They always say they regret winning the money but they never

[Catherine Vincent]

offer to give it all away.:)

Aug. 14, 2006, 12:37AM

Juan Rodriguez, an average guy, thought he'd won it all. Now, he wishes he hadn't been so lucky.
Stuck with a winning ticket


By LISA SANDBERG
Copyright 2006 Houston Chronicle Austin Bureau

JOURDANTON - Juan Rodriguez wanted nothing more than to be one of the guys in rural South Texas where he was raised, and he was until six years ago, when he had the misfortune to acquire almost $9 million from the state lottery.

Today, he's lost his anonymity, his buddies, whatever girlfriends he once had, and most of his family, whom he no longer trusts. He rarely ventures outside the trailer here where he lives alone. Booze and the four dogs he keeps chained outside are his main companions.

"To tell you the truth, I wish I didn't win," he said from his living room one recent evening, nursing the first of nine Michelob Ultras he would consume by 10 p.m.

The comment may startle most in this Atascosa County farming town of 4,000 souls 38 miles south of San Antonio, but understand his point.

Rodriguez, 44, was an average guy before he won an $18 million jackpot and opted to collect an $8.9 million lump sum in February 2000.

more....
http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/front/4114610.html

[Buns_of_Fire]

1. I hate to see him that unhappy

In the spirit of charity to my fellow man, I'll be happy to unburden him of a million or two... :-)

[QuettaKid]

3. I - D - I - O - T

fool wins that kind of money and STILL keeps his dogs on chains in the yard!?!?!? at the very least, but them a frickin fence!!

[Bake]

9. Outside his trailer.

Let me repeat that ... "outside his trailer." $9 Mil and he's still in a trailer?

Not to disparage manufactured housing, but if I didn't HAVE to be in one, I do't think I would be in one. I'd have a decent house with a big ol' gated brick wall around it. Electrified.

Bake

[Subdivisions]

12. I'm sorry but

didn't you read the entire article at the link given?

The poor man is broken. Everyone he thought he knew didn't have anything hardly to do with him until he had cash. Then they were his best friends and calling themselves family all of a sudden.

True enough, you and I would've got the hell out of there and lived it up. But the money has made this guy bitter. And I can little blame him, even if at the same time I wish for a little of his luck.

[Bake]

14. I quite agree. The man is broken.

And that's a shame. Money does not necessarily have to be a curse. But the people around this guy are the curse -- like vultures.

I wouldn't even necessarily "live it up." I'd do a few things, but my friends would be the same friends as always. I'd be suspicious of new hangers-on.

Bake

[Warpy]

2. Most people who get sudden wealth are cursed by it

because it means a complete change involving losing their home, their jobs, their friends, their family. The last loss may be a temporary one, but it's still a loss.

That poor guy needs to get sober. If he manages that, he may have a chance of dealing with his new life. If not, he'll just drink himself to death in record time.

[Lone_Star_Dem]

4. Ick! Michelob Ultra

No wonder he's lost all his friends, all the money in the world won't make thst stuff tast good. :puke:

[HiFructosePronSyrup]

5. ...

:nopity:

[QuettaKid]

7. you need more musicians

:nopity: :nopity: :nopity: :nopity: :nopity: :nopity: :nopity: :nopity: :nopity: :nopity: :nopity:

[MrSlayer]

6. Boo fucking Hoo.

You want to go back to being poor? Give me the money. You bet your ass I will not be complaining.

[Subdivisions]

13. LOL...

Cold snap!

[zbdent]

8. Probably wouldn't scare me too much

I was pretty much a loner in school (geek/bookworm).

lost touch with the few "friends" I've had ...

However, my immediate families (both mine and Mrs. ZBDent's) would be included in my good fortune (although I consider at times being the "rich uncle" that everybody is waiting to die while they kiss my, er, never mind).

And I would relocate (We already want to get out of Ohio) anyway.

