10 Biggest Lottery Winners Of 2011

Here it is, the last day of 2011. Did you win the lottery this year? If not, there's always 2012.

Thousands of people win the lottery every year and, every year, the number of winners keeps increasing. Not only that, the jackpots keep getting bigger and bigger. 2012 might very well see some of the biggest Powerball jackpots ever, as the game is changing some of its features; that includes a minimum jackpot that is increasing from $20 million to $40 million. So if you didn't win in 2011, there's always 2012. Stay positive, it just might be your year to win big!

With that said, 2011 did bring some big winners. Here are the 10 biggest lottery winners in 2011 that this blog has covered:

10. James Jones: Promised to buy his wife a gallon of perfume following his $57 million Mega Millions win that he claimed in October.

9. Brian McCarthy: His granny offers to make him a grilled-cheese sandwich following his $107 Mega Millions win in July.

8. Stephen Kirwan: Bad luck streak culminates to $122.1 million Powerball win in January.

7. Dave Dawes: The Chelsea SC fan won a $157,564,537 EuroMillions jackpot in October.

6. Jim McCullar: Plans to pay it forward following his $190 Million Mega Millions win in January.

5. Holly Lahti: Went into hiding after winning a $190 million Mega Millions prize in January.

4. Todd Reardon & Darin Fox: Two chums play the lottery together and, now, retire together after winning $221.7 million in Powerball in April.

3. Tom & Kathleen Morris: The couple won a $228.9 million Powerball jackpot in August, making them the biggest-ever lottery winners in Minnesota.

2. Connecticut Powerball winners: Rich people getting richer. Not too many people were happy that a group of three rich investment advisor's claimed a $254 million Powerball jackpot in November. That just wasn't right.

1. Colin Weir: $260,810,947 EuroMillions win in July makes him the 430th richest person in the United Kingdom.

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How Do You Choose Which Lottery Games To Play?

How do you choose which lottery games to play? If you're like most people, you'll choose games that either have high jackpots or decent odds of winning, or a combination of both. But do you ever choose to play games because you like the way the ticket looks? If not, maybe you should.

Daisy Maricle, who is pictured here with a friend, recently bought an instant scratch game from Louisiana Lottery called Black Pearls. She chose to play the Black Pearls game because she liked the way the ticket looked; she said that she thought it looked pretty. Aww, that's so cute - the ticket looked pretty... But, hey, it worked!

The Black Pearls scratch-off game is offered by Louisiana Lottery. It costs $10 to play and looks pretty ;) The $200,000 prize that Daisy Maricle won is the top prize in the game and the odds of winning it are approximately 1-in-282,000.

At the time of her win, Daisy Maricle was 47-years-old and living in Hessmer, Louisiana, which is north-west of Baton Rouge. She said that she plans to use part of her winnings to take a vacation. Sounds like fun!

So there you have it, folks, the next time you need to decide which lottery game to buy, choose the one that looks the prettiest. Hey, it worked for Daisy, so why not you? Maybe she's on to something.

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Cindy Ragains Keeps Winning The Lottery Again And Again

How would you like to walk into the store, buy a scratch lotto ticket, and win $5000? That would be nice. How about winning that amount on three separate occasions in a span of four months? That would be even better!

OK then, would it be even better than that to win a big prize amount, something like, say, $250,000? How about winning $250,000 twice in the same year? How about winning $250,000 twice and $5000 three times? Now that's just being ridiculous - That can't happen... Or could it?

It COULD happen! It happened to Cindy Ragains. Cindy Ragains is a woman that just keeps winning the lottery again and again. Yep, the scenarios I just described actually happened to Cindy. She won three $5000 prizes in the last four months and two $250,000 prizes in 2011. Her first $250,000 prize came in February of 2011 and her second $250,000 prize came in December of 2011. That means that, in 2011, she won a grand total of $515,000 in lotteries!

Talk about being lucky... Cindy Ragains had all the luck in 2011!

The money will definitely come in hand for Cindy, as she cares for her 36-year-old son who is deaf and suffers from cerebral palsy.

At the time of her wins, Cindy lived in Twin Falls Idaho. She said that she would use her winnings to pay off some debts and invest the rest.

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Dick Clark - Superstitious Lottery Player Makes Mistake

A few weeks ago, Dick Clark, who is pictured here with his wife, walked into the store to buy a scratch-off ticket. He chose a game from Iowa Lottery called Lifetime Riches.

There's nothing out of the ordinary here as this is something that Dick often does. However, this time, he made a big mistake - He accidentally bought the first ticket in the roll of tickets. This is something that Dick never does. See, Dick is a superstitious person and that includes having superstitions about playing the lottery. One of those superstitions includes not buying the first ticket in a roll of tickets. Unfortunately, this time, it was too late as he realized his mistake after he already bought the ticket.

So Dick Clark scratched the ticket. Then something unbelievable happened - He won the game's top prize of $1 million. Imagine that - If Dick followed his superstitions, he never would have won! So much for being superstitious!

Iowa Lottery's Lifetime Riches game costs $20 to play. The odds of winning the $1 million top prize in the game are approximately 1-in-120,000. Dick Clark beat the odds despite choosing the wrong ticket. Nice!

At the time of his win, Dick Clark was 46-years-old and living in Eldon, Iowa, which is just east of Des Moines. He said that he planned to invest the money.

Dick's story just goes to show that superstitions just might be useless!

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Leola Murphy Wins On Virginia's $5 Million Club Scratch Game

A few weeks ago, Leola Murphy went into her local store to have a scratch-off ticket validated. The scratch game was called Virginia's $5 Million Club. The top prize in the game is $5 million. The second prize in the game is $1 million. The manager of the store scanned the ticket and discovered that it won the game's second prize of $1 million.

"Wow!" the manager said to Leola after scanning the ticket. "I've never seen one of those before. Congratulations!" The manager of the store was happy for Leola. But I'm sure he was happy for the store too. That's because the store also gets a $10,000 bonus for selling the winning ticket. Not bad at all!

Virginia's $5 Million Club game costs $20 to play. In addition to the two top prizes of $5 million and $1 million, the game also offers smaller prizes ranging from $20 to $10,000. The odds of winning any prize in the game are approximately 1-in-2.9.

At the time of her win, Leola Murphy lived in Tabb, Virginia, which is just outside of Newport News. She said that she planned to share the money with her family, including her children, grandchildren, and great grandchildren.

Congratulations to Leola Murphy on her lucky win!

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China Lottery Winner Collects Money In A Mask

People play the lottery in countries worldwide, not just here in the United States. There's a lot of similarities with lottery players, no matter where they live. Mainly, when people win the lottery, it's always an exciting time, especially if it's a big life-changing amount. On the other hand, there's also some differences. For instance, in most states, winners have to agree to have their names disclosed to the media. They also have to show up to press conferences where they'll have their picture taken. This isn't the case everywhere, though.

Lottery winners in some parts of the world can remain anonymous, if they choose to do so. China is one such country where anonymity is allowed. In China, winners can choose not to have their names released. However, they still have to show up to an obligatory press conference where their pictures can be taken. It kind of sucks that winners in China still have to show up to the press conference, even though they wish to remain anonymous; people will surely recognize them from their photos. So what most people do, then, is they wear a mask; that solves the problem of being recognized.

The man pictured above is one such China lottery winner. He won a jackpot of 176.9 million yuan ($27,986,077 USD) in July of 2011. And, as most lottery winners in China do, he showed up in a mask to collect his money. That way, nobody would know who he was.

Just like most lottery winners in the U.S., the masked man was shocked that he won. He said that he was nervous the entire day when he found out that he won. He couldn't even eat or sleep. See, the lottery brings out the same emotions in people, no matter where in the world they live. The first thing that he did when he collected his money was donate more than $700,000 to charity.

Would you try to disguise your face if you won the lottery? It's probably pointless to do so if your name will be made public. Even still, some people in the U.S. do try to disguise themselves when collecting lottery winnings. Diana Jennings, for example, is one such person that tried to disguise her face when she picked up a prize from New York Lottery. She did it, even though we all knew her name.

