# Do 95% of all lotto winners go broke? **URL:** \ **Category:** Great Debates\ **Created:** [October 27, 2005, 5:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-95-of-all-lotto-winners-go-broke/328124 "2005-10-27T05:13:24Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 4
**Author:** ![dalej42](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/67e7ee/32.png) [@dalej42](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dalej42)\ **Post date:** [October 27, 2005, 7:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-95-of-all-lotto-winners-go-broke/328124/61 "2005-10-27T19:04:30Z")
> [@Xema](#): > > But if you’re reasonably sensible with money, you don’t tend to play the lottery. I don’t that is necessarily true. If you know the odds and decide that the dollar you spend for a lottery ticket is worth it **to you** then the money isn’t wasted. I’ll go to the track sometimes. Even betting $2.00 on ten races is still cheaper than ticket prices for many other sporting events. $20 for bets plus the one dollar parking and the 2 dollar admission=24 dollars. If I buy food and drink, they’re still usually cheaper than most other vendors at sporting events. ---
**Author:** ![Spectre\_of\_Pithecanthropus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spectre_of_pithecanthropus/32/12343_2.png) [@Spectre\_of\_Pithecanthropus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spectre_of_Pithecanthropus)\ **Post date:** [October 27, 2005, 7:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-95-of-all-lotto-winners-go-broke/328124/62 "2005-10-27T19:21:20Z")
> [@Bryan Ekers](#): > > Chris Rock’s riff on the difference between “rich” and “wealthy” is relevant, here. The gist was that “rich” people buy stupid things like gold rims for their toasters, while “wealthy” people buy property. You can’t get _rid_ of “wealth”, but you can lose “rich” after one bad summer and a coke habit. Do you mean that the “wealthy” have more money than the “rich”? A different distinction was stated by Paul Fussel in _Class_, but I don’t know if it still has any currency today, or if it ever did outside of the northeastern corridor. According to him, the words “wealthy” and “rich” mean the same thing but are distinguished by who uses them: “wealthy” is used by the middle and lower classes and “rich” by the upper classes, “class” being here defined as not so much in terms of wealth, but as a combination of factors such as upbringing, education, tastes, and the like. If you read _Class_, by the way, you’ll find that all classes are equally savaged and he shows little preference for any of them. ---
**Author:** ![Quartz](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/quartz/32/267_2.png) [@Quartz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Quartz)\ **Post date:** [October 27, 2005, 7:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-95-of-all-lotto-winners-go-broke/328124/63 "2005-10-27T19:23:12Z")
Yep, playing the lottery can be fun. But you’ve got to trat it as a bit of fun, or you’ll end up broke. ---
**Author:** ![Stranger\_On\_A\_Train](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/13edae/32.png) [@Stranger\_On\_A\_Train](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stranger_On_A_Train)\ **Post date:** [October 27, 2005, 7:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-95-of-all-lotto-winners-go-broke/328124/64 "2005-10-27T19:26:38Z")
I’ve long been firmly of the position that should I suddenly become ostentatious rich–win the lottery, inherit from a long-lost millionaire relative, write that best-selling novel–that I’d buy a 2 bedroom house in some unassuming neighborhood, sock away enough into an annuity to have a guaranteed yearly income sufficient to cover expenses and let me do a fair amount of non-luxury travelling (i.e. kayaking, backpacking, motorcyling), and donate the rest to the Humane Society and a few select philanthropic organizations. Although I don’t manage money badly and I don’t _think_ I’d be tempted to a lifestyle of bling and excess, I’m fairly apathetic about it; my biggest fear, honestly, is that I’d buy way more books than I could ever actually read in a lifetime–even one of perpetual liesure–and would be found crushed beneath _The OED Oxford English Dictionary Twenty Volume Set_ or somesuch. Since I don’t play the lottery, don’t have any relatives worth speaking of, and haven’t yet shown signs of being the next Joseph Heller or Lee Harper, the issue is an academic one, but I’d like to think that I’d spend my time learning to play the trombone and studying physics, but I’d probably end up rewatching old Twilight Zone episodes and peeing in milk bottles. No, wait, that’s Howard Hughes. Never mind. Stranger ---
