Rolant Christensen - Double Winner Of Swedish Lottery TV Gameshow

Pictured here is Rolant Christensen, a man from Sweden with a big smile on his face. The big smile is due to the fact that he just won some big money from the Swedish lottery. Winning the lottery makes you happy, you know?

Rolant Christensen won on a unique lottery. Sweden Lottery has an instant scratch-off game called Triss. The grand prize on the game is a chance to appear on a Swedish Lottery game show called Nyhetsmorgon, where you get to win your prize on live TV.

The lottery game show concept isn't new. In fact, there's a few American states that have tried it, including California. But it is a fun concept, nonetheless.

What makes Rolant's story interesting, though, is that he scratched his way to two winning tickets in a matter of days. He was a double winner. The odds of that happening are astronomical, but it happened to Rolant.

So, Rolant had the opportunity to go on the game show and win two prize. And that he did. He won 100,000 krona on his first try and then 2 Million krona on his second try. Altogether, that's 2.1 million krona, which works out to $331,034 USD.

Here's how Rolant Christensen describes the win, "When I first won the 100,000 that was dramatic enough and I was happy about it, but then the winning 'two million' symbol was revealed and I could barely believe it."

Rolant said that he planned to use the money to pay off debts and go on a vacation to Thailand with his girlfriend.

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Adam Derbi - Cabbie Wins The Lottery

Cabbie's work really hard for a living. Long hours. Low pay. It's sometimes hard for them to make ends meet.

Adam Derbi is a cabbie in Cardiff, England, which is close to Bristol. It was probably five times as hard for him to make ends meet compared to other taxi drivers. That's because he has five kids.

Then one day, one of his passengers gave him a £6 tip. Adam Derbi used that £6 to buy some lottery tickets. With those tickets, he won £1,000,005. That works out to be about $1,630,644. You could say, in a way, that he got a $1.6 million tip. Not a bad day's work for a cabbie. Adam says that he does not know the customer that gave him the tip, but he says that he can't thank him enough.

Thanks to the tip, this father of five is now financially secure. He's going to make sure that his five kids all have tuition for college, when the time comes, and house deposits too. The kids are all between the ages of two and thirteen, so there's still time before that happens.

As for the present, Adam Derbi plans to move his family out of the rented apartment that they now live in and into a larger property.

Winning the lottery is great, isn't it?

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Kricket Slik - 21 Year Old Girl From Hamilton Wins $3.5 Million 649 Jackpot

Imagine being just 21-years-old and rich...

Kricket Slik doesn't need to imagine. She won a $3.5 million Lotto 649 jackpot on Saturday August 29, 2011. Actually, it was $3,489,606 to be exact. But what does it matter, she's rich!

Kricket is a 21-year-old girl from Hamilton, Ontario, which is about an hour west of Toronto. She's just a student too. Now, with the win, her possibilities are endless!

The thing is, though, that Kricket Slik doesn't even play the lottery much. The fact that she even bought a ticket on the day that she won was a pure fluke. A friend was visiting her that day and she needed to go out to the store to buy some cigarettes. Kricket went with her to the store and just decided to buy a Lotto 649 ticket there on a whim. If Kricket's friend wasn't visiting that day, she wouldn't have even won the lottery.

"I checked the ticket on the self scanner quite a few times and then went over to my boyfriend's house to check on (the website) and confirm that I had a match for all six numbers," Kricket said regarding her win. "That's when the reality hit me, that I had a winning ticket for the jackpot."

At the time of her win, Kricket Slik was 21-years-old, living in Hamilton, Ontario, and an aesthetics student. She plans to use the money to help out her 5 brothers and sisters. She plans to keep going to school and then hopefully open up her own salon one day.

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Kevin Tenreiro - Occasional Lottery Player Almost Hits The Big One

Some people play the lottery all the time. Some people just play it when the jackpot gets big. The latter is an occasional lottery player, and there's nothing wrong with that; it's hard to resist buying a ticket if the jackpot is hundreds of millions of dollars, right?

Kevin Tenreiro is an occasional lottery player. He plays when there is a big jackpot. That's what he did for the August 3, 2011 Powerball draw. The jackpot for that draw was $160 million. That's BIG!

Like most big jackpots in the past, Kevin Tenreiro didn't really expect to win it. However, this time, he actually almost did hit the big one. Kevin matched the first five numbers, good enough for the second prize of $200,000.

Kevin won $200,000. But he was just one number away from hitting the jackpot. Almost! Maybe next time.

Even still, Kevin Tenreiro was happy. "When I realized what I won, I was very happy," he said. "I only buy when the jackpots are high."

Kevin said that he wants to use the money to find a new place to live.

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Lottery Coincidence - Irene Tjon Wins Cash Inferno - So Does Her Co-Worker

Here's a story of lottery coincidence.

Pictured here is a woman named Irene Tjon. She lives in a town in Montana called Wolf Point. A few weeks ago, in early August of 2011, a co-worker of hers named Joan Peters won $100,000 on an instant scratch game from Montana Lottery called $100,000 Cash Inferno.

That's cool, her co-worker won the lottery. But what makes this story interesting is the coincidence. By pure chance, Irene Tjon won the exact same amount of money, $100,000, playing the exact same game, $100,000 Cash Inferno, merely a few weeks after her co-worker won.

Now the two co-workers have a cool story to talk about at the water cooler!

The $100,000 Cash Inferno instant scratch game from Montana Lottery costs $10 to play and offers a top prize of $100,000, which is what Irene won. The odds of winning the top prize in the game are approximately 1-in-90,000.

Irene Tjon said that she would use the money that she had won to spoil her grandkids.

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John Kinzel With Wife Darlene - $40 Million Lotto Max Winner From Saskatchewan

A week ago today, on Friday August 19, 2011, the Lotto Max jackpot in Canada was $40 million. That's considered a big jackpot in Canada. The next morning, Canadians woke up to the news that the jackpot had been won. They also learned that the winning ticket was purchased somewhere in Saskatchewan.

