely to win but they're certain to reduce a jackpot by at least 50%. Considering that plenty of people here are worried that they might be bothered by random strangers if they won a jackpot I'd suggest it's also stupid because the pool that lost millions of dollars might be a bit annoyed. Elsewhere, the poster who played the pool's numbers says they'd sue the lottery to remain anonymous becusae of fears about the actions of random strangers.
You might find something here which could be useful to you.
http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&lr=&as_qdr=all&q=%22introduction+to+ethics%22&btnG=Search
You can lead a horse's ass to water, but you can't make it think.
Lotto pools aren't a bad deal. You just have to be careful to put the rules in writing. I'm running two pools right now. and they each had buy-in deadlines and payment was required in ADVANCE of buying any tickets. There is no "I'll pay you when I get back from vacation" or "Can you cover me until I have the money."
My rules clearly state that we share only on the numbers provided to the pool, which must be done before the drawing. In the first organized pool I started, they laughed at me when they saw the rules. That's when I told them to check out this site and read about all the pool lawsuits. Some of them still think I'm a bit anal about it but we all buy tickets on our own and/or in other pools, making the rules necessary.
When you buy in you have to sign the buy-in receipt which contains the rules. Also, each pool has an ending date determined in part by the number of players in the pool. All official communication is done by email and if a new pool begins with basically the same members, an email is sent detailing who is joining, leaving, and staying.
I'm not one of those people who will spend $5 on one drawing so being in pools helps me have more chances to win, even if the amount has to be spread among several people.
Would I prefer to win on my own ticket - yes. Would I be happy with a pool win - yes. Would I ever play the pool's numbers on my own ticket for the same drawing - no.
As someone mentioned before, why would a member of the pool give their numbers out to someone else anyway?