Powerball Winner Cindy Magnes Will Be Interviewed On Suze Orman Show - CNBC

An array of different emotions are felt by people that win the lottery. The initial emotion is usually shock, followed by excitement. After it all settles in, there are sometimes financial pressures like where to invest the money.

Pictured here is Cindy Magnes. She experienced those same emotions. She was part of a group of 20 Costco employees that won a $201.9 Million Powerball jackpot in June of 2011. There was the initial shock, followed by excitement. Now, it's been several months and Cindy is worried about making the proper investment choices. She will be interviewed on the Suze Orman show about that on Saturday October 1, 2011 at 9 pm EST.

But first, let's go back to Cindy Magnes' big win. Cindy worked at a Costco store in Long Island. She worked a regular day shift. Then one day, she was doing some overtime to earn some extra money. She was into the evening shift. She didn't even normally work with the people on that evening shift. But she heard that they were going to chip in for some Powerball tickets and, so, she joined in.

Of course, we all know what happened next. The group of co-workers from the Costco store won the $201.9 million jackpot. There were 20 of them in total, so each person, including Cindy, received $10,095,000.

Fast forward a few months, after the shock and excitement wore off, and Cindy was worried about making wise investments. She didn't want to lose the money that she won. So she called the Suze Orman Show, a personal finance news and advice show that runs on CNBC, to ask for investment advice. The producers decided to book her on the show.

If you read this in time, you could catch the Cindy Magnes interview on the Suze Orman Show on CNBC on Saturady October 1, 2011 at 9pm EST.

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Linton and Olga Barnes - How Does It Feel To Win The Lottery?

Check out the picture of Linton and Olga Barnes. They're dancing. Happy. I wonder why? Maybe it's because they just won $21,071,873?

But really, how does it feel to win the lottery? That was a question asked of Linton Barnes. He had a good answer - "Ask me in a month's time, I might be able to explain how it feels, but right now it is really unreal!"

Come on, Linton, stop playing around - We all know that winning the lottery makes you feel fantastic. The proof is in the photo of you dancing with your wife.

Linton and Olga Barnes won $21,071,873 from the Lotto 649 draw on Saturday September 24, 2011. They found out the next day that they were the big winners. They heard on the radio that someone from Nova Scotia (Canada) won the jackpot. That's where they live, so they checked their tickets just as they were getting ready to go to church. Then they found out that it was them - They won!

Still, they went to church. But they held their big secret while at mass. Nobody knew, except for God, perhaps. But they did eventually let the secret out. They have a bigfgamily that they will have to share with now. Linton has seven siblings and Olga has eight siblings. The couple have three kids and two grandkids. That's not to mention all of the nieces and nephews.

At the time of their win, Linton was 63-years-old and a retired fire captain, while Olga was 60-years-old and worked with Canada Revenue Agency; Olga is now newly retired, though! They plan to use the money to buy a new truck, travel and help out their family.

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Wheelbarrow Full Of Money For 3 Polish Bakers

Pictured here are three Polish bakers - From left to right are Eugeniusz Borek, Zdzislaw Modlinski, and Wlodzimierz Konieczny. Sorry, let me rephrase that - They're RICH Polish bakers.

They're all Polish immigrants that came to Canada to get a job and make money. But they worked hard for that money, often putting in 12 hour shifts at the bakery they all worked in.

Then one night, Eugeniusz Borek had a dream. He dreamed that he was pushing a wheelbarrow full of money with two other guys. When he woke up from that dream, he thought to himself, "the money is coming!" It was a premonition.

Two days later, Eugeniusz and his two co-workers won the lottery. They won a $50 million Lotto Max prize. That's $16,666,666 for each of the three friends. Dreams do come true - Fascinating, isn't it?

The three co-workers won the $50 million prize in March of 2011. At the time of their win, they worked together at a bakery in Toronto called Ontario Bread Company. Zdzislaw Modlinski was a supervisor at the bakery and Eugeniusz Borek and Wlodzimierz Konieczny were delivery drivers. After winning the lottery, they all said that they would continue working until replacements for them could be hired. Then they would retire.

So, if one day you see three guys pushing a wheelbarrow full of money down the street, you'll know who they are!

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Jon Boudrie - Michigan Club Keno Winner

Michigan Lottery has a game called Club Keno. The game is offered for play at liquor licensed bars and restaurants throughout the state.

Club Keno adds a little bit of added entertainment when you go out for a drink. And, it's quite exciting because the Club Keno draws happen every four minutes. So there's no long wait to see if you're a winner.

Jon Boudrie is one guy that enjoys playing the Club Keno game. He was out at a bar one night in September of 2011 and decided to buy a 10-number Club Keno ticket.

Then the wait to see if he won... 1 minute... 2 minutes... 3 minutes... 4 minutes... The numbers were in. Jon checked his ticket. He matched all ten numbers. He won! Exciting, isn't it?

Jon Boudrie won $100,000!

Jon's winning Club Keno ticket was bought at Don Larsons Bar in Monroe, Michigan, which is just south of Detroit.

Jon said that he would use the winnings to take his three kids to Disney World for Christmas.

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Roger Scott - Virginia Coal Miner Wins $250,000

That's Roger Scott in the photo, surrounded by his wife and two daughters. All the girls are giving a thumbs up - That's because Roger won $250,000 in the September 23, 2011 Mega Millions draw. They seem to be happy about that!

Roger says that he normally buys about $4 worth of lottery tickets every week. For this particular draw, he bought just one Mega Millions ticket.

When he went to the store to check his ticket after the draw, he asked the clerk for a printout of the winning numbers. Then he checked his ticket. he had the first five numbers, but was missing the Mega Ball number. He didn't win the jackpot, but he thought he must have won something for matching five numbers.

Roger then asked the retailer to run it through the machine. The machine just said that the prize needed to be claimed at Virginia Lottery's prize claim office. Nobody knew what the prize was, but the retailer said to Roger that it must have been big.

Roger had to go home and check the Mega Millions website to find out just how much five numbers gets him. That's when he found out that he won $250,000.

At the time of his win, Roger Scott was a coal miner working in Montgomery, Virginia. He said that he planned to use the money to pay off his house and car, buy a new car, and put some of it aside for his daughters' future weddings.

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Paul LaBree - New Hampshire Triple Red 777 Winner

What do you prefer to play - The instant scratch lotto games or the number draw games?

I personally prefer to play the draw games. But there's nothing wrong with the scratch games, either. I think what makes the scratch games popular is that you find out right away if you're a winner; you don't have to wait for them to draw the numbers.

I'm sure Paul LaBree likes the instant scratch games - That's because he won $100,000 on a game from New Hampshire Lottery called Triple Red 777. He bought a ticket, he scratched, and he instantly saw that he was a big winner!

The Triple Red 777 game that Paul LaBree won on costs $10 to play and is offered by New Hampshire Lottery. The $100,000 that Paul won is the top prize in the game. The odds of winning the $100,000 top prize are approximately 1-in-104,000. There are other prizes, too, and the odds of winning any prize in the game are approximately 1-in-3.47.

At the time of his win, Paul LaBree lived in Canaan, New Hampshire. He said that he planned to use the money to buy a new car, help out his family, and save the rest.

