Warning: Winning Lottery Not All Fun And Games
The Mariners haven’t called, publishers aren’t interested in the novel and the super model down the street is happily married.
For most adults, winning the lottery is about the only fantasy left.
Sorry to pluck the final daisy from the garden, but people who have already won say it’s not all it’s cracked up to be.
“Most of our winners don’t do the outrageous things that we dream about, like … take the Concorde to Paris just for lunch,” said Richard Paulson, spokesman for the Washington State Lottery.
Sure, some try to live the dream. You read about them occasionally: “Lotto winner files bankruptcy,” announced a 1988 headline.
“Lottery winner sentenced to 12 years for robbery,” read another in 1991.
The harsh fact is, lottery winners aren’t instant millionaires. Anyone lucky enough to win $2 million can expect 20 annual payments of $72,000, after taxes.
Granted, that’s a good chunk of change. But it’s not enough to keep the Seahawks - or even third-string quarterback Stan Gelbaugh - in Seattle.
Winners soon learn that money doesn’t cure illnesses, mend relationships or do the chores.
“I don’t have time to talk. I’m doing the laundry,” a $2.5 million winner from Post Falls barked at a reporter this week.
The wife of one South Hill winner, who spoke on the condition of anonymity, said she and her husband initially scaled back their work hours, and bought a boat, a new car and a bigger house.
“Now we’ve gotten to the point where we feel our house is too big, we’ve gotten rid of some of the toys, we’ve gone back to work,” she said. “We’ve got children. We want them to learn the work ethic.”
Another Spokane winner, whose annual check is about $30,000, said he hasn’t changed. The people around him have.
One example: the neighbor woman who came to his house while it was for sale, recounting the story of his lucky life. She assumed he was the real estate agent and not the owner.
“It was 99 percent baloney … blown out of proportion,” said the man, who asked not to be identified. “My wife and I have worked hard to get to where we are.”
Not that the winners are complaining. A 1991 survey by the Seattle Times showed that most winners are - surprise! - glad they won.
Many continue buying tickets.
The New York Times reported last year that the odds of winning a lottery are about the same as a poker player’s chance of drawing four royal flushes in a row, all in spades, then getting up from the card table and meeting four strangers, all with the same birthday.
, DataTimes