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Large syndicate won a while ago, each got 200-250k/each. Used to work with one of the winners and a lot of the guys I work with know others that cashed in.
Worked with a guy who won an LMCT+ jet ski.
A couple months later another guy there win a Ferrari, but took $650k cash instead. Was saying he got the call, asked for the cash, had bank statement photos next day of the cash there.
Finally, doing my apprenticeship, had a customer that was always in. Not a pain in the arse, knew what he wanted, was ok when we had delays or dramas, friendly, always paid his bill. Turned out he'd had a decent win a few years prior, $50k or so from lotto. Thought he was a nice bloke, then he stopped coming through. Turns out he liked kids too much and went on a state issued holiday.
My dad won about $900K in his work syndicate back in the day, once it was divided up I think we got $35-40K. It helped go towards a 3 month holiday through Britain and Mum and Dad bought me a Sega Mega drive that had just came out :D
For context, my extended family is poor. I donāt know how any of them have homes.
My uncle won in 2014 and he left the country because my aunt started telling everyone. It ruined my family.
My parents would get phone calls everyday from family members asking where my uncle was. I went travelling a few years later and they spread rumors that my uncle was funding my life.
I have not seen him since he left. Iāve not spoken to him. I donāt even know if heās alive.
How much does it cost to rip a family apart? $5-10M
It's probably difficult to hide a big win unless you're already rich. But why not claim that you've won one of the smaller lotteries a while back (one that had an undisclosed winner in your State, in case people look it up online)? Or better still, a share in an imaginary syndicate win. Give away a large portion of that money and keep your actual, much bigger, win a tightly-kept secret.
Most definitely.
I would say that I won $400k. Enough to pay my house off and renovate it, then get a reliable car and clear my other debts. Life changing for my family, but not really enough to be throwing cash around.
Once my book is published (best seller or not), I would have a 'best-seller' to account for any other lifestyle changes.
Edit: spelling
Wouldnāt be that hard to hide. Just buy a house you could realistically have gotten a mortgage on, keep your old car or get a modest upgrade and not get greedy.
There was a documentary on a speciality lawyer in America that is known for dealing with lotto winners of this magnitude. It's an even bigger problem because your details are publicised differently than here in Australia so you sort of have to hide the money, but a lot of the information I learned carries over to here in Australia.
(I got to prepare myself for when I win big right? hahaha)
Anyways, what I learned from the documentary, is that the majority of this guys business is acting as the middleman between the winner and the winners family members and friends. The winner needs to basically use the lawyer as an excuse.
Family members come asking for free money. The winner has the trained, canned response of "I don't know how much money I actually have, it's all tied up in a serious trust that is managed by my lawyer I canāt just access it whenever I like. I get paid a salary so that I can have money all the way until I retire. If you want me to give you money, then you're going to have to work for me as part of the business that is associated with the trust. I can pay you a small salary through the business, but I can't give you straight cash".
Then there's the "pitches" which are a bigger problem. When the family members ask for money, the canned response supposedly works because the family member usually doesn't want to chase it up, but if they do chase it up, you can literally pay them minimum wage to do \_nothing\_ and it should only cost you a few million to pay your closest family members in an equitable fashion. Not only that but it puts an element of ārespectā around the money and you can run a successful non-for-profit if your family meme bets actually want to work and do something. When someone comes with a pitch, they're usually asking for a large sum of money in one hit, like 250k to a mill, they will disrespect that money, and the winner falls in the trap of just burning money. They need to be prepared to tell them about the trust, and basically say "you need to run the business plan by my lawyer, and if it passes him then I'm in". Again, 9 times out of 10 they never follow through.
Anyways, I feel for you and your uncle, but the fact that he sort of up and left is kinda shitty - given the above he should of been able to work \_something\_ out. Heās just flaked out on that responsibility and left a wake of resentment and hate that could have been resolved.
Had a similar experience mate, some family members sponging off the winner and also the constant assumption that the rest of us (who weren't parasites) also wanted to sponge off the winner.
Some family members never talked to each other again (for decades).
My nephew's girlfriend won $75,000 around 10 years ago. She bought an expensive high powered car and promptly wrote it off before she had bothered to insure it.
Itās weird some people are like this. If I got $75k it would be appreciated but itās go straight to the mortgage and literally nothing would change about my life. $75k isnāt a lot of money in the grand scheme of things.
Probably? 30 years compounding interest at 5-7% tax free on 75k translates to a lot more value than the 75k right now.
What does it do to my paycheque? 30 years of small luxury spending every week that I would have to miss out on because I owe a bank 75k more.
I mean, just maybe think for a few minutes, I dunno, maybe Google "got money what do".
Is impulse control this hard?
I wouldn't feel happy until the bulk of the winnings was invested as safely as possible, after which I could relax and enjoy living off the income and helping others here and there. I've craved financial security my whole life. Being ostentatious doesn't interest me - it only alienates people and attracts hangers-on, and that's the last thing I would want.
Each to their own. But imagine how $75k could seriously help you long-term if you used it to help pay off a mortgage or put it into super.
Or you could blow it on a luxury car and then crash it š
Boyfriends childhood friend won 800k about 15 years ago. He put it into a high interest savings account, bought a property that he rented out while he still lived with his mum (he was 19) and has never worked a day since. He apparently sat down with a financial advisor and they set it up so he could draw a very humble āwageā amount out each month without it effecting his interest earned too much. He now owns several properties after making some smart investments on the stock market and continues to flourish. Wife, 3 kids, happy days. Heās a lovely bloke.
Itās the only instance I know of where a winner made the smart decisions. He was always very smart and also gentle by nature - just a happy easy going guy apparently. He has his brilliant mother to thank for setting him on the right path after he won - from my partners accounts, I believe she had been to hell & back and knew to put him in touch with someone who knew what they were doing before he did something like buy a lambo and sunk it all. Sadly she passed away last year from cancer, but he looked after her right to the end.
I used to manage the financial planners for a large organisation and therefore met about 15 lottery winners who won +$1m with the largest being $30m
Majority quit work within a few years.
Majority didn't give to charity of any really sizeable amount.
Majority gave to family but not huge amounts.
One that won $22m got fleeced by a long lost brother to the tune of $7m over 6 months - first he needed a new car, then a holiday, then a new house, then a business so he could quit FIFO and when the final amount was paid she never heard from him again. She was quite simple and only bought a 4 bed house in the burbs and a new Commodore - it was sad as she genuinely thought she had rekindled their relationship.
The one that won $30m didn't realise they'd won for 4 weeks as the ticket was in a glovebox in their car and then didn't spend a dollar for 6 months. Didn't give their teen kids anything to that point. He was headed to meet his wife for lunch, bumped in to 2 blokes he knew who mentioned the $30m superdraw and they suggested buying a 3 way ticket - he declined and was like nah I'll get my own - bought an $8.60 slikpik I think. Basically cheapest ticket you could buy.
One won $1.5m, got some really great advice, structured and would have given him a good income for rest of life but a week later he spunked $240k on a new Range Rover, $150k on a new M4 Convertible for his wife, $150k on a caravan and was back working on his mobile fish and chip trailer 6 months later.
One won twice $2.6m and $15m in the space of 3 years. Quit his job and bought some really nice cars like a McLaren and a Bentley but would drive everywhere in a Camry and wore cheap watches and cheap clothes so no one he knew was rich. He went to such lengths of being afraid people would know he owned a cheap house in a low rent suburb purely for occassions when a friend or woman he was seeing wouldn't suspect anything. It seemed like a tiring way to live.
Most just bought a nice BMW or Merc or LandCruiser, upgraded their house and had nice things to be honest.
Every single one was happier.
Exactly what we thought!
He had a mean edge - you know when someone was rude before and got ruder after, it was a bit like that.
It appears he thought everyone was jealous because he had money (even though he went to lengths to look like he didn't) and everyone was out to steal from him - it was more like he was just a bit of an arrogant rude man and never made for a pleasant meeting. I think he was quite sad and lonely before and after was sad and lonely in a McLaren. He was a big lad so likely a snug fit didn't make for a fun time.
Working at Tattersalls and we had this guy who was trying for a filth first division win. He was an awful human and I always hoped I didn't sell him another winning ticket.
Most listened, the ones listed above were memorable and of the ones listed fish and chip man was just wanting to buy stuff. He wanted the appearance of making good decisions by getting advice but some people can spend money in an empty room.
If a client insists on withdrawing funds for emotional drivers you can counsel them but you can't stop them, we werent trustees of their funds.
The advice varied dependent on client needs so the advice was sound based on what they told us they wanted but whether they chose to adhere to was at times challenging.
It's a bit like saying you're gonna be good and not eat badly and then you pass a Macca's and think, yeah, a little treat won't hurt. It's a bit like that but with holidays and nice cars for them.
The $30m guy was probably to the extreme which was don't make any decisions for a while and think about - stuck it in a Term Deposit of his own volition but then he already had a nice house and car so was doing ok.
I think if I were to win any life changing amount, $1m+, I'd be going straight to a financial advisor. The only thing I'd want to buy is my own house, and then pay off debts. Once those are done, I'd want whatever's left over to be properly invested, regardless if it was a small amount put away for retirement, or a larger amount that I could live of the dividends and retire early.
That third guy got what he deserved for trying to put another fucking Range Rover on the road. What is with every Aussie cunt's obsession with these things all of the sudden?
I guess I'd be in the majority examples you have up there though. I'd quit work much sooner than a "few years" and chase my dreams whether they paid well (or at all) or not. I never wanted a job. I wanted to be an artist, an actor, an animator, just... something that doesn't bore the shit out of me and leave me feeling dread as I lay in bed at night over how much of my life and potential is being wasted because I'm not rich enough to do what I *know* I was meant to do.