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Craig Henshaw - $21.4 Million Lotto Max Prize For Toronto School Teacher

If Craig Henshaw only knew... If he only knew that he was rich. See, he spent the summer backpacking through Europe with his girlfriend. But back home, there was a Lotto Max ticket stuck to his fridge. He bought the ticket just before he left for Europe in July.

The ticket was a winner. But he didn't know. Otherwise, he would have thrown the backpack out and traveled through Europe in style. If he only knew!

Craig Henshaw came back to Canada just before the start of the school year. He's a school teacher in Toronto and he loves his job, too. But he's also a millionaire. Craig just recently checked his Lotto Max ticket, only to find out that he was the winner of a $21.4 million prize.

Even though he loves his job as a Toronto school teacher, Craig Henshaw just won the lottery. You can't work if you just won the lottery, right? Right! Craig plans on taking a year off from teaching so that he could go back to Europe with his girlfriend, but this time in style!

Craig also wants to take his parents on a vacation - Somewhere warm.

At the time of his win, Craig Henshaw was a 42-year-old Toronto school teacher. Aside from the traveling, he also wants to buy a house and marry his girlfriend. He said the the first thing his girlfriend will want to do is go shoe shopping.

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Nicholas Williams - $200,000 Powerball Win To Finance Photography Hobby

Do you have a hobby? Wouldn't you love to have more time for that hobby?

This is Nicholas Williams. He's the one on the left. He's being presented with a check for $200,000, following his Powerball win in September of 2011.

Nicholas Williams has a hobby - Photography. He would have loved to travel the world and documented his travels with his camera. But he couldn't because traveling costs money. He couldn't... until now, that is. The $200,000 that he won will be financing his photography hobby as he travels the world.

Isn't the lottery great? At any moment, at any time, you could be the next lottery winner and able to do what you want, just like Nicolas Williams!

The $200,000 that Nicholas Williams won is the second prize in Powerball. To win that, you have to match the first five numbers. The odds of matching the first five numbers in Powerball are approximately 1-in-5.1-million.

At the time of his win, Nicholas Williams lived in Washington, DC.

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Alicia Jongstra Stuffs Her Bra With $1 Million

Alicia Jongstra is a woman that had $1 million stuffed in her bra. No, she's not a stripper and, no, it wasn't a tip from a patron.

Alicia Jongstra won $1 million in the lottery and figured the best place to hide her winning ticket was in her bra - So that's where she put it.

Alicia doesn't play the lottery often. She's just the occasional player. She never considered herself lucky enough to win the lottery, so that's why she didn't play often.

So, you could imagine her surprise when she found out that she won. She stopped at the gas station to check her ticket. The machine announced that the ticket was a winner. She figured it was probably a $10 win. But another woman standing beside her saw the screen and it showed $1 million. "I immediately took the ticket and stuffed it down my bra so nobody could take it away from me," Alicia said.

Alicia Jongstra won her million dollar prize one week before she turned 25. She said that she planned to use the money to build a house in the country, near Winnipeg Manitoba. She also planned to do some traveling and help out some family and friends.

What do you think - Is a bra a good hiding place for a million dollars?

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Tadeusz Krupa - Man Wins 21 Times With lottery System That Works

This is Tadeusz Krupa. He is a Polish man living in Colorado. He also developed a lottery system that works... for him, at least. See, Tadeusz won $1000 or more 21 times in Colorado Lottery's Cash 5 game. That includes seven jackpots of $20,000. This occurred over a period of just 13 months.

Tadeusz Krupa's total take over the 13 month period was $158,000.

Now, people saw this man winning so many times that they started to file complaints with Colorado Lottery. They thought that he must have been cheating the system some how.

Colorado Lottery investigated following the complaints. They even interviewed Tadeusz. Tadeusz told them that he had a lottery system that works. When asked what the system was, he ponted to his head and said, "It's in there."

Colorado Lottery concluded their investigation by saying that Tadeusz Krupa was not cheating the system - He won his money fair and square. They also said that he probably bought a lot of tickets and was also very lucky.

21 wins - Ya, I'd say that was very lucky!

Whether it was a lottery system or just plain luck that won this man the lottery, it makes for an interesting story!

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Jean Ransom Wins $1 Million At Sylvania 300 Nascar Race

That's Jean Ransom in the photo. She's the one in the middle holding the big check. She looks shocked, but that's because she just found out that she won $1 million while at the Sylvania 300 NASCAR race in New Hampshire Motor Speedway on September 25, 2011.

New Hampshire Lottery had an instant scratch-off lotto ticket called New Hampshire Millionaire 3. It had three top prizes of $1 million. The first two million dollar prizes were instant wins. To win the last million dollar prize, there were a few steps. First, you had to reveal a crown on the ticket. If you revealed a crown, you were eligible to mail it in for a chance to win the last million dollar prize.

New Hampshire Lottery chose 16 finalists at random to attend the Sylvania 300 NASCAR race on September 25th. That's where the last million dollar prize was chosen at random and Jean Ransom won it.

But Jean did not play fair. See, she had a good-luck charm in her hand prior to her win. Her father had recently passed away and she kept his driver's license for good luck. With her dad's driver's license in hand, she kept repeating, "Please dad, please dad!" It worked - Today, she's a million dollars richer!

At the time of her win, Jean Ransom was 58-years-old and living in Andover, Massachusetts. She said that she would be using the money to spoil her grandkids.

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Insider Win: Byung Cho Bought Winning Lottery Ticket At His Own Store

When someone claims a big lottery win of a million dollars or more, the lottery corporation will usually do an investigation before they hand over the money. They want to make sure that the person getting the money is the rightful owner of the ticket.

When there is an insider win, it gets a little more complicated. An insider win is someone who wins a jackpot, but is also a stakeholder in the lottery. For example, it could be someone that works for the lottery head office, or it could be a retailer that sells tickets.

Insider wins are more complicated to investigate because insiders have a greater opportunity to steal or commit some sort of fraud. Even Dateline NBC did a show about retailers stealing tickets from winners. It does happen.

With that being said, sometimes insiders legitimately win the lotto. Byung Cho is one of those. He owns a convenience store and he bought a winning ticket at his own store. He was investigated by the lottery corporation and was found to have had legitimately bought his ticket. He's a winner!

Byung Cho won $1 million playing the Western 649 game in Canada.

Byung Cho checked his tickets at his own store. When asked what his reaction was when he found out that he won, Byung said, "I just smiled as no one else was there." That's cute!

Byung said that he will be putting all of the money in the bank.

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Elaine Edgar - Lucky In Life - And The Lottery

Elaine Edgar said that she always considered herself to be lucky in life. That has now turned out to be 100% true - She won the lottery!

Lucky in the lottery, Elaine won £250,000 in an instant scratch game from UK's National Lottery called Deal Or No deal. That works out to $386,862 USD.

"I generally consider myself lucky in life. I've had a few wins here and there but nothing to compare to this," Elaine said. "I was shaking like a leaf when it started to sink in and I still can't quite believe this has happened. I lost my dad a few years ago and I'd like to think that this is his little gift to me."

She may consider herself lucky in life, but Elaine and her family had suffered some hardships recently, due mostly to a sagging economy. Five years ago, she had to quit her job so that she could babysit her granddaughter. Also, her brother owns a martial arts club that hadn't been doing well through the recession. Now, with the win, she plans on helping out her family, financially.

