Hot Lotto Winner Steve Trimble Quits His Job And Plays Golf

Steve Trimble did exactly what I will do the day I win the lottery - Quit my job! That's the biggest reason why people should play the lottery - to be able to quit their jobs. I just don't get why some people continue to work after they become instant millionaires. I guess I'll never know.

Steve Trimble was the winner of a Hot Lotto jackpot of $3.8 million in the March 26, 2008 draw. He bought his winning ticket at a store called Q-Max in Oklahoma City. That's where he went back to check the ticket. He said that after the win was verified, he could barely drive home from the store. The win was a big shock. He was shaking and could barely hold the steering wheel. Anyway, he made it home and quit his job the very next day. He said that he planned to play a lot of golf after his Hot Lotto win. Going to work would just get in the way of his golf game!

Other than the golf, Steve Trimble said that he would use the money to get out of his rental and buy a house. He said that he won't ever go to work for someone else. If he ever feels like working again, he'll start his own business.

Hot Lotto is an inter-state lottery game, offered in the states of Delaware, Idaho, Iowa, Kansas, Minnesota, Montana, New Hampshire, New Mexico, North Dakota, Oklahoma, South Dakota, Vermont, West Virginia, and in DC. It offers jackpots that start at $1 million and grows if nobody wins it. The odds of winning the jackpot in Hot Lotto are approximately 1-in-11-million.

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Lotto Winner Lord Rowley Of Selston Visits China To Witness Total Eclipse

The biggest reason that I want to win the lottery is to be able to do the offbeat things that nobody ever does, things like visiting China to witness the total eclipse of 2009. Lotto winner, Alan Rowley did just that. He won £1,925,567 ($3,135,490 USD) in UK's National Lottery in September of 2008. That gave him the opportunity to see, first-hand, the longest solar eclipse of the 21st century on July 22, 2009. That's what life should be about - Getting to do whatever you want, whenever you want.

Alan Rowley is one of those lottery winners that does awesome stuff with his money. Aside from the new cars (A few BMWs), he bought a 5-bedroom, £500,000 house in Selston, England that sits on six acres and overlooks a beautiful nature conservation. That just sounds so tranquil! As a joke, Alan now calls himself 'Lord Rowley of Selston.'

Actually, a year and a half prior to winning the lottery, Lord Rowley of Selston was laid off from his job at a printing shop called Bemrose Booth Printers. That prompted him to start a cleaning business with a friend called 'We Clean For You.' That's why you see him in the photo posing with a mop and pail. He kept the business going, even after the lottery win. To this day, the business is doing well and Lord Rowley of Selston has four people working for him.

Lord Rowley of Selston has a pretty good life going. When's the next big total eclipse? I want to run into Alan there!

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Christopher Longden Learns Lesson - Remember The Date And Time Of Lottery Ticket Purchases

Here is something you should know about winning a big lottery jackpot - When you go into the lottery prize claim center to claim a big prize, you will be investigated. Before they hand over the check, they will investigate some things, mainly having to do with whether or not it was a legitimate win. They want to make sure you didn't come into possession of the winning ticket fraudulently. After all, there's been a lot of public scrutiny lately about fraudulent insider wins.

Christopher Longden learned this lesson first hand. He won $100,000 in Lotto Super 7 back in September of 2008. He went into the Toronto prize claim office and one of their policies is to interview winners. They asked a few simple questions and one having to do with the time and date of the lottery ticket purchase raised a red flag. That's because Christopher Longden couldn't answer the question. He simply didn't remember. He forgot. But that was enough for them to go into an in-depth investigation.

Normally, lottery winners in Canada get their money the same day they make their claim. But Christopher Longden didn't get his money. He had to wait. He waited and waited. Then he hired a lawyer and ended up settling the claim. He got his $100,000, plus interest and other fees... more than two months later. Sure, Christopher eventually got his money, but not until after weeks of headaches.

You may be thinking to yourself, "Why did Christopher have to wait when I remember that man with an arrest warrant getting his money right away? That man was Barry Shell and, yes, there was a warrant out for his arrest. But, there was no issue of whether or not he legitimately owned the ticket. So he got the money and then was, subsequently, arrested outside of the prize claim office.

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Sundridge Lottery Winner Maurice Sutton Buys 1961 Red Corvette

Maurice Sutton was a member of a lottery pool from a car dealership in a small town called Sundridge, in Ontario, Canada. He was a member of 25 co-workers, ranging in age from 23 to 86, that pooled their money to play the lottery whenever there was a big jackpot. In August of 2008, the Lotto 6/49 jackpot was $45 million. There were two winning tickets sold. The group of 25 from Sundridge held one of them. Their 6/49 ticket was worth $22,572,856. That translated to $902,914 for each of the members of the group, including Maurice Sutton.

That $902,914 allowed Maurice Sutton to buy the car of his dreams - A 1962 red Corvette (See the car in the video below).

The great thing about playing the lottery as a group is that being able to purchase so much more tickets drastically increases your odds of winning. Not only that, when you win, you and all of your friends win together - Your lives all change and you get to go through all of this great emotions as a group.

Aside from Maurice Sutton, some of the other winners include: Car dealership owners Peter & Jill Bray, Peter & Jill's son, Peter Bray's father, Melbourne Heittola, Budd Brown, Calvin Gray, Clarence Hummel, and Aaron Hill.

Here's a video of some of those winners:

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Shreveport Lottery Winner Roy Mitchell Wins $600,000 With Powerplay For An Extra Dollar

Roy Mitchell won $600,000 in Powerball in the August 25, 2009 draw. If he didn't purchase the Powerplay option, he would have won just $200,000. But, luckily, he spent that extra dollar to include Powerplay.

When you buy a Powerball lottery ticket, you have the option to spend an extra dollar to include Powerplay. Powerplay multiplies some of your wins by 2X, 3X, 4X, or 5X. When the Powerball draw is held, the Powerplay multiplier is also picked at random. In Roy Mitchell's case, the multiplier was 3X. So, instead of winning $200,000 for matching the 5 white-ball numbers, he won $600,000.

Many lottery players say you should always include Powerplay on your Powerball tickets. Mr. Lucky is one of it's biggest proponents. Hey, it worked for Roy Mitchell!

At the time of his win, Roy Mitchell was living in Shreveport, Louisiana. He purchased the winning ticket at the Kroger store on Youree Dr. in Shreveport. Congratulations to Roy on his lucky win!

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3-Time Lottery Winner Wendy Owenby From Dalton, Georgia

I dream about winning the lottery. I want just one big win. Just one. I can't imagine winning twice, let alone three times. But some people have that kind of luck. Some people really do win the lottery three times. Meanwhile, I can't even win once.

Wendy Owenby is one such lucky woman. She is a 3-time lottery winner, with her most recent being a $128,483 Fantasy 5 win from Georgia Lottery in August of 2009. She also won $10,000 in 2005 and $50,000 in 2006 playing instant scratch lotto games. That's a total of $188,483! Nice!

Wendy Owenby, the 3-time lottery winner, is from Dalton Georgia and works in a teen group home. With her first two wins, she used the money to pay off her bills and buy stuff for her children. With her last win, she just plans to put it away and save it. No word yet on what she'll do the next time she wins the lottery; you know it's coming - She just has that type of luck!

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Latest Lotto 649 Winner Don Grimard Is 21 Year Old Alberta Oil Worker

I've often talked to people about if they would continue to work their current jobs after winning the lottery. Many of them say they would. I always thought that these people were nuts. I figure they might try to work, but one day they'll be having a bad day and say to themselves, "I really don't need this," and quit. Or they'll have one of those mornings - You know, the ones that everybody has at some point - They're awakened by their alarm clock and they just can't do it, they can't get out of bed to go to work. So they'll quit. I mean, if you're a millionaire, why bother?