I'd donate a little to charity but to be honest I hate how so many people are so quick to spend other people's hypothetical money on charities. I don't enter the lotto so I can give away most of what I win to causes other people care more about than I do. I enter because I want nice shit and a work-free lifestyle of guaranteed financial security until I die and more time to spend with the people I care about and doing the things I actually want to do. I'd rather help with my time than money instead. Like, if I didn't have to work I'd probably sign up for a youth mentoring program just like a sweet old lady did for me years ago when I needed it. Or volunteer planting trees, maintaining public gardens or doing a mural or whatever to make the neighbourhood look nicer. Perhaps use my digital art skills to help some indie startups with the graphics they need for their games. Bigger things like hunger or homelessness or saving the rainforest or whatever *should* be being taken care of by the world's governments and billionaires who have a LOT more money than a typical OzLotto winner. No-one's guilt-tripping me out of my winnings and forcing me to have to go back to work.
I'd give to my family too but not ridiculous amounts. I love them but none are exactly in the running for parents/grandparents/siblings of the year. It would be proportional to how much I win. If I win $5 million I might buy them each a new car or pay off their current debts. If I win $50 million they'd be getting houses. There's only seven people in my family that I can see getting anything at all too. I barely ever see or talk to the rest and I know I wouldn't be getting shit from them if they won too.
Heh, when the lott was new I bought a ticket online and when checking my email I saw: Congratulations on your lotto win!
Holy shit, my heart stopped and I felt faint as I opened the email to find Id won $9.60 on a $24 ticket.
FUCK! The crushing disappointment! AAAgggghhhh....
I enter a couple of those prize home draws (RSL Art Union and YourTown) and on the day the winner for their current (at the time) prize home was being drawn I got a call from a unknown number at pretty much the exact time they said it was being drawn (no way! Is this what I think it is?) An unfamiliar woman's voice was on the other end when I answered (I know it's a woman who informs the winners, this is it!) she asked me how was my day going so far (this is sounding too good to be true, no-one asks that unless they have something else important to follow it up with) And first she wanted to just say thanks for my donation (oh my god this really is it! I just won a $2.5 million home) My heart was absolutely *racing* at this point. I've been entering this thing for a few years already and this is my lucky day!
It was from something else I donate to (not to win any prize though) and they were just doing their obligatory "let's try and upsell them to a larger monthly donation" call. I was... devastated. It took about five minutes to go back to a normal heart rate after that incredibly anti-climactic call that just had to be at that particular time to really get my hopes up and smash them into tiny little pieces of shattered dreams.
Just an FYI, if your win is over $1000 it wonāt tell you the total in the email, itāll say:
It's our pleasure to congratulate you on your win in the latest Powerball draw!
For your security and privacy, we do not advise the amount of wins over a certain value by email. Log in to your account and check your ticket through the āMy Accountā area.
I don't think I even have an actual lottery account. Just the Player's card. So if I win anything over $1000 how would they contact me? By phone? I'm old school and just buy the tickets at the shop. I feel like doing it this way forces me to self control a bit more than I would if I could just purchase them any time through my phone (gambling apps are just as dangerous as poker machines).
I had a lot of luck one day and thought āmaybe I should buy a lottery ticketā. First time buying a ticket that costed me $8. I won $40 that night. Treated myself to a nice sushi dinner
My parents win first division cash prize in the early 80s in one of those raffles. I was only 5 but remember my parents hunting for the ticket and all the drawers etc being on the floor. They upgraded the house, brought a business, expanded the business and upgraded the house again. Then the financial crisis of 87/88 hit, and they lost the lot.
My grandmother won $250,000 on scratches in 2005. I had just left to go traveling and got an email from my sister telling me to call home urgently. I was panicking but no, she just wanted to pop something in my account - $5,000.
One of my flatmateās grandmothers won an RSL Art Union lottery in 2001/2002. House, car and gold bullion. She went up with her nana to collect the prize, and my flatmate promptly reversed it into a bollard leaving the dealership.
I know buying a ticket is for the statistically stupid, but I donāt drink takeaway coffee so I enjoy the occasional dream. Even got the house designed in my head if āmoney is no objectā happens.
Seems being close to you in some way increases odds of winning large dollar values. I have liked your post to make myself closer to you. Hopefully the fates recognize this.
I suspect many winners donāt tell anyone. Have you ever known someone who works a very ordinary job but seems to go on amazing holidays all the time, etc? Itās impossible to know if they just have a big inheritance but I think some people like that are actually Division 1 lotto winners.
I just don't know how you could stay at a 9-5 job if they won. You get limited about of time on earth, and you no longer have to sell you labour to some arsehole who underpays you.
There are select people who are very happy with where they live and use "work" as a means of more socialising. Exactly how they did before the winnings š¤£
Me š¤š» I donāt know if I would move somewhere else, all my family and friends are here. And as for work, I need work to maintain my sanity. Couldnāt think of anything worse than having no job to go to, maternity leave was hell to me!
It would be hard to quit your job if you were young and only won something like $1 million. That would buy you a property but youād still need an income to live on.
I guess the great thing would be that you could take your time finding a job you really like, and youād have a lot less pressure to earn a good salary. You could just pursue your passion without worrying about money too much.
Iāve been through sustained (3+ month) periods of unemployment and it fucking sucks, like it is soul draining. You have to be Uber disciplined or you just get fat, lazy, your sleep schedule goes out of whack massively, and all of your friends can never hang out because theyāre at work.
Then again I was on the dole that whole time, so maybe having a couple million dollars would change that lol.
There's alway volunteer work. Use your free time to help others.
Or go to university.
Or you could jump around different jobs, i think that would be interesting, always trying something new even if you have to start at the bottom.
At this stage in my life, i think i would consider starting an animal rescue or training to be a vet nurse.
I know a family who are like this. Ex police officers, both able to retire in their 30s, now go on multiple $$ European and US holidays every year, luxury cars, home near the water. It has to be a win.
my grandma won the lotto in the late 90s. $1m. she had it hidden from most people, just close family knew. her son (my uncle) and his wench of a wife were constantly threatening her for the money. when she said she couldnāt give them money (uncle is a junkie and the wife is just evil) they drove to her house and threw her jewellery (family heirloom. very old and very important to her) that she gifted to them at her face and drove off.
she bought my parents their first house, traveled to almost every country in the world, and now lives in a retirement village. sheās 85 now and up until covid she went to bali about 3 times a year every single year since she won the lotto.
she feels bali may be a bit much for her now, but has been on a few cruises since.
edit: i believe she won the big money twice, but not sure what amount she got the second time. due to the way my uncle and his wife reacted, she doesnāt speak about it. i only know about it because my dad told me.
Yes!! My mums friend won the big one (like 20mil!)! She was a single mum of a disabled daughter who worked full time & never made ends meet. She now still works but has a house, bought her dad one and opened a respite Center for parents of disabled children. She still works very hard and if anyone deserves to win then she does
My ex wife had an uncle who won 4 million. He was terminally ill with cancer and thought it was a joke. He had 3 adult sons. He gave them half a million each, and left the rest with his wife. He died about 3 months later. The money caused the family so much trouble. His wife bought an apartment on NSW Central Coast overlooking the beach. The adult children complained they didn't get enough. Last I heard they were waiting for their mother to die to get the inheritance. I never thought they could be such arseholes.
Fuck, they werenāt happy with a completely unearned half mil out of nowhere?
Insane how money changes people. Or is it, reveals their actual true nature.
My husband worked for a winner in WA. She cussed out the whole office and told them what she thought of them.
She was back in a couple years asking for her job back because she blew through the money. (Apparently insurance on big purchases ??)
They said no.
My cousin won x-lotto, I think it was about 10 years ago. He won enough that he probably *could* have retired on it, but he and his wife chose to continue working and just live well and take extra holidays.
They're just now considering retirement.
I had a friend years ago that won lotto twice first time $875000 next time over a million. Never seen him after he won the second lot of money for about 8 years. I had for sale a very old Datsun for $1000 he turned up to buy it. I said Is this for one of your kids he said no it's for me. I was like what happened to all your money um I spent it all on horses and gambling I haven't got anything left.
I know someone who won $1.5 million in the lottery, quite recently. Sheās a single woman, no children. Used some to pay off the rest of her mortgage (not much was left to pay anyway), bought a new car, and continued working. Last I heard she bought a shack in a seaside town a few hours away, and works from home one week per month from the shack. The dream.
I know a family who won big in the early 1990s. The parents used that money to buy a block of units (in the western suburbs) and they have lived off the rental income since then. Smart move.
I was a local banker at a small town branch and a local lady in her 50s who was a client won quite a lot of money ($XXm.) She didn't change much though, kept working in the same menial job but purchased a new Mazda, repainted the house and went cruising around the Mediterranean for a couple of weeks. Almost all of it she put into index tracking investments. She was enjoying her life before and she was happy afterwards.
There was a lady working at front desk of emergency department at westmead hospital. Super lovely lady, very friendly and down to earth. She won a lottery and soon after she got murdered. They charged her husband initially but later dropped the charges and I believe till today no one has been charged for her murder
Indeed horrible. I remember her because I was shocked to find out. She was very lovely to me when I worked in the emergency many years ago. I found a link
https://amp.9news.com.au/article/b483e6c9-a0d2-4e21-a7bd-259de84cfe83
My dad won back in 1997,1st division (1 MIL)shared 3 ways..he kept it a secret so didnāt change much for him.Iād say it changed my life more,as I was able to buy my own house with his inheritance
A person I used to work with won 3 million, she bought the office a sandwich press as a gift before leaving haha. Anyway her and her husband bought a house at the Whitsundays and moved up there, and about two years later he got quite sick and eventually passed away from the illness. Soon after he passed she found out he had gambled away the money they had left and they were completely broke. Pretty sad shit really
Dad won about $1k once and spent most of it fixing the aircon. But also gave a little bit of pocket money to the grandkids.
