# Do lotto winners really lose it all? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [August 21, 2016, 8:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-lotto-winners-really-lose-it-all/763553 "2016-08-21T20:28:21Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 4
**Author:** ![enipla](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/54ee81/32.png) [@enipla](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/enipla)\ **Post date:** [August 26, 2016, 9:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-lotto-winners-really-lose-it-all/763553/61 "2016-08-26T21:23:15Z")
> [@Velocity](#): > > …I think many such lottery winners who blew it all would be very willing to give cautionary lectures to jackpot winners. For a fee. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![SandyHook](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/dec6dc/32.png) [@SandyHook](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SandyHook)\ **Post date:** [August 26, 2016, 11:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-lotto-winners-really-lose-it-all/763553/62 "2016-08-26T23:09:45Z")
It has been 20-30 years since I bought a lottery ticket and even when I did it was only a dollar or two a few times a year. So my chance of winning isn’t all that high. But if I did buy and win, unless it was a staggering amount, it wouldn’t make much difference in how I live. The biggest difference would be no more flying coach (we travel a lot, a whole lot) and I’d go ahead and build a real woodshop and move out of the garage. And no matter how much I won I suspect I’d never spend a penny of the principle. We’ve both been retired for several years and have yet to spend anything but the earnings. ---
**Author:** ![Sahirrnee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sahirrnee/32/13937_2.png) [@Sahirrnee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sahirrnee)\ **Post date:** [August 27, 2016, 5:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-lotto-winners-really-lose-it-all/763553/63 "2016-08-27T17:48:40Z")
I don’t know any big lottery winners, however I know a few who received a nice inheritance. One was a set of twins, Twin1 bought a nice but modest house, two new nice sensible cars, and banked the rest. Twin2 bought two huge trucks with all the bells and whistles, trip to Disneyland, threw lots of parties, and I’m sure a considerable amount went up her nose. She was broke in six months, then tried to guilt Twin1 into giving her her money. Both of them grew up poor, I have no idea how they got such a nice inheritance but they did. One was sensible, the other was stupid, both raised the same way. Another guy, grew up fairly well off. His inheritance went right up his nose. Fortunately, his father had also set up an annuity for him, so he couldn’t blow through all of his money at once. For most of us, the idea of blowing through that much money is unthinkable. However, there are other people whose attitude is _I had nothing before I got that money, I have nothing now, so I’m no worse off than I was, but I sure had one hell of a ride._ Quite seriously, I have friends who think if they die with an unspent $5 in their pocket, they lost at the game of life. They think people who try to hold onto money are stupid. ---
**Author:** ![iljitsch](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/77aa72/32.png) [@iljitsch](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/iljitsch)\ **Post date:** [August 28, 2016, 8:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-lotto-winners-really-lose-it-all/763553/64 "2016-08-28T08:51:28Z")
I don’t think it’s necessarily a question of stupidity, although at some point it becomes that. IMO, the explanation is that people whose only experience is getting a modest amount of money every month (I gather getting paid every two weeks is also a thing, weird) and then spending that money simply don’t have the mindset necessary to have access to money and not spend it. It certainly took me a while to get used to having money in the bank that I wasn’t saving for a particular relatively short term purpose. ---
**Author:** ![Martini\_Enfield](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/martini_enfield/32/11123_2.png) [@Martini\_Enfield](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Martini_Enfield)\ **Post date:** [August 28, 2016, 11:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-lotto-winners-really-lose-it-all/763553/65 "2016-08-28T11:00:07Z")
> [@don\_t\_ask](#): > > Here in Australia the idea that the average multi-million dollar lottery winner is broke within 18 months is plainly a nonsense and I am sure it is overseas as well. One of the several lotto games creates about 30 millionaires a year in one state alone. All up probably several hundred people a year in Australia win over a million. The lotteries provide immediate counselling and advice to winners and put them in touch with finance experts. > > You certainly hear of the occasional idiot who blows their windfall but with the media’s love of bad news I am sure every single one of them gets some coverage. I have only once ever seen a media piece on “good news” lottery winners and they covered lots of people who had got out of debt, set up their family members, gone on holidays and then just settled down living a life without any money worries with money invested for when they wished to retire. One couple had set up a food service for the homeless. One guy was spending his windfall by taking all his friends and their families on a holiday every year at his expense. All sorts of different stories. They are, I think, the “average” lottery winner. > > Most people I know have the odd flutter on the powerball/lotto and if you asked them what they would do if they won most have mundane plans that often don’t even include quitting work. I’ve done a handful of news stories about local lotto winners in my journalism career and this was almost universally the story; they paid off the mortage, bought a new car (not necessarily a flash one or a sports