Shane Carter And Virgil Eatmon Get To Hold Lotto 649 Sign

When you win big money in the lottery, you sometimes get a big ceremonial check that you get to take home. Shane Carter and Virgil Eatmon didn't get the big check, but they got to take a picture with a big Lotto 649 sign. I want one of those; it would look good in my basement wall.

Shane Carter and Virgil Eatmon won the second prize in Lotto 649 on the January 27, 2010 draw by matching 5 numbers, plus the bonus number. They won a total of $125,033, which was split between the two friends. The odds of matching 5 numbers, plus the bonus number in the game are 1-in-2,330,636.

The two friends live in Red Deer, Alberta, Canada. But they had both been posted to work together in Whitecourt, Alberta, which is about a 3 hour drive from Red Deer. They had been buying lottery tickets together ever since they'd been working together.

Shane Carter actually checked the ticket the day after the draw. They were on their way to Whitecourt to work, when he stopped at the store to check the ticket. All this while Virgil Eatmon was sleeping in the car. Shane said that he was "half-asleep" while he was checking his ticket at the self-check scanner. After seeing so many numbers, he just gave it to the store clerk to check it for him. That's when he found out how much they won! The two friends describe their lottery win as "exciting!" That's for sure!

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Muskegon Lottery Winner Brian Jorgensen

Brian Jorgensen is a man from Muskegon, Michigan, USA (Just outside of Grand Rapids). He plays the Fantasy 5 game from Michigan Lottery. On the December 3, 2009 draw, Brian won big - $305,225!

Fantasy 5 is actually a pretty cool game because it has decent odds. To play the game, you must choose 5 numbers, from 1 to 39. The odds of matching all five numbers to win the jackpot, which is what Brian Jorgensen did, are 1-in-575,757. On the surface, those might not look like decent odds. But compare it to the odds on the Mega Millions, Michigan's most popular lotto game - The odds of winning the Mega Millions jackpot are 1-in-175,711,536. Consider this - If you buy just one ticket for each of the two games, you are 305 times more likely to win on the Fantasy 5 ticket. Amazing, isn't it?

The Fantasy 5 jackpot starts at $100,000. It grows buy at least $5000, per draw, if the jackpot is not won. It has been known to climb into the hundreds of thousands of dollars level.

Congratulations to Brian Jorgensen on his $305,225 win!

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Sam Haddad Has Warning For Lotto Max Players

Sam Haddad is pictured here on the right. Beside him is his barber, Mike Dettore. Together, they split a $32 million Lotto 649 jackpot from the June 28, 2008 draw. They each got $16 million. That was a few years ago. Fast forward to February 26, 2010. The Lotto Max jackpot in Canada is a whopping $50 million. Sam has already bought a ticket. But he has a warning for other Lotto Max players: The lottery advertises the freedom that a big win could get you; yet it doesn't advertise the headaches. And, there are a lot of headaches (According to Sam).

What types of headaches is Sam Haddad warning about? For starters, since he won $16 million, he's had a falling out with many of his friends and family. Many of them have been greedy, expecting Sam to give them a lot of money. He did give money to some, yet some of those people just expected more from him. Besides that, there were the constant phone calls and mail from investment firms, charities, and other strangers. Here are some examples:

• A minister asked for $950,000 to finish building a church.
• A stranger asked for $140,000 to re-mortgage his house.
• A woman asked for $310,000 to buy back her condo that she lost because of gambling debts.
• A woman mailed him a bag of credit card statements, asking him to pay them off for her.

That sucks doesn't it? Actually, if you ask me, that a small price to pay to have the means to do absolutely whatever you want. Since, Sam Hadda won the lottery, he's had the freedom to do anything. And, he's taken advantage of that freedom. He quit his job as a hardwood floor installer. He payed off all his debts. He went on vacations. He didn't buy a new house or anything fancy like that because he says that he's a simple man. But he could have if he wanted to - And that's his choice. Winning the lottery afforded him the opportunity to make these kinds of choices, and that's freedom!

Sam Haddad, the $16 million lottery winner has a ticket for the $50 million Lotto Max draw. That means he wants to win again. That would tell me that winning the lottery IS worth it!

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Debra Mauro - Grandmother Buys Winning Smooth 7s Ticket From Lottery Vending Machine

Debra Mauro is a grandmother of 5 grandkids. When she went to pick up her million dollar prize from New York Lottery on Thursday February the 18th, 2010, some of those grandkids went with her. While at the check presentation ceremony, those grandkids clapped their hands, jumped for joy, and yelled, "Ya Grandma!" It's great having a rich grandmother, isn't it?