**Author:** ![Khadaji](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/9e8a1a/32.png) [@Khadaji](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Khadaji)\ **Post date:** [October 27, 2005, 7:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-95-of-all-lotto-winners-go-broke/328124/65 "2005-10-27T19:48:29Z")
> [@Fear Itself](#): > > This is exactly why I buy lotto tickets, even against all the odds. I get more pleasure out of planning what I will do if I win than I would spending the same money on a latté at Dunkin’ Donuts. I agree. I always say that a buck is cheap for a few days of dreams. I also save and invest regularly and will likely be fairly well off when I retire. I can afford a buck or two a week and some of the money goes to help the elderly (I give far more to charity without the chance to win something.) ---
**Author:** ![SusanStoHelit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/7ab992/32.png) [@SusanStoHelit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SusanStoHelit)\ **Post date:** [October 27, 2005, 8:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-95-of-all-lotto-winners-go-broke/328124/66 "2005-10-27T20:29:19Z")
> [@BluePitbull](#): > > Amazing, hopefully if I win the lottery, I would not make the same mistakes. So How do you ensure that the money could be stretched but still give you a comfortable lifestyle? I’ve heard the “sucessful” (ie those who kept their money longer than 5 years) say that if you come into a large sum, don’t let yourself touch any of it for one whole year. By that time, you’ll be used to the idea of having it, and all the urges for impulse buys you had at first will have faded. Meanwhile, it’s been sitting in a bank enjoying the benefits of compound interest. ---
**Author:** ![Thylacinewas\_taken](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/c67d28/32.png) [@Thylacinewas\_taken](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Thylacinewas_taken)\ **Post date:** [October 27, 2005, 9:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-95-of-all-lotto-winners-go-broke/328124/67 "2005-10-27T21:00:39Z")
> [@Standup Karmic](#): > > I’ve heard numerous times from numerous sources that 95% (or 75% or 50%, or whatever random percentage the speaker chooses) of million-plus lottery winners are in a worse financial state than prior to winning within five years (three years, ten years) of having won. > > Any resemblence to reality? Without even opening your post, I knew you were from Alberta.😉 I didn’t win either. ---
**Author:** ![dalej42](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/67e7ee/32.png) [@dalej42](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dalej42)\ **Post date:** [October 27, 2005, 9:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-95-of-all-lotto-winners-go-broke/328124/68 "2005-10-27T21:01:23Z")
> [@SusanStoHelit](#): > > I’ve heard the “sucessful” (ie those who kept their money longer than 5 years) say that if you come into a large sum, don’t let yourself touch any of it for one whole year. > > By that time, you’ll be used to the idea of having it, and all the urges for impulse buys you had at first will have faded. Meanwhile, it’s been sitting in a bank enjoying the benefits of compound interest. I’d say that is wrong. I think the first thing to do would be to pay off all high interest bills with it. Then, let the rest start making interest. ---
**Author:** ![SusanStoHelit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/7ab992/32.png) [@SusanStoHelit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SusanStoHelit)\ **Post date:** [October 27, 2005, 9:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-95-of-all-lotto-winners-go-broke/328124/69 "2005-10-27T21:31:44Z")
> [@dalej42](#): > > I’d say that is wrong. I think the first thing to do would be to pay off all high interest bills with it. Then, let the rest start making interest. I would say that it depends on your level of self-control and your financial situation. And even if you have a few debts that cost you several hundred in interest for that year, as long as you can last one more year living as you did before you won what’s the harm? It may save you a lot of wasted money in the form of monogrammed toilet paper later. My most expensive habit is books (_waves at **Stranger** _), so I’d be in no danger of burning through $350 in a year. I’d probably invest most of it, quit my job, and go to work for the Humane Society full time (_ooh, there’s **Stranger** again, hi!_). ---
**Author:** ![Shagnasty](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9dc877/32.png) [@Shagnasty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shagnasty)\ **Post date:** [October 27, 2005, 10:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-95-of-all-lotto-winners-go-broke/328124/70 "2005-10-27T22:20:55Z")
> [@Crafter\_Man](#): > > **Shagnasty** : So what did your uncle blow the money on? That’s the thing. Nobody really knows. He truly just frittered it away. He didn’t even have a job when he one and he kept telling people that he knew he was going to win the lottery. He bought hundreds of dollars worth of tickets every month. That basically tells you what you need to know right there. When he won, he told everybody that he was going to buy houses in Rome, San Francisco, and Florida. Then he found out that the 20 year payout was only worth about $175,000 a year before taxes and he realized that wasn’t possible. He wasn’t even close to being the richest person in the family and none of them had any of that. He bought a rather modest house in Florida, started self-publishing books that no one wanted, and just screwed around for 20 years. Total savings: $0 and debt on top of that. He is really and truly screwed now and he lost part of the house in his recent divorce. Ah the lottery, what a dream come true. ---