Aside from helping her family, Elaine also plans to use the money to buy a new car for herself.

At the time of her win, Elaine Edgar was 48-years-old and living in London, England.

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Ted Mitroff - King Edward Arms Owner Won $9,219,344

Somebody in Canada won a Lotto 649 jackpot of more than $21 million last night. It will probably be a few days until we find out who the big winner is. Until then, here's another Lotto 649 winner from a few years ago.

This is Ted Mitroff. He's pictured here with his wife, Martha. Ted won $9,219,344 from Lotto 649 in December of 2008.

When Ted Mitroff won his jackpot in 2008, he was the owner of an English style pub called King Edward Arms. As many people know, owners of these types of establishments work long hours, and Ted Mitroff was no different. He was the owner, so he worked long hours, seven days a week. He had to keep the place running.

For many people like Ted Mitroff, the only way out of those long hours is to win the lottery. Luckily for Ted, sometimes that happens, and it happened to him.

After he won the lottery, Ted said that that would be the end of his long hours running the King Edward Arms pub, as it should be. He now has time to do whatever he wants, including spending more time with his family.

At the time of his win Ted Mitroff was 54-years-old and his wife, Martha was 50-years-old. The couple lived in Toronto. Ted said that he would use the money to travel and play golf.

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Kim Claassen - What Happens If You Rip Your Lottery Ticket Into Pieces?

Imagine throwing $48 million in the trash. Unimaginable, right? But it could happen.

Take Kim Claassen, for example. She bought ten Powerball tickets for the June 23, 2010 draw. She thought that the draw took place at 8 pm. So, at about 8:10 pm, she went online to check her numbers. She checked all ten lines and didn't win anything. So she ripped up the ticket and threw it in the trash.

Then the next day, someone told Kim that the winning Powerball ticket was bought at the exact same store that she bought hers at. So she thought that she might as well double check. She dug the ticket it out of her trash bin; it was ripped up into four pieces. She pieced it back together and checked the numbers. She won! It was her? But how did that happen? She checked the numbers the night before and there was nothing.

Kim Claassen then put her investigative skills to the task and found out what really happened. When she checked her numbers online, she was actually looking at numbers from the previous Powerball draw. So she was checking her numbers against old numbers. The Powerball draw happens later than 8pm, the time that she originally thought it takes place. So at 8:10 pm, the old numbers were still posted on the website.

That means that Kim Claassen almost threw $48 million in the trash. See, it could happen.

Kim Claassen split the $48 million lottery win with her co-worker Joe Lamport, as the two often played the lottery together.

But the real question to this story is, "What happens if you rip your lottery ticket into pieces? Can you still claim the win"? Yep, you sure can! The lottery office goes through an investigative process for big wins and if you are the true owner of the ticket you get your money, no matter if the ticket is in one piece, four pieces, or a hundred pieces.

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Robert Skipper Wins Lucky $200,000 A Year For Life Scratch-Off

Those cash for life types of lottery games are pretty cool - You get to look forward to lottery money for years down the road. But it's ironic when elderly people win it - They might not have the years left in their lives to enjoy the income stream.

Last week I wrote about Charles Maginnis, an 82-year-old man who won a Cash For Life lottery in Connecticut. Now, it's Robert Skipper, who is pictured here, a 75-year-old man that won Florida Lottery's Lucky $200,000 A Year For Life instant scratch-off game.

Luckily, in both instances, a lump-sum payment option was available.

Robert Skipper, here, is holding a big check that says $4 million. But, his lump sum option, which is what he took, actually worked out to $3,104,112. So that's how much he won - $3,104,112. Now, he gets to enjoy the money!

Robert Skipper is a conservative type of person. He also enjoys the fact that lottery proceeds help the community. "The Lottery not only raises money for education but it also produces so many winners and the prize money helps a lot of people," he said. "I also believe in playing the Lottery in a conservative manner by not spending beyond your means."

The Lucky $200,000 A Year For Life game that Robert Skipper won on costs $20 to play. The odds of winning the grand prize, which is what Robert won, are approximately 1-in-3-million.

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Stan and Pat Cable - Penny Pinching Lottery Winners

Most people that win the lottery consider it time to spend, spend, spend. But not everybody.

Meet Stan and Pat Cable. They're penny pinchers. When they won £3,980,528 ($6,156,284 USD) in May of 2008, Pat went out and celebrated by buying a £100 purse. When she came home and showed her husband, Stan, he told her off for spending too much money. You could call them the penny pinching lottery winners.

They may be penny pinching, but there's good reason for that. See, the couple had been struggling for many years prior to their lotto win. Ten years prior to the win, Stan Cable had to stop working due to health reasons. So the couple had to survive on £500 a month, which came from Stan's pension and some disability income. They lived in social housing and had to watch every penny spent. Ten years of that and they were set in their ways. Then, a big lottery win was like a shock to the system - They weren't used to so much money.

Even with their big win, the couple didn't want to move. They could afford a nice house, but wanted to remain where they were - in their two-bedroom social housing unit. They said they liked their neighbors and didn't want to move away from them.

An interesting side note: Pat had been playing the exact same lottery numbers for fourteen years prior to the big win. I guess persistence does pay off!

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Stephan Kuhn Wins The Color Of Money Scratch-Off Lottery Game

What color is money? If you live in Europe, it's red, blue, green, yellow, purple, and more. If you live in Canada, it's also multi-colored. But in the U.S., it's green, baby, GREEN!

Florida Lottery has an instant scratch-off game called The Color Of Money. The top prize in the game is 1 million green dollar bills (Or just a check for a million dollars).

Stephan Kuhn, who is pictured here won the top prize of $1 million in The Color Of Money game in March of 2011.

At the time of his win, Stephan Kuhn was 27-years-old and lived in Palm City, Florida, which is just north of West Palm beach. Stephan didn't say what he planned to do with the money.

The Color Of Money instant scratch game from Florida Lottery costs $10 to play and offers a top prize of $1 million. The odds of winning the top prize in the game are approximately 1-in-840,000. Other prizes in the game range from $10 to $10,000. The odds of winning any prize in the game are approximately 1-in-3.38.

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Chris Hoffman Had A Feeling That He Would Win The Lottery

You ever get the feeling that you will win the lottery? If so, what do you do about it?

I'll tell you what Chris Hoffman did about it. Chris had a feeling that he would win the lottery. So, he bought three sets of tickets all with the same numbers.

What do you think happened next? He won! Three times! Amazing!

Chris Hoffman played a game from Maryland Lottery called Bonus Match 5. The top prize in the game is $50,000. To win the top prize, you have to match 5-out-of-39 numbers. The odds of matching all five numbers are approximately 1-in-575,000. Chris did it three times on the same night, with the same set of numbers. He also had some more tickets on the same night and won an additional $17. That brings his one night total to $150,017! Not bad, and it's all because of a feeling!

At the time of his win, Chris Hoffman was 50-years-old and living in Lusby, Maryland with his wife (He actually won the prize on his 27th wedding anniversary). He said that he planned to use the money to pay off the loan on his truck and use the rest for a down payment on a house.

Now, if only YOU could get that same feeling that you will win the lottery!

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Bryan Olson Hits Winning Ontario Lottario Numbers

In Canada, they have a few national lottery games, like Lotto 649 and Lotto Max. Some Provinces, though, have regional games too. In Ontario, they offer a game called Lottario. Jackpots start at $250,000 and increase if nobody wins.