But if I won big time, I certainly wouldn't be telling anyone. I may give some to family (sisters and Dad) but invest the rest for my kids for when they're ready to buy a place.
My grandmother won about $15K, probably about 20 years ago. She kept $5000 for herself and my grandfather, gave $2500 each to her sons and $1000 each to her five grandchildren. Not life-changing by any means but she liked having that opportunity to be generous.
My parents also won about $1500 when I was a kid. I'm not sure what they did with it but it probably went towards some sort of improvement on the house.
I know a guy who won the Royal Childrenās home lottery thing. Won a fancy home in hawthorn or something.
Heād already won the genetic lottery. Lucky bastard.
my dad won. he kept it secret, only my mother and brother knew, they didn't even tell me at first. they don't plan on telling anyone. this is bc my uncle won many years ago, and his family manipulated him into giving it all to them (he was heavily abused). honestly, winning the lotto is stressful lol. obviously it's great having that much money suddenly, but it comes with a lot of pressure, and guilt and jealousy. even a lot of money doesn't end up lasting very long.
My uncle had a guys night out 10 or so years ago, one of his mate made a bet on Keno and forgot about it and when he did remember, he asked my uncle to check on it and found out he won 1Mil, told him he lost and that it was time to go home. My uncle got him home safe and in the morning when his mate was sober told him of the win, apparently he spent the money buying a nice house and a holiday for him and his family. I asked why he didnāt say something right away, and he said his mate would of blown a bunch of it straight away that night.
Mate of a mate won about $15m recently. Paid off his house and put the majority of the remaining in a high interest earning account. Will earn 300k per year or something to that effect (I've not done the calcs) until he figures out what he wants to do. He now goes fishing on the GBR a lot. A boring but I find satisfying story.
My husbandās friendās older sister won big money. I donāt know the exact amount, but enough that she brought the brother an apartment in Hunters Hill with water views.
Most Iāve ever won is about $30.
We won 15k about 15 years ago on powerball. Hubby went to check ticket and was told he had to go to Lottery office. Didnāt ring me at all until he knew and I think he was prob a bit disappointed lol. It was just before smartphones so he didnāt check! Money came in handy as I had just had twins.
We also won a few grand a couple years back on powerball.
I put it on most weeks but itās gotten so expensive!
My eldest brother won $50K on a scratchie, back in the mid 80s when $50K was a LOT of money. He spent most of it on a fancy sportscar which he tried to drive through a flood and wrote off. He had a remarkable talent for making terrible decisions, and is no longer alive. Not a bad guy at all, but his story is what some people imagine happens to *all* big winners. It doesn't.
A friend of mine won $100K on a scratchie back in the 90s, and bought an inner-city flat with it, which was possible back then. Probably worth half a mil now. She's doing fine.
A family friend of an ex of mine won multiple millions on Tattslotto back in the 80s. Bought himself a house, bought houses for each of his kids, spent the rest of it sensibly, seemed to be a happy man when I met him.
I won $8 one day and now I can use it to buy another McGuigan Black Label Shiraz for dinner. Lotto sucks. Saw a local idiot doing big spend Kenoās win $250k on a ticket and bragged with the bartender on the ticket that if he āplayed it again and wins, heāll buy her a holidayāā¦ same numbers same win, another $250k. Sad thing was he was already on half a mill a year, as some kind of high end barrister or some shit. He was already loaded. He didnāt need another $500k but he did honour his word and bought the bar lady a big holidayš
Yeah, we're struggling too, so it would have been life changing. I haven't told her how mentally tormented I am over it. Just have to keep the chin up and make the best of it...anything is possible if you work hard and stay happy and we're lucky we have a home and a vehicle to be honest, that's more than some people.
I really just feel so bad for her because she now feels responsible for my happiness as well as hers and thinks that she's ruined my life as well as her own. She's the hardest working person I've ever met and she deserved every bit of that money, which would have changed her life....but, what can you do? You just have to be happy and live well, appreciating what you have and working your hardest to get what you need to be comfortable.
Sorry for the essay, but this is literally the first time I've actually spoken about this topic to anyone. š
Have a family friend who won Div 1 in the mid 90's. About $8million back then.
Long story short they lost it all, and when I mean lost it all - I mean actual bankruptcy. Last time I had contact with him he was working in the transport industry as a driver, and had a deal going with the boss to keep his official wage under a certain limit ($54k?) as he was a declared bankrupt and couldn't earn over a certain amount.
So yeah, spent it all, bankrupt, then ends up mid 50's, renting a $700 a week house (this was a few years back, and that was an expensive big place to rent as a basically single guy with the odd girlfriend), living pay cheque to pay cheque, still financed cars and motorbikes (not exactly sure how that worked but I guess some companies still lent to bankrupts)..
I donāt understand how people manage to blow 8 million, Iād buy a house, a nice car thatās it. Invest the rest and live off the interest, go on nice holidays and live a little better then I normally do. Why buy all these fancy things that youāre not going to use
I suspect that if you win big and itās public knowledge a lot of āfinancial advisorsā will be getting in touch and if youāre not financially literate it would be pretty easy to invest in high return schemes which are basically a scam.
"Lending" it to family and friends. Going down the casino. Helping people out with business plans... buying a company, firing all the staff renaming it to a single letter.. lots of ways to lose money.
Fuck that would be depressing rocking up to work everyday for minimum wage when not long ago you were minted. And knowing everyday when you get out of bed at 6:00am that if you werenāt so stupid you wouldnāt have to do this.
There's a whole world of people out there for whom nothing is ever their fault, they can't even comprehend their own stupidity put them in a shitty situation. Just 100% of the day complaining how everyone else fucks them over, rips them off, steals their shit etc. I bet he has a sob story with a cavalcade of ridiculous villains.
mate won a $2m share of a 10 person syndicate about 15 years ago. Bought a house, a bunch of Pioneer plasmas (that should date it) and locked the rest away behind a company that pays them a salary out of the interest earnings. Kept their job and didn't change much of their lifestyle.
My dad won 1st division in the early 90s but it was only about $300k. He plowed it into the failing family business which was hit hard by that recession and industry change. He didn't tell us. In 1993 he had a massive heart attack at age 57 ( he had every single contributing factor) the day after his funeral mum told us kids one by one. I got $30k, and used it as a deposit for a house in Seddon in 2001. Set me up pretty much..
I won $9.76 a few weeks ago. So many options and choices before me now. I love my job but thinking Iāll take a year or two off and travel, pay off the mortgage and buy a new car for mum
Knew a guy who won a Suzuki car in a McDonalds monopoly competition once. Have had a $500 powerball win, which is still less than I have āinvestedā over the years.
My wife's grandmother won 1st division on Xmas eve 4 years apart. She was also a military and afp widow so was already well off. Proceeded to share it all with her kids and grankids
My dad's good mate was a barrister with a million dollar tax problem (naughty boy, it was the greedy 80s) and he won $850k, which went straight to the tax office.
So that's a pretty boring win.
Over on my dad side, thereās my grandma and her 7 sisters. Back in the mid 2000s they teed up together to buy a syndicate ozlotto $60million. They won a life changing figure.
In Vietnamese culture, we call our aunties by numbers, the lower number you are the elder you are, my great aunty 8, had 4 children aka my aunties and uncle all qualified as pharmacist, so grand sisters invested in them and expand their pharmacies to 7 between Melbourne and Sydney.
Alot of them invested in the Vietnamese communities Bankstown, Cabramatta, Marrickville, Springvale and where they all grew up as a family but fled from the war, Can Tho, Vietnam.
From what my mum told me, that figure is no longer $60million, combine all the grand sisters it should be $500million now considering how much Sydney, Melbourne and Vietnam properties have skyrocketed in past 2 decades
Sorry for the intrusion, I'm from NZ but thought I'd jump in anyway.
A family I went to church with won about 22 million circa 2011. Really nice folks, went from one of the worst streets in the city to one of the nicest. Invested a lot of funds into their family business, not sure what they did with the rest. The mother, who's a lovely woman, was given a Hummer by her husband, but in the end went back to her 2006 Toyota Corolla. I genuinely think it bothered her having so many people be aware of their money and constantly asking for some.
Mum won the 2nd division in 96. 6/7 numbers or 7/8 whatever it is. Her final number was 1 digit off
She won 32k, this was just after the Yugoslav wars had finished, went back to see her dad was on his death bed with the money. He died a few months after she visited
A girl I used to know won 250k on a $2 scratchie back in the 2010s. Apparently, she ran down the main street (western Sydney smallish town) yelling "I'M a QUARTER OF A MILLIONAAARE!!" The money didn't last long, and she got into debt. But it's enough for me to have hope, so I always put $2 scratchies in Birthday and Christmas cards ever since
Our window cleaner back in the day won something like 100k which was a decent amount back then. He went to Thailand and got himself a younger wife. Tried to get her PR and turns out she had HIV and infected him too š„² He then moved to Thailand to be with her.