**Author:** ![xash](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/x/c6cbf5/32.png) [@xash](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/xash)\ **Post date:** [October 27, 2005, 11:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-95-of-all-lotto-winners-go-broke/328124/71 "2005-10-27T23:22:07Z")
Moving to GD for further discussion. - **xash** General Questions Moderator ---
**Author:** ![GreyMatters](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/a9a28c/32.png) [@GreyMatters](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GreyMatters)\ **Post date:** [October 27, 2005, 11:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-95-of-all-lotto-winners-go-broke/328124/72 "2005-10-27T23:40:11Z")
> [@Spartydog](#): > > In fact, if you have any brains at all, you would pay your taxes. That changes the calculus tremendously. That is a pretty snide remark since you have little idea about how lottery winnings are distributed. The taxes are taken out before the winner recieves the money. ---
**Author:** ![ccwaterback](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/df705f/32.png) [@ccwaterback](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ccwaterback)\ **Post date:** [October 28, 2005, 12:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-95-of-all-lotto-winners-go-broke/328124/73 "2005-10-28T00:22:36Z")
You have to remember people would be hounding you 24/7. People you know, and people you don’t know. Every time you give someone more than $10K, Uncle Sam steps in and takes his slice. People with sick children will be calling, needing money for a life saving operation, and unfortunately it won’t be a scam. People you have known all your life will be jealous to the point of never wanting to speak to you again, but maybe during Christmas you can find a place in your wretched little heart for their children. Having tons of money is a never ending anxiety attack. You can trust no one, absolutely no one. I believe many people give their winnings away just to escape the gnawing anxiety. If I won? I would cut my sibs in on the jackpot, watch them run through it like gas through a funnel, then tell them there ain’t no more. If I gave them $4M and they blow it in 5 years, what should I do? Give them another $4M? You might as well just toss it in a fire. I would probably wonder around the world to my favorite places, living in modest surroundings. ---
**Author:** ![R.P.McMurphy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/7993a0/32.png) [@R.P.McMurphy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/R.P.McMurphy)\ **Post date:** [October 28, 2005, 12:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-95-of-all-lotto-winners-go-broke/328124/74 "2005-10-28T00:26:33Z")
> [@GreyMatters](#): > > That is a pretty snide remark since you have little idea about how lottery winnings are distributed. > > The taxes are taken out before the winner recieves the money. A withholding occurs but that doesn’t represent the jackpot. If you win $25 million you might get a lump sum check of about $8 million, give or take a few million. That’s not as much as you might think. You don’t list your location so I have to go with the homeland of the board (U.S.A.) where lottery winnings are not tax free. As we have seen lately, people that try to avoid taxes on winnings are in a boatload of trouble. ---
**Author:** ![Diceman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/22d042/32.png) [@Diceman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Diceman)\ **Post date:** [October 28, 2005, 1:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-95-of-all-lotto-winners-go-broke/328124/75 "2005-10-28T01:13:08Z")
> [@Spectre of Pithecanthropus](#): > > Do you mean that the “wealthy” have more money than the “rich”? I think what he means is that “wealthy” people know how to handle large amounts of money responsibly. They invest their money and buy property, and only spend the interest, so they remain wealthy for life. People who are merely “rich,” on the other hand, don’t know what to do with their money. Most professional athletes and rock stars and rappers still think like poor people, and they spend their money instead of saving it or investing it. Consequently, when their 15 minutes of fame are over and their income dries up, they’re often left with nothing. Professional sports is full of stories of athletes who used to be worth millions, but are now working as a security guard or a bouncer or something like that, because they didn’t plan for what they’d do after their career ended. ---