All week, Canadians wondered who won the prize. Then today, one week after the draw, the winner stepped forward - John Kinzel. John is pictured here with his wife, Darlene.

With his $40 million win, John Kinzel instantly became the biggest ever lottery winner in the province of Saskatchewan. Not bad at all!

As for the winning numbers of 4, 14, 24, 41, 43, 46 and 49, John said that he chose the numbers himself and that they subconsciously came to him as he was filling out the number selection slip. Perhaps John has some type of ESP!

On top of the $20 million that John Kinzel won, he also won $20 on a separate line on the same draw. How about that?

At the time of his win, John Kinzel lived in Paradise Hill, Saskatchewan with his wife Darlene. Paradise Hill is approximately 300 km north of Saskatoon.

Canada is a cold, cold place in the winter, especially Saskatchewan. With the win, John said that he won't have to put up with the cold winter anymore. Perhaps he's going to fly south and I don't blame him at all!

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James Bond Jr Wins $6.5 Million From Illinois Lotto

What a coincidence - I just finished writing about James Pond winning $250,000. Now, I just got word that James Bond has won the lottery too. Actually, it's James Bond Jr. No, he's not the son of Sean Connery, but that is his real name. WTF??? Actually, that's a pretty cool name to have!

"I've taken a lot of ribbing over the years because of my name," James Bond said. "I loved all the James Bond movies, especially those with Sean Connery, but that's as far as it goes."

James Bond Jr won $6.5 million from the Illinois Lotto draw in August of 2011. Now, the man can afford to buy an Aston Martin and enjoy martinis, just like his British namesake, if he wants to.

At the time of his win, James Bond Jr was 46-years-old, lived in Indiana, and owned a construction business. Prior to claiming his $6.5 million win, he met with a CPA to develop a plan to make the money last. He plans to invest some of the money into his business.

So, does Mr. Bond really plan to buy an Aston Martin? No, but he will buy a new pick up truck to replace the 31 year-old pick up truck that he's currently driving.

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James Pond Owes Taxes To The IRS - Big Lottery Win Will Help With That

His name is Pond - James Bond.

No, he's not a British Secret Service agent. He's an American who owns a lawn care company.

He also just recently found out that he owes taxes to the IRS.

Not only that, he also just recently found out that his son's financial aid for school did not go through.

Bills have been piling up for James Pond.

But none of that matters anymore because James just won $250,000, the second prize in the Mega Millions lottery. Now James Pond can pay his IRS tax bill, pay for his son's school, and buy a few toys on top of that.

At the time of his big lottery win, James Pond was 47-years-old, living in Post Falls, Idaho, and the owner of a lawn care company called Affordable Lawn Care. With the money, he plans to pay for his son's school bills and also buy him a new jet ski. He also says that a lot of people have helped him recently and he plans to return the favor. James also plans to buy a new Harley Davidson motorcycle for himself.

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How Do You Know If You Will Win The Lottery? Candido Oliveira Knows

How do you know if you will win the lottery? That's a question most of us want to know. Do any of us know the answer, though? Perhaps we should ask Candido Oliveira.

Candido Oliveira is pictured here. The picture is from his press conference to announce him as the big winner of the Friday, August 19, 2011 Mega Millions draw. He won $32 million.

Candido's story is quite unique, unique in the way that he knew that he won the jackpot even before checking his numbers. In a way, Candido knew that he was going to win the lottery.

It all started on Saturday, August 20, when Candido heard on the news that the winning Mega Millions ticket for the Friday night draw was purchased at Tedeschi Food store on Neponset Avenue in Dorchester, Massachusetts. The Tedeschi Food store is a convenience store near where Candido lives. That's where Candido purchased his ticket.

As soon as he heard the news, Candido Oliveira already knew that it was him that won. So he velebrated. He celebrated by playing his guitar. And, he played it all weekend. He didn't even bother to check the winning numbers until Monday August 22. Why would he check it? He already knew that it was him that won.

That Monday, he went into that same convenience store that he bought the ticket from and checked his numbers. That's when he confirmed what he already knew - He won the lottery!

At the time of his win, Candido Oliveira was 47-years-old, unemployed, and living in Dorchester, Massachusetts. He plans to use the money to buy a new car, a house, and to take care of his family.

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

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Is $100,000 Enough To Retire? Joe Wachtstetter Knows The Answer

Is $100,000 enough to retire? That's a question that Joe Wachtstetter had to ask himself. He now knows the answer.

Joe Wachtstetter is pictured here with a lottery check. He won $100,000 playing Indiana's Hoosier Lottery scratch game called $100,000 Bonanza. Now he wants to retire... sort of.

Joe had been working as a laborer most of his life. Recently, though, he had been working the night shift at Circle K store. That job sucks and what he really wants to do is run his own business as a handyman; that's what he enjoys doing. So, now, with his $100,000 win, he could retire from working night shifts at Circle K and do what he likes, be a handyman. That's the beauty of winning big money in the lottery - It allows you to do what you want!

in August of 2011, Joe Wachtstetter, walked into a store called Tobacco Road and purchased his $100,000 Bonanza instant scratch-off ticket. When he made his purchase, he told the clerk that this ticket needed to be a winner. He always tells that to the clerk. But this time, it really was a big winner!

The $100,000 Bonanza scratch game from Hoosier Lottery costs $5 to play. The top prize in the game is $100,000, which is what Joe won. There are other prizes in the game, which range from $40 to $10,000. The odds of winning any prize in the game are approximately 1-in-3.96.

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Don Treuter Buys Winning Lottery Ticket At Local Grocery Store

A lot of lottery players have there normal routine, and that usually means buying their lottery tickets at the same store, the local store.