Debra Mauro's journey started out when she was on her way to work as a manager of Regal Cinemas in Niagara Falls, New York. (On a side note, have you been to Niagara Falls? If so, have you noticed that the Canadian side of Niagara Falls is 100 times better than the American side?) While on her way to work, she stopped at Tops Supermarket. While in the store she bought a Smooth 7s instant scratch ticket from the lottery vending machine. She put the ticket in her purse and went to work. While on her break, she scratched the Smooth 7s instant ticket and that's where she found out that she was the winner of $1 million! (On another side note, I've never heard of any big winners from lotto ticket vending machines; I've written about hundreds of big winners and this is the first time I'm writing about someone that won big with a vending machine purchase).

As with many lottery winners, Debra Mauro couldn't believe what she was seeing. She couldn't believe how much money she won. It took her a few moments to wrap her head around it. She had been buying about $20 worth of scratch tickets, every two weeks, for many years and had never won a big prize. It was quite a shock to her. She had a really cool quote to describe the feeling: "It's like eating your favorite candy bar... very sweet."

What does Debra plan to do with her winnings? First on her list is a new snowblower (Niagara Falls gets lots of snow). She also plans to re-do the roof of her home and buy a new furnace for her home.

The Smooth 7s instant scratch game that Debra Mauro won on is a $5 game from New York Lottery. The top prize is $1 million, which is what Debra won. The odds of winning the top prize in the game are 1-in-2,646,000.

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£1 Million Scratchcard Lottery Winner Audrey White

That's Audrey White in the photo to the left. She is standing in front of a big Bingo board. She's standing there because she used to work at a Bingo hall. She was used to seeing other people win money. In November of 2009, it was her turn to win some. Audrey won £1 million on a scratchcard lotto game from UK's National Lottery. That works out to $1,542,664 USD!

Audrey White's scratch lottery win came by accident, though. She actually went to the store to buy some EuroMillions tickets. When she was there something made her by a scratchcard. That was good because she won £5. Later, that same day, she went back to cash in her £5 win and used the money to buy more scratchcards.

Here's how Audrey explains it: "I know most of the people who work in Tesco (The store where she bought the ticket), and when the lady who was serving me went to give me my new card she said 'Oh Audrey, I'm sorry I've ripped off the wrong one.' She apologized and went to get the right card but I just laughed and said 'Oh give me that one it's fine'. I put the card in my bag and forgot all about it until later that evening." When she scratched it, that's when she found out that she won £1 million, and by accident too!

Back in 2006, Audrey White almost had her house re-possessed to to an overdraft with the bank. Now, she said that she planned to use the money to pay off her mortgage and do some work to her house. She said that it will feel great to have financial security. She also planned to help her kids. Beyond that, she didn't know what else she would be using the money for.

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Persistent Lottery Player Cynthia Parrish Buys Winning Ticket At Hasty Market

Are you persistent when it comes to playing the lottery? Do you keep buying tickets every week, even if you never seem to win big? Perhaps that's the right strategy. Keep playing. Stay persistent. Need proof that it works? Cynthia Parrish's husband had been persistently buying her $20 worth of instant scratch lotto tickets every week for a long time. The most she had ever won was $80... That is, until February of 2010. That's when all of the scratching finally paid off - With a million dollar win!

On Thursday February 18, 2010 Cynthia Parrish's husband stopped at Hasty Market on Highway 70 in Smithfield, North Carolina, as he does every Thursday, to buy her $20 worth of instant scratch games. One of those games ended up being the $1 million winner.

When Cynthia Parrish won the million dollars, she said that she couldn't believe her eyes. She said that she thought her husband was playing a trick on her. She couldn't believe it but, now that she has the money, she believes it!

At the time of her win, Cynthia Parrish and her husband were living in Pine Level, North Carolina, which is just outside of the city of Raleigh. What does she plan to do with the money? She's not too sure, but she does plan to use it to pay for her daughter's college tuition.

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Indiana Lottery Winner Eric White Wins $2.5 Million Thanks To Miscalculated Date

On August 19, 2009, the Indiana Hoosier Lotto jackpot was $2.5 million. Someone purchased a winning ticket for that draw. Yet, months passed with no lottery winner showing up to claim it. Winners in Indiana have just six months to claim their prize before it expires. The August 19 draw was set to expire in early February, 2010. Then, lottery officials extended the deadline date to February 22, 2010, saying the the original date was miscalculated, and put the word out to the people of Indiana to check their old lottery tickets to see if they had the winning ticket.