Latest Lotto 649 winner, Don Grimard, must have been like this - "Ya ya, I'll still work." How long do you think he lasted? Don Grimard went to work the very next day after finding out that he won the Lotto 649 jackpot of $17,292,550. Back to the oil worker job he'd been doing. The young man lives in Lethbridge, Alberta, Canada but had been working in an oilfield in a town called Outlook, which is in the province of Saskatchewan. It's not an easy job, working in the oilfields. Don Grimard lasted half a day. He quit after just half a shift. I don't blame him. However, I wouldn't even show up at all.

Don Grimard won the Lotto 649 jackpot on August 5, 2009. He didn't even claim the money until a few weeks later on August 28, 2009. But now, he is $17,292,550 richer. Actually, that's the biggest single lottery winner in Alberta's history. There were bigger winning tickets sold in Alberta, but they were played as a group and, so, the money was split.

The 21-year-old Don Grimard said that he planned to use the money to help his family and, also, to do some traveling. I'm sure there's also no more oil work in his future!

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Cambodian Lottery Winner Phin Suy Wants His Family To Be Happy Forever

You always hear many stories on the news of lottery winners that screwed up, blew all their money, are depressed, and think the lottery win was a curse. The media loves these stories. But for every lottery winner that screwed up, there are numerous that are doing great. Take Cambodian lottery winner, Phin Suy, for example. He won a $128 million Mega Millions jackpot in February of 2003. The photo of him here was taken five years later, in February of 2008. He still looks beaming and healthy with a wide small and you could tell he's happy, probably just like the day he won.

Phin Suy was 13-years-old when he immigrated to The United States from Cambodia. He came to America for a better education and better opportunities. He since got married, had a kid, and had a career as a gardener in Central Park, New York. In 2003, he was just 32-years-old when he hit the winning numbers in the Mega Millions lottery. That's what I call a better opportunity! No chance of that happening in Cambodia!

The Cambodian man is still happy and says that he just wants his entire family to be happy forever. That's all he ever wanted when he moved to America - A Happy Life!

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Anonymous Mega Millions Lottery Winner Of $81.5 Million

I can understand why people would want to claim big lottery wins anonymously. Perhaps they don't want to receive hundreds of unsolicited phone calls from people with sob stories asking for handouts? Perhaps they don't want long-lost relatives suddenly trying to re-connect? Perhaps they don't want the crazy media attention? They probably just want to live in peace and quiet. That's all understandable. But what's the point if your picture ends up in the news anyway.

That's what happened with the anonymous woman to the left. She won an $81.5 million Mega Millions jackpot in December of 2007. And, her picture was there in the news. We all saw her face but we didn't know her name. She's obviously not anonymous to her circle of family, friends, and acquaintances.

She won the $81.5 million Mega Millions jackpot in December of 2007. She didn't even claim it until three months later in March of 2008. That's because she spent three months working on a strategy with her financial planners and lawyers to keep her identity hidden and her money safe. The money was claimed under JYS Family Limited Partnership, which was created to keep the identity of the woman secret. But, again, we all see her face. Her lawyer should have advised her to go to the prize claim office in a mask, or panty hose covering her face, or something. Not only would that help keep her anonymous, it would be pretty funny to see - Amusing and entertaining!

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Margaret Ann Tackaberry - Money Multiplier Instant Lotto Game Winner

Whenever I win a small prize in the lottery, I use the proceeds to buy extra tickets for the next draw. So, for example, I buy one ticket for each draw, and if I won $10, I would still buy that one ticket for the next draw, plus an additional $10 worth. It's just one of the strategies I use.

I see many people doing the same thing, especially on instant scratch lotto tickets. Apparently, Margaret Ann Tackaberry does it too. She bought a scratch lottery ticket and won some nominal money. She then used that money to buy a Money Multiplier instant scratch game. Then BINGO, she won! $100,000!

At the time of her win, Margaret Ann Tackaberry was 55-years-old. She was a mother 5 children, grandmother of 13, and a great-grandmother of an additional 5. That's a big family and I'm sure she'll be doing a lot of shopping for gifts to go around.

The Money Multiplier instant scratch-off game costs $5 to play, with a top prize of $100,000, which Margaret Ann won. It had other, smaller prizes as well with the odds of winning any prize set at 1-in-4.07.

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St Catharines Lottery Winner Bronwyn Bowslaugh

It's soooo much better to win the lottery when you're 20 years old than it is when you're 76 years old. Actually, I wouldn't really know because I haven't won; I'm just assuming. But maybe Bronwyn Bowslaugh would know.

Bronwyn Bowslaugh, from St Catharines, Ontario, Canada is a lottery winner. She won $100,000 playing Encore on August 1, 2009. And, she is just 20 years old! She also has a cool and unique name. I'll just call her 'BB' for short.

BB said that she was at home when she realized that she won. Her first reaction was to scream for her mom to come over and see for herself. Such excitement!

BB stated that she will use the money to buy a new truck and that she would save the rest.

$100,000 is the second prize in the Encore lottery game. The odds of winning that are 1-in-1,111,111. The first prize, which Bronwyn Bowslaugh missed by just one number is $1 million and the odds of winning that prize are 1-in-10-million. Maybe next time, BB!

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$250,000 Blockbuster Instant Scratcher Lottery Winner Mary Lopez

I think that if I don't win the lottery by the time I'm 70-years old, I'll probably quit. I mean, how much can you really enjoy the money at that age? Wouldn't you rather win the lottery while you're in your 20's or 30's? Or maybe it's better late than never. Who knows? Actually, Mary Lopez might know. She's 76-years old.

In February of 2009, Mary Lopez won $250,000 playing DC Lottery's $250,000 Blockbuster instant scratcher lotto game. She's in her 70's, won the lottery, and judging from her picture, looks happy. Maybe it really is never too late to win the lottery?

When she won the lottery, Mary said that it was her first win and that she didn't really have any plans for the money. I think she should spend spend spend before it's too late!

The $250,000 Blockbuster instant scratcher lotto game from DC Lottery offers a top prize of $250,000, which Mary Lopez won. The game offered odds of winning a prize of 1-in-3.48 and had over $3.5 million in total prizes available to be won.

Congratulations to Mary Lopez for finally winning the lottery!

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Latest Powerball Winner Solomon Jackson Jr Is The Most Interesting Man In The World

Guess who's the latest Powerball winner??? Why, that would be Solomon Jackson Jr. Not only is he the latest Powerball winner, he's also the winner of a massive $259,900,000 jackpot. And... He's also the most interesting man in the world!

The most interesting man in the world??? Ya, all you have to do is hear his press conference. The answers that he gave to questions were sooo intriguing:

How old are you, Solomon Jackson Jr? No comment.

Do you have kids? No comment.

What do you plan to do with the money? No comment.

Ohhh, a man of mystery. Now do you see?

Although Solomon Jackson Jr offered very few personal details about himself at the lottery press conference, we do know a few things. We know that he is married and he also has ten siblings. We do know that he had retired from his job as an assistant supervisor with the state of South Carolina Revenue Department. That's pretty much all we know about him.

By the way, I was being sarcastic. Solomon Jackson Jr is so not the most interesting man in the world. No, this man is:

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Waqas Mazhar - Pakistani Cricket Player Is A New York Millionaire

Waqas Mazhar was born in Pakistan, but moved to The United States with his parents five years ago. They settled in Brooklyn and probably moved to America to pursue the American dream. Now Waqas has achieved the American dream. He is just 19-years-old and he is a New York Millionaire!

Waqas Mazhar was filling up his tank at Bolla Operating Corp gas station when he decided to spend $5 on a New York Millionaire instant scratch lottery ticket. $1 million is the top prize in the New York Millionaire game, with odds of winning it at approximately 1-in-2.6-million. The Pakistani teen then took the ticket and was on his way to play cricket. He scratched his ticket in the car when he arrived at the cricket field. And, that's where he found out that he won. He didn't even end up playing. He just went straight home to tell his parents the good news.