Bryan Olson plays Lottario. He says that he prefers it to the national games because you could only play it in Ontario.

It's a good thing that Bryan Olsen plays the game, because he hit the winning Lottario numbers in the August 27, 2011 draw, good for a $250,000 jackpot win!

At the time of his win, Bryan Olson married with one son and living in Lindsay, Ontario, which is just northeast of Toronto. He's also a retired banker.

Bryan said that he would use the money to help out his son with his student loan and invest the rest.

Lottario is a 6/45 game, meaning that you have to match 6-out-of-45 numbers to win the jackpot. The odds of winning the jackpot are approximately 1-in-4.1-million.

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Lucky Lottery Store Hot Spot Sells Another Winning Ticket

Do you believe in lottery hotspots? I mean, do you think that certain stores are luckier than others when it comes to selling winning lottery tickets? Or, is it just a statistical occurrence - With thousands of stores selling lottery tickets, you're bound to get some stores that sell multiple winners?

Whatever you think, Sarah Williams (Pictured here, on the left) claims the store that she bought her ticket at, the Stewert's Shops store in Halfmoon New York, is a hot spot. The store sold her a winning instant scratch-off ticket called Triple Million. She won the game's top prize of $3 million.

But it isn't just that she bought a winning ticket from the store. The same store sold two other winning tickets - A $1 million winning ticket in January of 2009 and a $1 million winning ticket in March of 2009.

Does this make the Stewart's Shops a lucky lottery store? Maybe. If you think it's lucky, swing by and buy a lottery ticket - The store is located on Route 146 in Halfmoon NY, which is just outside of Albany.

Sarah Williams scratched her ticket inside the store. "I just scratched it quick and I was like, 'Wow, I just won the jackpot,'" She said. "My mom started freaking and I had to call my father."

At the time of her win, Sarah Williams was 26-years-old. She said that she will use the money to buy a new car and maybe a house for her parents, but she will save most of it.

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Art Ingalls - Washington Hit 5 Jackpot Winner

How do you feel about small lottery wins? For example, if you were to win $290, would you be happy about that? Sure, you play the lottery to win the jackpot, but $290 is better than nothing right?

Perhaps a small win foretells a future big win? Maybe that's what happened to Art Ingalls, who is pictured here.

Two weeks ago, Art won $290 in the lotto. Now, he won a big jackpot in Washington Lottery's Hit 5 game. Did the $290 win foretell his bigger win?

Art Ingalls won a $420,400 Hit 5 jackpot in September of 2011. And, he's super happy about that!

The jackpot in Washington's Hit 5 game starts at $100,000. Then it continues to grow if it is not won. The odds of winning the jackpot in the game are 1-in-576,000.

At the time of his win, Art Ingalls was a union steam fitter welder. He was planning to retire in a year. But after his big win, he said that he will retire a little bit earlier. He plans to use some of the money to buy a fishing boat. Sounds like Art will really be able to spend a lot of time on the water and enjoy his early retirement!

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Rezene Johnson - Did Fate Bring Him A Lotto Win?

Rezene Johnson won $100,000 in a DC Lottery scratch-off lotto game called Money Mania

Was it fate?

Check this out - Rezene was waiting for the bus to go to work one day. He waited. Waited. Waited some more. The bus never came.

That would have been a start to a crappy day for most people. It probably was for Rezene too. But since the bus never came, he walked into the store to buy some lottery tickets. One of the tickets he bought was the Money Mania scratch-off game. That's where he won the $100,000. He never would have won if the bus showed up. Sounds like fate to me!

What reactions do lottery winners have when they realize that they won? Some scream. Some dance. Some shout. Some jump up and down. What did Rezene Johnson do? He cried! He even ended up going to work that same day. He cried at work. "My coworkers were asking me what's wrong. I just told them that I was feeling something. I didn't tell them that I had won the lottery." That's just awesome!

Rezene Johnson said that he plans to share the win with his mother and leave his share in the bank until he decides what he wants to do with it.

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Joseph Crandall - Lottery Winner Comes Full Circle After Scholarship

This is Joseph Crandall. He is a recent Georgia State University Graduate. His studies were made possible by a lottery-funded scholarship. And, now, he won the lottery. It looks like Joseph has come full circle.

Ironic, isn't it?

In September of 2011, Joseph Crandall won $250,000 playing Georgia Lottery's instant scratch lotto game called, Jeep Outdoor Adventure.

Joseph explains why he chose this particular game, "I saw the jeep ticket and thought maybe I'd win a truck. I scratched it at home, saw the dollar sign and the prize and said, 'This can't be real.'" It was real, alright!

Joseph went to Georgia Lottery's headquarters in Atlanta that very same day to claim his prize. I guess he just couldn't wait, and I don't blame him!

Joseph said that he will use the money to buy a new car and plans to save the rest.

The top prize in the Jeep Outdoor adventure game is $250,000, which is what Joseph won. The odds of winning the top prize are approximately 1-in-1.14-million. The game also offers other prizes, including 15 Jeep Wranglers. The odds of winning the Jeep Wrangler is approximately 1-in-304,000.

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Gilbert And Jacki Cisneros - $266 Million Mega Millions Winners

Jacki Cisneros works at KNBC studios in Burbank, California. She's an assignment editor and works the midnight shift.

One night, in May of 2010, Jacki was at work, when she heard that a winning Mega Millions ticket was purchased in Pico Rivera, California. She knew that she was there with her husband, Gilbert, the previous day. They both stopped at the L&L Hawaiian restaurant in Pico Rivera to buy dinner. While there, Gilbert bought ten Mega Millions tickets.

It was 2am, and Jacki Cisneros had to know then and there if they were the big winners. So she called home and woke Gilbert up. She made him check the tickets. So he did. 9, 21, 31, 36, 43. The first five numbers matched! 8. The Mega Ball number matched! They won!

Gilbert And Jacki Cisneros won a $266 million Mega Millions jackpot!

So what did Jacki do? She finished her shift. Jacki said that she loved her job too much to just quit, even though she and her husband wouldn't ever have to worry about money again. She planned to keep working.

A big win like this brings fame, even if it's only for fifteen minutes. Jacki and Gilbert Cisneros appeared on the today show, which broadcasts out of the same studios that Jacki works at, at KNBC. They also appeared on the Oprah Winfrey Show.

At the time of their win, the couple said that they planned to use the money to buy a new house and, also, to donate some of it to places like their alma mater and church.

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Sukhdev Singh Wins Grand Prize On Expensive Lottery Ticket

What's the most you would ever spend on a single lottery ticket? $5? $10? $20? What about $30? $30 is quite expensive for a lottery ticket, don't you think?

$30 might be expensive for a lottery ticket, but they do exist. One example is the $$3,000,000 Platinum Spectacular instant scratch game offered by CT Lottery in Connecticut. Yes, just a single one of these will put you back thirty dollars. But, people do buy them. One such person that bought one is a man named Sukhdev Singh. Not only did he buy one, he also won the grand prize of $3 million!

Sukhdev Singh won the $3 million prize from the $3,000,000 Platinum Spectacular instant scratch ticket in September of 2011.