Lori heard about this. So she sent a text message to her husband, Eric White, to check to see if he had some old lottery tickets lying around. Eric got the message, but it still took him two days to act on it. To days after the text message from his wife, he began looking to see if their were any old lottery tickets lying around. In the pile of books on his desk in his home office were some old lotto tickets. And, guess what? One of them was, in fact, the winner of the $2.5 million! Just imagine, he was that close to losing out on the jackpot; if he didn't get that text message from his wife, he never would have received the money.

Lori says that she had no idea how the ticket remained in the pile of books and did not end up being thrown away. They were lucky!

Do you ever let lottery tickets go unchecked? I always check mine within 24 hours of the draw. Millions of dollars worth of winning lotto tickets go unclaimed every year. Don't let it happen to you - Check your tickets!

Neither Eric nor Lori said that they plan to quit their jobs following their lottery win. Their immediate plans for the money include is to put away money for their kids' college educations (They have two kids, aged 3 and 6) and to donate some to their church. Beyond that, they said that they would have to think it over, but want to be responsible with it.

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Craig & Lorna MacDonald - Simple Lottery Winners Take Limo To Press Conference

Craig and Lorna MacDonald won $20 million in the January 23, 2010 Lotto 649 draw. That's enough money to put you into the filthy-wealthy category. But Lorna says they are just 'simple' people. Simple? They took a limo to the press conference to announce them as the lottery winners. If they were simple, they would have driven their pickup truck. Simple people don't take limos.

I'm not saying that they shouldn't have fun with the money. On the contrary - They should enjoy and have a blast. However, they're not simple anymore. Time to have some fun!

Lorna did say that they will have fun spending the money, although Craig replied that one family doesn't even need so much money! Craig and Lorna MacDonald plan to spend some more time together now that they are rich. Perhaps they'll even be going on some more vacations together.

The winning $20 million ticket was purchased by Craig MacDonald. He bought just $5 worth of quick picks for the draw.

At the time of their win, Craig and Lorna MacDonald lived in a small Sakatchewan, Canada community with a population of just around 1000. After Craig had his winning ticket verified at the store, the news spread around town like wildfire. It wasn't long before everybody knew the big news.

Congratulations to Craig and Lorna MacDonald on their lucky win and here's hoping there will be some more limo rides in their future!

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Powerball Winner Eduardo Vazquez Buys $4 To $6 Worth Of Lottery Tickets For Fun

How much do you spend on lottery tickets every week? Most people buy one or two tickets every week. Some buy a lot more than that. Eduardo Vazquez said that he always buys $4 to $6 dollars worth of lottery tickets every week. And guess what? That's enough to win big!

Eduardo Vazquez's $4 to $6 worth of weekly lotto ticket purchases won him a $1 million Powerball prize. He won that in the January 30, 2010 draw by matching all 5 white balls. Normally, that would win a prize of $200,000, but Eduardo spent the extra dollar to purchase the Power Play option. So he won $1 million. The odds of matching the 5 white ball numbers in Powerball are 1-in-5,138,133.

At the time of his win, Eduardo Vazquez was 62-years-old and living in Albuquerque, New Mexico, USA, with his wife, Angeles.

The man spends just $4 to $6 on the lottery every week and says that he plays it just for fun. His theory is that if a prize is coming to you, it will come. His said that he will share his prize money with family and close friends.

Congratulations to Eduardo Vazquez on his lucky win!

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Over-Excited Lottery Winner Phillip Gossett Almost Got Mouth-To-Mouth Resuscitation

Do you think that winning the lottery could cause your body to go into cardiac arrest? Probably not, but Phillip Gossett's boss said that he almost had to start performing mouth-to-mouth resuscitation on him when he got over-excited about winning a million dollars in Powerball. Who would have thought winning the lottery could be dangerous? Perhaps they should start intalling CPR kits or defibrillators beside lottery terminals.

Phillip Gossett won $1 million on the February 3, 2010 Powerball draw by matching all five white-ball numbers. Normally, you win $200,000 for matching the first five numbers, but Phillip won $1 million because he purchased the "Powerplay" option for an extra dollar.

When asked about how he felt after winning $1 million, Phillip Gossett replied, "Excited doesn't even cover it, man! My boss said he was going to have to give me mouth-to-mouth if I'd have kept on going. . . words can't describe it!"