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David Franey May Be The Luckiest Lottery Retailer In The Country

Sometimes people buy lottery tickets by mistake. When that happens, they could just ask the retailer to cancel the tickets. This is a seamless process for the customer, but it may not be so seamless for the retailer. In most states, the retailer can just cancel the ticket directly on the terminal. However, in some states, they need to fill out additional paperwork.

Kentucky is one such state that requires paperwork to be filled out for canceled tickets. David Franey knows this too well. That's because he owns four Food Marts in the Owensboro, Kentucky area. But he doesn't bother with the paperwork for canceled tickets. Instead, he instructs his clerks to just tape the lottery tickets that customers don't want to the terminal and he eats up the cost himself. He had been doing that for years, without ever really winning a big prize. But that all changed in October of 2011.

In October of 2011, a customer walked into one of David Franey's Food Marts and asked to replay a Powerball ticket (A replay prints out the same numbers from an old ticket). The clerk scanned the ticket. There was a delay in printing the ticket, so the clerk re-scanned it. Then, eventually, two tickets printed out. The customer only wanted one, so the second one was taped to the terminal, as the clerks are instructed to do.

Then, as luck would have it, the Powerball ticket won. It matched 5-out-of-6 numbers, good for a $200,000 prize. The customer won; so did David Franey because both tickets had the exact same numbers. Imagine that, David won a big prize by sheer random luck and only because he doesn't cancel tickets that customers don't want. He just may be the luckiest lottery retailer in the country!

When asked what he planned to do with the money, David replied, "I'm not an extravagant guy. I'm a saver."

Perhaps this might start a trend with other retailers trying to replicate David Franey's luck and taping unwanted tickets to their terminals.

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Lottery Winner Patricia Frierson - Meet Your Long-Lost Friends Relatives and Strangers

You know how they say that when you win the lottery, all of your long-lost friends, relatives, and even some strangers come out of the woodwork looking for a handout? I thought that was kind of a myth. I mean, I assumed lottery winners would get a few phone calls, but nothing too drastic. It looks like I was wrong because Patricia Frierson, who is pictured here, had that barrage and more following her $91 million lottery win in 2003.

I assumed this because I personally know a $5 million lottery winner. He wasn't barraged with requests for handouts when he won; it was pretty much life as normal following his win. I guess it all depends on how much you win and the amount of media attention you receive that determines how many people will pester you for money.

Patricia Frierson won big. She won $91 million in California's SuperLotto Plus lottery in August of 2003. She received a LOT of media attention. Further, it was easy to find her. That's because, when she won, she lived in a room at an Econo Lodge motel in Carson, California. Everybody knew where the motel was located and the motel's phone number, so it was quite easy to find Patricia. And, find her people did... It seemed that all of her long-lost relatives, friends, and countless strangers wanted a piece of the money.

The owner of the Econo Lodge that Patricia was living in estimate that they received more than 150 phone calls following Patricia's big win. Those phone calls included financial advisor's, TV studios, church groups asking for donations, and more. "If she met someone six months ago at a bar, guess what? They're her best friend now," the Econo Lodge owner said. "It's the relatives calling me," Patricia added, "relatives I haven't seen or heard from in years."

Prior to her big win, Patricia Frierson was living in the Econo Lodge for financial reasons. She was staying there while trying to save money to buy a condo. However, with the win, she was able to afford to live wherever she wanted to. So she left the motel. When she left the motel, she didn't leave a forwarding address or phone number. Why would she? That would just make it easy for all of the people to keep pestering her. So she left... She left to enjoy life as a millionaire in peace and quiet. I hope she's out there somewhere still enjoying her millions!

Do you have a plan for all of the pestering you'll receive when you win the lottery? If not, think about it.

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Mary Teran On Winning The Lotto - Things Like This Don't Happen To Me

Who wins the lottery? It always seems to be someone else, doesn't it? Well, have a look through this website. This website has featured hundreds of big winners. And, I can guarantee you that before each and every one of them won the lotto, they also thought that it's always someone else; they never thought it would happen be them... that is, until they actually won it.

The moment you win the lottery is always quite an exciting moment and quite shocking too, as it was for Mary Teran, who is pictured here. She won $100,000 on a scratch & win game called Bingo Winter Green.

"I was in shock, I still am," Mary said about her big win. "Things like this don't happen to me."

Mary said that things like this don't happen to her. Do you think the same way about yourself? Well you never know, it just might happen to you too. In fact, someone reading this blog will win the lottery in 2012. It's just the law of large numbers. Tens of thousands of people visit this site every month and some of those visitors will win the lottery. It might be you. You might win the lottery and might see yourself on this very website in 2012. Then you'll be saying the same thing that Mary Teran did - Things like this don't happen to me!

At the time of her win, Mary Teran lived in Pincher Creek, Alberta, which is just north of the Montana border. She said that she would put half of the money that she won towards her granddaughter's education.

Today is Christmas, so I'd like to wish everybody a Merry Christmas and good luck to all of my fellow lottery players in 2012 - I hope to be able to write about you when you win big; just remember, it really could happen to you!

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Can You Win The Lottery Twice On The Same Draw?

You'd like to win the lottery just once, wouldn't you? Ya, of course. Then you got people that win the lottery twice. Wouldn't that be even better? Definitely! But what about people that win the lottery twice on the same draw? Can that even happen? Yep, it can!

How can you win the lottery twice on the same draw? Well, you play two tickets with the exact same numbers. If your numbers get drawn, you win twice.

You're probably thinking that it's silly to play the same numbers twice. It probably is, but people still do it. For example, Mary Wollens did that in 2006 and she won big. More recently though, Amy Ross who is pictured here holding two checks, won the Massachusetts Lottery's Mass Cash jackpot twice.

In a December 2011 Mass Cash draw, Amy Ross bought two tickets with the same number - 1-4-7-11-34. The numbers came up and she won the jackpot twice. The Mass Cash jackpot is $100,000, so Amy's total take for the day was $200,000. Nice!

Mass Cash is a game offered by Massachusetts Lottery that costs $1 to play. To win the jackpot, you must match 5-out-of-35 numbers. The odds of matching all five numbers are approximately 1-in-325,000.

At the time of her win, Amy Ross lived in South Yarmouth, Massachusetts. She plans to use her winnings to pay off her bills. The rest will be put in the bank.

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Check Your Drawers For Forgotten Lottery Tickets

A lot of people have a particular drawer, usually in their bedroom, where they empty out their pockets whenever they come home. I know I do. My routine is I come home, I empty out the contents of my pockets into the drawer, and then I get changed. The drawer will usually contain stuff like change, receipts, mail, pens, and other odd odds & ends. Some people will even throw lottery tickets into the drawer.

If you have one of those drawers, never throw your lottery tickets in there. Why? Because you might forget about them and then they might expire. A lot of people forget about their lottery tickets, have them expire, and end up losing out on a lot of money. Luckily, it didn't happen to Frances Dominguez.

Frances Dominguez has a drawer where she empties out her pockets prior to doing the laundry. Recently, she was looking through the draw and came across a Powerball ticket that she forget she had. She checked the numbers and found that the first five matched, good for a $200,000 prize.

I started crying like crazy," Frances said about the moment she found out that she won. "My legs felt like they didn't want to hold me up." Ya, winning the lottery can do that to you!

At the time of her win, Frances Dominguez lived in Albuquerque, New Mexico. She said that she planned to donate 10% of her winnings to her church and use the rest to pay off her mortgage and buy Christmas presents for her family.

Folks, this comes as a good reminder to check your drawers for forgotten lottery tickets. You never know, you might just find a winner on a ticket that you totally forgot you had.

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Tis The Season To Smash Exotic Sports Cars

Picture this - You're driving in your practical four-door sedan when you come across a single-vehicle accident. The car involved just happens to be an exotic sports car like, say, a Ferrari 458 Italia. Nobody's injured in the accident. What do you do? If you're anything like me, you pull over and laugh at the driver... Hahaha, sucker!

If you live in Northern Ireland, you may have recently come across such a scene. That's because lottery winner, Ryan Magee, crashed his Ferrari 458 Italia, a car he bought immediately following his big £6.5 million ($10,139,798 USD) EuroMillions win in 2008.

Tis the season to smash exotic sports cars, fa la la la la la la la la. No, really, it is; just yesterday, I wrote about David Dopp, who crashed his Lamborghini a mere six hours after winning it. At least Ryan Magee got to enjoy his exotic sports car for a few years prior to crashing it.