Sukhdev Singh scratched his winning ticket while still inside the store. When he saw how much he had won, he was speechless. "I had to sit down on the bench and ask for a bottle of water before I could even talk." I hope the store clerk was able to revive him with some water!

The odds of winning the grand prize on the $3,000,000 Platinum Spectacular scratch game are approximately 1-in-750,000.

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Formal Lottery Agreement Could Have Prevented A Big Headache For Malcolm Rabson

Imagine coming to your girlfriend and asking her to sign a formal lottery agreement, on e that states that if you win the jackpot, she gets nothing. What would happen to your relationship? It would be the end of it.

This situation would be absurd. First of all, most people never actually expect to win the lottery, so why spring something like this onto your girlfriend? Secondly, having your girlfriend sign something like this probably would never even enter your mind.

With that being said, meet Malcolm Rabson, who is pictured here. He could have prevented a big headache if he had asked his girlfriend to sign a formal lottery agreement about a decade ago. But of course, assuming he's a normal guy, the thought never even entered his mind.

Malcolm Rabson won $1.3 million in the New Zealand lottery in November of 2001. With the money, he invested in properties and realized big capital gains.

Then, Malcolm's girlfriend, who he started a relationship with about two years prior to the win, decided that half of the winnings and capital gains should be hers because the winning ticket was jointly owned by both of them.

So they went to court. The court decided in favor of Malcolm's girlfriend and awarded her half the winnings from the lotto ticket and $300,000 from the capital gains.

It sucks to be Malcolm Rabson. If only he had a formal lottery agreement, right?

• The Lotto Group Kit is a must to prevent lottery disputes from happening.

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Can You Win A Scratch-Off From The End Of The Roll? No Says Phillip Payne

Can you win with a scratch-off lottery ticket from the end of the roll? Apparently, the answer is NO, or so says Phillip Payne.

See, Phillip Payne stopped into the store one day in September of 2011 to buy a scratch-off lottery ticket. He had his eye on one particular one, but it was at the end of the roll. Then he thought to himself that he never wins when he buys tickets from the end of the roll and, at the last second, changed his mind; he chose another ticket. Good thing, too, because he won!

Phillip won $500,000 on an instant scratch game from Georgia Lottery called Jumbo Jumbo Bucks.

When Phillip scratched the ticket in the store, he became happy because it showed that he was a $50,000 winner. Then he started cleaning up the scratch part of the ticket, only to find that another zero popped up. What he thought was $50,000 was, in fact, $500,000. Even better!

Phillip was so elated that he went to tell his uncle, but he was tongue-tied. "I couldn't even talk. I couldn't even tell him. I had to run and get the ticket. I had to show him," he said. See what winning the lottery does to you?

At the time of his win, Phillip Payne was 65-years-old and living in Flowery Branch, Georgia, which is just outside of Atlanta. Phillip said that he would use the money to pay off his mortgage and use the remainder to enjoy with his wife.

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Lucky Ladies Help Martin Ocampo Win New York Poker Scratch-Off Ticket

Thanks to some, lucky ladies, Martin Ocampo is now $1 million richer!

One day, in August of 2011, Martin Ocampo stopped into the store, on an impulse, to buy a scratch-off lottery ticket. He did just that and decided to buy a New York Poker scratch-off ticket.

Martin started scratching. He revealed three queens, enough to win the million dollar top prize. He stared at the ticket for a while. He was in disbelief. Did he really just win a million dollars? Ya, he did!

Three queens equaled $1 million for Martin Ocampo. Now he calls those three queens his "lucky ladies!"

At the time of his win, Martin was 45-years old and living in Port Chester, New York. Port Chester is just north of Manhattan. He said that he needs to take some time to figure out what he wants to do with his winnings.

The New York Poker game that Martin Ocampo won on costs $5 to play. The odds of winning the $1 million top prize are approximately 1-in-3.5-million.

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David Higginbottom Buys Suzuki GSXR With Lottery Winnings

The best thing about winning the lottery is that you get to buy whatever you want!

David Higginbottom knows all about this. His dream was to buy a Suzuki GSXR bike. He won the lottery. He bought the bike. It's as simple as that!

David Higginbottom won £174,665 from the UK's National Lottery in August of 2011. That works out to approximately $275,910 USD.

David's story started when he checked his lottery numbers on his mobile phone on the evening of Saturday, August 28, 2011. That's when he realized that he won. It was unbelievable, so he went straight to the store to have his lottery ticket verified. Sure enough, David found out that it was true - He won the lottery.

What would happen to you the night you find out that you won the lottery? Well, the adrenaline would kick in and, then, good luck going to sleep - It won't happen. That's what David Higginbottom's experience was like - He didn't fall asleep until 4am (I suspect most people probably wouldn't even sleep at all).

At the time of his win, David was 34-years-old, married, a father of a four-year-old girl, with another baby on the way. He worked as a manager at Kwik Fit, an automotive parts repair store. In addition to the purchase of the Suzuki GSXR bike, David also plans to use the money to pay off his mortgage and go on a family vacation after the new baby arrives.

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Ironic - Charles Maginnis, Old Man Wins Cash For Life Lottery

Meet Charles Maginnis. He's an old man. 82 years, in fact. This old man bought a Cash For Life scratch-off ticket from Wisconsin Lottery. And, he won!

82-years-old and he wins $4000 a week for life. Isn't it ironic, don't you think? It's like rain on your wedding day, a free ride when you've already paid, it's some good... Never mind, I'm just singing a song that this story reminds me of (If you know the song, then you probably get my joke).

Now, I'm not trying to poke fun at Charles Maginnis for his age - Age is just a mindset. I'm sure he feels younger than ever, now that he won the lottery.

Luckily, this ironic story has a twist - Charles had the option of taking the $4000 a week prize as a lump sum payment of $2.8 million. It's good he had that option because what good is $4000 a week for life when you're already at the latter stages of your life? He took the $2.8 million lump sum payment option.

Charles Maginnis won on the scratch-off ticket on a Friday. Because Wisconsin's lottery prize claim office didn't open again until Monday, he had to wait. The wait was a struggle and Charles hid his ticket to keep it safe. He kept changing the hiding place throughout the weekend because, you know, some people get paranoid when they have a small piece of cardboard worth millions of dollars in the house. He didn't even tell anyone, except for his wife. It must have been hard keeping a secret like that for a weekend!

Charles Maginnis said that he planned to use the money to pay off his debts, buy his wife a new hearing aid (I told you this story was ironic), but he plans to give the majority of it away to his kids and grandkids.

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Imagine Winning The Lottery - Jerry Nelson Did

As a lottery player, you probably spend a lot of time imagining that you won the lottery. You're not alone - Most lottery players do.

Jerry Nelson did too. Prior to winning the lottery a few years ago, he would often imagine what it would be like to win the lottery. Then in October of 2007, he actually won - $4.1 million from Wisconsin Lottery's MegaBucks game. Then the imaginations became real - It was surreal!

In the days following his win, Jerry kept worrying that he would wake up to find out his lottery win wasn't real. That never happened. It's been almost four years since he won the lottery; it's still real.

At the time of his win in 2007, Jerry Nelson said that he would use the money to go on a European vacation with his wife to celebrate their 40th wedding anniversary.

More importantly than anything else, Jerry planned to use the money to help his son. His son had serious health problems as a result of liver problems and a motorcycle accident. Jerry was relieved that he would now be able to help his son with his rising medical bills.