So what does Phillip plan to do with all the money that he won? He said that he would use the money to set up college funds for his kids. He also plans to buy a new house and invest the rest.

Have you ever thought about how you'd feel if you won the lottery? Most people will never know what it feels like, so you'll never know unless you actually win it one day.

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Dusan Zelenbaba Beats The Lotto Max Odds For A Nice Payout

Dusan Zelenbaba (Pictured to the left), of Waterloo, Ontario, beat the Lotto Max odds for a nice payout of $139,371 on the January 29, 2010 draw.

Do you play Lotto Max? If so, take a look at these odds and payouts for the game, per $5 ticket:

• Jackpot: Match 7-out-of-7 numbers and payouts could be anywhere from $10 million to $50 million;the odds of winning are 1-in-28,633,528.

• 2nd Prize: Match 6-out-of-7 numbers, plus the bonus for a payout that is usually between $100,000 to $200,000; the odds of winning are 1-in-4,090,504.

• 3rd Prize: Match 6-out-of-7 numbers and you could expect a payout of between $5000 to $10,000; the odds of winning are 1-in-99,768.

• 4th Prize: Match 5-out-of-7 numbers for a payout of about $100; the odds of winning are 1-in-1,584.

• 5th Prize: Match 4-out-of-7 numbers to win $20; the odds of winning are 1-in-71.3.

• 6th Prize: Match 3-out-of-7 numbers, plus the bonus and you also win $20; odds of winning are 1-in-76.7.

• 7th Prize: Match 3-out-of-7 numbers to win a free Lotto Max ticket.

Do you want to win? Don't think it could happen to you? That's what Dusan Zelenbaba before he won his big prize. "I'm really excited, I never imagined I'd win this much. My wife didn't believe me when I told her."

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Lucky Crystal Bracelet Makes Taiwan Man A California Lottery Winner

California Lottery has its own TV game show where contestants compete for cash and prizes. Kevin Lu, a man born in Taiwan and now living in Gardena, California, appeared on the game show in January of 2010. Prior to the game, his girlfriend gave him a lucky crystal bracelet. How lucky was this crystal bracelet? Read on to find out.

Kevin Lu played a game where he had to guess guess higher or lower, one letter at a time, to spell out the word M-I-L-L-I-O-N-A-I-R-E. Each guess is a 50-50 shot and contestants are allowed to be wrong no more than twice. Kevin got them all right on his first try without any incorrect guesses. There are 11 letters in the word "millionaire." Do you know what the odds are of guessing right 11 times in a row where each guess is 50-50? That's 1-in-2048. That means that out of every 2048 people that attempt this, only one of them would win. That's crazy!

So Kevin won and he attributed his win the the lucky crystal bracelet that his girlfriend gave him. In Taiwanese culture, crystal brings good luck. It sure does - Kevin Lu won $3.6 million!

Kevin Lu was born in Taiwan and came to the United States for a better life when he was 12-years-old. With the lottery win, he said that it will afford him the chance to find his dream job. Oh ya, he also wants to buy a new car!

Congratulations to Kevin Lu on his good fortune!

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Biggest Ever UK EuroMillions Winners (£56 million) Nigel Page & Justine Laycock - Whatever!

Being the biggest ever UK EuroMillions winner - Priceless! The reaction from your daughter when she finds out the news might also be priceless, but that depends on what she says.

Nigel Page & Justine Laycock are the newest winners of the EiroMillions jackpot in the UK. Not only that, they are the biggest ever. They won a jackpot of £56 million. That's $88,368,146 USD! Don't forget, that's tax-free too; there's no tax on lottery winnings in England. They're stinkin' rich! But the reaction from Justine Laycock's 15-year-old daughter when she found out the news was the best - Whatever! That's what she said, "Whatever." Nice!

The EuroMillions jackpot on February 12, 2010 was £112 million. There were two winning tickets sold, each worth £56 million. One was held by Nigel Page & Justine Laycock. The other was bought in Spain and the ticket holder has yet to come forward.

Nigel Page was watching TV on Saturday morning with his daughter when he heard that someone had bought a winning EuroMillions ticket in the UK. He joked to her that it was probably him. That's when he went online to check the winning numbers and found out that it really was him. He then went to wake up Justine. He never wakes her up on Saturday mornings, so she really thought that something was wrong. That, coupled with the fact that he was trembling, must have gotten her worried. He too her to the computer and showed her the great news. Fantastic!

