Lottery Curse
Victims: 6 People That Won Big & Lost Bigger
Many people think winning the
lottery would be a dream come true, the answer to their prayers,
the solution to all of their problems. But can you imagine being so
phenomenally lucky as to win the Play online lottery... and then
wishing you hadn't?
It may seem impossible that you could win millions of dollars,
then wish you had torn up your ticket instead of redeeming it. But it has
happened often enough that the phenomenon has been dubbed the "lottery
curse."
Don't believe it? Here are six victims of the lottery curse —
people whose "lucky" win turned sour, leading to divorce, bankruptcy,
or even death.
Jack Whittaker:
"Since I Won the Lottery, There's No Control for Greed"
Powerball
jackpot winner Scott Gries with granddaughter Brandy, who died of a drug
overdose. © Scott Gries / Getty Images
Unlike many winners, Andrew "Jack" Whittaker was
already wealthy when he won the largest jackpot ever awarded to a single Powerball ticket
on Christmas morning in 2002.
However, Jack Whittaker found the $90-some million that he took
home from his $314.9 million lottery ticket after taxes (he chose a lump sum
payment instead of an annuity) to be different from the $17 million he had
earned himself, working his way up from poverty to the owner of a West Virginia
contracting company.
But although Jack Whittaker did a lot of good with the money he
won, setting up a charitable foundation, donating money to build churches in
West Virginia, and even giving the woman who sold him the winning ticket a new
house, a new car, and a pile of cash, the lottery curse quickly set in.
Jack Whittaker's win was widely publicized, and he was deluged
with tens of thousands of people asking for money and favors. He was robbed of
more than a half a million dollars, which was in a suitcase in his car while he
was in a strip club. His company received millions of dollars worth of
lawsuits. He started drinking hard and getting into fights.
He enjoyed spoiling his granddaughter, Brandi, giving her a huge
allowance and four cars, but her wealth attracted a bad crowd. His
granddaughter's boyfriend died of an overdose in his house. A year later,
Brandi was found dead under suspicious circumstances, though the case was never
solved. And his daughter, Brandi's mother, was found dead seven years after the
jackpot was won. Whittaker's wife filed for divorce.
Whittaker lost the people he loved and the money that he won.
"Since I won the lottery, I think there is no control for
greed," Jack Whittaker said. "I think if you have something, there's
always someone else that wants it. I wish I'd torn that ticket up".
Curtis Sharp,
Lottery's $5 Million Man
Curtis Sharp,
Jr. was famous for his lottery win and his bowler hats. Image © Andrew Paterson
/ Getty Images
When Curtis Sharp, Jr. won a $5 million jackpot in 1982, he was
a dream come true for the lottery's public relations. The lottery was facing an
image problem, and Curtis Sharp, Jr. was just what they needed to spread the
word that everyday people could turn their lives around by buying a ticket.
Curtis Sharp, Jr., who had been a dishwasher before he struck it
rich, became known as the "Five Million Dollar Man". He was a walking
advertisement for the lottery with his larger-than-life personality, and he
loved to flash his new-won money around. Parties, women, new houses, flashy
cars, and his ever-present bowler hat... he lived big, and became one of the
most well-known lottery winners ever because of it.
Unfortunately, Curtis Sharp, Jr.'s lifestyle wasn't sustainable.
He was spending more than his big yearly checks covered, and his party-hard
attitude was wearing on him, too.
The year after he won the lottery, he left his wife for his
lover and had a huge wedding. Five years later, his second wife had divorced
him, too. He was drinking hard, to the point where he'd pass out outside of his
new girlfriend's house. And he had to borrow money from his first wife. The
lottery curse had hit.
After a drunk driving incident, Curtis Sharp, Jr. found God. He
stopped drinking, stopped partying, cleaned up his act, and became a minister.
But he still buys lottery tickets.
You can read more about Curtis Sharp, Jr. in Matthew Sweeney's
book, "The Lottery Wars" or online here: Country's Most Famous
Lottery Winner Is Now Living Off His Pension, Social Security Checks.
William Post III:
"No One Realizes the Nightmares"
William Post
III's win from the Pennsylvania Lottery should have been a dream come true.
Instead, he became a victim of the Play
lottery online curse. Image (c) William Thomas Cain
/ Getty Images
If you had less than $3 in your bank account, would you buy a
lottery ticket? I sure wouldn't, but William Post, III (better known to his
friends as Bud) went a step farther than that. He pawned one of his few possessions
for $40, then spent the entire amount on lottery tickets.
But his foolish gamble paid off. One of those tickets won him
$16.2 million from the Pennsylvania lottery.
You might think that was the answer to all of Bud Post's
problems, and that the man who was "little more than a drifter" would
have an easy life from then on. But the fact was, Post's life had taken a sharp
turn for the worse.
"Everybody dreams of winning money, but nobody realizes the
nightmares that come out of the woodwork, or the problems," he said.
How could that be? Post spent his money wildly. The majority of
his first yearly installment of his winnings, more than $400,000, were spent in
the first two weeks after he received it. In a year, he was $500,000 in debt.
His girlfriend sued him, claiming they had agreed to share the
money if he won. When she won her court claim, he couldn't pay, so his lottery
payments were frozen.
He had to declare bankruptcy, and he managed to get out of it
with about $2.6 million dollars. Which he immediately spent.
He was arrested for assault after firing a shotgun at a man who
was pestering him for money.
And his brother hired a hitman to kill him and his wife (he was
on wife number six at that point).
13 years later, Post died alone and penniless, living off of
welfare payments..
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