HUDSONVILLE, Michigan — While having a few drinks at a Hamilton Street bar, Aristeo Robelin saw a familiar face.
It was one of the police officers who helped put him in federal prison on drug smuggling and weapons charges.
The cop congratulated Robelin on his new life as a millionaire and bought him a beer.
Robelin, 40, took the meeting as an omen and stopped spending so much time in Hamilton Street bars.
Three years after winning $3.7 million in the Mega Millions lottery, the father of two and ex-con has left Saginaw and his past behind.
He lives in Hudsonville, a town of 7,000 that locals call "Michigan's Salad Bowl" for the carrots, celery and other vegetables grown in the region.
Robelin says the aroma of onions is strong near his wooded, 4.5-acre property during harvest time. He has lived alone since his children's mother took his eldest son and her children and moved back to Saginaw. The couple since has had a second child.
"It's pretty quiet out here, but it's different," Robelin says. "I don't mess with too many people."
With most of his winnings reserved for his children, Robelin says he lives on $80,000 per year.
The number is significant: That's the amount officers found when they raided the homes and vehicles of Robelin and another man in 1999.
Authorities claimed he and a partner led a syndicate that smuggled cocaine into Michigan. He faced various other drug and weapons charges throughout his youth and adult life.
More than the millions, the birth of his first son turned him away from street life and selling drugs, Robelin says.
"I'll never touch that again," he says. "I don't have to."
The changed perspective paid off.
In late 2005, Robelin asked co-worker Keith Bryce to pick up Mega Millions tickets because he didn't want to leave the house with then 4-month-old Aristeo Jr. on a cold, blustery night.
He had less than a 1-in-175 million chance of getting the same five digits and Mega ball number randomly picked for Bryce. Copies of the check and the winning Mega Millions ticket are on file in his home office.
"It's still unbelievable," he says.
When the clerk behind the counter at the 7-Eleven in Frankenmuth told Robelin that someone in Saginaw hit the Mega Millions jackpot the night before, he exchanged looks with Bryce.
The two were on lunch break from their job installing windows when the woman told them about the winning ticket sold at the South Michigan Express Stop.
"Teo," Bryce said, "that's where I bought the tickets at."
The orange-and-white Mega Millions tickets were at Robelin's home on the kitchen counter, next to the salt and pepper shakers and a loaf of bread.
The night before, Robelin asked Bryce to pick up the bread, a half-gallon of milk, a dozen eggs and $5 in Mega Millions easy pick numbers.
Bryce bought $5 worth for himself, too. Not wanting to choose between the two slips, Bryce and Robelin agreed to split the jackpot if they won.
As news of their win spread, people flooded Bryce with requests for money.
It was different for Robelin.
News of his criminal past made people leery to ask for money, he says.
Soon after he picked up his check from the state lottery office in Lansing, Robelin quit his job installing windows. He avoided the spending sprees and extravagant gifts for family and friends that befall many lottery winners and estimates he has more than $2 million remaining.
"I know the value of a dollar," Robelin says. "It's not like I worked hard for it, but it's mine."
Now he spends free time watching football on his projection-screen television, playing pool and doting on his sons, 3-year-old Aristeo Jr. and 8-month-old Vito — when he has the chance.
The boys live in Saginaw with their mother. Judges in Ottawa and Saginaw counties have granted her personal protection orders against Robelin since March 2007, court records indicate.
Times News Service could not reach her for comment.
Robelin stops in Saginaw to visit his mother and scout for more investment properties, but hasn't talked to Keith in two months.
Still, the numbers on the third row of a little slip of paper — 07, 08, 47, 51, 52, and 05 — linked the two forever.
The friends do share one tradition: They've played the Mega Millions each Tuesday and Friday since winning the jackpot.
"Lightning," Robelin says, "strikes twice sometimes."
Aristeo R. Robelin — here with his 3-year-old son, Aristeo "Little Thayo" Robelin II — won $3.7 million in the Mega Millions lottery three years ago and left his past behind.
Good for him for starting a new life... Curious about that protection order though... But as to why someone would move to Saginaw (specifically in or around city) I have no idea, family or not.
Awww what a nice ending. Continued good luck to him and his children!
WTG! Second chance in life!!!!
Yes, Virginia, there is a Santa Claus -- some people have all the luck! Congratulations to the winner and may he choose his opportunities wisely.
this is a great story, thanks for sharing.
i am so glad he was smart with the money. good for him and his family.
i like how he kept it simple and focused on the more important things in his life
"News of his criminal past made people leery to ask for money, he says."
That part cracked me up.
It's good to hear success stories like this with lottery winners. Congratulations to him.
I agree. This is a wonderful story. I am glad he was able to turn his life around and is now leading a life that is crime-free.
what a very nice xmas picture. what is the most popular cash three number everyone is exspecting too fall
gwen
"News of his criminal past made people leery to ask for money, he says."
Maybe people figured he would expect to be paid back or he would go criminal on them. People who ask lottery winners for money aren't asking for a loan but a gift. Even when friends and relatives ask for money, they are really asking for a gift not a loan, that's the reason I don't accept requests for money from anyone.