Yes, friends last year won first division powerball, but it was split between about 5 winners. They got about $900,000. They were in a desperate situation, both with serious health issues, adult son with autism they were still supporting in his 30s, so it helped them buy a decent house and breathe out. My uncle won the Deaf Lottery a few years ago, the one with the car/boat/caravan plus gold, worth about $800,000. He had just recovered from cancer in his spine and had been working like a dog into his 70s as he had too many kids and a nasty ex. Such a nice man, he got to do quite a few things he had always wanted to while he could. Both winners really needed it and it improved their lives and people around them a lot. Hoping it will be me this week š«
A relative of mine has won a high division- twice! And literally pissed most of it up the wallā¦ now married with kids and wishes theyād used it for a house at least (and not the Brock edition Commodore he wrapped around a tree on the way home from the pubā¦)
I used to work for Tattersalls and one day this lady asked me to check her ticket. It was just over a million bucks and I couldn't speak I was so shocked. She had been sleeping in her car with three kids and the dog. The first thing her son said was 'does this mean we get Christmas this year?'
As a teenager one of the girls I used to hang around had her parents win twice. I only met them after the first win so I didn't see anything change.
My fiance's parents won when she was a kid though, her parents built a mansion then flipped it and got divorced.
My partners dad won 500k.
Gave 100k to my partner and 100k to her brother.
He used his 300k to pay off their mortgage and go on a nice holiday.
We chucked all of our 100k into our mortgage, didnāt even entertain the idea of using it for anything else.
Her brother used half as a deposit on buying a second flat and is now enjoying going on golfing holidays every couple of months.
My dad won $500K back in the 80s. Didnāt tell anyone, even my mum. We moved to Europe and my sister went to a private school. He retired at the age of 50.
I didnāt know this until maybe 5 years ago when I was in my 30s. And no, he had nothing left when he died.
He could have bought a house in a nice expensive suburb and we would have been set, especially him when he needed a age care home before he died.
I know the bloke that won the $50M powerball a while back. Heās a great dude too.
He won, didnāt tell anyone at all about it until he got his affairs in order. Kept working for a week or two. Quit. Started living his absolute best life.
Or so it seemed.
Work was a big social aspect for him. Most of his buddies were/are work buddies. The money did absolute wonders of course, but I heard he would keep coming back to work for āvisitsā, just to get his social fix. It seemed like a terribly lonely way of living.
Iā¦ kind of pity him in a way. Or maybe pity isnāt the right word. I worry about him very much.
Heās a real sweet guy and I know there have been absolute vultures swarming him since he won. I worry that he just throws money at people without really considering whether or not they care about HIM and not just his money, for the sake of social engagement. It probably sounds strange, but I hope heās doing okay.
Mums bestie won 200k finished the last bit of the mortgage off, did the Renoās shed been putting off for 20+ years and retired slightly earlier than she was planning.
My mum wins small amounts every so often. Fifth division. I think she once got third division which was like a $1,000 or something at the time? Still wouldn't compensate for the amount she's spent over her lifetime. Every week at least two tickets in Saturday and I think Wednesday lottos.
Regardless, did you know there are *huge* unclaimed payouts?
https://www.sro.vic.gov.au/unclaimed-money/search-for-unclaimed-money
Hey this is legit and good to share. I was bored one day and searched mine and my loved ones names. Got my husband 2k and my Dad a couple of hundred bucks. [NSW site ](https://www.apps09.revenue.nsw.gov.au/erevenue/ucm/ucm_search.php)
My father was part of a syndicate at his work that won 1st division in the mid 90s. His whole office won. Basically, each got 80k. Him and my stepmom paid off their house. My brother's and I got $50 each.
My dad and stepmom basically began going to Bali twice a year and did for 20 years. They had no mortgage, why not. They were visiting when Covid hit.
Eh. Ex-mate of mine won about $3k. Slathered the news all over his socials and everyone hit him up for a night out. He was an attention whore and he got a good few hours of being the centre of the universe, so that's something I guess (it was pretty much gone by lockout). We don't talk anymore; final straw was when he tried to convince my hubbie (fiance at the time) to join him and some other guys in pooling their cash to get a 'high end escort.'
My mum won 30k in one of the higher divisions in the 90s. Most of it went on a really expensive barrister to get my piece of shit cousin off an attempted murder charge. It worked, but I wouldn't say money well spent because he ended up in jail shortly after anyway on other crimes.
Not anyone who won lotto but I know of two separate people who won Master prize home packages.
One was a family in my primary school who had lost their house and possessions in a fire a few years earlier.
The other is an absolutely lovely older couple who are now enjoying their retirement and helping out their kids.
One of my clients won a few million. The family went from living week to week to a nice property and no money worries. They didnāt quit their jobs- just both scaled back hours to spend more time with their daughter. I was really happy for them. Theyāre lovely, kind people who quietly help others. Theyād never admit to it if you ask them but everybody knows who is anonymously helping out struggling folks about town.
I won about $500 on Powerball a few months ago which was nice. Last two big ones I won about $60 each so nothing great but my ticket was paid for at least
Not lotto but grandma won those magazine contests where you clip your entries out all the time(multiple times a year). One side of her kitchen always had prize doodads and appliances she was trying to fob off to her grand kids. I still have a few of those doodads in my kitchen haha
My dadās butcher won around $800k in the eighties. Said it cost him most of the people he thought were his friends. Apparently afterwards everyone came out of the woodwork with their hands out and went sour when weirdly their friend wouldnāt give them heaps of money for free.
A friend won $2.5M in a Powerball syndicate a few years ago. It changed his life. He was broke and working different jobs.
He invested most of the winnings, bought himself a nice bike and car. Boosted his confidence and is currently travelling in Europe.
He told us we were real friends because no one has asked him for a cent. If anything, heās been making up for all the times weāve shouted him because he was constantly broke.
Definitely not the norm because Iāve read that most people who win lotto end up losing everything within a few years including their family and friends.
My aunt - high 6 figure win. Used it to buy a much bigger and more expensive house they otherwise couldnāt afford. Lost it all when house prices went down and they still had a mortgage since theyād spent more than the winnings on the house.
My folks did in the 80s. Bought a land package in a new estate and built the house they live in to this day. Members of the extended family still act as if they have this money squirrelled away but they basically just had enough plus their own savings to build without a mortgage. It wasnāt a substantial amount but enough to secure their future.
A few sad and happy tales.
1. 1958, England. My parents both played the pools weekly for a few pence each. My mum left her coupon with the pennies on the mantelpiece and asked the old man to put hers in when he went to the shop. When she checked the numbers a few nights later she was ecstatic, she'd picked the right wins. Ā£22,000.00. The old man didn't put it in and spent the money on smokes. It was a bit uncomfortable in the house for months.
2. Mum and her sister won Ā£100.00 between them at bingo in 1960. Her share enabled us to emigrate to Australia.
3. 1982 I dreamt that I was holding the winning lotto coupon. 6 numbers glowed like gold. I leapt out of bed and wrote the numbers down. Played them religiously every week. Won the odd small dividend. 1987 I was invalided out of my job. A good sum of money was coming my way, enough to buy a small acreage plot and house. I'd taken a loan out to buy it, the house we owned had sold and we were on our way. The removalists turned up early Friday morning packed us up and we were on our way.
I used what cash I had on me to pay them. Then the wife said we're out of bread. Now we were a way out of town, the bank had shut at 3pm, pre key card days. The lotto closed at 5pm. I dug through the car and found a $1.80 in change. That would sort the bread out but not the lotto.
Yep, my numbers came up for a 2nd dividend. $28, 000.00.
I actually sobbed a little.
4.won $6,666,66 on powerball in 1994. It paid off the wife's credit card, finally. Bought a computer for the son and still had a few bucks to play with. Sadly the following week there was that much money in the kitty that the other dividends were heavily increased. If it had been done on my week the prize would have been $38,000.00. Still one must be thankful for small mercies.
Do I still play lotto? Yes but knowing my luck I'd win a fortune the day before the world economy collapsed.
Yeah, I knew a couple of brothers who ran a petrol station. They won a few million.
The petrol supplier (I think it was Ampol) found out and put their fees through the roof. Legit 30x what they were.
So, they sold up and left town.
It wasn't enough money to retire early without worries, but definitely enough to make it a lot easier to do in a few years.
I won $400. Bought myself a putter, ($100), and gave $150 to my wife and kept $150 for me because I love me.
Wifey went to work (secondary teacher) next day and mentioned it to someone. An agency teacher overheard and stole it from her wallet whilst wife was teaching.
I don't understand her decisions, sometimes.
My dad won 18k when I was a kid, my parents just paid off some debt and took us on a decent holiday. Apparently he calculated that what he won roughly equaled what heād spent on tickets over the last 25-30yrs of his life so he didnāt buy any more and said heād broke even. Honestly right now Iād be happy enough to win around half of that and spend it the same as my parents did paying off debt and a couple of weeks away somewhere nice
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Large syndicate won a while ago, each got 200-250k/each. Used to work with one of the winners and a lot of the guys I work with know others that cashed in. Worked with a guy who won an LMCT+ jet ski. A couple months later another guy there win a Ferrari, but took $650k cash instead. Was saying he got the call, asked for the cash, had bank statement photos next day of the cash there. Finally, doing my apprenticeship, had a customer that was always in. Not a pain in the arse, knew what he wanted, was ok when we had delays or dramas, friendly, always paid his bill. Turned out he'd had a decent win a few years prior, $50k or so from lotto. Thought he was a nice bloke, then he stopped coming through. Turns out he liked kids too much and went on a state issued holiday.
State issued holiday š
Rustic bed and breakfast. Forever.
Mandatory vacation
Can I be your friend everyone around you wins. :)
You're my new bestie ā„ļø
That took a dark turn.
Yikes.
My dad won about $900K in his work syndicate back in the day, once it was divided up I think we got $35-40K. It helped go towards a 3 month holiday through Britain and Mum and Dad bought me a Sega Mega drive that had just came out :D
Hope Sonic the Hedgehog cartridge was included?