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Naguleswaran Kandiah - Ajax Man Wins 649 Lottery

Naguleswaran Kandiah is feeling great today, after claiming $7,277,627 from the 649 lottery. That's him in the picture, with his wife, Rany. You know he feels great because his hand is in the air - Party time!

Naguleswaran Kandiah is a man from Ajax, Ontario, which is just east of Toronto. He won the Lotto 649 jackpot in the September 7, 2011 draw.

Naguleswaran described the moment when he found out that he won the lottery - "We were at home together, when I read the numbers in the paper and realized I had a match for all six," he said. "My wife started to cry, and we called our kids right away to share our happiness with them."

Even a few days after he found out that he won, Naguleswaran said that he was still in shock. Ya, winning the lottery does that to you, but it's a great feeling!

The Ajax couple have three kids and share one car. They now plan to get every family member their own car. They also plan on doing some traveling. They just returned from visiting family in Australia and now say they plan to visit India to see some of the temples.

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What Are The Odds Of Winning The Second Prize In Powerball?

James Moulder, pictured here, won the second prize in Powerball in June of 2011. That's worth a coll $200,000.

It's pretty well-known that the odds of winning the Powerball jackpot are approximately 1-in-195-million. Those are bad odds. But, if you're a Powerball player, do you ever stop to think about the other prizes? After all, you're playing for those prizes as well. What about the second prize? What are the odds of winning that?

The odds of winning the second prize in Powerball are exactly 1-in-5,138,133. Those are fairly decent odds, although, in my opinion, the prize of $200,00 should be a little higher.

Back to James Moulder. James won the $200,000 in Powerball from Georgia Lottery. At the time of his win, was 59-years-old and living in East Ridge, Tennessee. East Ridge is right near the Georgia-Tennessee border.

Like most people that win big money in the lottery, James was shocked and surprised. He found out that he was a winner while checking his numbers online. He was so shocked, in fact, that he had to reboot his computer and check the numbers again.

James Moulder said that he planned to use the winnings to pay off his mortgage.

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Bernadette Gietka - At Least Her Lottery Numbers Weren't 1,2,3,4,5,6

Somebody in Maryland won a $108 million Powerball jackpot in the September 7,2011 draw. We're still waiting for the winner to come forward and identify themselves. In the meantime, I decided to write about another big Maryland winner from the past - Bernadette Gietka.

Bernadette Gietka, from Baltimore Maryland, won $183 million from the Mega Millions lottery in 2003. Prior to her win, she was working five jobs just to make ends meet.

When she bought her quick pick Mega Millions ticket, way back in 2003, she looked at the numbers - 1,2,3,12,37 and Mega Ball 35. The ticket began with consecutive numbers 1,2, and 3. She thought to herself that those numbers suck and thought that she could just throw the ticket in the garbage. Luckily, she didn't. At least the lottery numbers weren't 1,2,3,4,5,6! Bernadette kept the ticket and, as we all now know, she won!

Sometimes winning big money in the lottery also brings fame. After her big win, Bernadette Gietka actually appeared on the Tonight Show with Jay Leno. Those sort of things happen to big winners. Often the fame dies down, but sometimes it keeps going. Take Cynthia Stafford, for example. Cynthia won $112 nillion in the Mega Millions lottery in 2007 and she's been hobnobbing with Hollywood elite ever since.

Bernadette Gietka had recently been in the news as her mother, Catherine Gietka, won $1000 in a Maryland Lottery game in July of 2011. Catherine is the author of a book called "Mother of $183 Million Winner." That $1000 win must seem like peanuts compared to the amount of wealth in the family. If it were me, I would've just given that $1000 ticket to some homeless guy on the streets.

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Paula Bailey - On The Texas Lottery's Website And Didn't Know It

Normally, people find out that they win the lottery when they check their lotto numbers themselves or when they scratch an instant ticket and see that they're a winner. Paula Bailey's story is a little different.

Paula Bailey entered a second chance drawing with her losing Mega Jumbo Bucks III scrtach-off ticket. The second chance drawings are becoming more popular; I just recently wrote about a 2nd Chance lottery winner from Connecticut.

Anyway, Paula Bailey entered her losing ticket and then thought nothing of it. That is, until she starting getting phone calls from her friends saying that they saw her name on the Texas Lottery's website. She was listed as the second chance draw grand prize winner of $1 million. She was on the Texas Lottery's website and she didn't even know it! What a way to find out you're a lottery winner, huh?

Here's what Paula Bailey had to say about that - "I was at work. Almost everyone I know knew about it before I did," she said. "I'm a regular player and
have been for years. I have used family birthdays on the online tickets and decided which scratch-offs to buy based on how many tickets are in a roll originally and how many remain. When my friends told me about this win, I got nervous and excited, but mostly I was shocked."

What does Paula Bailey plan to do with the money? For starters, she plans to buy a new car and get out of debt. The rest of it, she plans to save for her children.

Congratulations to Paula Bailey for winning the lottery, even though she didn't even know it!

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

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Van Hen Lu - Wake Up Everybody, I Won The Lottery!

Don't you hate it when you're sleeping and then somebody wakes you up? It's one of the worst feelings in the world. There's very few times that you wouldn't mind it if you're awakened from your sleep. And, I think winning the lottery is one of those times.

Take Van Hen Lu, for example. Early one Sunday morning, in August of 2011, he was at the store with his wife, Thieu Mai Ly, checking his lottery tickets from the night before. That's where he found out that he won $7,228,907. He was so excited that he and his wife began dancing in the store. The excited carried over to when they arrived back home. His kids were sleeping. But that didn't matter. He woke the entire house up to announce that they're millionaires.

"Wake up everybody, I won the lottery!" If you were sound asleep and were awakened by those words, I don't think you would mind. Van Hen Lu's kids didn't mind either.

Van Hen Lu won $7,228,907 playing Lotto 649. He had been playing the same numbers for many years. There's nothing symbolic about the numbers, they were just numbers that popped into his head.

At the time of his win, Van Hen was 58-years-old, lived in Richmond, BC, Canada, and worked as a fisherman. He said that he plans to buy a new motor for his fishing boat. A new house is also in the family's plans.

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Karel de Raad - Dutch Man Wins Lottery In New Zealand

This is a picture of Karel de Raad celebrating with his wife, Mirjam, after finding out that he won $500,000 in the New Zealand Lottery.

Karel has good reason to celebrate, too. He is a Dutch man that emigrated from Holland to New Zealand in the 1980's. Since then, he has been working hard and raising kids. Because of that he has not had a vacation in over twenty years. He hadn't even had the opportunity to visit his home country since that time. Now he's $500,000 richer. That means that it's vacation time! Finally!

When asked if he has gone on a vacation since coming to New Zealand, Karel de Raad replied, "We work so hard, and have brought up children in that time, so the opportunity never really happened – we haven't even been back to Holland since we left."

At the time of his win, Karel ran a printing company in Tawa, New Zealand, a town with a population of about 14,000 people. No word yet on whether he'll keep the printing company running, following his big win.

Congratulations to Karel de Raad, a Dutch man that deserved to win the lottery!

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Linda Westlake Wins 2nd Chance Lottery Draw

A lot of lotteries across America are now doing what are called 2nd Chance lottery draws. The way it normally works is if you buy an instant scratch-off lotto ticket and don't win a prize, you are eligible to mail it in for a second chance at winning a prize. The prizes vary, depending on the lottery.