It was one of the police officers who helped put him in federal prison on drug smuggling and weapons charges.
The cop congratulated Robelin on his new life as a millionaire and bought him a beer.
Robelin, 40, took the meeting as an omen and stopped spending so much time in Hamilton Street bars.
I think if I had ever won a lottery jackpot and walked into a bar and one of the regulars recognized me as a millionaire, I wouldn't go back either. Patrons might expect me to "set'em up for everybody" every time I came in.
Jack Whittaker found out the hard way that a lottery winner shouldn't hang out at a bar where everybody knows his business.
That's the thing. You may not want the money to change the things you enjoyed doing and the places you enjoyed going, but it changes the behavior of the people who "knew you when..." (and even some of those who didn't know you). In many ways, you have to change too.
Huh? I don't think this is such a heart-warming story. There is nothing here that tells me this man turned his life around, except that he doesn't have to work any more because he won a lot of money. He didn't give up crime because he had an epiphany. He got caught and went to prison. In the article there is not one word that shows remorse for his past criminal activity. I'd rather read about someone who spent his life helping people or working in a coal mine or an immigrant farm worker who picked fruit until his hands bled than a drug dealer whose only comment is
"I'll never touch that again," he says. "I don't have to."
He didn't have to in the first place. He was a drug & weapons smuggler and everyone is writing "Aw, shucks. How nice." Maybe the reason people aren't asking him for money is because he was a very bad man.
"...he and a partner led a syndicate that smuggled cocaine into Michigan. He faced various other drug and weapons charges throughout his youth and adult life."
Before anyone starts lecturing me about forgiveness, please go out and rent Scarface and see what drug smugglers do.
I'd rather read about someone who spent his life helping people or working in a coal mine or an immigrant farm worker who picked fruit until his hands bled......
Those folks have stories too, but you'll never read them in a lottery news forum unless they win a lottery.
Huh? I don't think this is such a heart-warming story.
I never said it was a heart-warming story, but I do think it's a good story. Sometimes people with sketchy pasts win the lottery. It happens. If they become good, productive citizens, so what?
There is nothing here that tells me this man turned his life around,except that he doesn't have to work any more because he won a lot ofmoney. He didn't give up crime because he had an epiphany.
"More than the millions, the birth of his first son turned him away from street life and selling drugs, Robelin says."
Maybe the birth of his son and winning the lottery was his epiphany. Maybe he saw this as his second chanceat life. He's got to start somewhere. Is he suppose to give up the money? There is nothing in that article that states he is continuing with his drug lifestyle. Isn't better that he quit being a bad person, who deals drugs then continue to be one? And yeah no one has to deal drugs, but a lot of people do. Some people change some don't.
"More than the millions, the birth of his first son turned him away from street life and selling drugs, Robelin says."
Maybe the birth of his son and winning the lottery was his epiphany. Maybe he saw this as his second chance at life.
ThatScaryChick
Okay, TSC, you have a point, but it sounds as if he turned away from "that life" because he was busted. This is just one article and I really don't know anything about this man. Sure, people do change. I get that. I was only saying he lived a life of crime for a long time, according to what I know. (I'm surprised he didn't serve a longer sentence.) The point is, I don't see why someone who does what any good person should have done in the first place, should get a pat on the back. Maybe this is off-topic, since my post wasn't a comment on his lottery win, but the fact that people wrote it was such a nice story. Everyone has a right to play & win. But if someone drinks and drives for years, despite all the warnings, and eventually kills a family on Christmas day, is he a great guy because he gets sober after he gets out of jail? Does that bring comfort to the family he killed? No. And winning the lottery won't bring them back either. Spiritually, we need to have compassion and forgiveness in our hearts. However, we also need to look at the damage someone caused and ask for accountability. Our society is always looking to make excuses for people. "His father beat him, so that's why he's a serial killer." Sorry, not good enough. Everyone has a sad story, but they chose the life they lived. When you become an adult, you get to a fork in the road and choose the path you wish to travel. Young men & women are dying for our right to be free. So I'd rather read about a winner who served his country than someone who ran a drug & gun operation.
Sorry, that's just me. YMMV. Peace!
Anyone see the irony here?
Consider these two thread titles:
Ex-con held on to his lotto winnings and started new life
Lottery winner almost out of cash three years later
Norman Vincent Peale often said character is not nmade so much by what happens to you in life as much as how you react to what happens to you in life.
Good post, Coin Toss. I agree, except I'm not totally convinced that being a good money manager is indicative of one's upstanding character. There are some very wealthy people who die alone and miserable.
Of course a little more irony is that far more people die every year from the oh-so-legal drugs in their medicine cabinet than die from the "illegal" drugs on the street.
Nice story.
Also, the $80,000 a year he spends is less than CDs would return to him, so his fortunes should be growing slowly.
"News of his criminal past made people leery to ask for money, he says."
Note to self, when claiming my jackpot, reminisce about the triple homicide I got away with.
(obviously I didn't really)