Unlucky jackpot winners around the globe
How A Jackpot Can Ruin Peoples Lives
Just a few more months, and it’s time to play online casino games. Who doesn’t dream of winning a huge jackpot? Winning a top prize can open doors and make dreams come true that you never thought possible. Yet it doesn’t always end well for those once-lucky jackpot winners.
Here are four stories of disappointment.
4 not so lucky jackpot winners
Who doesn’t dream of winning a million-dollar lottery? What would you do with all that money? You can think of many things you would do with a huge jackpot prize. Yet sometimes, there is a downside to winning something like the New Year’s Eve lottery. Some jackpot winners whose luck soon turned to misfortune wished they had never won a jackpot.
1988: $16.2 million for William ‘Bud’ Post
Lotteries have been around forever, also with million-dollar jackpots. This is evident from the story of William Post, who won a whopping $16.2 million in 1988. However, after his jackpot win, his greedy relatives soon stood before him with their hands held high.
One of his brothers tried to have him killed by a hitman. Other sisters and brothers gave him bad advice about investments. Before William died in 2006, he said: “Everyone dreams of winning money, but no one realizes the nightmares as the cause of the problem.
1993: $18 million for Janite Lee
South Korean Janite Lee moved to the US, won a massive jackpot, and was extremely generous. Many politicians, such as Al Gore and Bill Clinton, could count on her support. She bought a house for $1 million. In addition, a generous donation was made to the Washington University School of Law. This provided her with a reading room bearing her name.
However, because of her generosity, she could no longer pay for her house at one point. She had bought it in installments. Finally, she ran out of money, and in 2001, just eight years after winning the lottery, Janite Lee was declared bankrupt.
1995: £11 million for Mark Gardiner
With the New Year’s Eve lottery just around the corner, we look back at the stories of some unlucky jackpot winners. Briton Mark Gardiner won a massive £11 million jackpot in 1995. Unfortunately for him, he soon found himself facing blackmail and lawsuits. First, one of his exes sued him. Then, one of his exes sued him, claiming that her child was his. This was not the only lawsuit. Other people felt they were entitled to a share of his profits.
Mark bought a house for his four best friends. However, none of them was happy with this present. In addition, Gardiner’s wife was afraid that he would run off with someone else. The relationship ended on the rocks. What happened to Mark Gardiner after the lottery? He is back with wife number 1, and the couple had a son together.
2002: $314.9 million for Jack Whittaker
Just about the biggest jackpot in the history of American lotteries fell to Jack Whittaker. However, the excessive jackpot amount of $314.9 million brought more bad luck than happiness to Jack’s life. The lottery winner appeared on TV after winning the lottery. Soon after, he fell prey to thieves. A large sum of cash was often stolen from his car. When asked why he had so much money on him, Whittaker said, “Because you can.”
Many lawsuits haunted Jack after his lottery win. A woman sued him for abuse. He also divorced his wife after 40 years, his daughter died, and he lost his granddaughter to an overdose. The American said that, in hindsight, he would have preferred to tear up the winning ticket at the time.