Even though Waqas Mazhar is the newest New York Millionaire, he still plans to live with his parents. He enjoys his family and, now, wants to help them financially. He wants to make his family's life easier because his father is a hard-working man.

In the meantime, Waqas Mazhar wants to study history in college and then get a job with the federal government.

Congratulations to Waqas on becoming a New York Millionaire!

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Colorado Lotto Winner Gloria Aguda No Longer Depressed

What do you do if you've been struggling to make ends meet and your house is about to go into foreclosure? You do what anybody would do - Buy a lottery ticket!!!

Actually, no you shouldn't buy a lottery ticket - you should seek professional help. A lottery ticket will only solve the problems of about 1-in-14-million people. Luckily, it solved Gloria Aguda's problems, though.

Gloria Aguda was in that boat; she couldn't make ends meet and her house was on the verge of going into foreclosure. She was depressed. So she bought a lottery ticket and prayed. Then her prayers were answered when she won the Colorado Lotto draw in November of 2007. Gloria won $9 million. Now the Colorado Lotto winner is no longer depressed.

When she won the money, the relieved woman said she would pay off her mortgage and pay off all of her bills. She also said that she planned to help her family financially, including a partially blind brother that lived in the Philippines.

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Jenny Thomas - Old Crabby Person Wins The Lottery

Jenny Thomas is an old crabby person that won the lottery. Actually, she really isn't old and crabby, but that's how she described herself when she was surprised with an impromptu lottery winner celebration. She's actually quite funny!

Jenny Thomas won $1 million in a second-chance drawing with Colorado Lottery. Colorado Lottery actually has a number of such drawings in any given year where people register their losing instant scratch-off tickets for a second chance at a big prize. Jenny Thomas won it with a losing Colorado Millionaire ticket. Her's was chosen from more than 200,000 entries. Jenny was due to win, though; she says that she has entered hundreds of losing tickets in the second chance drawings and she says that she will continue to do so.

So, what does the old crabby lottery winner plan to do with her million dollars? Well, she plans to fix the crack in the windshield in her car. Nice! Oh ya, she also wants to give the clerk that sold her the ticket a nice tip. See, Jenny's a nice person - Not crabby at all.

Colorado Lottery actually surprised Jenny Thomas with the news of her lottery win while she was at work at her job at Peterson Air Force Base. It was captured on camera:

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Hog Hut Friends See Their Winning Lottery Numbers Drawn

Another gang has won the lottery. OK, maybe it's a friendlier gang than the Folkstone Dog Pound Crew, but they have a cool name - The Hog Hut Friends. OK OK, it's not really a gang. It's just two couples that call themselves the Hog Hut Friends, named after a place where they and other bikers hang out.

The Hog Hut Friends saw their winning lottery numbers drawn when one member won $1 million in Powerball in August of 2009. That was Rick Hamilton's ticket. He and his partner, Sharon Sulser had an agreement with their best friends (and Hog Hut Friends members), Terry and Vickie Chambers, that if any of them won the lottery, it would be split equally among the four. True to his word, Rick Hamilton divided the lottery win equally.

Actually, when Rick Hamilton found out that his winning lottery numbers came up, he headed straight to the Iowa prize claim office to make his claim. The prize claim office closes at 4:30pm. He got there at 5pm. The door was locked. So he pressed his face against the glass door and banged on it. They wouldn't let him in, even after he yelled that he was a big winner. He had to come back the next morning. See folks, not even a millionaire could get them to open the doors! But that's OK, because Rick got his money the next day!

Congratulations to the Hog Hut Friends on their lucky win!

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Gary Butler Won $200,000 In Lottery But Lost $800,000

One day, as many of us often do, Gary Butler was talking amongst his friends about what they would do if they won the lottery. He was saying that his lifestyle probably wouldn't change much if he had a big win. That very same day, Gary pulled into the Circle K gas station to fill up his tank. He was in a little bit of a rush, but managed to pick up a Powerball ticket while there. He usually plays Powerpaly for an extra dollar when he buys Powerball tickets, but he didn't this time just because he was in a rush. Big mistake! Gary just lost $800,000!

When you buy a Powerball ticket, you have an option of playing Powerplay for an extra dollar. Powerplay increases the payouts on some of the prizes. Gary Butler won the second prize of $200,000. Had he played Powerplay, he would have won $1,000,000. That means he lost $800,000. So, do we consider Gary a winner or a loser? Heck, he's still a winner. It's not often that people win $200,000!

True to his word, Gary Butler says that the money won't change his lifestyle. Actually, I really don't think that $200,000 could change your lifestyle, but I'm sure that $1 million could. Oh well.

Gary won the lottery on the June 24, 2009 draw. At the time of his win, he was living in Choctaw, Oklahoma, USA.

Gary Butler says that, from now on, he will play Powerplay. Nice!

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Ed Edwards Loves To Play UK Lottery Online

One of the good things about the UK Lottery (Aside from the big jackpots, especially the EuroMillions jackpots) is that you could play the lottery online. You could set it up so that you play your numbers, as many sets as you want, for as many draws as you want. And, the payment is by direct debit. If you win, you automatically get an email telling you how much you won. Actually, you could set it up to come to you by text, too. That way, you never have to worry about buying tickets or, even, checking your numbers. It's all done for you.

Ed Edwards loves to play the UK National Lottery online. I mean, he must love it. That's because he won playing online. Ed Edwards won £1,925,567 ($3,166,282 USD) in the August 30, 2008 draw. When he won, he said that he planned to use the money to buy a new house, a new Mini Cooper, and go on some vacations.

Actually, about the automatic email that tells you you won when you play online, Ed won £7 on the previous draw. When he saw the email that he won, he thought it was the old email. So he deleted it. Little did he know that it was actually an email telling him that he was a big winner. He only found out when he manually checked his numbers.

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Latest Super Kansas Cash Lottery Winner Edward Williams

Winning the lottery must be a yawn for Edward Williams. That's because the man, from Wichita, Kansas, has won it twice. Damn, we all dream of winning the lottery and he does it twice. It's not fair!

Edward Williams is the latest Super Kansas Cash jackpot winner. He won the $896,487 jackpot in August of 2009. His prior win was less than a year before that. In September of 2008, Edward won $75,000 playing an instant scratch ticket, also from Kansas lottery.

At the time of his win, Edward Williams was 47-years-old and single. With the first win, he bought a car and saved the rest. With his second win, he plans to save it all for retirement. Because of the win, he believes he will retire at age 55 (That's just 8 years away!). He'll continue working at Johnston Controls until then. He's already worked there for seventeen years. What's another eight years? I'm sure he'll retire immediately if he gets a third lottery win, though.

Super Kansas Cash is a game that costs $1 to play. Jackpots start at $100,000 and grows if nobody wins it. The odds of winning the jackpot in the game are approximately 1-in-2.5-million.

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Lithuanian Lottery Winner Alex Snelius - Money Was A Headache And Curse

Lithuanian man, Alex Snelius, had to flee Russian troops as a child in his native Lithuania during World War 2. He dreamed of a better life, so he came to America and worked. He worked hard. Harder than most. But he always dreamed of big riches and wealth. That's what America's about, right? So, he bought lottery tickets every week. One day, on September 12, 2000, Alex got his wish. He won a $64 million Mega Millions jackpot.

When Alex Snelius won the lottery, he thanked the Lord. It was a happy day. Now, he could experience how the truly wealthy lived. And, that he did. He was able to move into a ritzy Chicago, Illinois neighborhood. Not only was he able to own a home in an expensive part of town, he owned multiple homes. He had two for himself and his wife, Ursula, one for each of his four kids, and one for each of his wife's two sisters. One of the house's was actually a replica of Graceland, Elvis Presley's mansion and the biggest of the bunch was a 10,000-square-foot, 16-room Georgian-style mansion.