Don Treuter is one such lottery player. He lived up the street from Auburn's Main Street Market, a supermarket in Auburn, Washington. That's his local store. He even knows the owners.

That's where Don bought his Mega Millions on one particular day in August of 20111. And, that's where he won $250,000 on those very same tickets.

Here's what Don Treuter had to say about winning - "I've lived up the street from that store for 20 years. I couldn't believe it when I saw that I won. I asked Rob, the owner of the store, to check the ticket because I thought it was a mistake." The owner did just that, he checked the tickets. It was no mistake.

Even the store employees are happy for Don. The owner of the store said, "We are really excited for Don. He's a really nice guy, and all my employees love him. It's great someone won that we see every day." See, that's what happens when you shop at your local store!

The $250,000 that Don Treuter won is the second prize in Mega Millions. The odds of winning the second prize in the game are approximately 1-in-3.9-million.

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Jennifer Desai - 24-Year-Old Cash Crop Winner From Fayetteville

Jennifer Desai is a young 24-year-old woman from Fayetteville, Georgia that's expecting her second child. That's her in the photo with her husband, Tyrone. They are a young family, just starting out. Now, they have an extra $225,000 thanks to Jennifer's lottery win. She won $225,000 playing Georgia Lottery's instant scratch game called Cash Crop.

Jennifer and Tyrone are your average, hard working people. They just bought a new house and the $225,000 win will go a long way in helping to fix it up.

At the time of her win, Jennifer was working at a car dealership. But she and Tyrone now expect to start their own business.

Jennifer Desai said that when she found out that she was a big winner, she was both shocked and excited. That's what winning the lottery does to you, but it feels great!

The Cash Crop instant game that Jennifer won on is a $5 game offered by Georgia Lottery. The $225,000 prize that she won is the top prize in the game. The odds of winning the top prize are approximately 1-in-1.25-million. Other prizes in the game range from a free ticket to $25,000. The odds of winning any prize in the game are approximately 1-in-3.99.

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Chad Burkholder - Union Missouri Lottery Winner

Chad Burkholder is a man from Union, Missouri (Which is just outside of St. Louis) that won $1.1 million playing Missouri Lotto. He won it on the May 21, 2011 draw with the numbers 3, 4, 10, 12, 32 and 33.

Missouri Lotto is a really great lottery game to play. Jackpots start at $1 million and grow if they are not won and the odds are great, compared to other lottery games. The odds of winning the Missouri Lotto jackpot are approximately 1-in-3.5-million. Compare that to Powerball, for example which has odds of 1-in-195-million. That means that Missouri Lotto is about 55 times easier to win. Not bad at all!

Chad Burkholder described what he felt when he found out that he won the lottery. He said he was excited, happy, shocked, and numb. You normally need to be drunk to feel like that!

At the time of his win, Chad Burkholder was 36-years-old, living in Union, MO with his wife and three kids, and working as a carpenter.

Chad said that he will continue working at his job and will use the money to pay off his mortgage, add to his savings account, and just be more comfortable.

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Michael Rowinski - The Altruistic Lottery Winner

Meet Michael Rowinski, the altruistic lottery winner. He won NY Lottery's Set For Life instant scratch-off game, which gives him $5000 a week for life, with a guaranteed minimum payout of at least $5 million.

Michael Rowinski is the man in the blue shirt in the picture. He's celebrating the lottery win with his wife and two grown kids. A New York Lottery Representative is in the picture as well She's the one in the flowery dress. Hands up!

Michael's family is their celebrating the win because, like I said, he's altruistic. He's splitting his prize evenly between the four of them.

Speaking about splitting the prize, Michael Rowinski said, "I was brought up with 'family is family.' They're close; I couldn't think of any other thing to do but to help my family any way I could." What a great dad!

Michael Rowinski actually won the Set For Life prize the day before he was to go on vaction, which was the day before the Fourth of July weekend this year. That day, he stopped into a deli to buy a sandwich for lunch. He used the change from the lunch to buy a lottery scratch ticket at the store right next to the deli. He scratched it and won the grand prize of $5000 a week for life. But since he was already scheduled to go on vacation, he just put the winning ticket away so that it wouldn't interfere with his plans. He claimed the prize after he came back home from his vacation.

New York Lottery's Set For Life instant scratch-off game costs $10 to play. The odds of winning the $5000 a week grand prize are approximately 1-in-6.3-million.

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The World's Most Boring Lottery Winners - Larry and Ruth Hoffart

You're just about to meet the world's most boring lottery winners.

Normally, when someone wins the lottery, they celebrate. Then they want to talk about all of the things they want to do with the money and everything they want to buy.

Now meet Larry and Ruth Hoffart. They may just be the world's most boring lottery winners. Just look at Larry in the picture - It looks like he's falling asleep at the press conference to introduce him and his wife as the winners. They don't want to do much with the lottery win, heck they barely even celebrated.

Larry bought a Western 649 ticket and when it came time to check the numbers, he checked them on his computer. "I looked at them (The winning numbers), looked at my ticket and said, 'Oh, they're the same,'" Golly gee, really Larry? He just won a million dollars. "I put the ticket back in my pocket, because I was going golfing the next day." Of course, that's what anybody that just won the lottery would do!

Then Larry told his wife, Ruth, about the win. He brought her over to the kitchen table to see the winning ticket. That's when Ruth found out about the big win. Did she, at least, celebrate? Nope, she had to go back to her laundry that she was in the middle of doing. "I had to wait for the cycle to finish, then I went back to the laundry."

What does this exciting couple plan to do with their big win? Nothing much. "There's really nothing that I want," he said. "I'm not buying a car. I don't want a cottage or a beach property. I'm pretty happy with life the way it is. I have my health — what more could you ever want?"

I'm gonna stop writing now. I'm bored.

