Samantha Ogboe - NYPD Traffic Agent Wins Lotto 2nd Prize

Take a good look at Samantha Ogboe, pictured to the left. If you live in New York, you may recognize her. She might have been the police officer that gave you your last speeding ticket. That's because she works for NYPD Traffic Enforcement unit as a traffic agent. She also won the 2nd prize in New York Lotto!

New York Police Department traffic agent, Samantha Ogboe, won $164,741, the 2nd prize in New York Lotto, in December of 2009.

New York Lotto is a 6/59 game, meaning that the odds of winning the jackpot are approximately 1-in-45-million. Because you get two plays for each dollar you spend, your odds are actually approximately 1-in-23-million, per ticket. The odds of winning the 2nd prize, which Samantha won by matching 5-out-of-6, plus the bonus number, are approximately 1-in-3.7-million.

Samantha Ogboe chose her own numbers on the winning ticket. She uses a system of playing her family's birthdays and ages. The system worked out quite well for her! Samantha said that she was shocked when she found out how much money she won. She plans to invest her winnings.

Read More

Lotto Winner Frank Lippa To Buy House In Rome, Italy

If you won the lottery, would you buy a new house? You probably would. But where would you buy your new house? Probably somewhere not far from where you are now, right? But when you have money, you could live anywhere. There are probably thousands of places in the world that are better than where you are living now. So why wouldn't you buy a house somewhere cool, like maybe Rome, Italy?

That's where Frank Lippa plans to buy a house, now that he's won $100,000 in the lotto - Rome, Italy.

Frank Lippa won $100,000 playing Encore on November 6, 2009. Encore is a lottery game in Ontario, Canada that you can purchase for an extra dollar, in addition to playing one of the main games like Lotto 6/49, Lotto Max, Ontario 49, Payday, Keno, or Pick 3. Encore is not a standalone game, so you cannot purchase it without playing one of the main games first. The top prize in Encore is $1 million. The odds of winning the top prize are 1-in-10-million. The $100,000 that Frank won is the second prize. The odds of winning the second prize are 1-in-1,111,111.

Frank Lippa said that he was freaked out when he found out that he won $100,000. He said that he couldn't believe his eyes. Frank says that, aside from buying the house in Rome, Italy, he will also be investing some of it.

Read More

It Wasn't A Trick - Betty and Wayne Breazeale Won The Lottery

Betty and Wayne Breazeale love to play tricks on one another. That's why when Betty woke Wayne up early one Sunday morning in November of 2009, screaming that they won the lotto, Wayne didn't believe her; he thought it was another trick. It wasn't a trick - They really won the lottery!

Betty and Wayne Breazeale won $450,000 playing Louisiana Lotto. Louisiana Lotto is a 6/40 game with jackpots that start at $250,000 and increase if it is not won. The odds of winning the jackpot are approximately 1-in-3.8-million.

When Betty woke Wayne, he obviously thought that it was a trick. So, he went to the Louisiana Lottery website and typed in the numbers on the ticket. It showed that nothing was won. That would have proved that this was just a big joke. However, Betty pointed out that he entered the wrong draw date. Oops. So Wayne re-checked the numbers with the proper draw date and, what do you know, they won. $450,000!

The winning lottery ticket was purchased by the Breazeales on their date night. Once every week, the couple have a date night where they go out to dinner and then stop to buy a lottery ticket. I'm sure this will have been their most memorable date night of 2009!

Betty and Wayne Breazeale plan to use the money to buy an RV for trips to the beach and put the rest away for retirement.

Read More

Troubled Lottery Winner, Mark Gardiner, Finds Soulmate In Childhood Sweetheart

Mark Gardiner won the National Lottery in 1995. He won £11 million ($17,515,827 USD). That was a long time ago and Mark has had time to reflect on how the lottery changed his life. And, it had been quite a troubled life since the big win. However, in the end, it led him back to his soulmate, his childhood sweetheart, Bridget Baker (Pictured here with Mark).

It all started in 1995, when mark split a £22 million jackpot with his business partner, the biggest-ever lottery jackpot in the U.K. at that time. Mark Gardiner became somewhat of a celebrity. With all the riches, he spent a lot. Not only did he spend on himself, he spent on friends and family. The list of spending includes:

•Purchasing five £100,000 houses for his friends.
•£500,000 for homes in Barbados.
•£200,000 on a luxury yacht.
•£2 million for ex-wives and dependents.

As you can see, Mark Gardiner wasn't afraid to spend. But the spending caused troubles. He doesn't even talk to most of the people that he gave money to anymore. Most are no longer friends due to petty squabbles over money. People began taking advantage of him over his generosity. He actually doesn't even speak to any of the people that he bought those five houses for anymore; they are no longer friends.

However, the troubled lottery winner did manage to find his soulmate - his childhood sweetheart - in spite of everything else going on. Mark Gardiner was actually married to Bridget Baker before. The marriage only lasted 12 months, though. It was tough because, at that time, they were broke and they got divorced. Fast forward to 2008, where Mark had been married and divorced three more times. That's four marriages in total. That's when Mark came full-circle and got back together with his first wife, his original love. Mark now says that being with Bridget is the best feeling ever!

Read More

BC 649 Extra Winner Susan Purewal - Winning The Lottery Is Dangerous

Have you ever considered that winning the lottery might be dangerous? It is. At least, it was for Susan Purewal, of Port Alberni, BC.

When Susan Purewal found out that she won $500,000 playing BCLC's Extra game on her Lotto 649 ticket, she felt pure excitement. That's when she went on to race upstairs to tell her husband the good news. But, while racing upstairs, the excitement caused her to trip on the stairs. She thought that she broke her ankle. Luckily, it was just a sprain, but it hurt. See what I mean - Winning the lottery could be dangerous!

At the time of her win, in December of 2009, Susan Purewal was 44-years-old, a married mother of one, working as a social worker, and living in Port Alberni, BC, Canada (Port Alberni is located on Vancouver island).

The Extra game that Susan won on is called Extra and offers a top prize of $500,000. The game is played in addition to the main lottery games like Lotto Max, BC 49, and Lotto 649. You get four computer generated numbers from 1 to 99 and must match them all to win the jackpot.