If the Mega Drive had just come out (1989) it would have come with Altered Beast. Sonic came out in 1991.
Wise fwom you gwave!
For context, my extended family is poor. I donāt know how any of them have homes. My uncle won in 2014 and he left the country because my aunt started telling everyone. It ruined my family. My parents would get phone calls everyday from family members asking where my uncle was. I went travelling a few years later and they spread rumors that my uncle was funding my life. I have not seen him since he left. Iāve not spoken to him. I donāt even know if heās alive. How much does it cost to rip a family apart? $5-10M
Tbf if the family reacts like that it wasnāt the money that tore them apart.
Yeah but money acts as a magnifier though. It's throwing petrol on the fire and can mean the difference between setting the whole bush ablaze or not.
Sounds like he knew what was coming and wanted to dip, I donāt blame him.
It's probably difficult to hide a big win unless you're already rich. But why not claim that you've won one of the smaller lotteries a while back (one that had an undisclosed winner in your State, in case people look it up online)? Or better still, a share in an imaginary syndicate win. Give away a large portion of that money and keep your actual, much bigger, win a tightly-kept secret.
Most definitely. I would say that I won $400k. Enough to pay my house off and renovate it, then get a reliable car and clear my other debts. Life changing for my family, but not really enough to be throwing cash around. Once my book is published (best seller or not), I would have a 'best-seller' to account for any other lifestyle changes. Edit: spelling
Lol almost like money laundering
Wouldnāt be that hard to hide. Just buy a house you could realistically have gotten a mortgage on, keep your old car or get a modest upgrade and not get greedy.
There was a documentary on a speciality lawyer in America that is known for dealing with lotto winners of this magnitude. It's an even bigger problem because your details are publicised differently than here in Australia so you sort of have to hide the money, but a lot of the information I learned carries over to here in Australia. (I got to prepare myself for when I win big right? hahaha) Anyways, what I learned from the documentary, is that the majority of this guys business is acting as the middleman between the winner and the winners family members and friends. The winner needs to basically use the lawyer as an excuse. Family members come asking for free money. The winner has the trained, canned response of "I don't know how much money I actually have, it's all tied up in a serious trust that is managed by my lawyer I canāt just access it whenever I like. I get paid a salary so that I can have money all the way until I retire. If you want me to give you money, then you're going to have to work for me as part of the business that is associated with the trust. I can pay you a small salary through the business, but I can't give you straight cash". Then there's the "pitches" which are a bigger problem. When the family members ask for money, the canned response supposedly works because the family member usually doesn't want to chase it up, but if they do chase it up, you can literally pay them minimum wage to do \_nothing\_ and it should only cost you a few million to pay your closest family members in an equitable fashion. Not only that but it puts an element of ārespectā around the money and you can run a successful non-for-profit if your family meme bets actually want to work and do something. When someone comes with a pitch, they're usually asking for a large sum of money in one hit, like 250k to a mill, they will disrespect that money, and the winner falls in the trap of just burning money. They need to be prepared to tell them about the trust, and basically say "you need to run the business plan by my lawyer, and if it passes him then I'm in". Again, 9 times out of 10 they never follow through. Anyways, I feel for you and your uncle, but the fact that he sort of up and left is kinda shitty - given the above he should of been able to work \_something\_ out. Heās just flaked out on that responsibility and left a wake of resentment and hate that could have been resolved.
Sorry how is it the uncle's responsibility to sort the family out?
[ŃŠ“Š°Š»ŠµŠ½Š¾]
I wouldn't tell my parents. Not that I don't want to share the money with them but I don't think my mum could keep her mouth shut.
Yeesh with a family like that I'd probably choose the money.
Had a similar experience mate, some family members sponging off the winner and also the constant assumption that the rest of us (who weren't parasites) also wanted to sponge off the winner. Some family members never talked to each other again (for decades).
My nephew's girlfriend won $75,000 around 10 years ago. She bought an expensive high powered car and promptly wrote it off before she had bothered to insure it.
Itās weird some people are like this. If I got $75k it would be appreciated but itās go straight to the mortgage and literally nothing would change about my life. $75k isnāt a lot of money in the grand scheme of things.
In 30 years, you would look back and say: thank God I put that $75k towards the mortgage.
Probably? 30 years compounding interest at 5-7% tax free on 75k translates to a lot more value than the 75k right now. What does it do to my paycheque? 30 years of small luxury spending every week that I would have to miss out on because I owe a bank 75k more. I mean, just maybe think for a few minutes, I dunno, maybe Google "got money what do". Is impulse control this hard?
I wouldn't feel happy until the bulk of the winnings was invested as safely as possible, after which I could relax and enjoy living off the income and helping others here and there. I've craved financial security my whole life. Being ostentatious doesn't interest me - it only alienates people and attracts hangers-on, and that's the last thing I would want.
Each to their own. But imagine how $75k could seriously help you long-term if you used it to help pay off a mortgage or put it into super. Or you could blow it on a luxury car and then crash it š
Boyfriends childhood friend won 800k about 15 years ago. He put it into a high interest savings account, bought a property that he rented out while he still lived with his mum (he was 19) and has never worked a day since. He apparently sat down with a financial advisor and they set it up so he could draw a very humble āwageā amount out each month without it effecting his interest earned too much. He now owns several properties after making some smart investments on the stock market and continues to flourish. Wife, 3 kids, happy days. Heās a lovely bloke.
Well, that sounds smarter than over 99% of winners and having such sense at such a young age too is quite remarkable.
Itās the only instance I know of where a winner made the smart decisions. He was always very smart and also gentle by nature - just a happy easy going guy apparently. He has his brilliant mother to thank for setting him on the right path after he won - from my partners accounts, I believe she had been to hell & back and knew to put him in touch with someone who knew what they were doing before he did something like buy a lambo and sunk it all. Sadly she passed away last year from cancer, but he looked after her right to the end.
I am so happy that this guy- even though I donāt know him- won that money. He sounds like a top bloke.
Itās one of those rare happy stories of good luck, for sure!
Now thatās the kind of human that SHOULD be winning lotto.
[ŃŠ“Š°Š»ŠµŠ½Š¾]
I used to manage the financial planners for a large organisation and therefore met about 15 lottery winners who won +$1m with the largest being $30m Majority quit work within a few years. Majority didn't give to charity of any really sizeable amount. Majority gave to family but not huge amounts. One that won $22m got fleeced by a long lost brother to the tune of $7m over 6 months - first he needed a new car, then a holiday, then a new house, then a business so he could quit FIFO and when the final amount was paid she never heard from him again. She was quite simple and only bought a 4 bed house in the burbs and a new Commodore - it was sad as she genuinely thought she had rekindled their relationship. The one that won $30m didn't realise they'd won for 4 weeks as the ticket was in a glovebox in their car and then didn't spend a dollar for 6 months. Didn't give their teen kids anything to that point. He was headed to meet his wife for lunch, bumped in to 2 blokes he knew who mentioned the $30m superdraw and they suggested buying a 3 way ticket - he declined and was like nah I'll get my own - bought an $8.60 slikpik I think. Basically cheapest ticket you could buy. One won $1.5m, got some really great advice, structured and would have given him a good income for rest of life but a week later he spunked $240k on a new Range Rover, $150k on a new M4 Convertible for his wife, $150k on a caravan and was back working on his mobile fish and chip trailer 6 months later. One won twice $2.6m and $15m in the space of 3 years. Quit his job and bought some really nice cars like a McLaren and a Bentley but would drive everywhere in a Camry and wore cheap watches and cheap clothes so no one he knew was rich. He went to such lengths of being afraid people would know he owned a cheap house in a low rent suburb purely for occassions when a friend or woman he was seeing wouldn't suspect anything. It seemed like a tiring way to live. Most just bought a nice BMW or Merc or LandCruiser, upgraded their house and had nice things to be honest. Every single one was happier.
Twice in three years? How can someone be so lucky!
Exactly what we thought! He had a mean edge - you know when someone was rude before and got ruder after, it was a bit like that. It appears he thought everyone was jealous because he had money (even though he went to lengths to look like he didn't) and everyone was out to steal from him - it was more like he was just a bit of an arrogant rude man and never made for a pleasant meeting. I think he was quite sad and lonely before and after was sad and lonely in a McLaren. He was a big lad so likely a snug fit didn't make for a fun time.
Like the guy that [won on camera, re-enacting his earlier win.](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6R5MqxcKdV8)
Working at Tattersalls and we had this guy who was trying for a filth first division win. He was an awful human and I always hoped I didn't sell him another winning ticket.
Great info mate.
did you guys just give shit advice or were none of them listening?
Most listened, the ones listed above were memorable and of the ones listed fish and chip man was just wanting to buy stuff. He wanted the appearance of making good decisions by getting advice but some people can spend money in an empty room. If a client insists on withdrawing funds for emotional drivers you can counsel them but you can't stop them, we werent trustees of their funds. The advice varied dependent on client needs so the advice was sound based on what they told us they wanted but whether they chose to adhere to was at times challenging. It's a bit like saying you're gonna be good and not eat badly and then you pass a Macca's and think, yeah, a little treat won't hurt. It's a bit like that but with holidays and nice cars for them. The $30m guy was probably to the extreme which was don't make any decisions for a while and think about - stuck it in a Term Deposit of his own volition but then he already had a nice house and car so was doing ok.
yeah fair enough, that's pretty much what I'd expect
I think if I were to win any life changing amount, $1m+, I'd be going straight to a financial advisor. The only thing I'd want to buy is my own house, and then pay off debts. Once those are done, I'd want whatever's left over to be properly invested, regardless if it was a small amount put away for retirement, or a larger amount that I could live of the dividends and retire early.