[Uben]

10. I inherited a couple of million dollars

I have lived the life of a blue collar worker all my life, and had my struggles making ends meet just like the vast majority of Americans. I refused to let the sudden windfall ruin my life. I live comfortably now, not extravagant. I have the money invested, and live off the interest, well within my means. The one benefit I reaped was now I control my time and how it is spent. My wife recently went through a bout with breast cancer. She is a 3 yr survivor. We spend every minute of every day together. The money did allow us to do that, and that gift alone is enough.
One of us may die tomorrow, but we are maximizing our time together, and enjoying life as much as we can. I'm not interested in big fancy cars or lush estates. I just want to spend as much time of what is left with her. In that respect, my prayers were answered. We still have all our friends, the same old house, and even the same old vehicles we had before the money. It only changes you if you let it. A million dollars doesn't go as far as it used to, but you can retire on a couple of million easily, as long as you are smart enough to manage it wisely.

[Catherine Vincent]

11. That's what I would do, retire.

And pay off my mortgage.

[Lone_Star_Dem]

18. I'd pay off my daughters college

And then I'd relax (finally!) and travel a bit. Nothing fancy, I just love seeing other cultures and meeting new people.

[LSK]

15. thats what I would do too

Millions does not mean fancy cars, huge mansions or yachts (ok, maybe I would buy a small sailboat), but winning millions means having TIME to do what I want instead of working 40 hours a week.

[Catherine Vincent]

17. Although I would go on a couple of cruises every year.

That would be my treat. :)

[karlrschneider]

25. There's not enough money on the planet to get me to go on a cruise.

Yuck.

[Mad_Dem_X]

16. Uben, you sound like an intelligent person

Who knows what's most important in life. It's not about acquiring things, it's spending time with the one(s) you care about.

[gratuitous]

21. It sounds like you made a plan

And it sounds like the guy in the story did not make a plan.

Managing a large sum of money, all of a sudden and with no prior experience, is something to be left to professionals. The nice thing about having a large sum of money is that your immediate needs can be taken care of until you go through the education and training to become a professional yourself. Look at some other folks who won a lottery, though not necessarily a state-sponsored one: Athletes or musicians or artists who suddenly strike it rich overnight. Some of them take the time and effort to manage their riches (Magic Johnson and Michael Jordan spring immediately to my mind) and others run through it as if the gravy train will never stop running (here I think of M.C. Hammer and Shawn Kemp).

Some lottery winners have enough wit about them to know how little they know about managing a fortune; others don't, but think all their problems are solved just because they have enough money. But it ain't necessarily so.

[SoCalDem]

19. Shame on him... He got sweet lemonade and has turned it

into sour lemons :(

I'm sorry, but "poor" people who take the lump-sum are chumps..

Unless you are old, the payments over 26 years are a much better hedge.. (I know the state would still get interest on it)...but if you have a guaranteed income of a few million a year, you will not "need" to work, and there's not a bank around that would not back you if you brought them a viable business plan..

and by taking payments, you can protect yourself from...well yourself :)

People think that lots of money would make them happy, but in reality all it does is to free you from the crushing debt you may have accumulated.. What you do with it after you have paid your bills is the important part..

You could live very well on a few million a year...and could indulge yourself by starting a small business doing something you loved... You could afford good medical coverage, could close up and travel if you chose.. you could build a very nice house..drive a very nice car and could help with college for your kids (or yourself)

I have no sympathy for people who piss it all away..

[mainer]

28. No. Taking it in a lump sum is the only thing that makes sense.

And I'll tell you why. Because if you suddenly die, and your heirs inherit, the federal government immediately demands all the taxes from all FUTURE PAYOUTS. I kid you not. So you, as the heir, may be getting 20 million dollars paid out over the next 20 years.

But the feds want the income taxes for that entire sum NOW. Even though you don't have it.

It's the same problem with authors and artists whose estates can expect to earn money after their deaths. The heirs are expected to cough up the taxes on all future earnings IMMEDIATELY. When they don't even have the money.