Susan Purewal said that she would use the money to pay off some property and for her son's education.

Read More

St Maries Lottery Winner Frankie Masterson Was Blubbery After Hearing The Good News

When Frankie Masterson, of St Maries, Idaho, found out the good news that she won the lottery, she described herself as being blubbery. Blubbery? Never heard that word before. So I looked it up. Blubbery is defined as, "To utter while crying and sobbing." OK, so she was crying.

Actually, Frankie Masterson had every right to get blubbery. That's because, in recent years, she had a lot of bad news. The lottery win was a pleasant reverse of fortune. The bad news began three years ago, when her husband of 39 years died. Then, just recently, she received the news that her grandson almost died when he stepped on an IED while serving in Afghanistan. Thankfully, he survived the roadside bomb and is recovering in a U.S. hospital. But, you know, those kinds of things take their toll on a person.

Frankie's reversal of fortune came when she checked her Powerball numbers in December of 2009. The first five numbers matched - 12, 13, 14, 35, and 41. She missed the Powerball number, 29, though. Nevertheless, it was a big win. Frankie Masterson won the second prize in the Powerball lottery, $200,000!

At the time of her win, Frankie Masterson lived in St Maries, Idaho (St Maries is about 50 miles east of Spokane Washington, on the Idaho-Washington border). Frankie described the lottery win as "unbelievable." It will really help her because she had barely been scraping by the last little while.

Read More

Maryland Lottery Winner's Wife Wants $100 For Christmas Shopping

If you just won $250,000, would you give your wife $100 for Christmas shopping? Of course you would, you'd even give her way more than that!

That brings me to this funny story... When Maryland Lottery winner, Kevin Louie, found out that he won the $250,000 jackpot on an instant scratch lottery ticket, the first thing he did was call his wife. What did his wife do? She asked for some Christmas shopping money. She said, "Does this mean I could have $100 for Christmas shopping?" Kevin must have thought she was nuts. Why would she ask him for $100? Why not ask for more? That's when he realized that she must have misheard him; she must have thought that he said he won $250. That's when he told her a little more clearly that he actually won two-hundred fifty thousand. Not hundred - THOUSAND!!! When Kevin's wife heard that, she started screaming!

Kevin Louie won $250,000 on an instant scratch lottery game from Maryland Lottery called King Size Cash. He bought the ticket one day in December of 2009 when he stopped into a store during his lunch-break to buy a sandwich. He scratched the ticket after he ate his sandwich.

King Size Cash is an instant scratch-off game that costs $10 to play and offers a top prize of $250,000, which is what Kevin Louie won.

Kevin Louie said that he planned to use the money to pay off some bills, have a great Christmas, and put the rest in the bank.

Read More

Richard Twohy - Bingo Times 10 Winner Was Also A Wheel Of Fortune Contestant

Richard Twohy admits that he has an addictive personality. He used to be a hard-core drug user and was addicted to cocaine. He knew that was bad and moved to Iowa City to get away from it all. That's where he has lived for the last eighteen years, living on disability checks.

But the addictive personality persisted. However, instead of drug-use, Richard Twohy focused his addictive personality on games of chance. He buys lottery tickets. He even appeared on the Wheel of Fortune TV game show. He was a contestant on Wheel of Fortune in the 1980's. On August 3, 2009, Richard's addictive personality finally paid off. That's the day that he won a big prize on Iowa Lottery's Bingo Times 10 instant scratch lotto game.

Richard Twohy scratched the Bingo Times 10 instant ticket and saw that it was a $25,000 winner. That's what he thought he won. However, he didn't see the 10X symbol, which meant that he won ten times the prize - $250,000! Richard actually left the ticket and didn't claim until almost three months later, in October of 2009. He said he held onto the winning ticket for all that time because he wanted to get his financial affairs in order.


Speaking of the lottery win, Richard said, "Life is a gift, just like this lottery ticket. I'm going to spread money around my family like my family has all done for me time and time again when I needed it. This is my opportunity; I never expected to be able to do my part for them, too." Aside from helping his family, the former Wheel of Fortune contestant said that he would also planned to pay off some bills and take a vacation somewhere down south during the upcoming winter.

Read More

500th Lottery Post

Today, I've reached a milestone with this blog - It's my 500th lottery post. I started writing the lottery winners blog almost a year ago, in January, 2009. I was interested in lottery winners, what they looked like, and what they did with their winnings. That's why I began writing about them and posting their pictures.

If you've been reading this blog, you know that you can find a complete list of all the lottery winners I've covered in this photo collage, and on page two here. Together, all the lottery winners I've covered in the 500 lottery posts represent almost $9 billion worth of winnings.

With this being my 500th lottery post, I've decided to highlight some of the more interesting posts:

• Dallas Cowboys Player wins lottery: Thomas "Hollywood" Henderson won $28 million from Texas Lottery.
• Man wins on 700 lottery tickets: William Harvey bought 700 Win 4 tickets, all with the same number, and won all of them.
&bull: Sarah Cockings: Sarah Cockings bought breast implants for her sisters after winning the lotto.
• Million dollar car: A man that lives in a small town with just one unpaved road wins a Koenigsegg CCX, a million dollar car.
• Brad Duke: Big Powerball winner buys his dream car - A VW Jetta.
• Willis Willis: Willis Willis wins the lottery and then ticket is stolen from him from retailer who flees the country.

So there you have it, just a little bit of reminiscing with my 500th lottery post.

Read More

$10 Million Lottery Winner Debra A. Roberto Might Be Full Of It

Debra A. Roberto is a $10 million lottery winner that says the money won't change her. But people are saying she's full of it - How can winning so much money not change her? Debra insists she's not full of it. For example, prior to her lottery win, she got a new car every three years. She'll probably just continue doing the same. OK OK, maybe she was well off before and living quite comfortably. So, maybe the lottery win won't change her, after all. Who knows?

Debra A. Roberto won $10 million playing the Mega Cash instant scratch lottery game from Massachusetts Lottery. Actually, the $10 million that she won makes her the biggest instant scratch lottery winner ever, a title she shares with about 13 other people, including Peggy McKenna, who I've already written about. But the Mega Cash game from MA lottery actually has a $20,000 Mega Bonus prize, meaning that eventually somebody's gonna break the $10 million record.