Not only was Alex rich, he was also generous! Aside from giving to his family, he also gave away tons of money to charities. Starting in 2001, he decided to give away $100 to White Sox Charities each and every time the Chicago White Sox hit a home rune. That alone has added up to over $100,000 donated, but it's just a drop in the bucket compared to all the charities he's donated to.

So, what's wrong? Alex Snelius seems to have a good life and seems happy. Alex says that the money was a headache and curse. Although he was generous with the money and give to charities, family, and friends, he was constantly hounded for more handouts. He's even lost close friends due to this. He doesn't really fit into the ritzy neighborhood that he moved into. His neighbors see him as just a lottery winner, sort of like a Beverly Hillbilly.

Recently, Alex has had enough of it. He doesn't want the headache that comes with the lavish life. He's been selling off all of his assets, including the homes. In August of 2009, he listed the last of his expensive homes for sale. The selling price is listed at $899,000. You could bet that wherever he moves to, it will just be a modest home - Nothing fancy, just a place to live.

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Car Accident Close-Call For Lottery Winner Cheryl Brown

Here's some free advice: Never ever scratch your instant lotto tickets while in your car, ever! Here's why. Cheryl Brown scratched hers while sitting in her car. She found out that it was a one million dollar winner. Somehow, during all of the excitement, she put her car into gear and almost hit a pole. It was a close-call; she almost had a car accident. Luckily, she and her car came out of the close-call unscathed.

Cheryl Brown won $1 million in New York Lottery's $500,000,000 Extravaganza instant scratch-off game in August of 2009. She was a hard-working woman with tight finances. She always played the lottery because she thought that one day she might win; one day it might be her. Cheryl got her day!

At the time of her win, Cheryl Brown was 40-years-old, a mother of three, and living in living in Newburgh, Orange County, NY. She worked as a housekeeping manager and lived paycheck-to-paycheck. She plans to continue working. She's always been a renter and, now, with the lottery win, she's most excited that she'll be able to afford to own her own place. As well, she plans to buy a car and put money away for her kids to go to college.

The $500,000,000 Extravaganza scratch-off lottery game costs $20 to play and has some really big prizes. The top prize is $5 million, the second prize is $2 million, and the third prize, which Cheryl won, is $1 million. In addition, there are many more smaller prizes, ranging from $20 to $5,000. Not bad for a scratch-off game!

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Ralph Stebbins - Won The Lottery, Charged With Attempted Murder, Died Of Heart Failure

Ralph Stebbins won $208 million in the Mega Millions lottery in April of 2005. His life, from there on in, was supposed to be great. It wasn't. His dreams were supposed to come true. They didn't. Unless, his dreams included being charged with attempted murder and death due to heart failure.

First the lottery win - Ralph Stebbins and his wife, Mary, were the winners of a huge $208 million Mega Millions jackpot in April of 2005. The couple, from Port Huron, Michigan, always wanted to travel and, when they won, they planned to do just that. But first, they quit their jobs. Not only that, they planned to give some members of their families enough money to quit their jobs as well. They seemed very generous people and looked like they were looking forward to a great life.

But not too long after the big win, Ralph Stebbins was charged with attempted murder for stabbing one of his daughters' boyfriends. Perhaps he was an overprotective father and something happened to provoke him. Nevertheless, he stabbed someone and that's pretty serious.

Perhaps that incident was too much for Ralph too handle. Perhaps it caused too much stress. Stress could lead to coronary artery disease, high blood pressure, chest pains, and irregular heart beats. And, that could cause heart failure. Ralph Stebbins died of heart failure in December of 2006. I'm not saying that his heart failure was due to stress; it could have been caused by any number of factors. It's just that he died very soon after the stabbing incident and it seems plausible.

Anyway, what should have been an awesome life after Ralph Stebbins won one of the biggest lottery jackpots ever, was nothing but. It's too sad.

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Daily Keno Lottery Winner Peter Bashucky Of Toronto

Toronto, Ontario resident, Peter Bashucky, won $250,000 playing the Daily Keno Lottery.

Daily Keno is a pretty cool game because it is highly customizable with better odds of winning then most lottery games. It is customizable because you can choose how many numbers you want to play and how much you want to spend per ticket (You can spend between $1 and $10 per ticket). The more you spend and the more numbers you choose, the more you can win.

Peter Bashucky bought a $1 ticket with 10 numbers to win the jackpot of $250,000. The odds of winning the $250,000 jackpot with 10 numbers on a $1 ticket is approximately 1-in-2.1-million. Compare that to, say, Lotto 6/49, which costs $2 to play and has odds of winning the jackpot of approximately 1-in-14-million and you could see why a lot of people like the Daily Keno lottery game. Sure, the jackpot is not as big, but you're 13 times more likely to win with every $2 spent.

Peter Bashucky said that he felt both joy and shock the moment he realized that he won. He also said that winning the lottery takes away his stress. He said he would use the money to pay off his debts, fix his car, and put the rest in the bank.

Congratulations to Peter on his nice win!

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NCEL Lottery Winner Joel Stevens Sr Won't Go Hog Wild

There should be a new law - The day after you find out that you won the lottery should be day to take off work, a day of party and celebration, a day to go hog wild. Joel Stevens Sr won the lottery. He said he would not go hog wild. In fact, he went to work the next day. No, no, no, Joel, say it ain't so!

Joel Stevens Sr won $237,720 playing North Carolina Education Lottery's (NCEL) Cash 5 game jackpot in August of 2009. The odds of winning the jackpot in NCEL's Cash 5 game are approximately 1-in-333,000. Joel beat the odds and that's another reason to celebrate, but Joel was proud of the fact that he went to work the next day. Oh well, everybody's different.

At the time of his win, Joel Stevens Sr was living in Gastonia, North Carolina, a town about 20 miles from Charlotte. He said he would use the money to buy a new SUV. He currently has two cars, one 15-years-old and the other 10-years-old. Ironically, The car that he drove to pick up his winnings from the prize claim center broke down and had to be towed home.

Joel Stevens bought his winning ticket at The Corner Store on Union Road in Gastonia, NC where he stops in every morning on his way to work to buy a cup of coffee.

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Don't Tell Anyone Yakima Resident Curtis Eldred Won The Lottery

Curtis Eldred is a man that lives in Yakima, Washington, about 100 miles from Seattle. He's got a secret - He won the lottery. $3.4 million. But, shhh, don't tell anyone!

In May of 2009, someone in the town of Yakima, Washington won the lottery. Big news like that spreads fast in small towns and everybody was wondering who the winner was. Nobody knew. Except for Curtis Eldred. He knew. Because it was him. He won. but he kept it a secret for three months. He finally came out of the closet in August and claimed his prize.

I know if I won the lottery, I'd be at the prize claim center at 9am sharp the next morning, let alone wait three months. But I guess everybody's different. Curtis waited three months for a reason. He wanted to prepare for life as a millionaire. He wanted to chart his course prior to making it known that he was the big winner. He wanted a solid plan of action.

Now that Curtis Eldred has his money, his plan of action includes caring for his elderly mother, paying off his car (Hyundai), donate to charity, invest, and retire from his job as a cook as a prep cook at Heritage Inn Restaurant in Toppenish, Washington. It took him three months to figure that out. It would've taken me just three minutes!

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France Lottery Winner Pascal-Jerome Brun Bribes Cops In Impaired Driving Charge

If you win the lottery, you can buy as many Ferraris as you want. But that doesn't make you above the law - You still have to obey the laws of the road. Just ask Pascal-Jerome Brun, a Euromillions winner from France. In August of 2009, he received his second impaired driving charge, while driving his Ferrari and received a six-month jail sentence. The funny thing is that he tried to bribe two cops with a $1000 Euro gift each. Obviously, The cops didn't bite.