Most attorneys who advise lottery winners advise taking the lump sum to avoid this taxation nightmare.

[karlrschneider]

20. A while ago, someone won $100 million near here but is anonymous

He or she got a lawyer to construct some kind of foundation to claim and manage the money, nobody
can find out who it is. The ticket was sold in a convenience store just down the road from my
brother's house. He hasn't called lately.
:eyes:

:D

[napi21]

23. I'm glad to hear you can do that! I've often said, if I ever got the

lucky ticket, I would find a way to prevent EVERYONE except my husband from finding out about it! I HATE people who pretend friendship with anyone just for some personal gain, and I sure don't want to be the one who's being kissed!

[karlrschneider]

24. I was surprised because I thought for sure I had heard the winner,

by accepting the money, was contractually bound to allow pictures and interviews. Maybe I'm thinking of some other lottery...this one is part of the 'powerball' group.

[Chiyo-chichi]

26. I remember reading that, too. Is this the one?

www.powerball.com

Oklahoma $101.8 Million Winner Claims Prize After 45 Days
The Oklahoma Lottery announced on August 2, 2006, that the $101.8 million jackpot winner of the drawing on June 17, 2006 has claimed the prize through a trust. The winning ticket was sold at Quick Trip, 4705 S. Elm in Broken Arrow, OK. The WJW Investment trust claimed the prize through a trustee, Richard Barlow, and the trust’s attorney, David Walls of Oklahoma City. A statement issued by the trust said:
"The trust format was also used because the beneficiaries wish to maintain their privacy, and they kindly and respectfully have requested that all honor their desire for privacy."

The trust elected to take the cash amount, valued at $46.3 million before taxes.

[napi21]

31. OKAY! Now all I have to do is WIN!!!!! n/t

[karlrschneider]

32. Yes, that's the one.

...

[napi21]

22. Have any of you ever been to Atascosa County, Tx?

I have. I worked for a company in San Antonio that built a mfg. plant in Pleasanton, Tx in Atascosa Cty. It's mostly farming and the people there are very poor! The entire town was THRILLED when we announced that we were building that plant, and I think the highest wages were around $7.00/hr. It really IS rural America, and I can understand how that guy would feel like he didn't fit in anymore at all!

If I had to guess, he was probably born there and rarely if ever traveled anywhere. Even with plenty of $$, he wouldn't have any idea where to go, even if he considered leaving.

[sandnsea]

30. He took his family on vacations

Then went back home and hit the bottle by 4 pm. This has got nothing to do with poverty and most of the "woe is me" lottery money stories I hear don't either. It's always drinking or gambling or some vice that gets these people and it would get them without the money too, only they'd be truly broke but just as miserable.

[mainer]

27. It's not the money. It's the way other people react to it.

I know a number of wealthy people, and most of them are nice folks. Many of them didn't start off wealthy, but they got that way through a combination of hard work, luck, and unique abilities. What I noticed is that although many of them started middle-class, many of their current friends are in their similarly high tax brackets. Why?

Because they got tired of the envy, the snide remarks, and the all-around green-eyed jealousy from people not as wealthy as they are. "So whatcha doing today? counting your dough?" is a typical kind of remark from people who think they're being funny. Or you go into the fish department of a grocery store, and someone snickers: "I wish I could have HIS clams."

You know, having money makes your life easier. But it makes your relationships harder. Suddenly it feels like everyone wants something from you. When all you want is for your old friends to stay your old friends, and accept you for who you are -- not for what you own.

They say that when you're in trouble, you find out who your real friends are. I think it's also true that when you suddenly get wealthy, you find out who your real friends are.

[sandnsea]

29. A drunk is unhappy, I'm shocked I tell ya'!!

This guy cashed a $4500 tax RETURN when he bought his $1 ticket. He was making damn good money BEFORE he won this ticket and that's the way he chose to live THEN. The lottery has nothing to do with his problems, he was likely a miserable drunk before he won too.