car, just a new vehicle), took That Big Holiday They’ve Always Wanted, and helped out their immediate family a bit. A couple of them did charitable works or took their friends on nice holidays regularly too, but the key thing was none of the people in the stories I encountered went crazy and had champagne fountains and on-call hookers and aircraft hangars full of jets and cars and Venus De Milo statues made out of cocaine or anything like that. A friend’s cousin and his wife won $1m on Lotto several years ago and they bought a house and a brand-new 4WD with the money and stuck what was left (it was less than $100k) on term deposit and carried on with their lives as before - but, because they didn’t have a mortgage anymore, essentially had 1/3rd more disposable income. IIRC they didn’t tell many people they’d won the money and never told anyone at their respective jobs; as **don’t ask** observes, that seems to be a pretty typical Australian reaction to winning lotto. Also, it’s worth noting in Australia that lottery and gambling winnings are _not_ taxed and you can remain anonymous when collecting lotto winnings. Basically, if you win $50m in Lotto, you’ll get $50m in your bank account and no-one outside the appropriate authorities (and obviously your bank, and your accountant) has to know. ---
**Author:** ![Doug\_K](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b5ac83/32.png) [@Doug\_K](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Doug_K)\ **Post date:** [August 28, 2016, 1:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-lotto-winners-really-lose-it-all/763553/66 "2016-08-28T13:20:18Z")
> [@Chimera](#): > > Well, here’s how I describe winning the lottery (not that I have, but hopefully 😉 ) > > \*\*\*Imagine that everyone you know, everyone who knows you, knows of you or otherwise has any reason to remember your name is brought into a stadium. There, on the big screen, your current picture is put up on the screen for all to see and it is announced that you’ve won $50 million dollars. > > But they aren’t the only people there. The rest of the audience are conmen, criminals and lowlifes who make their living through fraud. They all get to see your name and picture too. > > How do you live your life after that happens?\*\*\* That’s why before you buy a single ticket you should move to a state that allows you to collect anonymously. Or lobby to get your own state to allow it and wait until after he law is changed to purchase tickets. ---
**Author:** ![moojja](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/e5b9ba/32.png) [@moojja](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/moojja)\ **Post date:** [August 28, 2016, 5:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-lotto-winners-really-lose-it-all/763553/67 "2016-08-28T17:22:15Z")
> [@Sahirrnee](#): > > Quite seriously, I have friends who think if they die with an unspent $5 in their pocket, they lost at the game of life. They think people who try to hold onto money are stupid. They’re not wrong. You can’t take it with you, might as well enjoy it before the worms get to you. ---
**Author:** ![Chimera](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/8e8cbc/32.png) [@Chimera](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chimera)\ **Post date:** [August 28, 2016, 5:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-lotto-winners-really-lose-it-all/763553/68 "2016-08-28T17:44:16Z")
> [@Doug\_K](#): > > That’s why before you buy a single ticket you should move to a state that allows you to collect anonymously. Or lobby to get your own state to allow it and wait until after he law is changed to purchase tickets. Gosh, what a great idea. Never buy a single lottery ticket until you re-arrange your entire life to move to a state where it is anonymous. ---
**Author:** ![SigMan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/13edae/32.png) [@SigMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SigMan)\ **Post date:** [August 28, 2016, 6:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-lotto-winners-really-lose-it-all/763553/69 "2016-08-28T18:12:59Z")
I know two people who lost it in the Lottery big time. One is a friend who should’ve won the Lottery but didn’t. They had 5 play slips (25 sets of numbers) rang up at a local store. On the drawing night their number came up and they thought they’ve won 4 mils. They found out that one play slip was rang up twice thus missing the slip with the winning numbers. They sued the clerk and the store but lost because they failed to check the tickets before leaving the store. As a result my friend fell to ill health and died. Another friend was in the Lottery pool at his job. One week he skipped the pool because he was low on cash. They hit that week and each member gets $220,000 a year for 20 years. It was a big pot then. My friend lost it where he ended up in a nut house. I had a few close calls myself. I had a system I wrote on my C64 that showed trends in drawings. It worked pretty good because I hit 3 of 6 a lot and one time 4 of 6. One time I bought a set after running my C64 and decided to get another set +1 of the first set. I had a dollar left and I debated if I should get a -1 set but I didn’t. That -1 set hit 5 of 6! Dammit! :eek: ---
**Author:** ![Sahirrnee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sahirrnee/32/13937_2.png) [@Sahirrnee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sahirrnee)\ **Post date:** [August 28, 2016, 6:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-lotto-winners-really-lose-it-all/763553/70 "2016-08-28T18:23:41Z")
> [@moojja](#): > > They’re not wrong. You can’t take it with you, might as well enjoy it before the worms get to you. Until their car breaks down and they can’t get to work. Or the landlord gives them 30 days notice and they don’t have money to move. Or the dog is sick and they don’t have money for the vet. They are always in crisis mode, racing from one financial fire to the next. Always dependent on somebody else to bail them out. ---