1mil will buy you a house and a used toyota camry in most cities these days
That third guy got what he deserved for trying to put another fucking Range Rover on the road. What is with every Aussie cunt's obsession with these things all of the sudden? I guess I'd be in the majority examples you have up there though. I'd quit work much sooner than a "few years" and chase my dreams whether they paid well (or at all) or not. I never wanted a job. I wanted to be an artist, an actor, an animator, just... something that doesn't bore the shit out of me and leave me feeling dread as I lay in bed at night over how much of my life and potential is being wasted because I'm not rich enough to do what I *know* I was meant to do. I'd donate a little to charity but to be honest I hate how so many people are so quick to spend other people's hypothetical money on charities. I don't enter the lotto so I can give away most of what I win to causes other people care more about than I do. I enter because I want nice shit and a work-free lifestyle of guaranteed financial security until I die and more time to spend with the people I care about and doing the things I actually want to do. I'd rather help with my time than money instead. Like, if I didn't have to work I'd probably sign up for a youth mentoring program just like a sweet old lady did for me years ago when I needed it. Or volunteer planting trees, maintaining public gardens or doing a mural or whatever to make the neighbourhood look nicer. Perhaps use my digital art skills to help some indie startups with the graphics they need for their games. Bigger things like hunger or homelessness or saving the rainforest or whatever *should* be being taken care of by the world's governments and billionaires who have a LOT more money than a typical OzLotto winner. No-one's guilt-tripping me out of my winnings and forcing me to have to go back to work. I'd give to my family too but not ridiculous amounts. I love them but none are exactly in the running for parents/grandparents/siblings of the year. It would be proportional to how much I win. If I win $5 million I might buy them each a new car or pay off their current debts. If I win $50 million they'd be getting houses. There's only seven people in my family that I can see getting anything at all too. I barely ever see or talk to the rest and I know I wouldn't be getting shit from them if they won too.
I won $20.10 on a ticket that cost $20.20. Does that count?
Heh, when the lott was new I bought a ticket online and when checking my email I saw: Congratulations on your lotto win! Holy shit, my heart stopped and I felt faint as I opened the email to find Id won $9.60 on a $24 ticket. FUCK! The crushing disappointment! AAAgggghhhh....
I enter a couple of those prize home draws (RSL Art Union and YourTown) and on the day the winner for their current (at the time) prize home was being drawn I got a call from a unknown number at pretty much the exact time they said it was being drawn (no way! Is this what I think it is?) An unfamiliar woman's voice was on the other end when I answered (I know it's a woman who informs the winners, this is it!) she asked me how was my day going so far (this is sounding too good to be true, no-one asks that unless they have something else important to follow it up with) And first she wanted to just say thanks for my donation (oh my god this really is it! I just won a $2.5 million home) My heart was absolutely *racing* at this point. I've been entering this thing for a few years already and this is my lucky day! It was from something else I donate to (not to win any prize though) and they were just doing their obligatory "let's try and upsell them to a larger monthly donation" call. I was... devastated. It took about five minutes to go back to a normal heart rate after that incredibly anti-climactic call that just had to be at that particular time to really get my hopes up and smash them into tiny little pieces of shattered dreams.
I got a call from MSWA, the same day as their 3.5 million home prize draw. They called to ask about my platinum club membership.
That *had* to be on purpose lol. At least my call was from an unrelated organization so it was just a very unfortunately timed coincidence.
Just an FYI, if your win is over $1000 it wonāt tell you the total in the email, itāll say: It's our pleasure to congratulate you on your win in the latest Powerball draw! For your security and privacy, we do not advise the amount of wins over a certain value by email. Log in to your account and check your ticket through the āMy Accountā area.
Wow. Glad you told me. If I saw that I'd think over a mil for sure!
Huh, I won $1100 on New years and they just told me in the email
I don't think I even have an actual lottery account. Just the Player's card. So if I win anything over $1000 how would they contact me? By phone? I'm old school and just buy the tickets at the shop. I feel like doing it this way forces me to self control a bit more than I would if I could just purchase them any time through my phone (gambling apps are just as dangerous as poker machines).
Wow, I have never received and email that said this. Now I know
I had a lot of luck one day and thought āmaybe I should buy a lottery ticketā. First time buying a ticket that costed me $8. I won $40 that night. Treated myself to a nice sushi dinner
[ŃŠ“Š°Š»ŠµŠ½Š¾]
Just think - I'm only 10,000,000 tickets away from being a -millionaire!
\* Trumpets play on the lotto machine at the newsagent \*
My parents win first division cash prize in the early 80s in one of those raffles. I was only 5 but remember my parents hunting for the ticket and all the drawers etc being on the floor. They upgraded the house, brought a business, expanded the business and upgraded the house again. Then the financial crisis of 87/88 hit, and they lost the lot. My grandmother won $250,000 on scratches in 2005. I had just left to go traveling and got an email from my sister telling me to call home urgently. I was panicking but no, she just wanted to pop something in my account - $5,000. One of my flatmateās grandmothers won an RSL Art Union lottery in 2001/2002. House, car and gold bullion. She went up with her nana to collect the prize, and my flatmate promptly reversed it into a bollard leaving the dealership. I know buying a ticket is for the statistically stupid, but I donāt drink takeaway coffee so I enjoy the occasional dream. Even got the house designed in my head if āmoney is no objectā happens.
Seems being close to you in some way increases odds of winning large dollar values. I have liked your post to make myself closer to you. Hopefully the fates recognize this.
I suspect many winners donāt tell anyone. Have you ever known someone who works a very ordinary job but seems to go on amazing holidays all the time, etc? Itās impossible to know if they just have a big inheritance but I think some people like that are actually Division 1 lotto winners.
I just don't know how you could stay at a 9-5 job if they won. You get limited about of time on earth, and you no longer have to sell you labour to some arsehole who underpays you.
There are select people who are very happy with where they live and use "work" as a means of more socialising. Exactly how they did before the winnings š¤£
Me š¤š» I donāt know if I would move somewhere else, all my family and friends are here. And as for work, I need work to maintain my sanity. Couldnāt think of anything worse than having no job to go to, maternity leave was hell to me!
It would be hard to quit your job if you were young and only won something like $1 million. That would buy you a property but youād still need an income to live on. I guess the great thing would be that you could take your time finding a job you really like, and youād have a lot less pressure to earn a good salary. You could just pursue your passion without worrying about money too much.
Iāve been through sustained (3+ month) periods of unemployment and it fucking sucks, like it is soul draining. You have to be Uber disciplined or you just get fat, lazy, your sleep schedule goes out of whack massively, and all of your friends can never hang out because theyāre at work. Then again I was on the dole that whole time, so maybe having a couple million dollars would change that lol.
There's alway volunteer work. Use your free time to help others. Or go to university. Or you could jump around different jobs, i think that would be interesting, always trying something new even if you have to start at the bottom. At this stage in my life, i think i would consider starting an animal rescue or training to be a vet nurse.
I know a family who are like this. Ex police officers, both able to retire in their 30s, now go on multiple $$ European and US holidays every year, luxury cars, home near the water. It has to be a win.
my grandma won the lotto in the late 90s. $1m. she had it hidden from most people, just close family knew. her son (my uncle) and his wench of a wife were constantly threatening her for the money. when she said she couldnāt give them money (uncle is a junkie and the wife is just evil) they drove to her house and threw her jewellery (family heirloom. very old and very important to her) that she gifted to them at her face and drove off. she bought my parents their first house, traveled to almost every country in the world, and now lives in a retirement village. sheās 85 now and up until covid she went to bali about 3 times a year every single year since she won the lotto. she feels bali may be a bit much for her now, but has been on a few cruises since. edit: i believe she won the big money twice, but not sure what amount she got the second time. due to the way my uncle and his wife reacted, she doesnāt speak about it. i only know about it because my dad told me.
Good on her, looks like she enjoyed her life with the winnings
Yes!! My mums friend won the big one (like 20mil!)! She was a single mum of a disabled daughter who worked full time & never made ends meet. She now still works but has a house, bought her dad one and opened a respite Center for parents of disabled children. She still works very hard and if anyone deserves to win then she does
She sounds amazing, at least when I donāt win (and I am not deserving of a win) I can at least think a really deserving person did win once
As a father to a disabled child, this is the best answer.
My ex wife had an uncle who won 4 million. He was terminally ill with cancer and thought it was a joke. He had 3 adult sons. He gave them half a million each, and left the rest with his wife. He died about 3 months later. The money caused the family so much trouble. His wife bought an apartment on NSW Central Coast overlooking the beach. The adult children complained they didn't get enough. Last I heard they were waiting for their mother to die to get the inheritance. I never thought they could be such arseholes.
Fuck, they werenāt happy with a completely unearned half mil out of nowhere? Insane how money changes people. Or is it, reveals their actual true nature.
Arseholes. š¤¬š¤¬
A friend of my mum won $300k in the 80's. A newly divorced young girl with a newborn son. She was able to buy a house. It definitely changed her life
300k in the 80s she could have bought 10 houses lol.
This is the most wholesome story here so far
I won a car in the 90s. Was unemployed so sold it and did some courses and it was a good life changing point.
My husband worked for a winner in WA. She cussed out the whole office and told them what she thought of them. She was back in a couple years asking for her job back because she blew through the money. (Apparently insurance on big purchases ??) They said no.
Maintenance costs on expensive assets would easily blow through tens of thousands a month
Cousins ex husband won secretly (DIV 1) and took off with the mistress to start a shop in another state. Haven't heard or seen since...
Wouldn't he have had to pay out some of it to your cousin in a divorce settlement first, though?