The Mega Cash instant game from MA Lottery costs $20 to play. The odds of winning the $10,000,000 prize are approximately 1-in-6.3-million. The odds of winning any prize in the game are approximately 1-in-2.99.

When Debra won the lottery, she was living in Stoneham, Massachusetts, United States, which is just outside of Boston, with her husband, Donald. The couple owned a construction company based out of their home. Again, Debra said that the money will not change her. Aside from getting a new car every three years, she also takes many vacations. She doesn't believe any of that will change with a $10 million win. However, she did say that this year's Christmas will be exceptional!

Read More

Dorothy Jungers & Michael Songer - Like Mother, Like Son

Forget about like father, like son - If my dad was broke, but my mother won the lottery, I'd wanna be like my mother - Like mother, like son!

Michael Songer was probably thinking the same thing before he won the lottery. He was a regular lotto player in Montana, playing all four of the regular terminal games every week, using the same numbers. He probably wanted to be like his mother, Dorothy Jungers. She, along with her friend Myrtle Wiley, won a Tri-West Lotto jackpot of $1.4 million in March of 1996. At the time, Tri-West Lotto was a 6/33 game and, later, changed its name to Wild Card. So, Michael wanted to win the lottery too!

Michael Songer got his wish and won the lottery in April of 2008. While he didn't win as much as his mother, Dorothy Jungers won, he did manage to win a cool $190,000. He won it playing a game called Montana Cash. Montana Cash has a jackpot that starts at $20,000 and it grows if nobody wins it. The odds of winning the jackpot in the game are approximately 1-in-218,000.

When he won the lottery, Michael Songer said that he planned to use the money to pay off his mortgage.

Read More

Brian Bost - Fishing Trip Is More Important Than Telling Wife He Won The Lottery

If I won the lottery, I would keep it to myself, that is, until I go and claim my prize. But, as soon as I get the money, I would tell all my family and friends that I won. That's the time to celebrate!

Brian Bost thinks differently than I do, though. He won the lottery in December of 2009. $1 million in North Carolina Education Lottery's $200 Million Extravaganza instant scratch game. He went to pick up his prize, go his money, but didn't tell his wife. That's because he had already planned a fishing trip to Cape Lookout, even before the lottery win. So he went fishing.

But what happens when their is a lottery winner in the community? People talk. Even the store that sold Brian Bost the winning ticket had a big banner exclaiming the big lottery win from the store. So, it wasn't very long before Brian's wife found out about the win because news like this travels fast.

Now Brian's wife knows everything. No word on how that affected the fishing trip, though!

At the time of his win, Brian Bost lived in China Grove, North Carolina. China Grove is just north of Charlotte. I've actually written about another China Grove lottery winner just a few months ago, when Beth Prymock won $1 million on Powerball.

Read More

Leduc Lottery Winners Celebrate By Cracking Open A Bottle Of Champagne

Have you thought about what you would do when you find out that you are a new lottery winner? How would you celebrate the great news? Donna and Bill Stephenson, from Leduc, Alberta, celebrated by cracking open a bottle of champagne. No word yet on what type of champagne it was, but they could have afforded a $40,000 bottle of Dom Perignon White Gold Jeroboam if they wanted it. That's because they won $1 million from MaxMillions in the November 6, 2009 Lotto Max draw. (OK, I'm exaggerating, I doubt they would be so stupid to buy a $40,000 bottle of champagne, at least I hope they wouldn't!).

MaxMillions is a fairly new lottery game in Canada. It only kicks in as bonus draws when the main Lotto Max draw hits a $50 million jackpot. So, Donna and Bill Stephenson weren't too familiar with the rules of the game. They saw that they matched all of the numbers, but because it was a bonus draw, they figured that they won, maybe, $10. Imagine their surprise when they checked their ticket on the self-service scanner and saw that they won a million dollars. That's when the champagne came out!

At the time of their win, Donna and Bill Stephenson, lived in Leduc, Alberta. Leduc is located just south of Edmonton. No word yet on what they plan to do with their winnings.

Read More

Big Pick 4 Winner - AMAZING!

Most Pick 4 lotteries have a top prize of $5000. Since you can choose numbers ranging from 0000 to 9999, the odds of matching all 4 numbers straight are exactly 1-in-10,000. So you wouldn't expect to read about really big Pick 4 winners... Unless, someone decides to buy multiple tickets with the exact same number only because he had a "feeling." That would be silly, though, right? Who in their right mind would do that? Actually, Douglas Holland would.

Douglas Holland won Virginia Lottery's Pick 4 game. He had 10 tickets with the exact same number, 3851, only because he had a feeling about those numbers. Douglas overcame the odds of 1-in-10,000 to win $5000 on 20 tickets, for a total take of $100,000! He was a big Pick 4 winner!

While quite amazing how much he won, it is still not as amazing as William Harvey, a man that actually bought 700 lottery tickets with the exact same number and won!

At the time of his win, Douglas Holland lived in Fayetteville, North Carolina and worked as a mail carrier for the United States Postal Service. Speaking of the win he said that "it feels great." He went on to exclaim that it will feel even better when the money's in the bank. He said that he will use the money to pay off some bills and, perhaps, buy a new car.

Read More

Waco Lottery Winner Allen Lee Chadwick Has Fortuitous Day

One day in December of 2009, Allen Lee Chadwick, of Waco, Texas, had quite a fortuitous day. That day, he went into LaSalle Food Mart in Waco and bought a $250,000 Bingo instant scratch lottery ticket. He won $500. Now, any day that you happen to win $500 is a great day - And lucky too! But his fortuitous day did not end there. He decided to try his luck one more time. So he went to the exact same store and bought another instant scratch ticket, this time a Set For Life instant scratch-off. Guess what happened next? Yep, he won. $5 million. That brought his winnings for the day to $5,000,500.

If I were Allen Lee Chadwick, I'd keep buying and buying as many lottery tickets as I could until midnight that day. That was his lucky day and he was on a roll. Nevertheless, he was a lucky winner!