Both crashes had some similarities - Both cars were driving with summer performances tires on icy road conditions. It's just silly to drive cars like that in those conditions.

With all these exotic sports cars being crashed, the real question is "Why do people even buy these cars?" Have you ever sat in a Ferrari or Lamborghini? I have. And, I gotta tell you, I don't like it. It's not comfortable; it feels like you're sitting in a coffin. Furthermore, I would be embarrassed to drive these kinds of cars. I've always been of the opinion that people that drive exotic cars are really just looking for attention. "Look at me, I'm rich and I'm driving a fire-engine red Ferrari!" If I win the lottery, I'm getting a white Audi S5 - My perfect car!

Here's a picture of Ryan's crashed Ferrari:

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This Is Why Sweepstakes And Lamborghinis Don't Mix

David Dopp is pictured here posing in front of his brand new Lamborghini Murcielago Roadster, a car worth $380,000. He won it in a sweepstakes held by a convenience store chain in Utah.

David Dopp, a truck-driver by trade and by no means rich, would never have imagined being able to drive a Lamborghini in his life, let alone a Lamborghini that he owned. But it happened. It happened when his name was chosen as the winner of the sweepstakes. Now he was an actual owner of a Lamborghini.

So, then, what does a guy with a brand new Lamborghini do? He takes it on joy rides, of course! Following his win, he took turns taking his family and friends on joy rides about town. I can just picture it now - "Look at me bitches, I'm driving a Lambo!"

Giving away exotic cars in lotteries and sweepstakes is nothing new. I've covered people that have won them in the past, including a winner of a brand new Ferrari 458 Italia. These types of prizes generate a lot of excitement and publicity, which helps to increase consumer interest in the sweepstakes. However, sweepstakes and Lamborghinis probably shouldn't mix.

Why shouldn't you mix sweepstakes and Lamborghinis? Well, consider what David Dopp did as soon as he won his Lamborghini - He took it on a joy ride. When you hear about people taking exotic cars on joy rides, it just seems that the story often ends with a crash. No different with this story - David crashed his Lamborghini a mere six hours after he got it. All that excitement... all that adrenaline... done in 6 hours.

To be fair, it doesn't look like David was driving recklessly when he crashed the car. You gotta remember, this is a powerful light-weight car and it still had its summer performance tires on. David took a curve at 45 mph and hit some black ice, which was no match for the car's summer performance tires. The car then jumped a curve and went through a fence before coming to rest about 75 ft from the road. Nobody was injured in the crash.

That's it for the car and the joy rides. David is planning on selling the car once it gets repaired. Then it will be back to driving trucks.

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No More 14-Hour Workdays For Lottery Winner Tim Armitage

Have you ever had to work 14-hour work days? What about working crazy-long hours for many days in a row? I've done it. And, let me tell you... It's freakin' hard and it sucks.

Tim Armitage is one guy who's done it too. Just about a year ago, he was living in Virginia, out of work, and looking for a job. He found a job, but it was based out of Indiana. So he packed up and moved to Bedford, Indiana so that he could take the job. It was a truck-driving job that entailed long hours, sometimes up to 14 hours a day and he would work five to six days a week.

Long hours suck, but you gotta do what you gotta do to survive, especially since the job market isn't so good these days. Tim knew that. So he worked. There's not much to hope for when you're stuck in a situation like this... Except... maybe... to win the lottery. Wouldn't that be nice? Well, it doesn't hurt to dream. After all, winning the lottery could happen. It's happened to other people, so why not to someone like Tim Armitage?

Actually, it just happened that Tim Armitage did win the lottery! Yep, he won $1 million by matching the first five numbers in Powerball. Nice!

You wanna know what a $1 million win means for Tim Armitage? It means no more 14-hour workdays. That's awesome! With the win, Tim doesn't plan on retiring; he's still going to work. However, the work hours will be shortened. I'm sure he deserves a break.

With his win, Tim is thinking of others. He wants to use the money to help out his family, financially, and also to help his father retire. For himself, he plans on buying a new truck.

Congratulations to Tim Armitage on his lottery win!

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Brenda Bosanac - Lotto 649 Winner From Mississauga

Part of the thrill of winning the lottery is being able to quit your job. Most lottery winners end up doing just that. Some don't, however; Ed Foti is one example of a guy that planned to keep on working. I don't agree with continuing to work - Winning millions can give you absolute freedom, freedom to do whatever you want to do; I couldn't imagine working a regular job after winning the lottery. I guess everyone's different, though.

Brenda Bosanac is one woman that thinks the way I do. She won the lottery. Now she's newly retired. That's the way it should be!

Brenda Bosanac is a woman from Mississauga, Ontario, which is just outside of Toronto. A few days ago she was working. She was working as a delivery driver for a catering company. While out driving, she stopped at the gas station. While there, she checked her lottery tickets. One of her tickets, in particular a Lotto 649 ticket, was a big winner. "When I validated my ticket and the machine froze, I screamed aloud right there in the store. I was in such a daze but I finished up my shift as usual," Bosanac said.

Brenda won $7,420,259 playing Lotto 649.

I know a lot of people dream about walking into the boss' office after winning the lottery and screaming "I quit!" Perhaps some people would even tell the boss off. Brenda was nice about it; that's the way it should be. She finished off her shift and then retired. It's better to leave your job on good terms. Brenda's boss said that the win could not have happened to a better person.

Brenda Bosanac plans to use the money to buy a house, a new car, and travel the world. Her first destination will be Disney World (I don't get that... Why do so many people go to Disney World when there's tons of better destinations on this planet?). Enjoy your travels, Brenda!

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Edward Foti - $14 Million New York Lotto Winner

For many people, part of the dream of winning the lottery is being able to walk into the boss' office to say "I quit!" Many lottery winners do just that, but not Edward Foti.

Edward Foti is pictured above holding a big check for $14 million, with New York Lottery representative, Gretchen Dizer, smiling behind him. He won the jackpot in the New York Lotto game in August of 2011. However, he didn't claim his prize until December of 2011.

Edward found out that he was a big winner when he checked his tickets while on lunch break from work. After discovering $14 million in their pocket, I suspect most people would quit their jobs, let alone return back to work after their lunch break. But that's what Edward did - He returned back to work with $14 million in his pocket.

See, Edward Foti loves his job. He works for a union that represents health care workers, building cleaners, and doormen. Part of his job involves helping people who are out of work and he can't imagine quitting his job when the economy isn't doing so well and so many people are looking for jobs. So he wants to continue to help people; that's just the kind of guy he is. "I feel blessed, especially in these hard times," he said. "There are a lot of people out of work now and a lot of people experiencing hardships."

Aside from wanting to continue working, Edward said that he'd feel lost without a job. Even still, there are big plans for this new lottery winner. After all, there's a lot he can do with $14 million. For starters, Edward plans to broaden his vacation horizons. He used to vacation on the Jersey Shore. Now he's looking for something better and would love to get a vacation home on the ocean somewhere (But not Jersey Shore).

The odds of winning the jackpot on the New York Lotto game that Edward Foti won on are approximately 1-in-22.5-million.

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Elizabeth Sampat Experiences The Lottery Terminal Freeze

Lottery players in the province of Ontario, Canada all want to experience the LOTTERY FREEZE. The lottery freeze is an exhilarating moment when a person realizes that he's a big lotto winner. The exhilaration is followed by anticipation, with the person waiting to find out exactly how much they won. Time slows to a crawl as they wait to find out the big news.

The lottery freeze was implemented as a security feature to help protect big winners in Ontario. What happens is that when you validate a big winning ticket at a store, the lottery terminal automatically goes into "freeze" mode. No more ticket sales or validations can take place and a message flashes for the retailer to call into the lottery office. Once connected to the lottery office, the retailer is instructed to pass the phone over to the customer, at which point the representative at the lottery office tells him how much he won. Only then can the lottery office restart the store's lottery terminal.

Why do they do this in Ontario? Well, consider some of the things that might happen if the amount of your big win was flashed on a lottery terminal screen for others in the store to see. If you've just won millions of dollars, some unscrupulous patrons in the store might be tempted to rob you. You wouldn't want that now, would you? Of course not, hence the reason for the lottery freeze.