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Lori Skaggs Looks Cute With Oversized Lottery Check

Lori Skaggs won $1 million from the Illinois Lottery in a Millionaire Raffle in March of 2011.

This is a picture of Lori holding an oversized lottery check. Doesn't she look cute with that big check, though? I love how, right underneath her face the check reads, Kiss me I'm cute Kiss me I'm rich. Nice touch!

In March of 2011, Illinois Lottery had a raffle where they randomly chose four tickets to win $1 million. Tickets costed $20 and they only issued 500,000. So the odds of winning the million dollar prize were quite decent.

At the time of her win, Lori Skaggs was 37 years old, living in Peoria, Illinois, and working as an x-ray technician at a hospital.

Lori Skaggs plans to use her winnings to buy a new car and also to invest in her future.

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Sandra Swanson - Lottery Win Can Make You Hysterical & Nonsensical

Picture this - You're sitting in your living room. You're playing a golf video game with your brother. You're concentrating on the TV screen because you're competitive and you want to beat him. Then your wife bursts into the room and she's totally hysterical and nonsensical. You can't make out what she's trying to say.

What do you do? Do you tell her to get out because you want to concentrate on your video game? Or do you think that she probably has something important to say, so you stop your game and give her your undivided attention.

Here's what you do - Stop your game. She's gonna give you some amazing news, news that you won the lottery. That's more important than video games.

That's what happened to Glenn Swanson. He's the one in the picture flinching from the popped bottle of champagne that his wife is holding.

Glenn was playing a golf video game with his brother while his wife, Sandra, scratched an instant lottery ticket from UK's National Lottery in the next room. She won £250,000 ($412,945 USD). She burst in on Glenn and his brother and tried to tell them that she won the lottery. But she was hysterical and nonsensical and they just couldn't understand her.

Sandra Swanson had always dreamed about owning her own home, but was never able to afford it. Now with her lottery win, she's looking forward to house shopping with her husband.

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Massachusetts Millionaire Mania Scratcher Winner Richard Gobbi

Massachusetts Lottery has a fantastic scratcher game called Massachusetts Millionaire Mania. The game is pretty hot right now and that's probably because it's absolutely loaded with prizes to be won.

Massachusetts Millionaire Mania has over $242 million in prizes available to be won, with prizes ranging from $10 to $3 million. There are a total of eight $3 million prizes and a total of fifteen $1 million prizes. There are also hundreds of $10,000 and $4000 prizes available to be won. That's a lot of money just waiting to be won by lucky people.

Richard Gobbi, pictured here, is just one of the lucky people that have won a big prize in the game. Richard won $1 million playing Massachusetts Millionaire Mania in August of 2011.

At the time of his win, Richard Gobbi lived in Waltham, Massachusetts, which is just outside of Boston. He said that he planned to use the money to help out his nieces and nephews.

So, if you live in the State of Massachusetts, be sure to pick up a ticket for yourself. It's a great game and costs $10 to play.

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Arthur Ray Thibodeaux Jr's Lottery Aftermath - Bad For Your Health?

Have you ever thought about the aftermath of finding out that you won the lottery? It just might be bad for you health.

Take Arthur Ray Thibodeaux Jr, for example. He bought an instant scratch lottery ticket, scratched it, then brought it to the store clerk to find out how much he had won. She told him that it was a $100,000 winner. That's when, she said, that he turned 'white as a ghost.' Turning white as a ghost can't be good for your health, can it? See, that's the lottery aftermath - You'll either turn white as a ghost, start trembling, or experience feelings of excited delerium. But don't worry, all of that's just temporary - Winning the lottery is still awesome!

Arthur Ray Thibodeaux Jr won $100,000 in May of 2011 playing an instant scratch lottery game from Louisiana Lottery called Hot Streak. Hot Streak is a $5 game and offers a top prize of $100,000, which is what Arthur won. The odds of winning the top prize are approximately 1-in-250,000.

Arthur Ray Thibodeaux Jr didn't even have the intention of buying a lottery ticket when he was at the store the day he won. Here's how he explains it - "I was waiting for my change from the clerk and I said to myself 'Let me try one of those.' "It was like I was drawn to that particular game." The rest is history; now he's a lottery winner!

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Lottery Obsession For Burbank SuperLotto Plus Winner Brian McMahon

Brian McMahon is a man from Burbank, California that just might have a lottery obsession. He would buy $60 worth of lottery tickets each and every week. There's nothing wrong with that, though, as long as you could afford it.

Then he actually won. Brian won $10 million from the California Lottery on a game called SuperLotto Plus.

The press conference to announce Brian McMahon as the winner was held at La Paz Liquor store in Burbank, California. That's where he bought the winning ticket. After the press conference, Brian went over to the checkout counter and bought another $15 worth of lotto tickets. He just won and he wants more - Can you say LOTTERY OBSESSION! I say that in good fun, I'm very happy for Brian! Speaking about his $15 lottery purchase that day, Brian said that he wanted to see if lightning would strike twice (For the record, it didn't).

How does it feel to win a big lottery jackpot? Brian McMahon describes it perfectly - "My hand started shaking. My coffee cup was full, and I set it down and spilled it. I looked at the computer for 15 minutes. Then I thanked my mother (Doris), who passed away in July. She did the rosary every day and prayed I'd win the Lotto."

At the time of his win, Brian was working as a Hollywood setmaker. He said that he'll continue to work until he gets tired, because he loves his job. He said that not much will change, following his lottery win. He doesn't even plan any big purchases for himself, although he does plan to buy a 1929 Model A roadster for his father.

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Doyle Howard - Oklahoma Farmer Wins Hot Lotto Jackpot

Doyle Howard is a farmer from Oklahoma. He would have liked to retire, but couldn't. He wasn't stable enough financially. He thought he would have to work the farm until he was 90-years-old.

Then something great happened - Doyle won the lottery!