Allen Lee Chadwick already has some plans for the money. He wants to buy a small home - Nothing lavish, like you see some lottery winners do, just something small. He also wants to a bright blue 1967 Pontiac Firebird muscle car that he already owns. Finally, he wants to help his brother pay some medical bills for his brother, who has vision problems caused by diabetes.

Set For Life, the game that Allen Lee Chadwick won big on, is a $10 game from Texas Lottery. The top prize is $5 million, to be paid $250,000 per year for 20 years. The odds of winning this prize in the game are approximately 1-in-4.1-million. Other prizes in the Set For Life game range from $10 to $2500. The odds of winning any prize are approximately 1-in-3.94.

Read More

Ronald Wainscott Hoped The Powerball Winner Was Somebody He Knows

Ronald Wainscott lives in Frankfort, Kentucky (Located about 100 miles east of Louisville). Every day, he takes a 1 hour drive to a town called Corinth. That's where his farm is. That's where he buys his lottery tickets. One November day, while driving to his farm in Corinth, KY, he got a call from his friend that told him that a winning $200,000 Powerball ticket was sold in that town.

That was good news. Ronald thought to himself, "I hope the Powerball winner was somebody that I know." It turns out that he new the winner intimately. That's because the winner was himself. Ronald Wainscott found out that it was he that won $200,000 after he stopped to check his tickets after receiving the phone call from his friend.

Ronald Wainscott won $200,000 by matching all of the 5 white ball numbers in the November 11, 2009 Powerball draw.

Ronald always plays certain sentimental lottery numbers. They include the birthdays of himself, his wife, and his three kids. The Powerball number that he chooses is his wedding anniversary. If he matched this, he would have won the jackpot. But he was off by two digits, so he won the $200,000 second prize.

When asked would he would be doing with the money that he won, Ronald Wainscott exclaimed that it was bad luck to talk about such things. That's coming from a man who knows all about luck with his lucky lottery win!

Read More

The Winners Of A Furnished $750,000 House Are Michael and Lynn Barley

The family pictured here, Michael & Lynn Barley and kids, are the proud new owners of a furnished $750,000 house. And, they got it for only $250!

They didn't actually pay $250 for the house. They paid $250 for three lottery tickets from the New Brunswick Home Lottery and won the grand prize - A furnished house worth $750,000.

Michael Barley never in his wildest dreams thought that he would win the grand prize in the New Brunswick Home Lottery. He considered the money spent on the tickets to be just a donation. Winning the prize was unbelievable. Michael Barley was called within a half hour of the draw to be informed of the prize that he won. His reaction to hearing the good news was, "Wow, wow, wow, wow, wow!"

The $750,000 house is located in Saint John, New Brunswick and is a total of 3150 square feet. Some of the features of the house include a home theater, a huge dining room with exposed beams, three bedrooms, with the master bedroom featuring an ensuite bathroom with a big air-jet tub, a 360-degree fireplace, and a hot-tub built into the backyard deck. That's luxury living that Michael and Lynn Barley's family will have to get used to!

At the time of their win, Michael was a stay-at-home dad and Lynn was an engineer with the air force.

Read More

Quebec Lottery Winner Zenovij Pacholuk Was Part Of Extortion/Murder Plot

If you play the lottery, you know that if you win, you will probably have to allow the use of your name and picture for publicity purposes; it's a requirement to get your check. That's how it works for most lottery corporations in North America and Europe. But that's not the case in Quebec. Loto-Quebec stopped doing this shortly after one of their big winners was the subject of an extortion/murder plot.

Zenovij Pacholuk won a $27 million Lotto 6/49 jackpot in May of 2007. That's him in the picture above with his wife, Dolores Coffey. When he won the lottery, the Ukranian-born Zenovij, who was living in LaSalle, Quebec (A suburb of Montreal), said that his only immediate plan was to take his 3-year-old daughter to Disney World.

It was while he was out of the country just shortly after winning the lottery that Montreal Police foiled an extortion/kidnapping plot targeted at Zenovij Pacholuk. An 18-year-old Mexican citizen, named Edwin Scarlotte Mata Lima, who had only been in Canada for four months at that time, began telling friends about his plans to invade Zenovij's home, abduct him, force him to withdraw money from the bank, and then kill him. One of the people he told this story to contacted police. Police began following him and found that he was actively trying to buy a gun. They arrested him even before he was able to do so.

Edwin Scarlotte Mata Lima was arrested and charged with conspiracy to abduct, conspiracy to commit murder and other charges. Fortunately, Zenovij Pacholuk and his family were never harmed.

So, if you've been wondering why you never hear the names of Quebec lottery winners anymore, now you know why.

Read More

Northstar Cash Lottery Jackpot Winner Paul Fraser

For Northstar Cash Lottery Jackpot Winner, Paul Fraser, the win came at a perfect time. That's because he had just bought a house and can now use the money for a bigger down payment and to buy some furniture.

Paul Fraser Minnesota Lottery's Northstar Cash jackpot of $103,111 in October of 2009. At the time of his win, Paul was living in Brooklyn Park, Minnesota, USA, which is just outside of Minneapolis.

For the draw that he won on, Paul Fraser bought ten quick-pick tickets. He won on his very first line.

Northstar Cash is a game offered by Minnesota Lottery that costs $1 to play and draws every night. The jackpots start at $25,000 and they continue to grow if they are not won. To win the jackpot, you must match 5-out-of-31 numbers. The odds of matching all five numbers are approximately 1-in-170,000.

Congratulations to Paul Fraser on his lucky win!

Read More

Des Moines Lottery Winner Selma Crnkic Hits Big On Nutcracker Cash

Selma Crnkic, of Des Moines, Iowa, always wanted to be a big lottery winner. And, now that she actually is a big lottery winner, she also has some advice for people - Everybody needs to buy tickets!

You could tell that Selma Crnkic was elated to find out that she won the lottery. it has certainly made her happy. In November of 2009, she won $100,000 playing an instant scratch lottery game from Iowa Lottery called Nutcracker Cash.

Selma had a hard time believing that she won. When she scratched the ticket and saw that she won, she thought it was a joke. She didn't believe it until she brought the ticket to the gas station to have it verified. Sure enough, Selma won $100,000.