Elizabeth Sampat, who is pictured above, got to experience the lottery freeze for herself and it was wonderful - She won $100,000 playing the Encore game.

"I went to check my tickets at the retailer when the 'big freeze' happened," Elizabeth said. "I had no clue what was going on. It seemed like a dream."

At the time of her win, Elizabeth Sampat was 31 years old and living in Mississauga, Ontario, which is just outside of Toronto. She said that she would use the money to make it a great Christmas for herself and her family and that she would invest the rest.

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Garry Doering Spends A Lot Of Money On Pick 3 Tickets

Do you ever play the Pick 3 Lottery game? If so, what's the most amount of money you would spend on Pick 3 tickets? I'd guess probably just a few dollars. However, there are some people that spend big money on the game. Garry Doering is one such guy that does.

I'll discuss Garry in a moment. But first, here's some basic Pick 3 rules - You can play Pick 3 in two ways; generally, you can choose three numbers to play straight, which means that you have to match the numbers in order, or you can choose three numbers to play box, which means that you can match the numbers in any order. Obviously, it's harder to win if you play the game straight. The odds of winning Pick 3 on a straight game are 1-in-1000. Depending on where you play, the payout on a winning straight Pick 3 ticket is about $500.

In Yukon, where Garry Doering plays, the payout for a winning straight ticket is $500. A few months ago, he won $60,000 in a single day playing Pick 3. How much money do you have to spend on Pick 3 tickets to get a $60,000 payout? $120. That's quite a lot of money to bet on just one set of numbers, don't you think?

But even with his $60,000 win, Garry wasn't finished with his betting. Shortly after the big win, he bought more Pick 3 tickets and gave them to his wife, Anna Maria. With those tickets, Anna Maria won $131,000. If you do the math, it would mean that $262 was spent on those tickets. Crazy, don't you think? I mean, it's great if you win, but if you don't, that's a lot of money down the drain.

Altogether, the couple won $191,000 playing Pick 3. For a game that pays out $500 for a winning straight play, that's not bad at all.

At the time of their win, Gary and Anna Maria Doering lived in Whitehorse Yukon. They said that they would be sharing some of the winnings with their family. Aside from that, there were no other plans for the money.

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Steven Springstead - The Bank Didn't Want To Talk To An Unemployed Man

Steven Springstead has had a rough year. First he had major surgery that he had to deal with. Then he lost his job. His wife, Teresa, still worked. But even with her income, the couple still couldn't keep up with their mortgage payments. See, that's what I call a bad year.

Then it just kept getting worse for Steven. He applied for unemployment benefits, but made a mistake filling out the forms. So the benefits got delayed. That caused the couple to fall even more behind on their mortgage payments. Steven tried discussing the problem with the bank to try to arrange an alternative payment plan, but the bank just didn't want to talk to and make a deal with an unemployed man. What can you do? Things were looking bleak.

The good part is that when you're in a bad situation like this, it's hard for it to get any worse. Things can only get better from there. And, get better it did. Steven Springstead won the lottery - $300,000. What better way to get out of a financial mess than to win the lottery, right? Ya, winning the lottery instantly erases all of your financial problems, which is what it did for Steven and his wife, Teresa.

"I almost peed my pants when I found out," Steven said. "It couldn't have come at a better time." The first thing that Steven did after the win was to call his bank. This time, they were more than willing to talk to him, now that he won the lottery!

Steven and Teresa paid off the remainder of their mortgage, which was $80,000. The lottery instantly erased all of their financial problems. They must feel awesome about that today!

Steven Springstead won his $300,000 on an instant scratch game from Michigan Lottery called Tripling Red Hot Cashword.

At the time of his win, Steven lived with his wife in Fruitport, Michigan, which is just west of Grand Rapids.

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Ronald Redden - Thank You Jesus For Making Me Rich!

You think Jesus has a hand in who wins the lottery? Ronald Redden must think so because, when he won the lottery, the first thing he said was "Thank you Jesus!"

Ronald's story is quite remarkable. He's one of those guys that just wanted to become rich by winning the lottery. For him, there was no other way to riches. So he played the lottery... A lot!

When I say a lot, I really do mean a lot; he spent about $1000 a year playing the lottery. He did that for the past seven years. That's about $7000 down the drain. Then he lost his job about two years ago and hasn't worked since. Yet, he continued to play the lottery. Winning the lottery was his dream. If he was to win, he wouldn't have to keep looking for work; he could just take it easy.

Being a religious man, I'm sure Ronald Redden prayed to Jesus to make him rich. Then one day it happened - Ronald won the lottery and he thanked Jesus for it.

Ronald won $1 million playing Mega Millions. That was in the December 6, 2011 draw. For that draw, Ronald bought three tickets from a gas station in Warsaw, Indiana. Two of the tickets were numbers that Ronald chose based on family birthdays. The third ticket was a random quick pick. After the draw, Ronald checked the two tickets with the numbers that he chose. He didn't win anything. However, he forgot that he also bought the quick pick ticket, so that one was left in his wallet.

Shortly thereafter, Ronald's girlfriend called him to tell him that it was announced on the news that someone bought a winning ticket at the gas station in Warsaw where he bought his tickets. Ronald told her it wasn't him - He already checked his tickets.

A few days later, Ronald was back at the gas station to buy more lottery tickets. He opened his wallet and saw the Mega Millions quick pick ticket that he forgot about. He pulled it out and started comparing his numbers to the winning numbers. "I looked at the first three numbers and I went thank you Jesus, because I knew right then and there that was the winning ticket," Ronald said. Yep, he won!

With the million dollar win, Ronald said that he wouldn't have to work anymore. I know you might be thinking, "ya right, he's gonna go on a spending spree and blow it all." I don't think so, not Ronald. After the win, some of his friends expected him to start spending and asked him why he was still driving his old car when he was a lottery winner. Ronald would reply that there was nothing wrong with it, so he didn't need to buy a new car. The only big purchase that Ronald's expecting to make is to install air conditioning in his home. With the rest of the money, he just wants to make it grow.

Have a happy retirement, Ronald!

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How To Make Up With Your Wife After A Big Fight

For all you married guys out there, wouldn't you agree that it's tough to make up with your wife after a big fight? If only there were an easy, full-proof way to do it. Actually, now there is and it's 100% guaranteed to work. Rudy Holzknecht did it and he can show you how.

Pictured above is Theresa Holzknecht and her husband, Rudy. A few days ago, they got into a fight. It all started when their 12-year-old daughter was grounded for staying out late. But she wanted to go out with her friends and pleaded with her parents to let her go. Rudy eventually gave in and let her go. Theresa didn't like that and a big argument ensued.

Theresa was mad at Rudy. As a husband there's not much you can do at this point. There's no official play-book on how to deal with such situations (Although, there should be because guys need step-by-step instructions, you know?), so Rudy had to come up with his own ideas. Rudy then decided to step out and buy his wife an instant scratch lottery ticket. Perhaps that would help smooth things over.

Rudy went out to the store and bought his wife a $10 game from New York Lottery called Triple Million, which offers a top prize of $3 million. He brought it home and gave it to her. Theresa scratched it and BAM... it was a winner. She won the top prize of $3 million! Then Theresa totally forgot about their fight and the couple made up.

Apparently, $3 million has a way of smoothing things over and the beauty is that it works EVERY time. So the next time you have a big fight with your wife and you want to make up with her, just give her $3 million and everything will be fine. OK OK, I know it's not as easy as it sounds - First you have to pick out a winning lottery ticket, but that's your problem ;)

At the time of their win, Rudy and Theresa Holzknecht lived in Massapequa Park, New York, which is just outside of New York City. They said that they would use the money to move to Virginia because they just love it there.

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Craig Gossett - Lottery Win Could Not Have Come At A Better Time

When is the best time to win the lottery? Today? That would be my answer - Today!

I just love it when new lottery winners say that their win could not have come at a better time. Really? Everybody wants to win the lottery and when it happens, I'm sure they'll agree that it could not come at a better time. After all, winning the lottery today is better than winning it ten years from now, right?