Doyle Howard won $1,050,000 playing the Hot Lotto game from Oklahoma Lottery. He won it in the June 24, 2011 draw.

Now, Doyle plans to pay off his farming bills and retire. It's about time!

Hot Lotto is a game from Oklahoma Lottery that costs $1 to play. Jackpots in the game start at $1 million and continue to grow if they are not won. The odds of winning the Hot Lotto jackpot are approximately 1-in-11-million.

Doyle Howard usually buys his lottery tickets at a store called Taloga Short Stop in Taloga, Oklahoma. He first realized that he won while he was talking to the owner of the store. "I asked her to read the numbers and then I started shaking. I asked her to read the numbers again, and then we both started yelling," Doyle exclaimed. "The funny thing is that she told me about three months ago, 'I wish you would win this!'"

Have a happy retirement, Doyle!

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Ann Larson's Lucky Streak Culminates To Hit 5 Lottery Cashpot Win

Ann Larson, a woman from Enumclaw, Washington, which is about 30 minutes east of Tacoma, is on a major lucky streak.

In December of 2010, Ann and her husband, Toby, won $36,000 at a casino. Most people would be ecstatic over such a win at the casino, but that was just the start of her lucky streak. Since then, they won two Keno prizes worth $2500 each. Not bad at all!

Then, in April of 2011, Ann Larson's lucky streak culminated with a $170,000 jackpot win in Washington Lottery's Hit 5 game. That's $211,000 worth of winnings in less than a year! What do you think is next for Ann? I'm thinking a big Powerball win!

Hit 5 is a game from Washington State Lottery. It costs $1 to play and has jackpots that start at $100,000. The jackpots continue to grow if they are not won. The odds of winning the jackpot are 1-in-576,000. Washington Lottery calls this jackpot a "cashpot." Cashpot, that's a pretty cool word!

Ann Larson said that she planned to use her cashpot winnings to fix up their 40-year-old house. "We need new carpet, new paint on the walls, and a new garage door that actually goes up and down."

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Timothy Ruch Wins $1 Million On District Of Columbia Gold Scratcher

Timothy Ruch is a Staff Sergeant with the US Air Force. He was serving a tour of duty in Iraq, from September of 2010 to March of 2011. When he cam back to the U.S. in March, he and his wife, Emily, bought a new house. A new house is a major purchase and, even though he bought it, he didn't know if he would be able to afford it. He was scared, and I don't blame him.

Then on July 5, 2011, he took in his first Washington Nationals baseball game of the season. He went with a friend and, on their way to their seats by the dugout, he noticed a lottery ticket vending machine. He told his friend that, on their way out, he would try his luck and drop $40 into the machine. That he did. At the end of the game, he purchased an instant scratch ticket called District Of Columbia Gold Scratcher. It was a $20 ticket. He bought it, he scratched it, and he won - $1 million. There was no need to buy anymore, Tim was a big winner!

Timothy Ruch immediately called his wife to tell her the good news - They won the lottery! But that type of news is hard to believe. So Tim's friend had to take a picture of the winning ticket with his phone and send it to her. Then she finally believed!

The win came as a big relief to Timothy Ruch. As you know, he and his wife, Emily, had just bought a new house and were worried about being able to afford it. Now they know they'll be alright. Tim also plans to use the money to help his nieces and nephews get through college, pay off some bills, and do some relaxing.

The District Of Columbia Gold Scratcher game that Tim won on is a $20 game. The odds of winning the $1 million top prize in the game are approximately 1-in-360,000.

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Hey Canada - Remember Lotto Super 7? Doug Kinsman Sure Does?

I'm feeling nostalgic today, so I thought I'd write a little about Canada's lottery history.

Remember Lotto Super 7, Canada? That was Canada's big lottery game, from the time it started in 1994 to the time it was replaced by Lotto Max in September of 2009. The game produced many big winners. One such winner was Doug Kinsman. I'm sure Doug Kinsman remembers the game, because he was one of the big winners. Doug won a $27 million Lotto Super 7 jackpot in May of 2008. That's Doug posing in the photo with his wife, Liz.

Doug Kinsman's road to lottery riches was a pure fluke. See, for ten years, he and his wife played the exact same numbers. Then, around 2007, they lost the numbers that they always played. That forced them to buy random Quick Picks from there on in. And, guess what? They won their big jackpot with a Quick Pick. Had they not lost their original numbers, they would never have bought a Quick Pick for that particular draw, and never would have won. Very lucky, wouldn't you say?

At the time of his win in May of 2008, Doug Kinsman was living in Etobicoke, Ontario (Etobicoke is a part of Toronto) and selling high-end cottages in Lake Muskoka. He said that he wouldn't be quitting his job because he loves it. He would do it for free if that's what it took. On a side note, isn't part of the dream of winning the lottery the ability to quit your job? I guess everybody's different?

So, Canada, do you remember Lotto Super 7 now? We tend to forget since it was replaced by Lotto Max, which now has much higher jackpots. The higher jackpots tend to cloud our memory.

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Meet The Newest Powerball Lottery Winners - Tom & Kathleen Morris

Meet the newest powerball winners. They are Tom and Kathleen Morris, a couple from Dakota County in Minnesota, which is just outside of Minneapolis. Not only are they the newest winners in the Powerball lottery, they are also the biggest Powerball winners in the state of Minnesota - Ever. They just set a new record for the state!

Thomas and Kathleen Morris won $228.9 million in the August 10, 2011 Powerball draw.

As fate would have it, Tom and Kathleen Morris met with a financial planner just days before their big jackpot win. They met with him to discuss their retirement. They didn't want to disclose their age at the press conference that announced them as the winners, but they did say they were retirement age. They wanted to retire. But after meeting with the financial planner, they realized that they couldn't just yet. That's when Kathleen told Tom that the only way they would retire was if they won the lottery. Then, BAM, a few days later they win it big time!