What plans does the Des Moines Lottery winner have with the money? First off, she'd like to get an apartment. Secondly, she'd like to help pay for her son's upcoming wedding. Selma's son, Semir, and his fiancee, Amra Mujakic could use some help paying for the wedding. Actually, it was because of Semir that Selma won the lottery in the first place. It was him that asked his mother to stop buy the store to pick up a few things. She stopped at Dahl's store on Prospect Drive in Des Moines and it was at that store that she bought the winning intstant scratch lotto ticket.

Nutcracker Cas is an instant scratch lotto ticket that costs $10 to play and offers a top prize of $100,000, which Selma Crnkic won. The odds of winning the $100,000 top prize are approximately 1-in-60,000. Other prizes in the game range from $10 to $5000. The odds of winning any prize in the game are 1-in-2.91.

Read More

Harold Barnett Loves The Lottery Publicity Check

What do you think happens to those lottery publicity checks - You know, those big cardboard checks that all the winners take pictures with? Do the lotto winners take them home? Does the lotto corporation throw it in the trash when they're done with them? What would you do if you won the lottery? Would you keep the big check? Would you hang it in your basement, perhaps?

When Harold Barnett won the Louisiana Lotto jackpot in December of 2009, he had just one request when he went to go claim his prize at Louisiana Lottery's headquarters in Baton Rouge - To write up his own publicity check. The good folks at Louisiana Lottery obliged and Harold Barnett got his wish. I think he loves the publicity check more than he likes to actually win the lottery! The reason for the strange request - Harold said that he never filled out a check for that much money. He just wanted to know what it felt like!

Harold Barnett won the Louisiana Lotto jackpot of $300,000. That's him in the above photo, pictured with his friend, Lenny Luc Sr. Harold said that he wants to use the money to take care of his friend Lenny, provide a nice Christmas for his wife and kids, buy a new car, and go out for a big steak dinner to celebrate.

The Louisian Lotto game is a 6/40 game. The jackpot in the game starts at $250,000 and grows if it is not won. The odds of winning the jackpot in the game are approximately 1-in-3.8-million.

Read More

Norwalk Lottery Winner Arthur Wargo Wins Big Money

Friday the 13th was a bad November day in 2009. Tropical storm Ida brought bad rain and heavy winds to Connecticut. But that didn't worry Arthur Wargo, from Norwalk, CT. He's used to it. He delivered mail for the postal service for 35 years, so he's been through it all. That day, Friday the 13th, Arthur Wargo had to drive to his brother's house for dinner. He had no problem doing so, and it's a good thing, too, because it turned out to be his lucky day.

While en route to his brother's house, Arthur stopped at the store to buy a Classic Lotto ticket from CT Lottery. While buying his ticket, he noticed that there were still 10 top prizes of $2 million available to be won in an instant scratch lotto game called Big Money. So, he decided to try his luck and bought a Big Money ticket. He won. $2 million!

He had the winning Big Money ticket verified right there in the store. The clerk actually came around the counter to give him a hug before telling him how much he won.

Speaking about his big win, Arthur Wargo said that he was in shock. "You always hear about other people winning; this time it turned out to be me." Yes, it was his lucky day - Friday the 13th!

The Big Money instant scratch game from CT Lottery costs $20 to play and has a top prize of $2 million. The odds of winning the top prize are 1-in-500,000. Other prizes in the game range from $20 to $100,000. The odds of winning any prize are approximately 1-in3.51.

Read More

Northville Instant Scratch Lottery Winner June Mattice

June Mattice, from Northville, New York, accidentally locked her keys in the car. So she called her brother-in-law to help her out. He said that he would gladly help her out, but that it was going to cost her $1 million.

Janice's brother-in-law was joking, obviously, but there's a fun story behind the joke. In December of 2009, Janice Mattice bought three instant scratch lottery tickets from New York Lottery called $1,000,000 Cash Blast. She went back into her car to scratch them. She scratched the first one and thought it was a winner, so she went back into the store to verify it. That's where she found out that she won $1 million. That's good luck! Then she went back to her car and realized the keys were locked inside. That's bad luck! Oh well, I'd gladly lock my keys in my car if it meant winning a million dollars!

There's no word yet on whether or not Janice's brother-in-law came to help her out, though.

At the time of her win, June Mattice was a mother of two, worked as a scanning coordinator at Grand Union supermarket, and lived in Northville, Fulton County, NY (Northville is just north of schenectady).

What does Janice plan to do with the money? She said that she always dreamed of adding an addition to her house, but for now will just settle for adding a few closets (Her house currently has no closets).

$1,000,000 Cash Blast is an instant scratch-off lotto ticket that costs $5 to play and, obviously, offers a top prize of $1 million. The odds of winning the top prize, which Janice won, are approximately 1-in-2.65-million. Other prizes in the game range from $5 to $1000. The odds of winning any prize in the game are approximately 1-in-4.79.

Read More

Lottery Book (Preorder)

My friend, Ric Wallace, has already written a lottery book. Now he's in the process of writing a second one. He definitely knows all about the lottery, as he has some big wins under his belt, including winning a dream house in a hospital lottery.

Ric's second lottery book promises to be a good read. It is tentatively titled, "Turning A Lottery Dream Into Reality - The 2 Year Wealth - Luck Action Plan." Just a few of the items it will cover will include:

•Believing in positive thinking and luck
•Things you wouldn't expect to happen after you win the lottery
•How to increase your odds of winning

But, probably the most interesting aspect of the lottery book will be the discussion about the criminal aspects of lotteries. Yes, CRIMINAL.

It will be interesting. You can preorder Turning A Lottery Dream Into Reality by clicking here. Yes, it is not for sale yet. But if you preorder, Ric will send you an email when the book is released.

Read More

Lottery System For Picking Winning Instant Scratch Tickets

Gregory Guerrero is a lottery winner from Austin, Texas. He won $250,000 playing Texas Lottery's Big Payout instant scratch lottery game. He actually has a lottery system for picking winning instant scratch tickets. What he does is whenever he is in a store, he checks to see if there is only one ticket left for a particular scratch-off game. If there is only one left, that's the one he buys - The last ticket.

Who knows whether or not this is a good system, but hey, it worked for Gregory Guerrero. I'm sure he's not complaining.