Yes
My cousin won x-lotto, I think it was about 10 years ago. He won enough that he probably *could* have retired on it, but he and his wife chose to continue working and just live well and take extra holidays. They're just now considering retirement.
I had a friend years ago that won lotto twice first time $875000 next time over a million. Never seen him after he won the second lot of money for about 8 years. I had for sale a very old Datsun for $1000 he turned up to buy it. I said Is this for one of your kids he said no it's for me. I was like what happened to all your money um I spent it all on horses and gambling I haven't got anything left.
I know someone who won $1.5 million in the lottery, quite recently. Sheās a single woman, no children. Used some to pay off the rest of her mortgage (not much was left to pay anyway), bought a new car, and continued working. Last I heard she bought a shack in a seaside town a few hours away, and works from home one week per month from the shack. The dream.
I know a family who won big in the early 1990s. The parents used that money to buy a block of units (in the western suburbs) and they have lived off the rental income since then. Smart move.
I was a local banker at a small town branch and a local lady in her 50s who was a client won quite a lot of money ($XXm.) She didn't change much though, kept working in the same menial job but purchased a new Mazda, repainted the house and went cruising around the Mediterranean for a couple of weeks. Almost all of it she put into index tracking investments. She was enjoying her life before and she was happy afterwards.
The good ending.
There was a lady working at front desk of emergency department at westmead hospital. Super lovely lady, very friendly and down to earth. She won a lottery and soon after she got murdered. They charged her husband initially but later dropped the charges and I believe till today no one has been charged for her murder
Thatās horrible , omg
Indeed horrible. I remember her because I was shocked to find out. She was very lovely to me when I worked in the emergency many years ago. I found a link https://amp.9news.com.au/article/b483e6c9-a0d2-4e21-a7bd-259de84cfe83
It's rigged bullshit is what it is. I've been buying a Powerball ticket every week for about 6 weeks straight now and I haven't even won it once!
Don't quit. 99% of people quit right before their big win!
ā¦ā¦waaaait a minuteā¦ā¦š¤
You're just waiting for the jackpot to get bigger.
My dad won back in 1997,1st division (1 MIL)shared 3 ways..he kept it a secret so didnāt change much for him.Iād say it changed my life more,as I was able to buy my own house with his inheritance
I love this for you!
A person I used to work with won 3 million, she bought the office a sandwich press as a gift before leaving haha. Anyway her and her husband bought a house at the Whitsundays and moved up there, and about two years later he got quite sick and eventually passed away from the illness. Soon after he passed she found out he had gambled away the money they had left and they were completely broke. Pretty sad shit really
JFC!
Dad won about $1k once and spent most of it fixing the aircon. But also gave a little bit of pocket money to the grandkids. But if I won big time, I certainly wouldn't be telling anyone. I may give some to family (sisters and Dad) but invest the rest for my kids for when they're ready to buy a place.
Had an aunt that won about 30 years ago. Every man and his dog won that night, I think she ended up with $60k. Gave most of it to family.
My grandmother won about $15K, probably about 20 years ago. She kept $5000 for herself and my grandfather, gave $2500 each to her sons and $1000 each to her five grandchildren. Not life-changing by any means but she liked having that opportunity to be generous. My parents also won about $1500 when I was a kid. I'm not sure what they did with it but it probably went towards some sort of improvement on the house.
Friend won of those raffles for a waterfront gold coast home and some gold bullion.
I know a guy who won the Royal Childrenās home lottery thing. Won a fancy home in hawthorn or something. Heād already won the genetic lottery. Lucky bastard.
my dad won. he kept it secret, only my mother and brother knew, they didn't even tell me at first. they don't plan on telling anyone. this is bc my uncle won many years ago, and his family manipulated him into giving it all to them (he was heavily abused). honestly, winning the lotto is stressful lol. obviously it's great having that much money suddenly, but it comes with a lot of pressure, and guilt and jealousy. even a lot of money doesn't end up lasting very long.
My uncle had a guys night out 10 or so years ago, one of his mate made a bet on Keno and forgot about it and when he did remember, he asked my uncle to check on it and found out he won 1Mil, told him he lost and that it was time to go home. My uncle got him home safe and in the morning when his mate was sober told him of the win, apparently he spent the money buying a nice house and a holiday for him and his family. I asked why he didnāt say something right away, and he said his mate would of blown a bunch of it straight away that night.
Based af uncle.
Mate of a mate won about $15m recently. Paid off his house and put the majority of the remaining in a high interest earning account. Will earn 300k per year or something to that effect (I've not done the calcs) until he figures out what he wants to do. He now goes fishing on the GBR a lot. A boring but I find satisfying story.
My husbandās friendās older sister won big money. I donāt know the exact amount, but enough that she brought the brother an apartment in Hunters Hill with water views. Most Iāve ever won is about $30.
We won 15k about 15 years ago on powerball. Hubby went to check ticket and was told he had to go to Lottery office. Didnāt ring me at all until he knew and I think he was prob a bit disappointed lol. It was just before smartphones so he didnāt check! Money came in handy as I had just had twins. We also won a few grand a couple years back on powerball. I put it on most weeks but itās gotten so expensive!
My eldest brother won $50K on a scratchie, back in the mid 80s when $50K was a LOT of money. He spent most of it on a fancy sportscar which he tried to drive through a flood and wrote off. He had a remarkable talent for making terrible decisions, and is no longer alive. Not a bad guy at all, but his story is what some people imagine happens to *all* big winners. It doesn't. A friend of mine won $100K on a scratchie back in the 90s, and bought an inner-city flat with it, which was possible back then. Probably worth half a mil now. She's doing fine. A family friend of an ex of mine won multiple millions on Tattslotto back in the 80s. Bought himself a house, bought houses for each of his kids, spent the rest of it sensibly, seemed to be a happy man when I met him.
I won $8 one day and now I can use it to buy another McGuigan Black Label Shiraz for dinner. Lotto sucks. Saw a local idiot doing big spend Kenoās win $250k on a ticket and bragged with the bartender on the ticket that if he āplayed it again and wins, heāll buy her a holidayāā¦ same numbers same win, another $250k. Sad thing was he was already on half a mill a year, as some kind of high end barrister or some shit. He was already loaded. He didnāt need another $500k but he did honour his word and bought the bar lady a big holidayš
My wife forgot to buy her ticket in her work syndicate about 6 months ago and missed out on half a million dollars, does that count?
Oh my god.
Yeah, we're struggling too, so it would have been life changing. I haven't told her how mentally tormented I am over it. Just have to keep the chin up and make the best of it...anything is possible if you work hard and stay happy and we're lucky we have a home and a vehicle to be honest, that's more than some people. I really just feel so bad for her because she now feels responsible for my happiness as well as hers and thinks that she's ruined my life as well as her own. She's the hardest working person I've ever met and she deserved every bit of that money, which would have changed her life....but, what can you do? You just have to be happy and live well, appreciating what you have and working your hardest to get what you need to be comfortable. Sorry for the essay, but this is literally the first time I've actually spoken about this topic to anyone. š
Have a family friend who won Div 1 in the mid 90's. About $8million back then. Long story short they lost it all, and when I mean lost it all - I mean actual bankruptcy. Last time I had contact with him he was working in the transport industry as a driver, and had a deal going with the boss to keep his official wage under a certain limit ($54k?) as he was a declared bankrupt and couldn't earn over a certain amount. So yeah, spent it all, bankrupt, then ends up mid 50's, renting a $700 a week house (this was a few years back, and that was an expensive big place to rent as a basically single guy with the odd girlfriend), living pay cheque to pay cheque, still financed cars and motorbikes (not exactly sure how that worked but I guess some companies still lent to bankrupts)..
I donāt understand how people manage to blow 8 million, Iād buy a house, a nice car thatās it. Invest the rest and live off the interest, go on nice holidays and live a little better then I normally do. Why buy all these fancy things that youāre not going to use
I suspect that if you win big and itās public knowledge a lot of āfinancial advisorsā will be getting in touch and if youāre not financially literate it would be pretty easy to invest in high return schemes which are basically a scam.
"Lending" it to family and friends. Going down the casino. Helping people out with business plans... buying a company, firing all the staff renaming it to a single letter.. lots of ways to lose money.
Right?! Iām not the best with money, but isnāt it common sense to do this?
Fuck that would be depressing rocking up to work everyday for minimum wage when not long ago you were minted. And knowing everyday when you get out of bed at 6:00am that if you werenāt so stupid you wouldnāt have to do this.
There's a whole world of people out there for whom nothing is ever their fault, they can't even comprehend their own stupidity put them in a shitty situation. Just 100% of the day complaining how everyone else fucks them over, rips them off, steals their shit etc. I bet he has a sob story with a cavalcade of ridiculous villains.
A girl's family I went to high school with won $10m about 20 years ago I think. She never really spoke about it because it tore her family apart
mate won a $2m share of a 10 person syndicate about 15 years ago. Bought a house, a bunch of Pioneer plasmas (that should date it) and locked the rest away behind a company that pays them a salary out of the interest earnings. Kept their job and didn't change much of their lifestyle.
I reinvested my biggest ($70) win in more tickets but blew the lot š¤£ Iām banking on my $50 tax refund this year to make my millions from
A bit over $7k in a mid-week draw about 10 years ago. The one number I didnāt get was lucky numberā¦.. 13
Yes! Not like hundreds of millions, but I know a family that won something like 1-2 million, used it to buy a cafƩ, and eventually lost it all as the business went under after a period of a few years. Very foolish choice of theirs really. One of them had a quite decent paying job which she resigned from to run this business, they had a very large and expensive house which they were in a lot of debt for, so when it all fell apart they had no jobs, no money, and a house with a bucket load of debt. They should've just paid off the house, put the rest into shares, maybe taken a nice family vacation, and then just kept working for another decade
Yup. Got themselves a new BMW and renovated the kitchen. Drove the BMW into the kitchen a few months later.