Meet Craig Gosset. He's pictured here with his wife, Janet, and a representative from Illinois Lottery, handing over a big check for $11,250,000. At the press conference to announce Craig as the winner of the prize, Craig said that the win could not have come at a better time. We've heard that one before, right? But for him, it's true. Prior to winning the prize, he had just begun to start the bankruptcy process because his debt was killing him.

Craig Gosset did have a job before winning the lottery. He worked full-time as a truck driver. But even with the full-time job, bills were piling up that he couldn't afford to pay anymore. "Me and my wife were struggling for three years and I fell behind on my credit card," Craig said. Now, with the big win, Craig will be calling his lawyer to stop the bankruptcy proceedings. I have a feeling that that will be one phone call that will feel amazing to make.

Craig Gosset won his $11.25 million jackpot playing Illinois Lotto. The odds of winning the Illinois Lotto jackpot are approximately 1-in-10-million.

At the time of his win, Craig Gosset and his wife lived in a trailer in Minooka, Illinois, which is just outside of Chicago. The couple are excited about now being able to buy their own house. They also plan on taking some fun vacations, starting with an exciting trip to... wait for it... Minnesota! Haha, I can just picture them screaming it now, "We won the lottery. Pack your bags, we're going to Minnesota!"

If you're reading this, go buy a lottery ticket... Because I think today is a good day to win the lottery - It's never been a better time!

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Jose Antonetti - $1 Million Winner

You know what will happen if you ask your wife to check your lottery tickets? Well, if you win, there will be lots of screaming and NO SLEEP FOR YOU.

Jose Antonetti knows exactly what I'm talking about. Last Sunday, he printed the lottery numbers from his computer, gave it to his his wife, and asked her to check his tickets. Then he went to take a nap.

There Jose was, dozing off, feeling nice and comfortable in bed, when the screaming started. Arggh, no more sleeping. Jose's wife, who was checking his lottery tickets, found a big winner. One of his tickets matched 5 numbers in Powerball. "My wife started calling my name and told me I won $200,000," he said. "I told her that I played the Power Play option, so it must be worth more." Yep, it was... Jose spent the extra dollar to include the Powerplay option on his ticket, making the $200,000 win a $1 million win.

Jose Antonetti was awakened from his nap to find out that he was a $1 million winner. Not a bad way to wake up, don't you think?

At the time of his win, Jose Antonetti was 79-years-old and living in Havre de Grace, Maryland, which is just outside of Baltimore. He said that he planned to use the money to pay off his mortgage and credit cards and, also, to take a trip to Florida to visit his family.

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Donald Dickerson Lifts The Debt Burden Of Monthly Payments

There are two types of lottery winners - Those that win massive multi-million dollar jackpots and then there are those that win secondary prizes, like a few hundred thousand dollars.

The people that win multi-million dollar jackpots can retire and live the rest of their lives in comfort (Although some of these people actually blow it and spend it all - Don't ask me how that happens).

For the people that win secondary prizes of a few hundred thousand, it usually means getting out of the debt burden, which really gives them better peace of mind knowing that their finances are in order. There are a few people that win secondary prizes and then start spending like they're millionaires, like Karen Flook, but that's rare, though.

Donald Dickerson, who is pictured above, knows exactly what I'm talking about when it comes to secondary prizes. He won $250,000, the second prize in Mega Millions in October of 2011. When speaking about his life prior to winning, Donald, who is a school teacher, said, "I just make my monthly payments like the rest of the world. I'm happy that I'm doing it, and I'm happy that I have a rewarding career." With the win, he planned to pay off all his debts - Mortgage, car, bills.

Lifting the burden of monthly debt payments would give Donald Dickerson the opportunity to afford more of the things that he really enjoys doing, without going too overboard, financially. "It will give me extra money per month that I can spend on the grandkids," he said, while adding that it will also allow him to have some more fun. That's the way it should be when you win a few hundred thousand in the lottery.

At the time of his win, Donald Dickerson was 48-years-old, working as a school teacher, and living in Harrisonville, Missouri, which is just outside of Kansas City.

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Bobby Caldwell Wins Super Millions Instant Scratch Game

What do you do if you scratch a lottery ticket, only to find that you're a big winner? Well, if you're Bobby Caldwell, you go get your glasses.

When Bobby Caldwell was scratching his Super Millions instant scratch ticket at his kitchen table, he saw that it was a big winner. But that couldn't be... That's unbelievable. He was wearing an old pair of glasses at the time and thought that his eyes must have been playing tricks on him. "I was sitting at the table when I scratched it;" he said. "I had to go get my new glasses because I didn't think I could see out the old ones."

So Bobby got his new glasses and came back to the kitchen table. He had a closer look and, what do you know, he really did win - $4 million!

Bobby Caldwell won $4 million playing an instant scratch game from Georgia Lottery called Super Millions. Super Million costs $20 to play and offers five different top prizes: $1 million, $2 million, $3 million, $4 million, and $5 million. The odds of winning any one of those five prizes in the game are approximately 1-in-5.05-million. Bobby beat the odds to win $4 million.

At the time of his win, Bobby Caldwell was 64-years-old, retired, and living in Barnesville, Georgia, which is just south of Atlanta. He said that he planned to use the money to buy a new house.

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Yamil Bravo - Florida Mega Money Winner

Florida Lottery has a unique game called Mega Money. The game is initially set up like most lottery games. It has jackpots that start at $500,000 and then the jackpot continues to grow if it is not won. To win the jackpot, you have to match 4-out-of-44 numbers, plus the Mega Ball number. The odds of winning the jackpot are approximately 1-in-3-million.

Where the Mega Money differs from most other lottery games is that the jackpot only goes as high as $2 million; that's the maximum jackpot. After that, if the jackpot is not won, instead of the size of the jackpot increasing, the lower level of prizes increases. They call this a rolldown. On average, rolldwons usually double the size of the secondary prizes.

For example, if you match 3-out-of-4 numbers, the normal prize amount would be $50. However, if you match 3-out-of-4 numbers during a rolldown draw, you would win more, probably about $100. Pretty cool game, eh?

Pictured above is Yamil Bravo. He enjoys playing the lottery and plays it regularly. Mega Money is one of the games that he enjoys playing. It's a good thing he does because he ended up winning a $1 million Mega Money jackpot in October of 2011.

Winning the lottery came as quite a shock to Yamil Bravo. In the days following his win, he tried to hide the ticket in a safe place. But, as I'm sure you would agree, there's never a good enough to hide $1 million. "I kept checking to make sure it was still there," he said. "Then later, I would move it to another spot."

At the time of his win, Yamil Bravo was 50-years-old and lived in Wellington, Florida.

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Nguyen Van Het - Oldest Lottery Winner Ever

Pictured here is a man from Vietnam named Nguyen Van Het. He's enjoying some fruit with his wife. Just a few short years ago, he wouldn't have been able to afford such food because he was living in a shack and below the poverty line in Vietnam. Fruit would have been a luxury that he just wouldn't have been able to afford. Now he's got a big bowl of it. Mmm... oranges!

How could Nguyen Van Het afford the fruit now? Well, he won the lottery, of course! Nguyen won the lottery in 2010 - He won VND 7.6 billion. Yep, you heard that right, he won billions in the Vietnamese lottery - He's a billionaire!

Now Nguyen has been able to buy all of the things he's always dreamed of, namely a mansion in Hanoi and a Lamborghini! OK, I'm just kidding... Nguyen never dreamed of such things; living below the poverty line, he probably didn't even know what a Lamborghini was. Not only that, at the time of his win Nguyen was 97-years-old, possibly making him the oldest lottery winner ever. At 97 years of age, he was pretty much set in his ways; he'll probably got an upgrade to his shack so that he could live the rest of his life in comfort, but also probably didn't stray too far from that shack.

Nguyen's VND 7.6 billion win translates to $361,904 USD. That's hardly a billionaire in The United States. However, you have to consider the purchasing power of that kind of money in a place like Vietnam. The per capita income in Vietnam in 2010 was just under $1200 a year. So Nguyen's win was about 300 times the per capita income. That would be the equivalent of someone winning about $15 million in the United States. That means that Nguyen Van Hiet is super-rich could live like a king in Vietnam.

But Ngueyn is 97-years-old and possibly the oldest lottery winner ever; how long does he really have to enjoy his money? At that age, we're talking months, not years. But hey, at least a little bit of enjoyment is better than no enjoyment at all!