The $250,000 that Gregory Guerrero won is the top prize in the Big Payout game. The odds of winning this top prize are approximately 1-in-1,050,000. The game also offers smaller prizes, ranging from $10 to $2500. The odds of winning any prize in the game are 1-in-3.88.

Gregory Guerrero said that he would either put the money in the bank or use it towards the purchase of the house.

Now that he won a big jackpot with his lottery strategy for instant scratch lotto tickets, Gregory said that he plans to change his system. Now he plans to buy one Lotto Texas ticket for each draw, every Wednesday and Saturday, using the same numbers. This is actually a system that many people use.

Read More

Biggest North Dakota Lottery Jackpot Winner Ever - George Nelson

When you hear the words "Biggest lottery jackpot winner ever," you're probably thinking, what... $100 million? $200 million? Half a billion dollars? If that's what you're thinking, you're way off. Not even close. That's because I'm talking about one particular state - North Dakota.

The biggest North Dakota lottery jackpot was won by a man named George Nelson in December of 2009. How much did he win? $1,648,155. Don't get me wrong, that's a lot of money, but when we consider that, every month, we have multiple people winning dozens of millions of dollars, even hundreds of millions of dollars, worldwide, North Dakota's jackpot record just sounds measly. Nevertheless, George Nelson got quite lucky!

At the time of his win, George Nelson was a farmer in Auburn, North Dakota, USA with his wife, Char. Speaking of the big win, George said, "I was pretty satisfied with my life the way it was. I don’t plan on any big changes now." However, he said that the lottery win will help his two kids, Ventzi and Asya. The lottery win was really their's and not his.

George and Char had a daughter in 1990. She died just moments after being born. That's when the couple decided to adopt. They adopted Ventzi and Asya from Bulgaria.

By all accounts, these people are said to be a great family. Even lottery officials in North Dakota say that they are glad that George won. Congratulations to George, Char, Ventzi, and Asya on their lucky win!

Read More

Dartmouth Lottery Winner Geraldine White Makes Weird Noises

Geraldine White's husband, Ed, came into the house one day to find that she was not able to speak or move. In fact, she was making weird noises. That would be cause for concern for anybody. But this was really weird. It turns out that it was nothing bad. Geraldine was just in shock. That's because she won the lottery. $14.3 million in the Lotto 6/49 draw on Saturday, December 5, 2009. You'd probably be making weird noises too if you won that much money!

Geraldine Williams, the woman from Dartmouth, Nova Scotia, was checking her lottery numbers. She saw that she matched the first three numbers. That's fine, that happens occasionally for her. Then she looked at the fourth number. It matched. Then the fifth number. It matched. Finally, she looked at the sixth number. It matched too. She won the lottery! Presumably, that's when she went into shock and started to make weird noises.

At the time of her win, Geraldine Williams was 66-years-old and lived in Dartmouth, Nova Scotia, Canada (Dartmouth is just across the river from Halifax). Her husband, Ed, was a pipe fitter at Halifax Shipyards. However, he was not working because of a leg injury. Now, he plans to take an early retirement.

Geraldine Williams says that she has many big purchases planned for the near future, starting with a new house and a new car in the new year. Looks like 2010 will be a great year for this Dartmouth woman!

Read More

Retired Ottawa Police Officer Wins Lotto 649 Jackpot Of $14.3 Million

Claude Garneau was a Constable with Ottawa Police Service. The officer retired in 2002 and has been living in a basement apartment since then. He has also been working part-time with Canada Post.

Now, he has decided not to worry anymore and plans to buy himself his own condo and a brand-new BMW. That's because he won a Lotto 649 jackpot of $14.3 million on Saturday, December 5, 2009.

Claude Garneau actually checked his tickets on the self-serve scanner. When he tried scanning the ticket, it kept saying to "see the attendant." He kept trying and thought that the machine must be broken. Eventually, he actually did see the attendant to get it checked. He gave it to the clerk at the gas station that he was at and then found out the real reason the self-serve scanner said to see the attendant - He won the $14.3 million jackpot!

The retired Ottawa Police officer said that winning the lottery was a dream come true. He also mentioned that he would take care of the people that took care of him. Looks like his friends will be getting nice Christmas presents this year!

Read More

Unbelievable Astonishing Lottery Story - William Harvey Wins On 700 Tickets!

Sit back and take a deep breath... Because you are about to hear the most unbelievable and astonishing lottery story that I've ever covered on this blog - EVER!

A man from New Jersey, by the name of William Harvey had a dream. It was a dream about his late mother. So, the next day, he decided to play Win 4 numbers with his mother's birthday, the 29th of December. Win 4 is a game from New York Lottery that costs $1 to play, where you must choose four numbers. The top prize for matching all four numbers is $5000. The odds of winning the top prize are 1-in-10,000. He played 2912. But he didn't just buy one ticket. No, he bought 700 tickets. He spent $700 on the lottery just because he dreamed about his mother! Unbelievable? Yes! Astonishing? Yes!

Now, if you were a friend, co-worker, or related to Mr Harvey, and he told you about his plan, you would try to stop him, wouldn't you? That would be the sensible thing to do. DON'T DO IT WILLIAM, THAT'S CRAZY!!! Maybe someone did try to stop him from making a foolish mistake. But he did it anyway.

Guess what happened? He won. He won on all 700 tickets he bought with the same number, 2912. He won $5000 for each ticket played. Do you know what that adds up to? $3.5 million! Unbelievable? YES! Astonishing? Yes!

At the time of his big win, William Harvey was a construction worker and lived in Manalapan, New Jersey, which is about half hour southwest of New York City. He said that he planned to use the money to pay off bills and also to buy a house. Let's just hope he doesn't do anything foolish with the money... like buy hundreds of dollars worth of lottery tickets. Actually, maybe that's not so foolish, after all!

Read More

Maxmillion Winners Don and Flora Cunningham

When the Canadian Lotto Max lottery game hits a jackpot of $50 million, they draw numerous additional numbers in a draw called Maxmillion. With the ticket you purchase for the $50 million draw, you could win any of the additional $1 million Maxmillion draws at no extra cost.

Don and Flora Cunningham bought Lotto Max tickets the last time the jackpot reached $50 million, November 6, 2009. They didn't win the big jackpot, but they did win on one of the Maxmillion draws, a cool $1 million!

