Winning the Lottery is a good thing...Right?

      “Money can’t buy happiness”, said Allen Large, a 75 year old retired welder from
Canada who just won 10.9 million in the lottery last July. I’ve heard this saying before,
especially form my parents when I ask them for money, but really, doesn’t everyone
have a dream of winning the lottery- being rich; having so much money you don’t
know what to do with? I’ll admit, when I heard that someone from Holmen had won
1 million last August playing the lottery, I was hoping that that someone was my mom
or dad. Unfortunately, it wasn’t; it was a retired man, and just like the couple from
Canada, he too announced that he would give a lot of the money to different charities
like: churches, fire departments, Red Cross and hospitals. Winning the lottery is a good
thing…right? Well, another saying my parents have said is “Be careful what you wish
for”, as everything comes with a price. As I found out, this includes winning the lottery.
       A lottery is a form of gambling which involves the drawing of lots for a prize. In
some countries and governments it’s illegal. In 1960 casinos and lotteries began to
appear throughout the world. They mostly were used to raise revenue and taxes. I’ve
heard it said that you have a better chance at getting struck by lightening than you do at
winning the lottery. I don’t know for sure what the odds are that a person has to actually
winning the lottery, but I guess it would be a trillion to one. So why do people continue
to think they will be that “one”? Maybe it is the thrill of buying the ticket and then
fantasizing about becoming rich. “Americans spend more than 25.1 billion a year on
lottery tickets”, according to Sherri Granato. (http://www.associatedconten.com/).
     When I went on line to find some facts about the lottery, I found there are amazingly
tons of resources to go to and find out how to play and win the lottery. Here are a few
common things everyone seems to agree on:
1) Your chance of winning is just as good as anyone elses.
2) It’s totally random, and your odds are extreme, but people DO win.
3) You increase your odds by increasing the number of tickets you buy.
4) If you believe you will lose, you probably will.
5) If you’re on your last dollar, don’t spend it on the lottery!
Experts have looked into the lives of past lottery winners and have learned that not all
multi-million dollar winners have a happy ending. In a statement by Susan Bradley,
a certified financial planner, and author of Sudden Money: Managing a Financial
Windfall, “For many people sudden money can cause disaster”. “In our culture, there is
a widely held belief that money solves problems”. (Bradley) She goes on to say simply,
that when you get a lot of money all the “hype” that goes with it can go to your head and
how you and your family and friends deal with all of it.
     A lot of people who have won and lost did because of many reasons. When you win a
lot of money everybody wants some of it. It has lead people to gambling, drugs, divorce,
and just plain carelessness. 68% of winners have had bad luck following their win. Still,
the majority of winners will still say “yes”, they would like to win the lottery. Most of
these people who were lucky enough to win should have followed the advice of J.D.
Anderson, lead programmer at Lotto Buster Software. “After a big lottery win, planning
is everything”, says Anderson. (http://www.lottobuster.com/) here are a few things that he
says winners didn’t do. 1) Failure to manage- get a good tax lawyer to help you manage
the 38% taxes they’ll take out. 2) Irresponsible Spending- If you spend the money on
expensive things it will eventually run out. 3) Invest- Make good investments not bad
ones. 4) Friends and relatives- Set limits. Personally, I have a hard time thinking that
all of this money could destroy people’s lives, but I have read a lot of stories in the past
week that it has done exactly that. Everywhere you look people are out of work and
losing their homes. I would think that anyone lucky enough to have a lottery win would
be so thankful and be smart enough not to be one of these people whose lives have been
destroyed by winning the lottery.
      So, back to the original news story about Allen and Violet Large in Canada who won
10.9 million. They appear to be a happy couple who seem even happier now that they
have not spent any of their winnings, and have given most of the money away. It must be
true that rich people are happiest when they help a cause, or give money away that truly
helps people. Allen does say that he would exchange the money for Violets health, whom
      I am only 18 and have not had a lot of experience with money (a little or a lot). If I
won the lottery I know it would be hard for me to deal with. First, I would have to catch
my breath, and then I would have to find someone reliable to help me manage it. I don’t
think I will give up the dream to win; but first to win, I would have to start playing it.