Tom Morris said that he always bought three Powerball tickets for every draw. But this time was different for some reason. He was at the store, reached into his pocket and pulled out a five dollar bill. So he decided to buy five tickets. And, guess what? The winning numbers, 11-18-36-41-46, and Powerball number 38, hit on the fourth line. If he bought his usual three lines, he wouldn't have won. Lucky, lucky, lucky!

Now these newest Powerball winners can retire and live a life of luxury. They said that family members have already given them a list of things that they wanted to buy. That's what happens when you win $228.9 million!

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Lottery Happy Endings For Tony Mather And His Group Of 18 Co-Workers

This here's a story about lottery happy endings. Tony Mather is pictured here with with his friend and co-worker, Colin Wilard, taken on Thursday, August 11, 2011. Tony is the one with the glass of scotch on the rocks in his hand. Colin is the one holding the Lotto 6/49 ticket.

Now let's rewind 24 hours before this picture was taken. Tony Mather was working at a company called Smart Technologies in Kanata, Ontario, Canada. Kanata is just outside of Ottawa. Smart Technologies is an international company that makes interactive whiteboards; it has regional offices all over the world, including in New York City, Bonn Germany, Paris France, Tokyo Japan, and Canada.

Now, Smart Technologies was feeling the pinch, economically, and had to lay off workers. On Wednesday, August 10th, 2011, it announced to 200 of its workers at the Kanata manufacturing plant that they would be laid off. That would be devastating news to anyone, and it was to the 200 that were about to be laid off.

Then Tony's friend and co-worker, Colin, said, "Wouldn't it be nice to win the lottery before we leave Smart?" So, he and and group of 18 co-workers pitched in to buy some Lotto 6/49 tickets for the draw that night. They did just that.

The next day, Colin checked the tickets. They won - $7,077,095. Divided by 18 people, it worked out to $393,172 each.

So there you have it - Lottery Happy Endings for 18 co-workers! Devastating news followed by great news; that's what the lottery did to this group of people and will continue to do to people for years to come!

Speaking about the win, Tony Mather said, "We all know that $400,000 doesn't make you rich. That comfort zone for the rest of your life is the nice story."

Here's a picture of some of the co-workers from Smart Technologies celebrating:

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$107 Million Mega Millions Winner Brian McCarthy - You Deserve It!

Does anybody really deserve to win the lottery? I can't say that there are people in this world that deserve it - the lottery's just a game. You can say, maybe, that an athlete that trains hard everyday deserves to win in his particular sport, but the lottery? Don't get me wrong, I'm all for people winning the lottery, and good for the ones that do. I'm just saying that nobody actually deserves to win it.

But, I've been proven wrong. Brian McCarthy won $107 million in the July 1st, 2011 Mega Millions draw. He was just announced as the winner of it today. And, he deserves it!

The first person that Brian McCarthy told after he found out that he was the $107 million Mega Millions winner was his grandmother. Granny's reply to the big news was, "That's wonderful. You deserve it. Can I make you a grilled cheese sandwich?" See, he really does deserve it - Granny said so. Aww, granny!

Anyway, good for Brian. He gets to live it up as a rich man now!

At the time of his win, Brian McCarthy was 25-years-old, living in Herndon, Virginia, and working as an account manager with a soft drink company (He already quit his job).

Brian said that he planned on using the money to buy a BMW M3 and go on a golfing trip to Ireland. At the press conference to introduce Brian as the winner, Brian announced that he will be donating $25,000 to to local charities in Herndon, Virginia.

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Leroy Fick - Cheap Lottery Winner Has Alleged Criminal For A Son

Leroy Fick is pictured here (He's the one in the middle) appearing on Michigan Lottery's game show called Make Me Rich! He won $2 million on that show, but he's still cheap and also has an alleged criminal for a son.

Let's start from the beginning. In 2009, Michigan Lottery developed a game show called Make Me Rich! To be a contestant on the show, you would have had to have won a spot via instant scratch lottery tickets. For the people appearing on the show, there were four prizes to be won, including a brand new Ford Mustang, two one million dollar prizes, and one grand prize of $2 million.

Leroy Fick scratched his way to a spot on the show. He appeared on the show and won the grand prize of $2 million.

Leroy used his winnings to buy a house and an Audi convertible. Nothing wrong with that. But, he was receiving food stamps prior to the win and kept on receiving them after the win. And, he uses them. Can you say "cheap?" Food stamps are meant to help low income people get by. Sure, Leroy may have fit into the "low income" category prior to winning $2 million, but now he's got some wealth and doesn't need it. But he still uses the stamps.

If that wasn't enough, Leroy Fick's son, Jeffery, is an alleged criminal. In August of 2011, Jeffery was charged with stealing a car. The police found him driving a Chevrolet Malibu that was reported stolen a few days before that. On top of that, he also had an open alcoholic beverage in the car. During his arrest, Jeffery kept on saying how he was financially secure due to his father's lottery win Really? Then why did you steal a car, sonny boy?

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Don't Trust The Lottery Retailer Like Joseph Collins Did

Consider this scenario: You buy a scratch-off lotto ticket, you scratch it, but you don't feel like checking it. Perhaps you're short of time and in a rush, or perhaps you just don't want to bother checking. So you hand the ticket over to a lottery retailer and have him check it for you. With a quick glance, he notices that it is a big winner. So he grabs another losing ticket that he keeps under the counter, just in case. He scans the losing ticket and the screen shows that the ticket did not win. You leave the store and he pockets your big winner.

Does this scenario seem outrageous to you? Perhaps it is, but it has happened and lottery retailers that have been caught doing it have been charged.

What does this mean? It means, don't trust your lottery retailer. Many people become unscrupulous when large sums of money are involved.

