Florida Lottery Winner Alex Toth Went Broke, Mental, And Died

People dream of winning the lottery all the time. They think it would be a dream come true. It usually is. But not always. Sometimes winning the lottery is a curse, like it was for Florida lottery winner, Alex Toth.

Alex Toth won $13 million from Florida Lottery in 1990. He took the 20-year annuity payments. $666,666 for twenty years. Perhaps that was a bad omen from the very start. Things started well, though. When he won the lottery, Alex and his wife, Rhoda, were broke. They couldn't even afford electricity. Their only source of electricity came from an extension cord attached to their car. That's how bad it was for them before winning the lottery. The lottery win opened up a world of possibilities, free from financial worries. Finally, the money-stress was gone.

But it wouldn't last for Alex Toth and his wife. Going from poverty to sudden riches exposed them to the good-life. The money was being spent and fast, on everything from gambling, gift-giving, and living the high-life. It may have all started shortly after winning the Florida Lottery when they took a three-month trip to Las Vegas, staying at a $1000-a-night luxury room at The Mirage Hotel and Casino. $1000/night plus gambling and entertainment adds up really fast.

In 2008, Alex Toth was broke and going to court because of a charge of filing fake tax-returns. A year earlier, Alex split with his wife after checking in to a mental health institution. In April of 2008, Alex died before even making it to court.

What started with a big $13 million win from Florida Lottery might have ended up being the biggest curse of Alex Toth's life.