Don and Flora Cunningham have actually been playing the lottery for years. Prior to their big win, the most they had ever won was $50. They always bought quick picks, as they did on this particular draw, too.

Their winning ticket was just freely lying on a table. They moved it and stuck it on the fridge, not even realizing that it was worth a million dollars.

The couple live in a small town called Rosedale, which is about an hour north-east of Calgary, Alberta. They actually have a neighbor who also won big in the lottery this year with a $100,000 win. What a coincidence!

Read More

Newspaper Misprinted Lottery Numbers For Colorado Lotto Winner

Just imagine that, one day, you check your lottery numbers in the newspaper. You see that the numbers don't match, you didn't win a prize, so you trash your ticket. The next day, you notice that the newspaper misprinted the lottery numbers and that, in fact, you did win the jackpot. But you already through your ticket out and it's in the garbage dump. What would you do? Would you scavenge the dump to try to find your ticket?

Don't ever throw your tickets out unless you see the official numbers on the lottery's website or have had it verified at the store. That's because a situation like this could really happen. Something similar happened to Debra Revis of Grand Junction, Colorado. The newspaper showed that she matched 5-out-of-6 numbers, when she really had all six and won the jackpot. Luckily, there is a prize for getting five numbers in Colorado Lotto so she didn't trash her ticket. Imagine her surprise when she found out that she really won the jackpot of $4.2 million!

Debra Revis won the $4.2 million jackpot in Colorado Lotto in July of 2009, despite the newspaper misprint.

At the time of her win, Debra Revis was living in Grand Junction, Colorado and a married mother of one son. She worked as a hotel manager. She said that she planned to continue work, even with the lottery win. However, she now believes that she will be able to retire comfortably when the time comes.

Colorado Lotto is a 6-42 game, meaning that the odds of winning the jackpot are approximately 1-in-5.2-million.

Read More

Playboy Blows Lottery Winnings On Topless Model, Massage Parlor

Michael Antonucci wanted to win the lottery. So he borrowed £10 from his mother to buy lotto tickets. That was way back in 1995, when the National Lottery in the UK had just started. And he won! £2.8 million ($4,159,987 USD)! Michael was one of the first people to ever win the jackpot in the UK.

So what happened to the new millionaire in 1995? He became a playboy and went on to blow his fortune. Here are just a few of the playboy's escapades:

• He married a topless model that was just a third of his age and spent £10,000 on the wedding.
• He spent £4,500 on breast implants for his topless model wife.
• He opened a massage parlor.
• He opened a pub
• He bought plenty of fast cars and yachts
• He spent money on exotic vacations

See folks, that's the life of a lottery winner! If you win the lottery and dream of this kind of life, your money will be blown, just like Michael Antonucci's was.

Today, Michael Antonucci is back doing what he was doing prior to winning the lottery - exporting antique furniture to the United States. By the sounds of it, though, the former playboy doesn't sound like he regrets his old lifestyle. He says that, as long as he has his health and a good bottle of wine, he's alright.

Read More

Dearborn Lottery Winner Maryme Sufyan Wins 5 Golden Rings prize

Maryme Sufyan, a woman from Dearborn, Michigan, USA won big money in Michigan Lottery's 5 Golden Rings instant scratch lotto game in November of 2009. She won the top prize of $250,000!

The 5 Golden rings instant game is a brand new game from Michigan Lottery that costs $5 to play. The game went on sale on November 2, 2009 and, of course, offers a top prize of $250,000. To win a prize in the game, you must scratch and match your prize amounts to any of the "lucky" prize amounts. You could win up to 14 times on a single ticket. The odds of winning any prize in the game are approximately 1-in-4.09.

The 5 Golden Rings game is a good buy because if you do not win a prize, you could enter your losing ticket in a $1 million second chance drawing. Most losing Michigan Lottery scratch games are eligible for the drawing, which takes place once per year. At that time, Michigan Lottery draws five finalists at random to appear on a live drawing where one of those five people will win the $1 million prize.

Congratulations to Maryme Sufyan, of Dearborn, on her lucky win!

Read More

Winning Lottery Numbers Hotline Gives Good News To Kenneth Vaughan

Most people that get the good news about a lottery win get it from the numbers that flash across the TV screen in a newscast, on the internet, or from the newspaper. Kenneth Vaughan, of Alexandria, Virginia got the good news by calling the winning lottery numbers hotline. The hotline told him that the winning numbers for the November 23, 2009 Cash 5 draw were 3-6-11-16-17, the exact same numbers that he chose - All family birthdays!

Kenneth Vaughan won the top prize of $100,000 in Virginia Lottery's Cash 5 game. Cash 5 is a 5-34 game, meaning that, to win the jackpot, you must match five numbers out of a possible thirty-four. The odds of winning the Cash 5 jackpot are approximately 1-in-278,000.

At the time of his win, Kenneth Vaughan lived in Alexandria, Virginia, USA and worked at a power plant. He said that when he called the winning lottery numbers hotline and heard the numbers, he couldn't believe what he was hearing. Now that he got his money, he believes it!

*** Check out the complete list of black lottery winners.

Read More

Bloomsdale Missouri Construction Worker James Wirth Wins Powerball

James Wirth, pictured here with his wife, is a construction worker from Bloomsdale, Missouri, which is just south of St Louis. He goes into the Dew Drop Inn to buy Powerball tickets for every Wednesday and Saturday draw. They know him at the Dew Drop Inn because he is a regular.

The Dew Drop Inn knew that someone bought a winning $200,000 ticket for the November 14. 2009 draw at their store. So, when James Wirth walked in, they immediately asked him to check his tickets to see if it was him. He checked his tickets and guess what? It was him! He was $200,000 richer.

The $200,000 that James Wirth won is the second prize in Powerball. He won it by matching all five of the white ball numbers, but missed the Powerball number. The odds of winning the second prize are approximately 1-in-5.1-million. Had James matched just one more number, the Powerball number, he would have won the jackpot.

At the time of his win, James Wirth was 52-years-old, worked as a construction worker, and lived in Bloomsdale, Missouri with his wife.