Linda Westlake is one of those people that sent in a losing scratch-off for a 2nd chance at a prize.

Linda bought a $1,000,000 Silver and Gold instant scratch game from CT Lottery in Connecticut. It was a losing ticket, so she mailed it in for the 2nd chance draw. Then, one day in September of 2011, she came home to find some mail addressed to her sitting on the kitchen table. It was from CT Lottery. She opened it, only to find a big shocker - She won $100,000, the top prize in the 2nd Chance draw!

This particular draw had a total of 484,221 entries, and Linda's entry was the one to be chosen. Nice!

At the time of her win, Linda Westlake was living in New Milford, Connecticut and working as a nurse. She said that she and her husband have farm property up north that needs some work to be done. She will be using that money to put into the farm property.

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Todd Reardon & Darin Fox - Chums Win $221.7 Million Powerball Prize

Two nights ago, a winning Powerball ticket worth $107 was purchased in Maryland. That's the first time someone in Maryland has won the Powerball jackpot. We're still waiting to find out who the winner is. Until then, here are two winners from a few months ago - Todd Reardon & Darin Fox.

Todd Reardon & Darin Fox are chums that won a $221.7 million Powerball jackpot in April of 2011. The two chums are from Clarksville, Indiana and worked together for the past eight years at a company called Munich Welders.

Todd and Darin became good friends while at Munich Welding and would always pool their money to buy lottery tickets together. They normally bought Hoosier Lotto tickets, but for this particular draw, they also bought Powerball tickets, only because the jackpot was massive. So, they bought two Hoosier Lotto tickets and two Powerball tickets. And, they won - a massive $221.7 million!

Todd and Darin now refer to themselves as "retired welders." That's just awesome!

Like most of us, the two chums used to always dream about what they would do if they won the lottery. You know how that works right - Dreaming about fast cars, big houses, exotic vacations... But now that they actually won, they say that it's quite overwhelming and plan to take it slow.

For now, Darin plans to buy himself a Ford F250 and a Black Ops Jeep Wrangler for his wife, while Todd plans to pay off his new Jeep that he purchased just a week prior to winning the lottery. Both friends are also avid hunters and plan to purchase land on which they could hunt on.

This is a great story - Two friends that get to retire together and live the life they always dreamed of. This just goes to show that it's awesome being able to win the lotto with a friend!

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Keith Hall Wins $100,000 With Encore, A Lottery Upsell Game

Ontario Lottery And Gaming (OLG), which operates the lottery in Ontario Canada has a lottery upsell game called Encore. You can't purchase an Encore ticket on its own. You can only buy it in addition to another game. It's an upsell. If you buy a lottery ticket and don't ask for Encore, the retailer is trained to ask, "do you want Encore with that?"

Most people in Ontario add Encore to their games. It just costs an extra dollar. Keith Hall, pictured here, always buys Encore. He says that he'd hate to have his numbers come up, only to find that he didn't play.

It's a good thing that Keith Hall always plays Encore. That's because his numbers did come up. Keith won $100,000 in August of 2011. Not bad!

Keith Hall's lottery purchase was a last-minute purchase. He bought it just before the Saturday-night draw. Later that night, he checked his tickets against the winning numbers. He saw that a lot of the numbers matched. But he didn't know how much he had actually won, until he brought the ticket to the retailer and found that it was worth $100,000!

Keith said that he will put the entire windfall towards his retirement savings.

At the time of his win, Keith Hall was 50-years-old and living in Sault Ste Marie, Ontario, Canada.

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Lottery Premonition Comes True For Sandra Ham

Do you ever get that feeling that you will win the lottery one day? You just know that you will win; it's a matter of when, not if. That might be a premonition. Some people get it.

Sandra May, a woman from Burlington North Carolina, had a lottery premonition. "I knew for years that I was going to win $1 million in the lottery. I told my family that. I'd tell anyone that would listen and nobody believed me. But they'll believe me now," Sandra said.

They have to believe her now. Her premonition came true. In September of 2011, Sandra Ham won $1 million, exactly what she told everybody she would win, playing an instant scratch-off game from North Carolina Lottery called, Red Hot Millions. Spook, huh?

The Red Hot Millions instant scratch-off game from North Carolina Lottery costs $10 to play and offers a top prize of $1 million, which is what Sandra won. The odds of winning the million dollar top prize are approximately 1-in-1-million.

At the time of her win, Sandra Ham lived in Burlington, North Carolina, which is just outside of Greensboro. She said that she plans to use the money to help out her family and also to go on a trip to Disney World or Hawaii.

What about you? Do you ever get a lottery premonition? If so, I hoe it comes true!

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Maryland Lottery Multi Match Winner Dan Kumbalasiri

Check out Dan Kumbalasiri in the photo with his wife. He looks excited. That he is, and that's because he won $850,000 playing Maryland Lottery's Multi Match Game. Hand up!

Dan Kumbalasiri's luck started when his 6-month-old daughter needed a diaper change. He proceeded to start changing her diaper, when he realized he had no diapers left. So he had to go to the store to buy some. While at the store, Dan also decide to buy some lottery tickets. He bought a few scratch-offs and a Multi Match game.

Dan scratched the instant tickets in the store, only to find out that he won $150. Not bad at all! He took his Multi Match ticket with him and checked the numbers online while at work the next day. That's when he found out that he won the $850,000 jackpot. That means that his diaper run netted him a total of $850,150. He's so lucky that he ran out of diapers. Hands up!

Maryland Lottery's Multi Match game is quite unique. It costs $2 per ticket, but for that you get three lines. You could win prizes by matching numbers on any one of the three lines, or by matching numbers on a combination of the three lines. There are many different prize levels too. The odds of winning the jackpot are approximately 1-in-2-million, per ticket.

At the time of his win, Dan Kumbalasiri was 35-years-old, living in Silver Spring Maryland, and working as an accountant for Marriott Hotel. He said that he planned to use the money to take his family on a vacation.

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Megan Gatlin - Lottery Winner Can't Use Court Appointed Attorney

In May of 2011, the court appointed an attorney to represent Megan Gatlin, pictured here, in a trial. Megan was charged with possession of a controlled substance and theft.

There are certain conditions that have to be met to qualify for a court appointed attorney. The court goes through a standard questionaire to determine whether someone qualifies. The accused must answer certain questions, such as level of income and where they live.

Being that Megan Gatlin was unemployed and living with her mother at the time, she qualified for a court appointed attorney. The only problem was was that she was never asked whether or not she actually had money. And, that she does. She won the lottery just a month earlier. She could definitely afford her own lawyer.

Megan Gatlin won $1 million from the Oregon Lottery in April of 2011. When she won the lottery she exclaimed, "I was on unemployment and my unemployment just ran out, so it was perfect." She planned to use the money to buy a new BMW and maybe a house. But, of course, she had court coming up first and she probably didn't really feel like spending the money on a lawyer.

In September of 2011, the judge in the case decided that Megan did not qualify for a court-appointed attorney. She still decided to keep the lawyer that was appointed to her, but she will now have to pay him herself.

Megan Gatlin's trial is scheduled for November of 2011.