When Nguyen won, he said that he wanted to use the money to buy some new clothes for his wife, a TV, an upgrade to his shack, and some meat (Put that into perspective - When do you ever hear a lottery winner saying that he wants to use his winnings to buy meat?). He also bought a 20 kg bag of rice for each family living in his alley.

Congratulations to Nguyen Van Het - I hope he gets to enjoy his new-found wealth for years to come.

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Shawny McClure - Arkansas Lottery Play It Again Winner

Arkansas Lottery has a second chance drawing called Play It Again. Any eligible scratch-off tickets that have not won a prize can be entered into Play It Again for another chance to win a big prize.

A few months ago, Shawny McClure bought a $10 scratch-off game from Arkansas Lottery called Cash Spectacular. It was a losing ticket, so she entered it into Play It Again for another chance at winning.

When you submit your ticket to Play It Again, you have to fill out all the usual details like name, address, and phone number. Shawny did that. However, since submitting the ticket, she got a new phone number. So, if she were to win and Arkansas Lottery were to call the number on the ticket, they wouldn't reach Shawny. Oh well, what other the chances that she would actually win? No big deal.

Ha, but it was a big deal - Shawny McClure's ticket was chosen as the winner. She won $500,000! Now, Arkansas Lottery had the wrong phone number so they couldn't call her to tell her the good news.

Anyhow, the winners' information was posted on the Arkansas Lottery website. A relative of Shawny's was scrolling through the winners' names and, sure enough, saw Shawny's name there. So, she called Shawny herself to tell her the good news.

After the phone call from her relative, Shawny McClure was able to call Arkansas Lottery to confirm the news that she received. It was true, she really did win the lottery!

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Terry Benson - Thieves Burglarize Lottery Winner's House

Here's some advice to new lottery winners - Don't tell anybody that you won!

In most jurisdictions, when you win the lottery, it's mandatory that the lottery corporation publishes your name and picture. That's fine, there's nothing you can do about that. However, until you actually go in to the lottery prize claim office to claim your winnings, it's probably a good idea to keep your big win quiet. Why? there's are a handful of reasons, but the most important one might be that you have in your possession a piece of paper that could be worth millions; that's something that would be quite attractive to thieves.

Pictured above is Terry Benson with his wife, Brenda. He knows exactly what I mean. He won the lottery way back in 1995 - £20.1 million ($31,492,679 USD) from UK's National Lottery.

One night, after winning the big jackpot, Terry Benson took his family out to celebrate in London. While out celebrating, thieves burglarized and and pillaged his house. At the time, police believed that it was possible that the thieves were attempting to find and steal the winning lottery ticket. They didn't get the ticket, but they did manage to steal some sentimental jewelry.

"These people are just low-life," Terry Benson said about the break in. "I would call them animals but animals are better than that. Animals are nice. The burglary could have happened any time to anyone - rich and poor - but to come back to this is just horrendous."

It's true, the burglary could have happened any time to anyone, but often burglars will target someone for a specific reason and a winning lottery ticket might just be that reason.

See, it might just be a good idea to keep your big lottery win to to yourself until you actually get the money.

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Lottery Winner Phillip Withem Wants To Help People

Have you ever been sick? I mean, have you ever been really sick? If you have, you know that certain people will step up to help you in your time of need. Those are your real friends. It really sucks that sometimes it takes a tragedy to find out who your real friends are. With that said, it's also a blessing because you get to find out who you can count on.

Pictured above is Phillip Withem. He got really sick a few years ago. His kidney failed and he needed a transplant. Barring a successful match with the right donor, it didn't look good for him, health-wise. While searching for a donor, he underwent kidney dialysis three times a week.

Life was tough for Phillip. But while he was sick, he was blessed in that his good friends stepped up and helped him, as good friends should.

Then Phillip won the lottery. $5 million from Ohio Lottery. Isn't that what we all dream about - winning the lottery? No doubt, winning the lottery is awesome, but you definitely don't get to enjoy it to the fullest when you're sick, as Phillip was.

Still, Phillip Withem did get to enjoy his winnings in a way. See, when people step up to help you, you'd love to be able to return the favor if you could. Prior to winning the lottery, there was not much Phillip could do to return the favor. But, alas, he won millions, so it was now possible. And, being able to help people made Phillip happy. At least he was able to enjoy his winnings in that way.

"I wanna help people because I love it and it makes me feel good," Phillip said after winning the lottery. He also planned to give money to charities.

Phillip Withem won the lottery in June of 2011. When he picked up his check, he said that the fact that he's a millionaire still hadn't sunk in. I fact, he said that it wouldn't sink in for the rest of his life. That was kind of an eerie statement because Phillip died in August of 2011, just about two months after winning the lottery.

Rest in peace, Phillip.

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Spencer Coffman Wins $750,000 From Missouri Lottery

Missouri Lottery has a scratch-off game called $200,000 A Year For Life. The game costs $20 to play and the top prize is, you guessed it, $200,000 a year for life.

Pictured here is Spencer Coffman. Recently, he bought a $200,000 A Year For Life ticket, hoping to win the top prize. Unfortunately, he was only able to win the second prize. Luckily, though, the second prize was pretty decent too. Spencer won $50,000 a year for life. "I had to check the number several times to make sure I had won. I wanted the big prize of $200,000 a year but this also is big — very big," he said. Yep, it's a great prize!

Spencer Coffman enjoys playing the lottery, specifically the scratch-off games. He has sort of a routine when playing them. What he does is this - When he buys a ticket, he takes it back to his car and scratches it there. If it's a winning ticket, he'll normally go back in the store, cash it in, and buy another ticket. Of course, with his big win, the store couldn't cash it in for him; he had to go to Missouri Lottery's prize claim office.

With the win, Spencer Coffman had two options: He had the option of taking $50,000 a year for life, or a $750,000 lump sum payment. Spencer chose the $750,000 lump sum payment.

At the time of his win, Spencer Coffman was 63-years-old and living in Fulton, Missouri, which is just outside of St. Louis.

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12 Co-Workers From Penetanguishene Win $21 Million Lotto Max Prize

"When I validated the ticket and found out the amount of our win, my first thought was of our group. I was thinking how much the money would help out each member. Then I laughed to myself that we all went to work for a whole week without knowing." This is what Christopher Lahaie had to say about winning the lottery. Arrgh... If I was in his lottery group, I would have strangled him; not checking the ticket would have meant that my long-needed vacation would have been delayed by a week ;)

Christopher Lahaie is the guy in the middle holding the big ceremonial check for $21 million. He's the ringleader of a lottery pool, a group of 12 co-workers that work at the Waypoint Centre for Mental Health Care in Penetanguishene, Ontario, which is just north of Toronto. They won $21 million in the November 25, 2011 Lotto Max draw. That means $1,750,000 each.

The group of 12 co-workers, led by Christopher, had been playing the lottery together for just about a year. They hoped to win a big jackpot one day, and that day has finally come. Prior to the big win, the most that they had ever won was $10.

The draw happened on Friday November the 25th. Yet, everybody went to work the following week, not knowing that they were millionaires. It wasn't until the following Friday, December the 2nd, that one of the group members, Donna Valentine, reminded Christopher that they needed to buy new tickets for that night's draw. She drove him to the store and, while there, decided to check the tickets from the previous week. That's when he found out that they won!

You know, with all of the lottery pools that I've participated in over the years, someone always made a copy of the numbers and distributed them to the group. I'm surprised that this group didn't do that or, if they did, why nobody bothered to check the numbers. Oh well, no big deal, except that some possible vacations have been delayed for a week!

Some of the group of winners plan to keep working at the Waypoint Centre for Mental Health Care in Penetanguishene, while some plan to take an early retirement. All of the winners, though, now have some extra money to celebrate the Christmas season with their families.

Congratulations to the lucky winners!

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Richard Zingraf Gets Private Jet And Police Escort To Houston Texans Game

Richard Zingraf won a sweet prize from Texas lottery. He's a Houston Texans football fan and he just won the ultimate fan experience.

Richard bought a Houston Texans scratch-off game from Texas Lottery. It was a losing ticket. Losing tickets, however, are eligible for second chance drawings. Richard entered his losing ticket and won. Check out his awesome prize:

• Round-trip on a private jet to a Houston Texans away game.