Pascal-Jerome Brun won 26,215,627 Euros ($37,058,587) in the EuroMillions lottery in 2004. Ever since then, he's had a fascination with exotic sports cars. The first time he was charged with impaired driving, he was also driving a Ferrari. The man likes to drink. And, he likes to drive. Which leaves me to wonder, how many times have the cops took his bait? Do we really think that these two incidents were the only times he was drinking and driving? Also, what's up with the measly 1000 Euro bribe? For a man of such wealth, what's 1000 Euros? It's a drop in the bucket. If he offered the cops a bribe of 10,000 Euros, would we be reading about him today? I'm not saying it's OK to bribe the police or to drive while impaired, I'm just saying that this guy's rich and he could afford a lot more.

Ironically, Pascal-Jerome Brun was ordered to pay 500 Euros in damages to the two police officers he tried to bribe with his measly 1000 Euros. There's something for him to think about while he's in jail. Funny!

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Charles Spansel Jr - The Story Of A Dying Father Who Told His Son He'd Win The Lottery

This is the story of a dying father who told his son he would win the lottery. It was Charles Spansel Jr's father. Actually, the dying father didn't tell his son, he told Charles' wife that his son would win the lottery.

So Charles kind of expected to win. But who knew it would come so fast? Charles Spansel Jr won the lottery just two months after his father passed away; he one $1,845,829 playing Louisiana Lottery's Lotto game in June of 2009.

But he kept his big win a secret from his family. He couldn't tell them right away. One of his daughter's was getting married. She was to celebrate her wedding just eight days after Charles Spansel Jr found out that he won the Lotto. He didn't want to steal the spotlight from her on her big day. So, as much as he would have liked to share the great news with his family, he didn't.

The story ends, fittingly, on Father's Day. Charles shared the good news with his family early Father's Day morning, partly to honor his own father who predicted his son's big win as he lay dying.

Congratulations to Charles Spansel Jr on his lucky, although predicted, win!

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Nudist Lottery Winners Take Hot Steamy Naked Pictures

What do nudist lottery winners do when they go to claim their winnings? They take hot, steamy naked pictures at the check ceremony, that's what! Kudos to the couple for posing nude!

That couple is Brian Tucker and Maggie Dallard. They won £240,928 ($393,555 USD) playing UK's National Lottery in July of 2009. Brian always buys three lotto tickets every week. One of them represents numbers of family birthdays and that's the won that won the prize. He said that he'd always had a good feeling about those numbers.

Posing for nude photos takes a lot of courage. They knew that those pictures would be all over the news. Their co-workers at Dungeness Power Station, where both Brian Tucker and Maggie Dallard work, had no idea that they were nudists. They saw the pictures. Now they know! The couple did get some teasing at work, but everyone had been very happy for them, though.

So, what do you do if you are a nudist and you win the lottery? Do you go out and buy a new wardrobe? No, clothing isn't necessary. If you're anything like Brian Tucker and Maggie Dallard, you plan to go on some nudist vacations (No clothing required!). Their first destination looks like will be a nudist resort in Perpignan, France.

Other than the nudity, the couple also plan to use the money to pay off their mortgage and give some to each of the eight children that they have between them.

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Jumbo Bucks Instant Scratch-Off Winner Lee Barnette Will Do Good Things

Even before he won the lottery, Lee Barnette did good things. In past Christmases, he bought Christmas presents for kids in the community. Now, that he won $500,000 playing Georgia Lottery's Jumbo Jumbo Bucks instant scratch-off game, he plans to do more good things. That means more Christmas presents for the kids!

It's an interesting story how Lee Barnette ended up with the winning Jumbo Jumbo Bucks ticket. He went to work one day and forgot his cigarettes at home. So, he called his father to ask him to stop off at the store to pick up some cigarettes for him. And, while he was there, he might as well pick up a scratch off lottery ticket. Yes, that's the one he won on. Thank goodness he forgot his cigarettes that day!

Why did Lee Barnette decide to get that lottery ticket? Any excuse to get a lottery ticket. See, Lee has an addiction to scratch-off tickets. Prior to his win, he said that he spent $20-$30 a week on scratch-offs. I think that's just what he admits to. I'm sure he bought a lot more. Anyway, guess what was the first thing he did when he won? He bought an entire roll of scratch-off lottery tickets. An entire roll! I'm sorry to say, that that roll had no big winners.

Actually, Lee Barnette says that he will try to quit the lottery. Now that he's ahead, he wants to stay ahead. I don't think he needs to quit, just keep the lottery ticket spending down to, say, $5 a week.

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Big List Of Lottery Winners

Ever wonder what lottery winners look like? Take a look at the big list of lottery winners (Screen shot is on the left of this page). Actually, the list is so big, that we're already working on page 2 of the list. As of October 11, 2011, the big list of lottery winners represents people that have won more than $14 billion combined in lotteries worldwide. It includes Powerball, EuroMillions, Lotto 6/49, UK National Lottery, Super 7, Super Lotto (India), Goslotto (Russia), Mega Millions, Lotto Max, and more.

So, what do lottery winners look like? They look like normal people... People you work with, people you go to school with, people you pass on the streets, neighbors, friends, family. Real people do win the lottery. And, they win it every day. Some win it by luck. But people do win. And, that's why I showcase them here on this blog. You're hoping you see yourself here one day, aren't you?

All the people that you see on the big list of winners have won at least $100,000. We don't showcase anybody that has won anything less than that.

Can you even wrap your mind around $13.8 billion of lottery winnings? That $13.8 billion worth of winnings on my big list of winners was won by hundreds of people. Those people have won more than the GDP of entire countries. And, I mean real countries, like Montenegro, Jamaica, Iceland, Fiji, Armenia, Monaco, Laos... You get the point. It's a lot of money.

Keep checking back. More and more people win the lottery everyday. And, the jackpots keep getting bigger and bigger. We'll be covering them all!

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North Carolina Education Lottery Winner Shamika Freeman Is A Thousandaire

North Carolina Education Lottery Winner Shamika Freeman is a thousandaire! Thousandaire - That's a funny word, but that's what Shamika described herself as when she won $263,498. Actually, thousandaire isn't really a real word. However, it does exist in the urban dictionary, which defines it as, "Being a thousandaire is having the attitude of a millionaire; with a touch of bling." Nice!

Shamika Freeman won $253,498 playing the Cash 5 lotto game in July of 2009. Cash 5 is a daily game offered by North Carolina Education Lottery. It offers a starting jackpot of $50,000 and grows if nobody wins it. The odds of winning the jackpot in the game are approximately 1-in-575,000.

Shamika Freeman was actually checking her numbers early one morning, 4am to be exact, when she found out that she won. Not being able to believe it, she called a friend to have the numbers double-checked. Damn, if someone called and woke me up that early, I'd go nuts, unless, of course, it's news that they are a new lottery winner. Hey, it's a lot of money and a friend's gotta do what a friends gotta do, including double-checking lotto numbers.

Shamika plans to give some of the money to family, go on some vacations, and put the rest in the bank.

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Darryl Heller Won The Lottery - It Could Happen To You

Many people are so in disbelief the moment they found out that they won the lottery. Darryl Heller was one of them. He couldn't believe his eyes. Well, you really did win, Darryl. The lottery's so random, it could happen to anybody. It could happen to you!

Darryl Heller won $1 million playing Texas Lottery's $500,000,000 Blockbuster instant scratch lottery ticket. To play the game, you have to match some numbers and then scratch the prize amount to see how much you won. Darryl scratched the numbers and was excited to see that he held a winning ticket. But he didn't scratch the prize amount. He wasn't ready to see what he had won. So, he put the ticket away and went to work.

Darryl Heller later scratched the ticket to find that he won a million dollars. He couldn't believe his eyes. He didn't believe that he could win so much money. He always wanted to win the lottery and played many games, including scratch-offs, Lotto Texas, and Mega Millions. But this was real and it was unbelievable!