So what do the biggest ever UK EuroMillions lottery winners plan to do with their new fortune? For starters, Nigel wants to buy a new BMW X5. He also enjoys sky diving, so he wants to build his own wind tunnel. That's awesome, a wind tunnel! It really looks like Nigel Page is gonna have some fun with his lottery winnings, but whatever!

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Missouri Show Me Cash Winners Dan and Kathy Balmer ($506,000)

Dan Balmer had an impulse on his way to go see a movie to stop and buy a Powerball ticket. He did that. But, while at the store, the workers there were all excited about Missouri Lottery's "Show Me Cash" game because the jackpot, at that time, was at a record-high; it was $506,000. Some of that excitement rubbed off on Dan Balmer because he ended up buying a ticket.

Guess what happened next? That's right, Dan won the jackpot - $506,000!

The Show Me Cash game from Missouri Lottery costs $1 to play. To play the game you must pick 5 numbers out of a possible 39. The jackpot starts at $50,000 and continues to rise if nobody wins it. The odds of winning the jackpot are 1-in-575,757.

Here is a video of the Show Me Cash winners, Dan Balmer and his wife, Kathy:

Show Me Cash winners from John Wells on Vimeo.

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Lottery Winner James Clinton Wants To Donate Money To Haiti Relief

Most people dream of winning the lottery because they want to be rich. They want to buy stuff. Big houses. Luxury cars. Yachts. Exotic vacations. But not James Clinton. James said that his lottery win came at the perfect time because he wanted to donate money to Haiti relief to help the earthquake victims. Sounds like a good man!

James Clinton lives in Richfield, MN, USA. He won $100,000 playing an instant scratch lotto game from Minnesota Lottery called Hold Em' Poker on January 19, 2010.

James said that he had been playing the lottery for years. "I Finally hit it big!" is what he had to say about that!

In his own words, "It couldn't have been better timing. I wanted to help out with the Haiti relief and now I can."

The Hold Em' Poker instant game from Minnesota Lottery costs $5 to play and offers a top prize of $100,000, which is what James Clinton won. The odds of winning that top prize in the game are 1-in-480,000. The game offers other cash prizes as well, ranging from $5 to $25,000. The overall odds of winning any prize in the game are 1-in-3.67. All losing tickets can also be entered into second chance drawings for a chance to win merchandise or The Ultimate Poker Experience.

Congratulations to James Clinton on his lucky win!

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Western 649 Lottery Winners Wayne and Pat Kozak

Wayne and Pat Kozak live in Regina, Saskatchewan, Canada. In the last thirteen months, there had been six lottery winners of at least a million dollars in southern Saskatchewan. Every time that Pat heard of these people winning money in the lottery, she had her fingers crossed that they were one of her clients. She's a financial planner and would have loved to have helped them invest their money. Little did she know that her very own husband, Wayne, would be the person that bought winning million dollar ticket number 7. They are new lottery winners. They won $1 million playing Western 649 on the February 10, 2010 draw.

Luckily, Pat is a financial planner, so the couple will know exactly how to invest the proceeds from their Western 649 win. At the time of the win, Wayne was working as a service mechanic at the University of Regina.

With the lottery win, Wayne and Pat Kozak plan to do something that they had never done in their life - Go on a hot holiday. They want to take their daughters on a trip to some place warm. That's actually a great idea because Regina is absolutely freezing during the winter. I hope they leave for their vacation immediately! The couple also plan to use the money to pay off some bills and renovate their house. They plan to invest the remainder of the money so that they could retire early.

The Western 649 lottery game is a game where you must match 6 numbers, out of a possible 49. The odds of doing that are approximately 1-in-14-million. However, for each dollar spent, you actually get two tickets. That means that the actual odds of winning the jackpot, per ticket, are approximately 1-in-7-million.

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Instant Scratchie Lottery Winner Margaret Kilian Wins Funky 5's Game

It's illegal to drink and drive. In many places it's illegal to talk on your cell phone while driving. Heck, in some places in Europe, you can't even drink coffee while you drive. Perhaps, we should also have a new law that says you can't drive within an hour of finding out that you won the lottery. You know your mind won't be on road safety after finding out you're rich, right?

Margaret Kilian, of Vacherie, Louisiana, knows what I'm taking about. She's an instant scratchie lottery winner. She bought a Funky 5's lottery ticket, scratched it in her car, won $100,000, then drove home. She recalls that she has no idea how she made it home safely that day. When she found out that she was a winner, she just started shaking. That's just not a safe condition to drive a car in, but good for her, she made it home safe!