• Police escort to the stadium.

• 2 tickets to the game.

• Pre-game sideline access.

• A meeting with the Houston Texans owner.

• High-end gift bag with Texans memorabilia.

• One-night stay in a Houston hotel the night before the game.

I don't know about you, but that sounds to me like the ultimate prize for a sports fan. This blog only covers winners of prizes worth at least $100,000. However, Texas Lottery doesn't report a monetary value for this prize. With that being the case, I'm going to peg the value of this prize at $100,000. Even if that isn't the case, the intrinsic value prize of a prize like this for a true sports fan like Richard Zingraf easily makes it worth $100,000.

"This is exciting; I've never won anything like this before,' Richard said. "I hope I get to see a Texans victory." Go Texans!

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How Many Zeroes Are There In A Million Dollars?

Do you know how many zeroes there are in a million dollars? 6. Do you know how many there are in $100,000? 5.

When Athilee Woodward went to have her lottery tickets checked, the clerk scanned them and said, "You won $100,000." Then another clerk walked over, looked at the screen and said, "No, that's six zeroes." Six zeroes is good for $1 million. At least the second clerk knew how to count!

I've already said once before, people need to learn how to count zeroes. Being off by just one zero is a ten-fold mistake. That's a lot of money. It happens all the time, though - I don't know what it is.

The bottom line, though, is that Athilee Woodward won the lottery! She won $1 million in Canada's Maxmillions game in the November 18, 2011 draw.

When she found out that she won, she was so shocked that she dropped a few F-bombs in the store. I can just picture the scene now - F**K, F**K, F**K, I won the lottery! Must have been an amazing display of excitement.

At the time of her win, Athilee Woodward lived in Winnipeg, Manitoba. She said that she will need to take some time to decide what she'll do with the money.

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It Seems Like All Of Ireland Is Celebrating Kathleen McLaughlin's Lottery Win

That's Irish lady, Kathleen McLaughlin, holding a check for €2,642,046 ($3,540,793 USD), the amount she won in the lottery. She's surrounded by members of her family, helping her celebrate (Nothing like a big lottery win to bring the family together, eh?). With all of the people celebrating the win with her, it seems like it's all of Ireland celebrating - It's true, and for good reason, too - The family members here, and a whole lot more, will be getting some of the money.

Kathleen McLaughlin is 77-years-old. She's set in her ways. What does she need €2.6 million for? It's not like she wants to buy a Bentley or anything. That would be funny - Granny driving a Bentley. No, all she really wants is a new sofa and some extra money to play Bingo. So, she'll be dividing most of the money with her family. And, what a big family it is.

Kathleen McLaughlin has 7 children, 30 grandchildren, and 6 great-grandchildren. See, it really is a big chunk of Ireland that's celebrating Kathleen's win!

With such a big family, there is also one son that, unfortunately, won't see any of it. Her oldest son died in a car accident about twenty years ago. That tragedy helped Kathleen solidify her feelings that her children mean more to her than any amount of money ever could.

Seeing as family is most important for Kathleen McLaughlin, there's always the possibility that winning a lot of money in the lottery could tear the family apart if greed were to ever set in. But her son, Sean, put it into perspective: "The good thing is that it's not a vast amount of money when it's divided among everybody so it will help us but not destroy us."

This sounds like an amazing and close family, held together by a wonderful grandmother. I hope they enjoy the new wealth!

At the time of her win, Kathleen McLaughlin lived in Redcastle, Ireland, which is just north of Londonderry. Most of her children, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren lived close by as well.

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Bridgette Allen Turns The Lights Back On

When people win the lottery, they often talk about all the cool things they will do with the money - Buy a house, buy a car, take a vacation... But not Bridgette Allen. Nope, she just wants to turn the lights back on.

See, Bridgette and her husband, Lamont, had been having some financial difficulties lately. Lamont lost his job. They got to the point where they couldn't even afford to pay the electrical bills. So they had to shut it off. Ditto for the phone bill. To top it all off, Bridgette also recently adopted her nephew's two young kids because he couldn't properly care for them. In the financial situation that Bridgette and Lamont were in, I'd think that they probably shouldn't have taken on this kind of responsibility, but good for them for doing so - It shows that they're good people.

Then Bridgette Allen won the lottery. She won $100,000 in Virginia Lottery's Cash 5 game. What a relief that was; that money was badly needed. Bridgette and Lamont were then able to get their phone and electricity back. Bridgette Allen finally Turned The Lights Back On!

I can't even imagine not having electricity in the house. Electricity is an essential need these days, but we really do take it for granted. You don't really know what you have until it's gone.

Bridgette Allen won the lottery. She needed it. I'm glad she won. However, even with her current situation, she is still planning to donate a portion of her winnings to her church. She should reconsider that. I mean, $100,000 is a lot of money, but that money doesn't last very long if there's no other income coming in; she could very well end up with the lights shut off again if she's not careful.

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Alexander Berkovich Just Won $11 Million In Lotto 649 - Liar!

Let's say you just won the lottery. Then, let's say you begin to tell your friends about your big win. Do you think they would believe you? I mean, winning the lottery is such a big deal that they might think you're pulling their leg. Would you even believe it yourself?

Pictured here is Alexander Berkovich. He just won the lottery. "I feel like I'm telling a lie when I let people know that I just won more than $11 million dollars!" That's what Alex had to say about telling people that he won, but he's not a liar - He really did win. It really is unbelievable when you become an instant millionaire.

Alex Berkovich actually won more than $11 million; he won $11,790,540 from a Lotto 649 jackpot in the November 26, 2011 draw, to be exact.

Alexander Berkovich plays the lottery regularly. So does his brother. The day after the Lotto 649 draw, his brother went out to the store to check his lottery tickets. Since he was already heading out, Alex gave him his tickets to check too. When he came back, Alex's brother gave him the good news - He was a new millionaire. I'm sure Alex thought his brother was lying because, as we all know, that's hard to believe until you check the tickets for yourself.

At the time of his win, Alexander Berkovich was 27-years-old, living in Maple, Ontario, which is just north of Toronto, and working as a machinist. "I will be quitting my job and I've thought about going to back to school but I have not planned yet for any big purchases. It'll be nice not to have to think about money all the time," Alex explained about his plans for the money.

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Paul Turton - It Feels Strange To Be A Millionaire

"I'd be walking down the street or sat on a bus when a big smile would come across my face and I'd think 'I'm a millionaire!'" That's how Paul Turton described the days following his big lottery win. He won £1 million ($1,557,501 USD) in UK National Lottery's Millionaire Raffle.

It feels absolutely amazing to win the lottery. New lottery winners can dream about all of the exciting things that they could do and all of the ways their lives will change. Paul Turton is no different. He says it feels strange to be a millionaire, albeit strange in a good way.

Paul Turton loves astronomy. He's an amateur astronomer. He's got a decent telescope to engage in his craft. Prior to winning the lottery, he wished he could spend more time on his hobby. But, of course work got in the way. He worked at a supermarket. Now he won the lottery and he doesn't need to work so much anymore. He's going to buy a new and better telescope and spend more time engaging in his favorite hobby - Astronomy!

That's what winning the lottery's all about - Winning the lottery is not just about having a big bank account. Money's money, but having a lot of money lets you do whatever you want to do - In Paul's case, it's astronomy; that's gotta be a great feeling!

It may be strange to be a new millionaire, but it looks like Paul Turton will have a permanent smile on his face. "I think I'll have this smile on my face for the rest of my life," he said. Enjoy it, Paul, I'm glad you won!

At the time of his win, Paul Turton was 41-years-old and living with his parents in England. Aside from the new telescope, he said that he also plans to buy himself his own house.

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Nina Kaur - Deceased Father Gave Her Money In A Dream

Are dreams and the lottery related? I mean, do dreams have anything to do with you winning the lottery? As it turns out, a lot of people think so.

Take Mary Wollens, for example. She's a woman that dreamed of lottery numbers. She was so sure that those would be the winning numbers that she played them twice - And won! Then there's Simone Christian; she dreamed of having a chat with Barack Obama. She was so sure that the dream was a sign, that she played Obama's birthday numbers in the lottery. Simone also bought two tickets with the same numbers... And won - Twice!