That's the way it goes, folks. You play the lottery, but deep down you don't think it could happen to you. It can! Darryl Heller said that he will keep playing the lottery even after his million dollar win because he wants to win more. Everybody wants to win more.

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Arthur Wright - It's Not A Fake Lottery Ticket - You Really Did Win!

Do you ever wonder what your reaction would be the moment you found out that you won the lottery? I wonder myself. I have no idea how I would react. If I don't win the lottery, I'd at least like to be there to witness other people's reactions. Those moments are priceless.

Arthur Wright won the lottery. He must have thought it was a fake lottery ticket or something, because he couldn't believe it. When he checked the numbers in the newspaper, he saw that he won and thought that someone was playing a practical joke on him. Then he checked it online and on TV and realized that it was a really elaborate practical joke or he really did win. Believe it Arthur, you won. Otherwise, we wouldn't be writing about you!

Arthur Wright won £2,964,163 ($4,909,456 USD) playing the UK National Lottery on the February 27, 2008 draw.

Speaking of fake lottery tickets, they're the perfect way to catch someone's reaction to winning the lottery on video. If they don't know it's a fake lottery ticket, it's a real reaction. Check this guy out:



For a really silly reaction, see this guy:

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Lori-Ann Theriault Moves To New Province To Win Lottery

Lori-Ann Theriault could never win the lottery in her home province of Ontario, Canada. So, she did what anybody would do. She moved to BC. Good move, because she won the lottery in BC!

I'm just kidding, Lori-Ann Theriault didn't actually move out of Ontario because of the lottery. But she really did move to BC with her husband. And, she was only there for a few weeks when she won $200,000 playing an instant scratch Monopoly lotto game.

Actually, Lori-Ann was new to the province of BC and was looking for a job. She was out handing out resumes when she decided to stop into Terminal Chevron Town Pantry in Nanaimo, BC to pick up a scratch ticket. Now she's probably not in such a rush to find a job!

Speaking of her big win, Lori-Ann Theriault said that she was in shock when she saw how much money she had won. She said that she had to get her husband to double-check the ticket just to make sure. Don't worry, Lori-Ann, you won - Otherwise we wouldn't be writing about you here!

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Douglas Robinson Is Blessed To Win The Lottery With A $1 Quick Pick

The odds of winning the second prize of $200,000 on Powerball are approximately 1-in-5-million. Some people win it because they're lucky. Some people win it because they buy tons of tickets. Douglas Robinson won it because he was blessed. Actually, that's what he said. Douglas Robinson said that he was blessed to win the lottery with just one Quick Pick ticket. That's right folks, he bought just a single ticket!

Douglas Robinson won the $200,000 second prize in Powerball in the July 18, 2009 draw. He went into the QuickTrip store to get a cup of tea when he noticed that the Powerball jackpot was $60 million. So he bought a ticket. I guess he wasn't blessed enough to win the jackpot. But he can't complain with $200,000!

Then Douglas carried the ticket in his pocket for ten days before he remembered to check it. That's when he found out he won. But he couldn't cash it just yet because he was to go on a business trip. He works for the Department of Veteran Affairs and has to travel a lot for the job. So, he signed the ticket and put it in a safe place. Luckily that safe place wasn't in his back pocket. No, no, no, it was locked up tight. He finally got around to claiming his money on August 10, 2009.

Douglas Robinson plans to use the money to create a college fund for his three children and invest for retirement.

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Darlene MacQuaide Wins $130 Million Blockbuster Grand Prize Of $50,000/Year For Life

North Carolina Education Lottery had an instant scratch lotto ticket called $13 Million Blockbuster. It offered various prizes, ranging from $10 to $1 million. But if you scratched the ticket and found a symbol that read, "Drawing Entry," you would have had to mail it in to be eligible for a bonus prize, the biggest of which was $50,000 a year for life.

Ten people were selected for the bonus draw that was held at WRAL-TV Studios in Raleigh, North Carolina on August 12, 2009. Each person randomly chose a big replica of the instant scratch ticket and eh won had a prize. Darlene MacQuaide was the lucky lady that chose the one with the grand prize of $50,000 a year for life.

When she realized that she was the big winner, Darlene MacQuaide threw up her hands and screamed, "Yeah!" Afterwards, she was at a loss for words. She said that she would use the money to take a vacation and also donate some to schools in her area.

Everybody that participated in the August 12th $130 Million Blockbuster bonus drawing received a prize. The following is the list of the other 9 winners and what they won:

•John Whitfield of Gibsonville, NC won $25,000.
•John Williams of Garner, NC won $15,000
•Melany Pipkin of Whitakers, NC won $10,000
•Willard Cotten of Carrboro, NC won $5,000
•Carlyle Leak of Greensboro, NC won $5,000
•Mark Stowe of Mt Holly, NC won $5,000
•Heather Ross of Morganton, NC won $1,000
•Stanley Bryant of Lillington, NC won $1,000
•Joseph Burleson of Winston-Salem, NC won $1,000

Congratulations to all of the lucky winners!

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Santa Cruz Lottery Winner Clyde Persley Hits Big On SuperLotto Plus

To the left is Clyde Persley's yearbook photo from Santa Cruz High School in California, USA. It was taken in 1977 and he was just 17 years old. In July of 2009, Clyde was 49-years-old, married with a 4-year-old daughter, and working three jobs to make ends meet. That was until he hit it big on California Lottery's SuperLotto Plus game. $39 million! Now he can relax.

Clyde Persley is a down-to-earth guy. He worked hard to support his family and when he won the lottery, he didn't say that he was happy for himself. Nope. He said that he was happy for his family. It is a family the Clyde worked three jobs to support. He worked full-time for a company that operates candy-making machines and worked part time as a limo driver and working at a restaurant.

Clyde Persley doesn't even dream about luxurious items like fancy cars and big houses. He just wants to live comfortably. He wants to set up a college fund for his daughter and support his parents. He does, however, want to travel. He plans to take his wife to Hawaii because she really wants to go there. He will also chart a course with a financial advisor to make sure his money remains safe.

SuperLotto Plus is a game from California Lottery. It offers a jackpot that starts at $7 million and grows if nobody wins it. The odds of winning the jackpot in the game are approximately 1-in-41-million.

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Sad But True Lottery Story Of Angela Kelly

Take a look at the photo of the woman on the left. That's Angela Kelly. The photo was taken just months after she became Britain's biggest lottery winner in August of 2007 by winning a Euromillions jackpot of £35 million ($57,936,449 USD). She looks unkept and sad. Not what you'd expect from such a big lottery winner, right? Yes, that's because winning the lottery might have been a curse on her.

This is the sad but true lottery story of Angela Kelly.

This didn't start out as a sad story. The opposite in fact. Angela believed that winning the lottery was a dream come true. She was having a ball and embraced the media when it happened in August of 2007. She planned many things with her new found wealth, including vacations to Canada and Hawaii. In her own words, she was 'flabbergasted.'

But it didn't take long for life to be turned upside down. Angela Kelly became a recluse and isolated. The story takes a turn when the life she always knew was over. She was used to working hard to make ends meet and suddenly that stopped. She enjoyed gossiping with the adult company at work and that was no more. She was a single-mother working to raise her son. Her son was her life. But once her son's wishes of a Playstation and a few other trinkits were fulfilled, he just wanted to go back to his normal life. He didn't want to move to a new fancy house in a new area either. So, they kept living in the poor neighborhood they always lived in.

But they never really fit in with their old lifestyle. They were rich everybody else was not. They didn't fit in. And, Angela withdrew from society.

It's a sad story. Even when she won the lottery, a friend said of her that Angela Kelly wasn't cut out for this sort of money. That was a true foretelling of Angela's sad troubles to come.