Margaret Kilian said that she planned to take her daughter to Disney World last year. Then her husband got laid off and those plans were curtailed. Now with her $100,000 win in the Funky 5's instant scratchie game, that trip will become a reality. She also plans to use the money to pay off her car loan and mortgage on her house.

The Funky 5's instant scratchie lotto game is a game from Louisiana Lottery that costs $5 to play and offers a top prize of $100,000, which is what Margaret won. The odds of winning the top prize are approximately 1-in-272,000. The game offers other prizes as well, ranging from a free ticket to $5000. the overall odds of winning any prize in the game are 1-in-4.18.

Congratulations to Margaret Kilian on her lucky win!

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Samuel Badolata - Verizon Employee Wins $500,000 Lotto Jackpot

Samuel Badolata is a Verizon employee that won a $500,000 lotto jackpot on February 2, 2010, playing New York Lottery's Pick 10 game.

Samuel Badolata said that he only started playing the Pick 10 game a month ago and that was just to try something new. Wow, beginner's luck - Imagine that! He said that he was sure glad that he gave the game a try - No kidding!

At the time of his win, Samuel was living in Johnstown, New York and working as a technician for Verizon. He bought the winning ticket at a Fast Track store in Vail hills, NY.

New York Lottery's Pick 10 lotto game is a game where you must choose ten numbers between 1 and 80. The odds of hitting all ten numbers are 1-in-8,911,711.

Congratulations to Samuel Badolata on his lucky win!

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Jewish Lottery Winners Abraham And Celia Silverbush Use Secret Sytem To Win

There is a hard-working Jewish family from Syracuse, New York, that used, what they described as, a secret Russian lottery system to play the lottery. They had been playing together for 20 years. Does their secret lottery system work? Well, they did manage to win $22,000 once. Maybe that was just luck. But on May 29, 2009, they used the system to win a $35 million Mega Millions jackpot!

I can't say for sure if their system is legitimate. After all, it is secret.

The Jewish family that won the $35 million Mega Millions jackpot are: Abraham Silverbush and his wife Celia, and their kids Mark, Jeffrey, Bnai, and Edward.

At the time of their win, Abraham was 77-years-old and owner of Silverbush Upholstery Shop in Syracuse, NY, USA. Celia was a 4th grade teacher's assistant at Franklin Magnet School of Arts. They both said that they planned to continue working.

What do the Silverbush's plan to do with their $35 million? Abraham said that he doesn't even want anything. However, his wife Celia said that she wants to buy a new house. Their current house is more than 40 years old and the stairs are beginning to be too much for her as she ages. So, she wants to buy a bungalow. They also plan to go on some family trips.

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Costco Store Boss Sends New Lottery Winner Employee Home After Winning Big money

Picture this scenario - You're working at your job, as you do every day, when suddenly your significant other comes running in. She seems excited and jittery. Then she yells out, "We won the lottery!" What would you do? Many people would walk up to their boss and say, "I quit!" In Stephane Frigault's case, it was the other way around - His boss sent him home.

On Friday, February 5, 2010, Stephane Frigault was working at his job at Costco. That's when his girlfriend, Chantal Collette came in to say that they won $1 million playing Atlantic 49. Neither of the two plan to quit their jobs. However, that day, the boss at Costco needed to send his employee home. He thought that there was too much traffic in the store and having a dazed employee that just won some big money there might be dangerous.

Although Stephane Frigault and Chantal Collette don't plan to quit their jobs after their $1 million win, they said that they will stop putting in overtime. They also say that they think they will be able to retire earlier than they otherwise would. They're both just 24-years-old, so retirement is still a long way off.

Stephane Frigault and Chantal Collette have been together for six years. With the lottery win, they say that they want to buy a house and start a family.

The Atlantic 49 lotto game that they won the million dollars on is a 6/49 game. That means that the odds of winning are close to 1-in-14-million. Congratulations to the lucky couple!

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North Carolina Powerball Winner Frank Griffin - $141 Million

When the day comes that you win a big lottery jackpot, you will have to through the news conference where they will announce you as the winner. Inevitably, the question will arise, "How will this change your life?" Make sure you have a good answer. Frank Griffin didn't have a good answer. He said that the Powerball win won't change his life. His wife just looked at him funny after he said that. Ya right it won't change your life.

Frank Griffin is the newest North Carolina Powerball winner. He won $141 million in the Saturday February 6, 2010 draw. He wasted no time claiming his big prize as he walked into North Carolina Lottery's headquarters two days later, on Monday February 8.