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Colin Masters - Lottery Escape For $7.8 Million 649 Winner

That's Colin Masters holding the big Lotto 649 check for $7.8 million. This guy's great, the model of what a lottery winner should be.

In July of 2011, Colin Masters was 32-years-old and working as a personal support worker. He was also married and supporting a family, which included three kids, and one more on the way. That's a big family for such a young man, so you know that finances in his household must have been tight.

Then Colin won the lottery, $7.8 million from Lotto 649. So, what does he do? He goes down to the lottery prize office with his brother and two friends. That's all them in the picture standing behind Colin. That's one thing that I love about Colin - He wins the lottery and then celebrates with family and friends. Sharing the joy, that's the way to go!

At the lottery press conference, Colin talked about how the money will be able to help his family. He even said that his mother will never have to work again. Awesome! That's the second thing that I love about Colin - He takes care of his family.

As for himself, Colin Masters said that he's quitting his job and looking forward to spending more time with his family. He also plans on going on some vacations, possibly to Europe, since he's never been there. That's the third thing I love about Colin - He wants to have some fun for himself. Some big lottery winners continue to work at their crappy jobs - I just don't get that.

Colin won the lottery and now he gets to escape. That's the lottery escape - Win big money and then do whatever you want to do. It's great!

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Wayne Vander-Hoek And Construction Crew Win Lotto 649

Winning the lottery is great. But so is winning the lottery with a group of friends or co-workers. Sure, you'll have to split the prize, but at least you get to share in the excitement.

That's what happened to Wayne Vander-Hoek. He's pictured here (The one with the beard) accepting a big check on behalf of his construction crew. They just won the lottery!

This is a crew of 22 construction workers that work for a redi-mix company called Rempel Bros Concrete. They won $3,295,027 in the August 31st, 2011 Lotto 649 draw. That means that each of the 22 members received $149,774. Not bad!

Wayne Vander-Hoek is the organizer of the lottery pool. He makes sure that the tickets are bought. "I got a call telling me that our group had won," Wayne said about the moment he found out that they won. "I didn't know whether to laugh or start crying."

Do you ever play as a lottery group? It's a good way to increase your chances of winning, albeit a smaller prize because you have to split it with a group. But winning something is better than winning nothing, right? And, it seems that lottery groups are winning more and more. Just recently, in fact, I wrote about a group of 18 laid-off workers that won the lottery the very same day that they lost their jobs.

Either way, if you play by yourself or with a group, good luck to you!

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Michael Timmons - Massachusetts Super Cashword Winner

Pictured here is Michael Timmons. He just won $500,000 from a Massachusetts Lottery game called Super Cashword.

How would you feel about winning $500,000? That would be great wouldn't it. Sure it would. But most of us are after the big money jackpots that games such as Powerball, EuroMillions, Lotto Max, and Mega Millions offers. Those are the ones that always make the news. We always hear about the big winners like Tuesday Anderson, Christopher Shaw, Nigel Page, Johm Kinzel, and Rebecca Jemison, but hardly ever hear about the others like Michael Timmons.

That's why I write this blog - To report on all winners, as long as they won at least $100,000.

And, you know, it's easier to win on games with smaller jackpots. Take the game that Michael Timmons won on, for example. The Super Cashword game offers a top prize of $500,000. Sure, that's nowhere near the dozens of millions of dollars that you could win on Powerball, for example, but the odds of winning are much better. If you compare the odds of winning the top prize in Super Cashword to the top prize in Powerball, you will find that you're approximately 80 times more likely to win on Super Cashword.

Now back to Michael Timmons. At the time of his win, Michael lived in West Roxbury, Massachusetts. He said that he planned to use the money pay for his kid's college tuition and invest the rest.

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Michael Avant - Diamonds & Pearls Winner - Baby Scratch My Back!

Michael Avant is a super-cool guy. He won $100,000 in the lottery. While at the DC Lottery prize claim office, he described his advice for other scratch-off lottery players via lyrics from a classic Blues song from Slim Harpo, "Baby, scratch my back... Play on, player!"

In August of 2011, Michael Avant bought a scratcher lotto game from DC Lottery called Diamonds & Pearls. Diamonds & Pearls is a $10 game and offers a top prize of $100,000. The odds of winning the top prize in the game are approximately 1-in-120,000.

Michael scratched the ticket at home. When he finished scratching, he looked at the ticket, saw how much he had won, and just dropped it on the floor. The to-cool-for-school guy then went outside to smoke a cigarette. After his smoke, he walked back inside and picked up his ticket. Double checked it. It was still a winner. $100,000. Awesome!

At the time of his win, Michael Avant lived in Silver Spring, Maryland. Silver Spring is just outside of Washington, DC.

Congratulations to Michael Avant on his lucky win. I'm sure someone will be scratching his back tonight. Play on, player!

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Winner Robert Swofford Gets Additional $3.2 Million For Being Shot By Deputies

This blog has featured many strange stories about lottery winners. Now, here's another one. This is the strange story of a lottery winner named Robert Swofford, a man that won $60 million in the Florida Lottery in November of 2004.

When Robert won the $60 million in November of 2004, he was the single-biggest lottery winner in Florida's history. It was party-time for him. He was about to live the good life. But little did he know what was coming next.

At the time of his win, Robert was separated from his wife, Ann. But Ann wanted a piece of his money too. There's really nothing strange about that - It happens all the time, exes wanting a piece of the lottery money. There's many examples of that happening and here's a few: Patricia Daly Eisel and Raymond Sobeski. Robert settled with Ann.

However, the story gets stranger. Ann had a sister named Mary Lackey. Robert fathered kids with both sisters in 1993. And, just as Ann thought she deserved a piece of the money, so did Mary. Mary took him to court in 2005.

Think that's strange? Well, Robert Swofford's life got even stranger. In April of 2006, Robert heard people on his property. He took his semi-automatic gun and went out to investigate. It turns out that the people on his property were two Deputies who were trying to track down a suspected burglar. Robert, with the gun in his hand was shot by the deputies and critically wounded.

The Deputies claimed that they identified themselves and gave instructions for Robert to drop the gun several times. They claimed that Robert did not follow orders and was subsequently shot. Robert had a different take on it. He claimed that they gave no warning and that he had never pointed the gun at that.

Whatever happened that night, one thing is for certain - Robert Swafford spent six months recovering in hospital.

Robert filed a lawsuit against the Seminole Sheriff's office in Florida. In July of 2011, they settled and he received $3.2 million in compensation.

Ahh, the strange stories of lottery winners - Fascinating isn't it?

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Joe Martinec Jr - Omaha Police Officer Wins Some Money

Joe Martinec Jr is a police officer with the Omaha Police Department and he just won some money in the lottery too!

Joe Martinec Jr won $200,000, the Powerball second prize, on August 29, 2011.

It's always great to hear about our brave officers winning some money and Joe looks like he was a great cop too.

In 2008, Joe Martinec Jr was dispatched to a house where a person was holding his father at gun point. For most of us, if we see a gun, we run the other way. But Joe didn't; he dealt with the situation.

When Joe arrived on scene, he was able to get innocent family members and friends out of the house. He was then able to get the man with the gun on the phone and convinced him to give himself up. What could have turned into a really bad situation turned out OK, thanks to Joe.

Congratulations to Joe Martinec Jr, a great officer with the Omaha Police Department on his win!

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