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Biggest Lottery Game Prize Winners Ever (Powerball, 6/49, Mega Millions Jackpots)

Have you ever wondered who the biggest lottery jackpot prize winners were? Look no further, below is a list of the biggest lottery winners ever (That this blog has covered so far). There were other big jackpots won that are not listed here because they were claimed anonymously. For example, some of the countries involved in EuroMillions allow their winners to claim anonymously, as does people who win big jackpots in Australia.

Biggest Lottery Prize Winners Ever:

1. Steve West & Bob Chaney: Friends won $340 million.


2. Andrew Jackson "Jack" Whittaker Jr: Won $315 million in Powerball and then blew all the money.


3. Geraldine Williams: Won $294 million in July of 2004.


4. Robert And Tonya Harris: Excited couple won $270 million.


5. J.R. Triplett: $239 million Mega Millions win in March, 2004.


6. Neal Wanless: The cowboy won $232 million in Powerball in May of 2009.


7. Group of 10 Co-Workers: Chubb Insurance employees split a $216 million prize.


8. Joe Kainz: $181 million winner in May of 2000.


9. Paul Rosenau: $180 million winner in May, 2008.


10. Rebecca Jemison: Won $162 million and then someone tried to steal it.


11. Dolores McNamara: $153 million EuroMillions winner (Now the 72nd richest person in Ireland).


12. David Sneath: Won $136 million in April of 2008.


13. Aubrey Boyce: Won $133 million in Mega Millions in July of 2009.


14. Eddie Nabor: Won $116 million in 2007.


15. Hugh Hawkins: Won $113 million in the Powerball game in December of 2005


16. Regina Mandabach: $95.5 million prize in October of 2003.


17. Martha Cueller: Believed she would win money and she won $94 million.


18. Jeff Wilson: $88 Million Powerball jackpot winner.


19. Brad Duke: Wants to turn his $85 million win into a billion dollars.


20. Tucker "TJ" Adcock: Won $82.5 million playing Mega Millions with his brother in 2007.


21. John Belawsky: Won $82 million playing the Mega Millions lottery game in 2007.


22. Bunky Bartlett: Wiccan won $82 million.


23. Joe Denette: Won $76 million Mega Millions jackpot in May of 2009.


24. Degli Martinez: $65 million winner, but had to wait one year to get the money.


25. Felipe Pina: Won $63 million in may, 2007


26. Zorina Kroop: $60 million winner.


27. Fred Topous: Convicted felon won $57 million.


28. John San Cartier: $52 million winner in August of 2005.


29. Rondal Eaton: $50.5 million Powerball jackpot winner in February of 2003.


30. Group Of 13: Group of co-workers had a winning $49 million Lotto 6/49 ticket.


31. Jeff Carl: $47 million SuperLotto jackpot winner.


32. Todd Moitz: Young $47 million jackpot winner.


33. Christopher Crane: $42 million jackpot winner in October, 2008.


34. Mark Staffa: $42 million winner in October of 2008.


35. David Edwards: $41 million jackpot in August, 2001.


36. Brian Caswell: Won a prize of $40 million in the Euromillions lotto.


37. Gloria Mitchum: Won $35 million way back in 1989.


38. Jason Rinaldi: $35 million Lotto 6/49 winner (tax free).

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Charlottetown PEI Lottery Winner Scott Ferguson

Scott Ferguson, of Charlottetown, PEI, Canada is a lottery winner. He won $100,000 playing TAG on the July 22, 2009 draw.

TAG is an extra lottery game from Atlantic Canada Lottery. You cannot buy a standalone TAG ticket. It has to be played in addition to one of the other games like Lotto 649, Super 7, Atlantic 49, Pik 4, or Keno. You first buy one of those games and then you have the option to play TAG for an extra dollar. When you play Tag, you get a six-digit number and have to match all of them to win the jackpot of $100,000. Of course, there are also other, smaller, prizes for matching between the last 1 to 5 numbers, with the smaller prizes ranging from $2 to $1000. The odds of winning the $100,000 TAG jackpot are 1-in-600,000.

Scott Ferguson bought his winning ticket at Sobey's grocery store on University Avenue in Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island. The store received a $1000 binus for selling the winning lottery ticket.

Congratulations to Scott on his lucky win!

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Olivia Scimeca Plays $1 Million Parquet Floor Challenge At Boston Celtics Game

Massachusetts Lottery and the NBA's Boston Celtics team had a pretty cool promotion. A limited edition 2008 NBA Champions instant scratch game was created. It featured many prizes, such as ten $200,000 prizes and ten $100,000 prizes. But the best part was a second chance to win more money. People could turn in their losing tickets to be entered into a draw to play the $1 million Parquet Floor Challenge at a Boston Celtics basketball game. The top prize? You guessed it... One Million Dollars!

Olivia Scimeca got the chance to play the $1 million Parquet Floor Challenge. He ticket was randomly selected as the winner. So, Olivia was scheduled to appear on the court at the May 5, 2009 playoff game between the Boston Celtics and Orlando Magic. She was so nervous that she couldn't sleep for nights before the big game. Alas, Olivia Scimeca played and won. She didn't win the $1 million, but she did win a cool $200,000. Not bad!

Congratulations to Olivia Scimeca on her nice win!

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Nahum La Cerna Wants The American Dream After Winning The Lottery

The best part about winning the lottery is that it allows you to do what you want. Take Nahum La Cerna, for example. His dream career is in computer networking. But to that, he would have to go to school. He couldn't go to school because he worked two jobs; he worked as a service clerk at Walgreen's and also cut grass at a local cemetery. See, going to school was not in the picture, that is, until he won the lottery.

Nahum La Cerna won the jackpot on New York Lottery's Win $1000 A Week For Life instant lotto game. Nahum had only been playing the lottery for a year prior to the big win. He would spend just $5 per week. Now, with the win, he could freely spend much more if that was his wish!

Nahum La Cerna actually bought the winning ticket while on his lunch break at Walgreen's. And, even after the win, he returned after his break to finish his shift.

Other than the opportunity to go after his dream career in computer networking, what else does Nahum plan to do with his money? He said that withing five years, he will be living in a new house with a wife, kids, and a dog - The American Dream!

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Chambersburg Lottery Winner Barbara Jeannette Is A Hoffman Transport Account Manager

Hoffman Transport is a trucking company in Greencastle, Pennsylvania; it specializes in refrigerated, as well as dry freight. Barbara Jeannette works for the company as an account manager. But Hoffman Transport could not pay her as much as the Cash 5 lottery can. That's because Barbara won $395,686 in the July 27, 2009 draw. Nice!

PA Lottery's Cash 5 game plays every day and jackpots start at $125,000. The jackpot grows until someone wins. The odds of winning the jackpot in Cash 5 are approximately 1-in-962,000.

At the time of her win, Barbara Jeannette was living in Chambersburg, Franklin County, Pennsylvania with her husband and working as an account manager at Hoffman Transport. She said that she wasn't too sure what she will do with the money, but she does know that she will save some of it for retirement.

The winning ticket was purchased at Earl’s Market in State Line, Franklin County (Not far from where she lives in Chambersburg). The store received a $500 bonus for selling the winning ticket.

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Daniel Snay - Level 3 Sex Offender Wins The Lottery

Back in January of 2008, Daniel Snay won the lottery. $10 million in Massachusetts Lottery's Billion Dollar Blockbuster instant scratch game. At the check celebration ceremony, he was just like most lottery winners. He talked about what he would do with his money and what his future would be like. All fine so far. Sounds like a normal lottery winner. But read on.

When Daniel Snay won, he said that he didn't want the money to change him. He didn't want to change his lifestyle. OK, hold on... That's scary. Why is that scary? Because Daniel Snay is a level 3 sex offender. In Massachusetts, a level 3 sex offender is someone who is deemed the most dangerous and the most likely to re-offend. Yep, that's scary. I sure hope Daniel changes his lifestyle.