Frank was buying gas on Saturday and had $5 left over. So he bought five Powerball quick picks. His friend that was with him at the time told him, "You ain't gonna win that." That same friend told Frank the next day that someone from their town (Asheville, NC) actually won the jackpot. Frank just smiled at him. He was asked, "Why are you smiling?" Frank replied, "Because i won it!" NICE!

At the time of his win, Frank was 66-years-old and retired. He had owned a janitorial buisness for 40 years and also worked for the fire department as an engineer and driver.

What does Frank Griffin plan to do with the $141 million that he won? For starters, he now wants to spend more time with his wife, Loretta, and his grandkids. He also plans to play more golf, travel with Loretta to Hawaii, help his church, and take care of his family. Their may be a new house in his future plans as well. Does that sound like someone whose life will not be changed by a huge Powerball lottery win?

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Georgia Giant Jumbo Bucks Lottery Winner Tyler Parker

Do you have any superstitions when playing the lottery? 20-year-old Tyler Parker does. He was recently driving with a co-worker that had won $500 playing the lottery. So, Tyler rubbed his co-workers arm for good luck and then went to buy his own lottery ticket. He bought a Giant Jumbo Bucks instant scratch ticket from Georgia Lottery. He won! $150,000!

Tyler Parker's superstition paid off. When he found out how much he had won, he started screaming to his colleague, "You work, you work!" His co-worker was Tyler's good-luck charm.

When Tyler went into Georgia Lottery's headquarters, he told them that his jaw still hurts from smiling so much. See, winning the lottery makes you happy, but I'm sure you already knew that!

Giant Jumbo Bucks is an instant scratch lottery game from Georgia Lottery; it costs $5 to play and offers a top prize of $150,000, which is what Tyler won. The overall odds of winning any prize in the game are 1-in-3.27.

Tyler Parker plans to use the money to take a culinary management course because he wants to take over the family restaurant one day. He also wants to give some to his parents and help them out because they had helped him so much. Finally, he wants to use the money to just have some fun.

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Faithful Lottery Player Wins $200,000

Do you play the lottery faithfully every week? Do you ever get people telling you that you're wasting your time and money? Don't you just hate that?

David Stephens, of Topeka, Kansas, describes himself as a faithful lottery player. He plays all the time. He also had people telling him that he's wasting his time and money. But he showed them. David won $200,000 in Powerball by matching the five white ball numbers on October 31, 2009. In your face doubters!

When David Stephens checked his ticket on the self-check machine, all it said was to sign the back of the ticket. It didn't say how much he won. So he brought the ticket to the clerk and she checked it herself. After she checked it, she just looked at him and told him that she didn't know how much he had won, but it must be big. So David went back to his car and checked the ticket on his cell phone. That's when he found out that he had won $200,000!

The win came at a perfect time for the faithful lottery player. He was just about to start a new job which required him to move to Joplin, Missouri. The move and the new job had him worrying about his finances. With the $200,000 Powerball win, he was able to relax. He said he would use the money to pay off some bills and save the rest.

Congratulations to David Stephens on his lucky win!

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Church Donation In Lottery Winner Billy J Patton's Plans

Billy J Patton is a generous man; he won $2.5 million in the lottery and plans to use the money to help his family and his church. Actually, he didn't even want to claim his winnings alone. He brought eleven family members with him to claim his prize.

Billy J Patton's story began one day in January of 2010. He stopped at the store one morning and bought an instant scratch-off lotto ticket. He won $100. Nice! Then, while driving home after winning $100, he just had a gut feeling that there would be more winning that day. So he stopped at another store and bought three more scratch-offs. He scratched the first two and won nothing. The third was a $500,000,000 Blockbuster ticket. He scratched it and won big. $2.5 million!

Billy won big, but it didn't even set in yet. It didn't set in until he drove to Texas Lottery's prize claim office in Austin. While in the parking lot, before going in, it finally sunk in. He exclaimed out loud, "It's true, I really won!"

The $500,000,000 Blockbuster game from Texas Lottery that Billy J Patton won big on costs $20 to play. The odds of winning the top prize of $2.5 million are approximately 1-in-3.5-million. Other prizes in the game range from $20 to $1 million. The odds of winning any prize are 1-in-2.77.

Billy J Patton plans to use the money to help his family and also to make a donation to his church.

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Missouri Powerball Winner Is Debt-Free For The First Time Since The 1980's

Wouldn't it be nice to live debt-free? No mortgage, no car loans, no credit card balance. That's probably one of the best things about winning the lottery.