That brings us to Joseph Collins, pictured above. He just won $2 million from CT Lottery in Connecticut playing an instant scratch game called Big Money.

Just as in the example above, Joseph Collins put too much trust in the lottery retailer. After scratching it, he handed it over and asked the retailer to tell him how much he won. Luckily, this particular retailer was of high moral standard and didn't try to cheat Joseph out of his money. Joseph got his money and this story has a happy ending. But it could have turned bad.

At the time of his win in August of 2011, Joseph was 23-years-old, living in Mystic, Connecticut and was a Fleet Marine Force Corpsman that had done tours of duty in both Iraq and Afghanistan.

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Sarnia Lotto Max Winner Jon Hines To Build Solar Powered Home

Meet Jon Hines - He's a man from Sarnia, Ontario (Sarnia is just across the border from Michigan, near Detroit) that won $16.6 million from Lotto Max in April of 2011.

Being retired and a new millionaire, Jon Hines wants to spend his time in the country. So he plans to move. Actually, he plans to build his own home. Not just any home, mind you, but a solar-powered home. Perhaps Jon is concerned for the environment and, therefore, non-polluting and renewable sunshine appeals to him. Or maybe Jon just wants to be different. Who knows? But one thing I do know is that Jon could do whatever he wants, including building a solar-powered home. That's what winning the lottery does for you - Freedom to do what you want!

Lotto Max draws happen every Friday evening in Canada. So, on Saturday morning, the day after that fateful Friday when he won, Jon Hines sat at his computer to check his lottery numbers; it's a morning he will never forget. "I knew exactly what I'd won," he said. "I was in shock. I just started crying. I could not believe that it had happened."

That same weekend, word spread that the winning ticket was bought in Sarnia and Jon was witness to all the chatter. "I was at the Y Sunday morning and a couple of guys were talking. They were saying, 'If I was the one that won I'd be on my way to Toronto right now (Ontario's prize claim office is in Toronto),' not realizing I'm standing right beside them."

Aside from building a solar-powered house, Jon Hines said that he planned to use the money to buy a new car to replace his 2002 Toyota Camry and, also, will share with his two kids.

Jon also had some advice for people wanting to win the lottery: "Keep playing. You never know when it could be you!"

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Blast From The Past - 1983 Lottery Winner Nicholas Jorich And His Pocket Money

It seems things never change, especially when it comes to lotteries (But that's a good thing). The modern lottery, as we know it, began in the late 70's/early 80's; so it really hasn't been around that long, relatively speaking.

Here's a blast from the past. This is a photo of Nicholas Jorich, a lottery winner from July of 1983, 28 years ago. He won $8.8 million in the Pennsylvania Lottery that year. When he won the $8.8 million that year, it was a record jackpot in the United States and that made it big news (Keep in mind, $8.8 million had a lot more purchasing power in 1983 than it does today). It was such big news, in fact, that then State Governor Dick Thornburgh was at the check presentation ceremony to hand the check over to Nicholas.

As they do today, lotteries held a press conference to announce Nicholas Jorich as the winner in 1983. At the press conference, Nicholas said that, even though he had won a big jackpot, he would continue to play the lottery so that he could win more "pocket money!" I guess it seems that lottery players never change either - Once a lottery player, always a lottery player!

When Nicholas Jorich won the lottery in 1983, he was 59-years-old, a retired steel-worker for Bethlehem Steel, and lived in Harrisburg, PA. His wife was a night waitress and he said that she would be able to quit her job. Speaking of the win, Nicholas said, "I was happy with my home life... And we're just going to get more, that's all."

If Nicholas is still alive today, that would make him 87-years-old. What do you think? Is Nicholas still alive and, perhaps, kickin' it somewhere cool like the Caribbean?

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Edward Silco - Big Money Scratch-Off Ticket Winner

I've written a lot of stories lately about people that win big jackpots and then wait weeks or months to go claim the prize. Everybody's got their own personal reasons for doing so and so does Edward Silco. Edward Silco won $1 million playing a NY Lottery scratch-off game called BIG MONEY. He waited more than eight weeks to claim his prize.

Edward Silco's wife is a school teacher and he bought the winning Big Money scratch-off ticket in April of 2011. Being as school was still in session at the time of his win, Edward didn't want to claim the prize because he didn't want all the publicity at the time. Imagine if his wife's students found out about her win - She would've been the talk of the school. I guess Edward wanted to spare her from that.

Edward and his wife decided that they wouldn't tell anybody about the win until they claimed the prize. They have kids of their own and even kept it a secret from them.

Edward won the million dollars on a NY Lottery scratch game called Big Money. Big Money costs $5 to play and offers a top prize of $1 million, which is what Edward won. "I don't normally play the $5 tickets," he said. "But something told me to try one this time. I scratched the ticket in the car and went straight home to tell my wife. We talked it over and decided that waiting to claim it was the best option for us."

At the time of his win, Ed Silco was 58-years-old, was living in Penfield, New York (Just outside of Rochester), and working as an aerospace technician with Firth Rixson. He said that he planned to use the money to pay for his kids' college expenses and, also, to have some fun with what's left over after that.

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Jim McCullar - Pay It Forward Lottery Winner

Jim McCullar believes in the concept of PAY IT FORWARD Pay it forward is when you repay a person that has done a good deed for you by doing a good deed to someone else, often a stranger.

So, Jim McCullar has often given Christmas presents to people anonymously and often, even, gave turkeys to the food bank. A good man he is!

Now Jim McCullar is filthy stinking rich, thanks to winning $190 million in the Mega Millions lottery. So, he plans on paying it forward a lot more.

In January of 2011, the Mega Millions jackpot was $380 million and there were two winning tickets sold. Jim held one of the winning tickets and the other was claimed by Holly Lahti. So they both won $190 million.