Now there's Nina Kaur (Pictured above), a woman that had a dream that her deceased father was giving her money. What could this dream possibly mean? To Nina, it meant that she would win the lottery. So she bought a scratch-off ticket... And won!

Nina Kaur won $200,000 playing an instant scratch game from South Carolina Lottery called Winner Green. She's absolutely certain that it was her deceased father that had a hand in her winning the lottery.

The Winner Green game costs $10 to play and the odds of winning the $200,000 top prize in the game are approximately 1-in-428,000.

At the time of her win, Nina Kaur owned a taxi company and lived in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina.

Now you know the secret of winning the lottery - Have a dream about your father, or maybe just dream about Barack Obama!

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St Anthony Helps Marilyn Garcia-John Win $1 Million

A few days ago, I wrote a story about how Barack Obama helped a woman win the lottery. Well, it turns out that St. Anthony helps people win the lottery too. Specifically, the saint helped Marilyn Garcia-John win the lottery.

I'm not too sure who St Anthony actually is, but Marilyn Garcia-John prays to him every day.

Marilyn Garcia-John never plays the lottery. However, a few days ago, she decided to buy a ticket for some reason. "I never play the Lottery but decided that day was going to be different," she said. "I bought a Lottery ticket on the way home from work, which is highly unusual for me."

The ticket that Marilyn bought is an instant scratch game from New York Lottery called Black Pearls. When she scratched the ticket, she realized that the winning numbers corresponded to the feast day of St Anthony, 6-13. She won $1 million!

Folks, it's time to start praying to St Anthony.

The Black Pearls game that Marilyn won on is offered by New York Lottery and costs $5 to play. The odds of winning the million dollar top prize are approximately 1-in-2.65-million. The odds of winning any prize in the game are approximately 1-in-4.49.

At the time of her win, Marilyn Garcia-John worked as a bank teller and lived in Port Chester, New York, which is just north of NYC.

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James Cherry Is Happy That Lottery Proceeds Go Towards Education In His State

James Cherry plays the lottery. He says that he is happy that proceeds from the money he spends on the lottery goes towards education in his home state of North Carolina. "There's certainly a good benefit," he said. "Teachers and schools really need it."

That may be true - Teachers and schools really do need the money. However, I think that's the last thing on people's minds when they play the lottery. First and foremost, they want to win. After winning, it's a nice thing to say that they're happy that the money goes towards a good cause.

James Cherry won $103,627 playing the state of North Carolina's Cash 5 game on the November 10, 2011 draw. He chose the numbers himself, but there was no special meaning to the numbers he chose. He said that he was just lucky.

North Carolina's Cash 5 game is a 5/39 game. You have to match 5-out-of-39 numbers to win the jackpot. The odds of winning the jackpot are approximately 1-in-576,000.

At the time of his win, James Cherry lived in Hope Mills, North Carolina, which is just south of Raleigh. He said that he was thrilled with his win and is still considering what to do with the money. "It probably won't sink in until I see it in my bank account," he said. Once it does sink in, he may decide to do some traveling.

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Thomas McGahan - Mega Monopoly Winner

Imagine walking into the convenience store and walking out with millions of dollars. Ya, I know, it's hard to imagine. But it happens to people every week - They win big money instantly on instant scratch-off games.

It happened to Thomas McGahan. He is pictured here receiving a check from a Massachusetts Lottery representative. He walked into a convenience store called Peter Pan Superette and walked out a millionaire.

Thomas McGahan won $4 million from a Massachusetts Lottery scratch-off game called Mega Monopoly in November of 2011.

The Mega Monopoly scratch-off game costs $10 to play and offers a top prize of $4 million, which is what Thomas won. The odds of winning the $4 million top prize in the game are approximately 1-in-5.04-million. The odds of winning any prize are approximately 1-in-3.52.

At the time of his win, Thomas McGahan was retired and living in Arlington, Massacgusetts, which is just outside of Boston. He didn't say what he planned to do with the money, except that it will make his retirement a lot more comfortable.

Don't you wish that you, too, could go into a convenience store and walk out a millionaire. I know I do!

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How To Pick Lottery Numbers

When it comes to picking lottery numbers, everybody's got their own methods of doing so. Probably the most popular is to get random quick picks. Second to that would be choosing numbers based on birthdays. Some people even pick numbers based on Barack Obama's birthday. Beyond that, there's many other ways to pick numbers.

Pictured here is Wendy Stroud with her husband, Michael. She has her own ideas on how to pick lottery numbers. She picks them based on the addresses of houses that she has lived in over the years. You think it worked for her? Well, she and her husband are holding glasses of champagne; they're celebrating something, so it must have worked!

Actually, her method of picking lottery numbers did work for her. She won £100,000 ($156,048 USD) in UK's Health Lottery. Imagine that - She won the lottery because of where she used to live. I guess house numbers are lucky too.

Wendy Stroud plays her regular numbers, but she almost didn't win. See, for the draw that she won, she sent Michael out with her numbers to buy the tickets. He was out shopping that day and, when he returned home, he realized that he forgot to play the numbers. Luckily for him, he went back out to buy the tickets later that day. Now they're big winners!

At the time of their win, Michael and Wendy lived in Amersham, England, which is just outside of London. They haven't decided what to do with their winnings yet, but did mention that, for them, playing the lottery isn't about winning millions; they're just happy to win enough to make their retirement more comfortable.

You think it's worth a shot to pick lottery numbers based on previous addresses? Hey, it worked for Wendy Stroud, it might work for you too.

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Amanda Gonzales-Osborne - Michigan Fantasy 5 Winner

This is Amanda Gonzales-Osborne. She enjoys playing the lottery and plays it regularly, hoping to win a big jackpot one day. However, her combined winnings after all her years of playing amounted to no more than $200... That is, until she finally did win a big one in November of 2011.

Amanda Gonzales-Osborne won $287,120 playing Michigan Lottery's Fantasy 5 game.

Michigan's Fantasy 5 game is a 5/39 game, meaning that you have to match 5-out-of-39 numbers to win the jackpot. The odds of matching all five numbers are approximately 1-in-576,000. Jackpots start at $100,000 and increase if they are not won.

The jackpot was big and Amanda had tickets for it. So, she was eager to check her numbers. She used her phone to check her numbers on Michigan Lottery's website and that's when she found out that she won. Finally after all the years of playing and only small wins to show for it, Amanda won big with Fantasy 5, one of her favorite games to play. "I couldn't stop screaming," is how Amanda described the moment she found out that she won.

Amanda said that she planned to use the money to pay off some bills. She said that she'll continue to play the lottery, hoping for another big win one day.

At the time of her win, Amanda Gonzales-Osborne lived in Lincoln Park, Michigan, which is just outside of Detroit.

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Kevin Frost - Montreal Canadiens Fan Wins The Lottery

I want to win the lottery. Not just for all the cool stuff I can buy, but also for the cool things I can do. Those things to do include going to more live hockey games. Yep, I would go watch my favorite team play more - The Toronto Maple Leafs (Sorry football, basketball, and baseball fans - Hockey's the best sport). Maple Leafs tickets are expensive, so you kinda need a lot of money to watch live games.

Kevin Frost is a little like me - He wants to watch more live hockey. But, unlike me, he's able to do it. He won the lottery a couple of years ago and the first thing on his list of things to do was watch more hockey. Unfortunately, he's a Montreal Canadiens fan, so that's his team to watch (Montreal's a great city, but their NHL team sucks). But hey, at least he's living the dream, and that's what winning the lottery is all about!

Kevin found out that he won the lottery when he saw his numbers flash across the screen while watching the morning news. When he saw that he won, he started screaming, "Oh my god, oh my god!" Kevin's girlfriend was in another room and her immediate thought was that the Montreal Canadiens must have made a big trade (That's how fanatical he is). But it was no big trade, just a big lottery win!

Kevin Frost won $7,379,200 in Lotto 649. That kind of money buys a lot of hockey tickets.

Kevin is also a fan of other sports, so some of the other things he wanted to do with the money included playing a round of golf at St Andrews golf course in Scotland and going to watch the Super Bowl.

At the time of his win, Kevin Frost was 39-years-old and living in Ottawa, Ontario.

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