Missouri Powerball winner, Jeff Jefferson, knows all about how nice it is. He won $200,000 from Missouri Powerball on the December 23, 2009 draw. Now, he says that he is debt-free for the first time since the 1980's. He sure is excited about that!

There's actually a funny story about Jeff Jefferson when he found out that he was a big winner. Usually, people that find out that they won the lottery get excited, jittery, nervous, and probably dozens of other emotions at the same time. But in Jeff's case, he was calm as can be. However, the woman at the store counter that was checking his ticket almost fainted and almost started to cry. Imagine if it were her that won the lottery? She'd probably need an ambulance.

At the time of his Powerball lottery win, Jeff Jefferson was 50-year-old and living in Milan, Missouri (About 2 hours north-east of Kansas City). He was working in the maintenance department at Farmland Foods. He plans to use the money to pay off his mortgage and car-loan and live debt-free. Whatever is left over, he plans to sit on.

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Marilyn Citron - CT Classic Lotto Winner - $9.7 Million

Here's another story of someone playing the same lottery numbers for years and years before finally hitting the jackpot. It is the story of Marilyn Citron. The Woman from Mystic, Connecticut, USA had been playing the same lottery numbers for 23 years - 1, 6, 8, 12, 14, 35. She had zero big wins for 23 years, but her persistence finally paid off on the January 1, 2010 draw. On that day, Marilyn won $9.7 million playing CT Lottery's Classic Lotto game.

The Classic Lotto game from CT lottery is a 6/44 game. The odds of matching all 6 numbers are are approximately 1-in-7-million.

At the time of her win, Marilyn Citron worked as a communications and business manager for a pharmaceuticals company. She was set to retire from that job in March of 2010 and was seeking a part-time job to help her get by after retirement. Now, with her $9.7 million win from CT Classic Lotto game, she no longer needs the part-time work, although she does plan to keep working at her current job until her retirement date in March, as previously planned. She now plans to volunteer and focus on working with animals after retirement.

What does Marilyn Citron plan to do with her money? "I live a fairly modest life. This will allow me to do more traveling and share this abundance with family and friends, because in the end, it's only money," Marilyn said. "While I don't see my life changing that much, this will make it easier."

The only big purchases that Marilyn plans to make is to buy two new cars, one for her and one for her son. She plans to donate her two current cars to people that are in need of transportation.

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Elaine Daniel - Alabama Woman Wins Lottery In Kansas

Here's another story of someone that won big money buying lottery tickets for the very first time. It's the story of Elaine Daniel. She actually can't even play the lottery because she lives in Lawrence County, Alabama and the state of Alabama does not sell lottery tickets. So how did she win? By playing in another state - Kansas.

Elaine Daniel's visit to Kansas was a last minute decision. She decided to accompany a friend who had to drive to Kansas for work. She stayed at the Econo-Lodge in Olathe, Kansas, which is just outside of Kansas City. The morning after her stay, she walked into the store next-door and bought an instant scratch lottery ticket for $20, the first time she had ever done that. She won $50 with that ticket. She then bought three more tickets for $10 each. One of those tickets turned out to be a $100,000 winner!

Elaine said that this was the first time she had ever won anything in her life. She said she felt lucky because there was another woman in the store where she bought the winning ticket that said that she spends $20 a day on instant scratch tickets and has never won a big prize.

What does Elaine Daniel plan to do with the $100,000 that she won? She says that she wants to be careful because she doesn't want to blow it. However, she does want to buy a new truck!

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Bryon Woods Buys Tee Pee Motel With lottery Money

When you win the lottery, you could buy whatever you want - Absolutely anything! Case in point, In 2003 Bryon Woods was driving with his wife, Barbara, and drove by Tee Pee Motel in Wharton Texas. The Tee Pee motel was in ruins as it had been closed for the past 23 years. But Barbara exclaimed, "I want to stay there; let's buy it!" And so they did - They bought it!

Bryon and Barbara bought the property for $60,000 and spent an additional $1.6 million to renovate it. But don't worry, they could afford it. That's because in July of 2003, Bryon Woods won a lot of money - $49 million from Texas Lottery.

Bryon is pictured above standing in one of the rooms at the Teepee hotel. The exterior is seen in the photo below. Each of the rooms are in their own separate teepees.

See what I mean - Win the lottery and you could buy whatever you want. What would you buy? I know what I wouldn't buy - A weird tee pee themed motel. But hey, everybody's different.

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