Read More

Mauritius Lottery Winner (Lottotech) Joseph Guillyano Zamir

Mauritius is a country in the southwest Indian Ocean, 550 miles east of Madagascar. It has a population of just 1.26 million people and now has its own lottery. A company called Lottotech was chosen in September of 2009 to operate the Mauritius lottery and it began operations in October. In November, the lottery had its first big winner. His name is Joseph Guillyano Zamir.

Joseph Guillyano Zamir won $30,000 Mauritius Rupees ($1,016,949 USD). A million dollar winner in North America wouldn't be big news, what with massive jackpots worth hundreds of millions of dollars in games such as Powerball and Mega Millions. But in Mauritius, this is the first big winner - It is BIG NEWS!

This is such big news in Mauritius that the winner, Joseph Guillyano Zamir, has been hounded. In fact, even before going to claim his prize, Joseph had people knocking on his door. The first person to come looking for him was an investment advisor who tried to sell him his services. But it's not only Joseph that has been hounded; even his brothers are being pestered and it has become quite a headache for the whole family. There have been banks, investment, and insurance companies all trying to get a piece of Joseph.

So, what does the new millionaire from Mauritius plan to do with his new-found wealth? Understandably, he has decided to go to a secret place with his family for some peace. He wants to rest before deciding on what he would do with his money, although he did say that the money would not change his lifestyle. Prior to winning the lottery, he was a cabinet-maker and will probably continue to do the same work. However, he may decide to start his own cabinet-making business.

Read More

Sault Ste Marie Lotto Max Winner Virginia Bouchard

On November 7, 2009, the Lotto Max jackpot in Canada was $25 million. There were two winning tickets sold, worth $12.5 million each. The first winning ticket was claimed by the Greenwood family. Today, the second winning ticket was claimed by Virginia Bouchard of Sault Ste Marie, Ontario.

Virginia Bouchard had been playing the lottery for over 25 years and she always told people that she would win a big one some day. She really believed that and it came true, although it sure did take a while.

Virinia did, what I think, all lottery winners should do - She quit her job Monday morning. But I would do it a little bit differently, though - I wouldn't actually quit until I made my claim and received my check.

At the time of her win, Virginia Bouchard was 51-years-old, married, a mother of three with two grandchildren, and living in Sault Ste Marie, Ontario, Canada. Now she is officially retired.

What does Virginia plan to do with the money? She thinks that it is important to stay grounded and, therefore, does not plan many lifestyle changes. Her friends, though, are quite lucky because she plans to buy many of them a new car.

Read More

NWT Lottery Winner Louie Edgi Wins A Koenigsegg CCX, A Million Dollar Car

File this under Ironic - Louie Edgi lives in Norman Wells, NWT. It is a town with a population of less than 800 people, about 700 km northwest of Yellowknife. That's way up north, in northern Canada. It's cold there. There's no highways going in or out of the town. In fact, the longest road in town is a 12 km stretch of unpaved road. If someone in this town were to win a car, it would have to be flown in or driven in across icy roads. Louie Edgi won a car. But not just any car - He won a brand-new, million dollar Koenigsegg CCX, an ultimate sports car made in Sweden.

What would a person in Norman Wells, NWT do with such a car? Probably not much.

Louie Edgi won the car by playing Alberta's Cash & Cars lottery, in support of Alberta Cancer Foundation and the Canadian Cancer Society. He purchased 10 tickets while he was in Edmonton, getting treatment for a brain tumor.

Louie Edgi can't even imagine driving such a car in his hometown. He shutters to even think what the insurance would cost on a $1 million car. Luckily, the Cash & Cars lottery gives the option to take winnings in cash. So, that million dollar Koenigsegg CCX win was taken in cash.

What does a million dollar sports car look like? The Koenigsegg CCX is pictured below:

Read More

Korea Lottery Winner Wins Big With 1st Ever Ticket Bought

Here's a story to file in the "NOT FAIR" department. You've probably been playing the lottery for years, dreaming about the day that you will win big and live an easy life. Then there are people that never play, but win big. Check out the story of Mi Hyun Moon, a woman that immigrated to the U.S. from her native Korea. She never played the lottery - EVER! Then one day, she needed to get change. She walked into a deli in Queens, NY to get some change for a five dollar bill, but they wouldn't give it to her unless she bought something. So she bought a New York Lotto Ticket for $1, the 1st ever lottery ticket that she bought. She won! $5 million. Not fair at all!

I'm joking, of course, of it not being fair; this is a great story of a woman from Korea that had some amazing luck. She beat the odds of about 1-in-22.5-million and won the jackpot. It just goes to show that anybody, at any time, can win the lottery. Don't ever stop dreaming!

Mi Hyun Moon lives just outside of Philadelphia. She lived in Queens for 20 years after immigrating from Korea, before moving to Philadelphia. The day she won the New York Lotto prize, she was in town visiting friends and family, as she does once every month.

Mi Hyun Moon described her won as surreal. When she showed up to claim her prize, she said that she was still dreaming of all of the things could do with the money. She said that she will, however, donate some of it to her church.

Read More

Patrick Holcomb Loves Cristmas Themed Instant Scratch Lottery Tickets

Patrick Holcomb is a schoolteacher from Arlington, Texas and Christmas is his favorite holiday. That's why, every year, he looks forward to Texas Lottery coming out with its Christmas-themed instant scratch lottery tickets. He loves those and plays them every year.

Actually, Texas Lottery generates millions of dollars every year for the education system in the state. Being a schoolteacher, Patric Holcomb's parents always tease him about buying lottery tickets because, in essence, he's just paying his own salary. Now, he has the last laugh - Patrick won $1 million playing the Merry Millionaire instant scratch lottery game with a ticket he purchased a Racetrac store in Grand Prairie, Texas.

Patrick Holcomb said that he would use the money to buy a new car because his current car was on its last legs. He also wants to take two trips - One to Disney World because he hasn't been their since he was a child and one to New York City because he just loves it there.

Merry Millionaire is a Christmas-themed instant-win ticket from Texas Lottery that costs $20 to play and offers a top prize of $1 million, which is what Patrick won. Other prizes range from $20 to $10,000. The game boasts of $30 million worth of prizes to be won. The odds of winning any prize in the game are 1-in-3.04.

Read More