Since 1974, Daniel Snay was convicted four times of indecent assault and battery on a person 14 years old or older and two times on a person under 14 years. Yes, he is a sex offender. Not only that, he also escaped from prison in 1978, which resulted in a local manhunt.

All of Daniel's crimes that he was convicted of happened in the state of Connecticut. After appearing on the news as a lottery winner in Massachusetts, CT police realized that he never informed Connecticut authorities that he would be moving, as sex offenders are required to do. And, because of that, Daniel Snay may yet be charged again.

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Louis Tolentino - Lost Lottery Ticket After He Carelessly Puts Half A Million Dollars In His Pocket

I know that if I won the lottery, I would guard that winning ticket with my life. I would know exactly where it was at any second until I would walk into the lottery office to collect my prize. Under no circumstances would I lose it. But some lottery winners tend to be a little careless. Take Jon Brush for example. He won and kept the ticket in a hiding spot in his car for safe keeping. Now comes news that a man named Louis Tolentino lost a winning $500,000 ticket.

This is how Louis Tolentino's story goes: The man bought an instant scratch game from Florida Lottery. He scratched it and won. He brought it to the liquor store where he bought it to have it verified. The store clerk verified that the ticket won $500,000. So far so good. So he immediately heads to Florida Lottery's prize claim office to cash in his ticket. On the way, he gets lost. While seeking directions he carelessly places the ticket in his back pocket. When he gets to the prize office, the ticket is missing. Gone. No money!

That $500,000 ticket is as good as cash. And, would you carelessly put a half a million dollars in your back pocket? I wouldn't. I would be clenching that money in a tight fist.

Florida Lottery believes that Louis Tolentino actually bought the winning ticket. But a lost ticket is a lost ticket. State law prohibits them from paying out. To top it all off, Louis didn't sign the ticket. Pretty much anybody that finds it could cash it in.

We're still placing Louis Tolentino in our list of lottery winners even though he lost the money. He did win, so he goes on our list. It's not our fault he ended up losing it. You never know, a good samaritan might find it one day and return it to him. We sure do hope so.

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$82 Million Mega Millions Winner John Belawsky Lets Wife Sleep

Here's a question: Let's say you just found out that you won $82 million in the Mega Millions lottery. It's late at night and you wife is sleeping. Would you wake her up to tell her the good news? I would. Heck, I'd probably be waking up the neighbors with all the noise I was making. But not John Belawsky. He actually did win $82 million. And, he let his wife sleep. I guess everybody's different.

John Belawsky won $82 million playing Mega Millions in 2007. Actually, when he found out that he won he was at home and his wife was sleeping. He was checking the numbers and found out that he won. He couldn't believe it and felt overwhelmed. So he went out to get a print-out of the numbers at the store so that he could double-check his numbers. Sure enough, he was still a winner. But still, he didn't wake his sleeping wife. John, himself, couldn't even fall asleep. He just waited for his wife to wake up. He kept himself busy by reading the newspaper, reading a book, and watching TV. When she finally woke up, John gave her the good news.

Let that be a lesson to you, folks. Next time you win the lottery, wake everybody up. Wake the neighbors up. Start a ruckus. Maybe get the cops involved, too. At least you won't sit around and be bored like John Belawsky was.

At the time of his win, John Belawsky was 59-years-old, retired, and living in Cape May County, New Jersey, USA. They didn't have much plans for the money, other than to build a dream house in Florida.

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Scratch-And-Win Lottery Game Winner Jon Brush

New York Lottery is quite imaginative. They actually presented Jon Brush with his ceremonial check at a Binghamton Mets baseball game. Pretty cool!

Jon Brush won $1 million on New York Lottery's Triple Diamonds scratch-and-win game in July of 2009. When he won, Jon said that it's the first time he ever won big money playing the lottery. News flash to Jon: Most people never win the lottery and, for the few people that do, it's also their first time. Most of those winners will never win again. So, everybody should just savor their first time!

When Jon won, he actually waited two days before going in to claim his winnings. He said that he wanted to inform his family members of his win first. And, for safe keeping, he hid his winning ticket in his car. Oh boy, that's just bad. He should realize that if he gotten his car stolen, the million dollars would have been gone. Luckily, Jon got his money.

Jon Brush says that he is a simple man and that the money from the winning scratch-and-win ticket won't change him. But he did say that he will go on a very long vacation with his family because he works really hard.

Just a note to all the car thieves out there: Jon said that next time he won the lottery, he would be hiding the ticket in the same hiding place in the car. But he won't tell you where that hiding place is (You know, because he doesn't want you to steal the ticket). So, just steal the whole car... You'll find the ticket in there eventually.

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Lindsay Man Shawn Pappas Was Close To Winning A Big Lottery Jackpot

Shawn Pappas could have been like Carmelita Aquino-Smith, Lani Bonifacio, Linda Lagman, or Mark Stukel. That's because they all had winning Lotto 6/49 tickets in a huge $32 million jackpot in the July 15, 2009 draw. But Shawn Pappas was so close. Really close. Unlike the others, Shawn was off by one number. He matched 5-out-of-6 numbers plus the bonus to win the second prize. The top prize winners all received $10.7 million (There were three winning tickets sold) and Shawn only received $191,521.

Shawn won a lot of money. $191,521 is nothing to laugh at. But when you're that close to winning a big one, there must be, at least, just a hint of resentment. Oh well.

Shawn Pappas was happy, though. He found out that he had a winning ticket when he stopped for gas. That's when he had his ticket checked. He said that his initial feeling was that of shock.

At the time of his win, Shawn Pappas was living in Lindsay, Ontario Canada and a father of three children. The man bought his winning ticket at a Canadian Tire gas station on Kent Street West in Lindsay.

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Big Money Dream Becomes The Real Deal For Michael Keene

The dream dictionary says that if you dream about finding money, it means you will find happiness in your domestic life. If you dream about looking at money, it means you will reach your goals and increase your income. The dream dictionary also says that if you dream about winning the lottery, it means that you could expect some unpleasant happenings.

The dream dictionary is so wrong! Michael Keene had a big money dream. He dreamed about winning the lottery. Actually, he dreamed about winning $500,000, exactly. According to the dream dictionary, he should have experienced some unpleasant happenings. That's crap! Michael experienced something wonderful. He won $500,000!

In July of 2009, Michael Keene had a big money dream of winning $500,000. Three days later, he played an instant scratch Bonanza lottery ticket from Maine Lottery and won $500,000. So much for the dream book.

Michael Keene bought his winning Bonanza lotto ticket at Trenton Marketplace in Trenton, Maine. Congratulations to him on his lucky win!

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Heart And Stroke Lottery Winner Joyce Deegan Loves The 1-In-3 Best Odds

The Heart & Stroke Lottery dubs itself as the best odds of winning the lottery, at 1-in-3. Of course, that doesn't mean it's the best odds of winning the $1 million jackpot; it just means that 1-in-3 tickets wins a prize. There are some weird prizes like bathrobes, food steamers, allergen reducers, and digital picture frames. But then there are some great prizes like BMW 5 Series, Audi A4 Quattro Convertible, Vespa LX 150, Ford Mustang Conertible, trip to Montreal, trip to Costa Rica, trip to St. Maarten, electronics, and, of course the million dollar grand prize.

Joyce Deegan must love the best 1-in-3 odds. That's because she held a winning ticket. But she didn't win a silly prize, she won the grand prize. $1 million!

Joyce Deegan shared in the cost of her ticket with her boyfriend, Dennis Locatelli. So, the couple will split the $1 million.

The Heart & Stroke Foundation calls their big winners on the phone after the draw. Joyce was shopping with her friends when she received the call. Her friends recalled that they heard her saying "Really? Really? Really?" They could tell that it was an important call but didn't know if it was good news or bad news. They thought somebody might have dies. But it was great news. Ya, finding out you won the lottery is pretty good!

Joyce Deegan and Dennis Locatelli said that they did not know yet what they would do with their winnings.

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