Jim has been playing the lottery for a long time used to play his birthday numbers, 08-15-42, and his wife Carolyn's birthday numbers, 04-25-47. With those numbers, they won $18,000 a few years ago. Then they stopped playing them. Before his big win, Jim's wife suggested they go back to playing those numbers, and low-and-behold, the numbers came up in the January 4, 2011 Mega Millions draw: 4, 8, 15, 25, 47, and Mega Ball number 42. Lucky, lucky, lucky!

So what does Jim McCullar plan to do with his $190 million, aside from paying it forward? They plan on sharing some of it with family and also might buy a new house. "We used to look at houses all the time online and dream of what we could buy if we won the lottery," Carolyn said. "Now we look at those and think they don’t look like they're that much." Awesome!

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EuroMillions Winner Angela Sutherland Must Really Love Her Husband

Do you wanna know what LOVE is? Love is when you win the lottery, but you wait five weeks to claim it because you want your husband to be there (He's away for a few weeks) when you get the check.

That's what Angela Sutherland did. She must really love her husband!

Angela Sutherland won £282,940 (USD $463,801) in the EuroMillions lottery more than a month ago. But her husband, John, works with Schlumberger as an offshore mechanic on an oil rig and is regularly away from home for weeks. He was away when she won and wasn't due to return for five weeks. So Angela decided to wait. UK's National Lottery publicly urged people to check their tickets and come forward. But Angela continued to wait.

Angela didn't even tell her husband about the win. When John finally came ashore, she phoned him and told him the good news. They were big winners!

Angela Sutherland describes those five weeks as the longest wait in her life. "I kept the ticket locked away in a safe but kept going back to check the number to make sure it was real," she said. "I told close friends and family but it was only when John arrived back on shore it sunk in. We were thrilled."

Angela said that she planned to use the money to pay off the mortgage, go on a vacation to Florida, and buy a new Mini Cooper. Actually, Angela's the second UK Lottery winner in the last few weeks that said she would buy a Mini; Geoff Bennette said the same thing after his £3.5 million win in June.

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Holly Lahti - The lottery Effect

I normally post pictures of happy lottery winners. After all, winning the lottery is normally one of the most exciting moments in a person's life. However, sometimes I just can't find the happy pictures. That was the case with Holly Lahti, who won a $190 million Mega Millions jackpot in January of 2011.

Pictured here is a mugshot of Holly Lahti that stemmed from an arrest related to a domestic dispute in 2003. I'd have liked to have posted a better picture of her, but that's all that I could find. See, when Holly won the Mega Millions lottery, she went underground and not many people have seen her since. She didn't even appear at the press conference announcing her as the winner.

Now, with winning such a big jackpot, people are interested to find out who she is. That's the effect that the lottery has - People want to know everything about big winners. With no pictures from a press conference, reporters went digging. Then UK's Daily Mail newspaper published the above mugshot of Holly and that was the picture that everybody saw.

The Mugshot of Holly Lahti is from a domestic dispute that she had with her husband, Josh Lahti. Both were arrested because of the incident, although all charges stemming from it were dropped. Since then, the two have separated. However, they have not formally divorced.

Since Holly went underground following her big win, Josh didn't even know about it. He only found out after an AP reporter sought him out to question him about it. Being the upstanding citizen that he is, Josh reaction was to exclaim, "That's awesome! I won't have to pay child support!" (They have two daughters together).

Later, Josh became interested in more than getting out of child support. The two are technically still married since there was never an actual divorce. So Josh is now laying a claim to half the money. That's the lottery effect, folks.

At the time of her win, Holly Lahti was 29-years-old, working as a bank teller, and living in Rathdrum, Idaho. After the win, she immediately quit her job.

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When Do Lottery Tickets Expire? Just Ask Wendy Mallette!

When do lottery tickets expire? Do you know the answer? If not, you could just ask Wendy Mallette. She knows. But she almost learned it the hard way.

Wendy Mallette bought a lotto Max ticket for the June 18, 2010 draw. She placed the ticket in a drawer in her home. Then she just totally forgot about it. What happens when you forget about a lottery ticket? You don't check the numbers. That means you don't know if you're a winner.

So Wendy didn't check her numbers. The ticket collected dust until May of 2011. That's when she was cleaning out her drawer and happened upon the ticket. So she checked the numbers and won what she thought was $500. But when she took the ticket to the store, she found out that she had really won $500,000!

Wendy Mallette lives in Elgin, Ontario, which is about an hour and a half south of Ottawa. In Ontario, lottery tickets expire one year after the draw. Most lotteries in North America expire after a year, although some expire after six months. Wendy got her $500,000 on May 11, 2011. That means she was just over one month away from losing it all.

Imagine that - You finally win big money in the lottery and almost lose it all. Thank God Wendy decided to clean out her drawer! Make sure you check your numbers, folks!

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Jack Sullivan To Split Lottery Proceeds With Son Craig

When you win a big jackpot, will you split the lottery proceeds with a friend or family member? Perhaps you won't split it 50-50, but maybe you'll give a certain amount to your loved ones.

Most lottery winners do give some of the proceeds to loved ones; that's part of the fun about winning big money - You get to spread the joy and happiness.

Think about this: Let's say you win huge money in the lotto and you get to retire. If you're like most people, the majority of your friends and family have to work for a living. If you're rich and quit your job, you won't have anybody to enjoy life with if everybody you know is working. That's why many lottery winners give away some of the proceeds to friends and family - So that they, too, could afford to take time off work to have some fun.

Jack Sullivan (Pictured above on the right) recently won the lottery. He won $1.6 million in the July 20, 2011 Missouri Lotto draw. And, guess what he did - He split half the proceeds with his son, Craig (Pictured above on the left). What a wonderful father!

At the time of his win, Jack Sullivan was 84-years-old and living in Wentzville, Missouri, which is just outside of St. Louis. Craig Sullivan was 64-years-old and living in Chandler, Arizona.

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