**Author:** ![silenus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/silenus/32/166_2.png) [@silenus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silenus)\ **Post date:** [August 28, 2016, 6:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-lotto-winners-really-lose-it-all/763553/71 "2016-08-28T18:33:04Z")
> [@SigMan](#): > > I had a few close calls myself. \*\*I had a system I wrote on my C64 that showed trends in drawings. It worked pretty good \*\*because I hit 3 of 6 a lot and one time 4 of 6. One time I bought a set after running my C64 and decided to get another set +1 of the first set. I had a dollar left and I debated if I should get a -1 set but I didn’t. > > That -1 set hit 5 of 6! Dammit! :eek: Bull and shit. ---
**Author:** ![hajario](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hajario/32/171_2.png) [@hajario](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hajario)\ **Post date:** [August 28, 2016, 7:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-lotto-winners-really-lose-it-all/763553/72 "2016-08-28T19:48:37Z")
> [@moojja](#): > > They’re not wrong. You can’t take it with you, might as well enjoy it before the worms get to you. They are totally wrong. No savings in case of emergency is competely idiotic. It’s what very stupid people do. ---
**Author:** ![LSLGuy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lslguy/32/5813_2.png) [@LSLGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LSLGuy)\ **Post date:** [August 28, 2016, 7:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-lotto-winners-really-lose-it-all/763553/73 "2016-08-28T19:56:14Z")
> [@silenus](#): > > Bull and shit. Awwww, don’t burst his bubble. Bubble is all the lottery has to sell. ---
**Author:** ![SigMan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/13edae/32.png) [@SigMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SigMan)\ **Post date:** [August 28, 2016, 8:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-lotto-winners-really-lose-it-all/763553/74 "2016-08-28T20:22:07Z")
> [@silenus](#): > > Bull and shit. You wish. 🆒 ---
**Author:** ![friedo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/8edcca/32.png) [@friedo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/friedo)\ **Post date:** [August 28, 2016, 9:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-lotto-winners-really-lose-it-all/763553/75 "2016-08-28T21:38:29Z")
> [@SigMan](#): > > You wish. 🆒 Oh please oh please, tell us how your magical statistical “trends” were detected with your C64 duperkomputer. We all wish to emulate your money-winning ways. Why, I bet with a few taps of the keyboard (and a suitable dubstep montage involving “code” and “hackering”) I can adapt your 1988 BASIC code to win big at roulette in Vegas next week. Because “trends.” ---
**Author:** ![SigMan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/13edae/32.png) [@SigMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SigMan)\ **Post date:** [August 28, 2016, 10:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-lotto-winners-really-lose-it-all/763553/76 "2016-08-28T22:11:59Z")
It wasn’t really a system so to speak so you can cool it ok? What it was was a graphical presentation of a play slip on screen. I put the winning numbers in the database and then flip through them watching the “migration” of the markers. I saw interesting things as a result and made my bets based on it. By the way, I sold a video game to the Compute! magazine I wrote in assembly language. ---
**Author:** ![friedo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/8edcca/32.png) [@friedo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/friedo)\ **Post date:** [August 28, 2016, 11:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-lotto-winners-really-lose-it-all/763553/77 "2016-08-28T23:21:50Z")
I would think that someone who can hack C64 assembler would have a rudimentary understanding of probability, but hey, whatever floats your boat. ---
**Author:** ![Dewey\_Finn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dewey_finn/32/4222_2.png) [@Dewey\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dewey_Finn)\ **Post date:** [August 28, 2016, 11:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-lotto-winners-really-lose-it-all/763553/78 "2016-08-28T23:26:18Z")
I have no idea if what **SigMan** is suggesting is real, but I have heard of people exploiting flaws in lottery scratcher games or even [in casino games](http://www.nytimes.com/2016/07/03/magazine/how-advantage-players-game-the-casinos.html). ---
**Author:** ![friedo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/8edcca/32.png) [@friedo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/friedo)\ **Post date:** [August 29, 2016, 12:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-lotto-winners-really-lose-it-all/763553/79 "2016-08-29T00:02:45Z")
Lottery games involving picking random ping-pong balls from a giant popcorn machine are not subject to advantage play. Those strategies rely on keeping track of some kind of preserved state between plays, like counting cards in blackjack. There is no preserved state between lottery drawings, and the machines are designed to eliminate any statistical bias in number selection. ---
**Author:** ![SigMan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/13edae/32.png) [@SigMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SigMan)\ **Post date:** [August 29, 2016, 12:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-lotto-winners-really-lose-it-all/763553/80 "2016-08-29T00:13:36Z")
I only found that the drawings weren’t really random but a tendency. This is why the lottery officials test run the machines a few times before the drawing, to break up that tendency. My program doesn’t show me the tendencies every time but when there is one at the time I make my bets based on it and my odds were good. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-lotto-winners-really-lose-it-all/763553.md?page=3) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-lotto-winners-really-lose-it-all/763553.md?page=5)