**Author:** ![GuanoLad](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guanolad/32/42_2.png) [@GuanoLad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GuanoLad)\ **Post date:** [October 28, 2005, 1:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-95-of-all-lotto-winners-go-broke/328124/76 "2005-10-28T01:50:09Z")
> [@Stranger On A Train](#): > > …and haven’t yet shown signs of being the next Joseph Heller or Lee Harper… Ah yes, _To Mock a Killing Bird_. ---
**Author:** ![even\_sven](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/dfb087/32.png) [@even\_sven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/even_sven)\ **Post date:** [October 28, 2005, 3:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-95-of-all-lotto-winners-go-broke/328124/77 "2005-10-28T03:08:22Z")
> [@Crafter\_Man](#): > > I have known a lot of chronically poor people. All have engaged in irresponsible behaviors, and these behaviors are what made them poor. It is therefore my opinion that most (if not all) chronically poor people are irresponsible. I think there is a big difference if you are a chronically poor person coming out of a chronically poor background or a chronically poor person coming from a more privledged background. Anyway, perhaps your anecdotes are correct in your social circle, but I can assure you that it’s hardly universal. The most amazing lottery story I ever heard was when I was in India. The winner worked in a cloth sweatshop and worked eighteen hour days seven days a week. He’d been working as a small child, was illiterate, and had never really seen much outside the factory he works in. Apparently he didn’t even really have a name. He made like thirty cents a day. He won more than he could make in a thousand lifetimes. It boggles the mind. ---
**Author:** ![Wesley\_Clark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wesley_clark/32/20581_2.png) [@Wesley\_Clark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wesley_Clark)\ **Post date:** [October 28, 2005, 3:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-95-of-all-lotto-winners-go-broke/328124/78 "2005-10-28T03:38:16Z")
> [@ShibbOleth](#): > > That’s going to be the tough part of this question, at least from a GQ perspective. There’s not much “news” in: Local man wins lottery, lives normal, happy life. I recall a book several years ago where the thesis was that most people who win the lottery do okay and are happier than before. But that’s not as exciting as the schadenfreude of watching a lottery winner go broke or have a string of personal disasters. > > If you google this you come up with stories of people who were left unhappy or worse off from their wins and others who are happy. The latter are usually from lottery websites, though. I’ve read alot on happiness and the idea I saw was that lottery winners were slightly less happy than before. They didn’t take pleasure in the small things as much as they did before they won the lottery. ---
**Author:** ![Princhester](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/3e96dc/32.png) [@Princhester](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Princhester)\ **Post date:** [October 28, 2005, 4:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-95-of-all-lotto-winners-go-broke/328124/79 "2005-10-28T04:19:21Z")
> [@Crafter\_Man](#): > > I have known a lot of chronically poor people. All have engaged in irresponsible behaviors, and these behaviors are what made them poor. It is therefore my opinion that most (if not all) chronically poor people are irresponsible. > > And you’re right… we shouldn’t be discussing opinions in GQ. Ahh, the have-the-last-word-then-agree-the-discussion-should-end gambit! 😉 ---
**Author:** ![ShibbOleth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/848f3c/32.png) [@ShibbOleth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ShibbOleth)\ **Post date:** [October 28, 2005, 12:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-95-of-all-lotto-winners-go-broke/328124/80 "2005-10-28T12:22:57Z")
> [@Spartydog](#): > > A withholding occurs but that doesn’t represent the jackpot. If you win $25 million you might get a lump sum check of about $8 million, give or take a few million. That’s not as much as you might think. For large, lumpsum distributions, there is an automatic 25% withholding for Federal taxes. State will probably vary by state (go figure). And of course with a lumpsum you are getting the net present value at whatever discount rate the lottery authority uses. After the initial distribution then you have to worry about annual (or more often) taxes on any income derived from interest, investments, etc. If you ever come into a lot of money, try to get someone you trust to recommend a good, reputable law firm and accounting firm. I’d steer clear from any solo folks. It’s harder to get ripped off when it requires a conspiracy. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-95-of-all-lotto-winners-go-broke/328124.md?page=3) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-95-of-all-lotto-winners-go-broke/328124.md?page=5)