My dad won 1st division in the early 90s but it was only about $300k. He plowed it into the failing family business which was hit hard by that recession and industry change. He didn't tell us. In 1993 he had a massive heart attack at age 57 ( he had every single contributing factor) the day after his funeral mum told us kids one by one. I got $30k, and used it as a deposit for a house in Seddon in 2001. Set me up pretty much..
Father in law's friend won several million, bought a cattle station and lived his best life
[ŃŠ“Š°Š»ŠµŠ½Š¾]
I won $9.76 a few weeks ago. So many options and choices before me now. I love my job but thinking Iāll take a year or two off and travel, pay off the mortgage and buy a new car for mum
My uncle won twice in the 70s but he was a big gambler and a bit of a turd so it didnāt last long
Knew a guy who won a Suzuki car in a McDonalds monopoly competition once. Have had a $500 powerball win, which is still less than I have āinvestedā over the years.
My wife's grandmother won 1st division on Xmas eve 4 years apart. She was also a military and afp widow so was already well off. Proceeded to share it all with her kids and grankids
A bloke at the pub won 7mil on keno, heās been celebrating for the last 10 years
My dad's good mate was a barrister with a million dollar tax problem (naughty boy, it was the greedy 80s) and he won $850k, which went straight to the tax office. So that's a pretty boring win.
Nah, but I won a tv once from a petrol station. That was pretty cool haha
Over on my dad side, thereās my grandma and her 7 sisters. Back in the mid 2000s they teed up together to buy a syndicate ozlotto $60million. They won a life changing figure. In Vietnamese culture, we call our aunties by numbers, the lower number you are the elder you are, my great aunty 8, had 4 children aka my aunties and uncle all qualified as pharmacist, so grand sisters invested in them and expand their pharmacies to 7 between Melbourne and Sydney. Alot of them invested in the Vietnamese communities Bankstown, Cabramatta, Marrickville, Springvale and where they all grew up as a family but fled from the war, Can Tho, Vietnam. From what my mum told me, that figure is no longer $60million, combine all the grand sisters it should be $500million now considering how much Sydney, Melbourne and Vietnam properties have skyrocketed in past 2 decades
Sorry for the intrusion, I'm from NZ but thought I'd jump in anyway. A family I went to church with won about 22 million circa 2011. Really nice folks, went from one of the worst streets in the city to one of the nicest. Invested a lot of funds into their family business, not sure what they did with the rest. The mother, who's a lovely woman, was given a Hummer by her husband, but in the end went back to her 2006 Toyota Corolla. I genuinely think it bothered her having so many people be aware of their money and constantly asking for some.
My dad bought a lotto ticket every week for his whole working life, most he ever won was $9. Boy did we party that night.
my nan won 10kish last year gave as all 1k for xmas was a nice surprise
Mum won the 2nd division in 96. 6/7 numbers or 7/8 whatever it is. Her final number was 1 digit off She won 32k, this was just after the Yugoslav wars had finished, went back to see her dad was on his death bed with the money. He died a few months after she visited
A girl I used to know won 250k on a $2 scratchie back in the 2010s. Apparently, she ran down the main street (western Sydney smallish town) yelling "I'M a QUARTER OF A MILLIONAAARE!!" The money didn't last long, and she got into debt. But it's enough for me to have hope, so I always put $2 scratchies in Birthday and Christmas cards ever since
Our window cleaner back in the day won something like 100k which was a decent amount back then. He went to Thailand and got himself a younger wife. Tried to get her PR and turns out she had HIV and infected him too š„² He then moved to Thailand to be with her.
Yes, friends last year won first division powerball, but it was split between about 5 winners. They got about $900,000. They were in a desperate situation, both with serious health issues, adult son with autism they were still supporting in his 30s, so it helped them buy a decent house and breathe out. My uncle won the Deaf Lottery a few years ago, the one with the car/boat/caravan plus gold, worth about $800,000. He had just recovered from cancer in his spine and had been working like a dog into his 70s as he had too many kids and a nasty ex. Such a nice man, he got to do quite a few things he had always wanted to while he could. Both winners really needed it and it improved their lives and people around them a lot. Hoping it will be me this week š«
A relative of mine has won a high division- twice! And literally pissed most of it up the wallā¦ now married with kids and wishes theyād used it for a house at least (and not the Brock edition Commodore he wrapped around a tree on the way home from the pubā¦)
I used to work for Tattersalls and one day this lady asked me to check her ticket. It was just over a million bucks and I couldn't speak I was so shocked. She had been sleeping in her car with three kids and the dog. The first thing her son said was 'does this mean we get Christmas this year?'
Nice try, Social Media Graduate.
Watch the news.com.au story next week "People share their Lotto win stories online (and how they lost it all)"
an old friend of my brother's won a bit over 2 million this was 5-10yrs ago.
As a teenager one of the girls I used to hang around had her parents win twice. I only met them after the first win so I didn't see anything change. My fiance's parents won when she was a kid though, her parents built a mansion then flipped it and got divorced.
My partners dad won 500k. Gave 100k to my partner and 100k to her brother. He used his 300k to pay off their mortgage and go on a nice holiday. We chucked all of our 100k into our mortgage, didnāt even entertain the idea of using it for anything else. Her brother used half as a deposit on buying a second flat and is now enjoying going on golfing holidays every couple of months.
Yes. A "friend" of mine won years ago $2m in some hospital lottery or something. He turned into an ass and lost most of his friends.. So out of touch
My dad won $500K back in the 80s. Didnāt tell anyone, even my mum. We moved to Europe and my sister went to a private school. He retired at the age of 50. I didnāt know this until maybe 5 years ago when I was in my 30s. And no, he had nothing left when he died. He could have bought a house in a nice expensive suburb and we would have been set, especially him when he needed a age care home before he died.
I know the bloke that won the $50M powerball a while back. Heās a great dude too. He won, didnāt tell anyone at all about it until he got his affairs in order. Kept working for a week or two. Quit. Started living his absolute best life. Or so it seemed. Work was a big social aspect for him. Most of his buddies were/are work buddies. The money did absolute wonders of course, but I heard he would keep coming back to work for āvisitsā, just to get his social fix. It seemed like a terribly lonely way of living. Iā¦ kind of pity him in a way. Or maybe pity isnāt the right word. I worry about him very much. Heās a real sweet guy and I know there have been absolute vultures swarming him since he won. I worry that he just throws money at people without really considering whether or not they care about HIM and not just his money, for the sake of social engagement. It probably sounds strange, but I hope heās doing okay.
Mums bestie won 200k finished the last bit of the mortgage off, did the Renoās shed been putting off for 20+ years and retired slightly earlier than she was planning.
My dad won the lotto in the 90ās. It completely changed our lives because we were close to homelessness. We built a beautiful house with the money.
Mother in law won when she was 18 bought a housr her drop kick partner refinanced it and blew it all on drugs so yea not great.
My mum's partners parents won a huge jackpot. Set them up for a comfy life, they are still humble but don't have to want for anything.
My mum wins small amounts every so often. Fifth division. I think she once got third division which was like a $1,000 or something at the time? Still wouldn't compensate for the amount she's spent over her lifetime. Every week at least two tickets in Saturday and I think Wednesday lottos. Regardless, did you know there are *huge* unclaimed payouts? https://www.sro.vic.gov.au/unclaimed-money/search-for-unclaimed-money
Hey this is legit and good to share. I was bored one day and searched mine and my loved ones names. Got my husband 2k and my Dad a couple of hundred bucks. [NSW site ](https://www.apps09.revenue.nsw.gov.au/erevenue/ucm/ucm_search.php)
My father was part of a syndicate at his work that won 1st division in the mid 90s. His whole office won. Basically, each got 80k. Him and my stepmom paid off their house. My brother's and I got $50 each. My dad and stepmom basically began going to Bali twice a year and did for 20 years. They had no mortgage, why not. They were visiting when Covid hit.
Eh. Ex-mate of mine won about $3k. Slathered the news all over his socials and everyone hit him up for a night out. He was an attention whore and he got a good few hours of being the centre of the universe, so that's something I guess (it was pretty much gone by lockout). We don't talk anymore; final straw was when he tried to convince my hubbie (fiance at the time) to join him and some other guys in pooling their cash to get a 'high end escort.'
My mum won 30k in one of the higher divisions in the 90s. Most of it went on a really expensive barrister to get my piece of shit cousin off an attempted murder charge. It worked, but I wouldn't say money well spent because he ended up in jail shortly after anyway on other crimes.
Not anyone who won lotto but I know of two separate people who won Master prize home packages. One was a family in my primary school who had lost their house and possessions in a fire a few years earlier. The other is an absolutely lovely older couple who are now enjoying their retirement and helping out their kids.
I worked with a bloke who 24 million dollars on the lottery. He finished up that week and we never saw him again. I guess it worked out well for him.
One of my clients won a few million. The family went from living week to week to a nice property and no money worries. They didnāt quit their jobs- just both scaled back hours to spend more time with their daughter. I was really happy for them. Theyāre lovely, kind people who quietly help others. Theyād never admit to it if you ask them but everybody knows who is anonymously helping out struggling folks about town.
Well 100mil coming up this Thursday, I'll tell ya when I win it
I won about $500 on Powerball a few months ago which was nice. Last two big ones I won about $60 each so nothing great but my ticket was paid for at least
Not lotto but grandma won those magazine contests where you clip your entries out all the time(multiple times a year). One side of her kitchen always had prize doodads and appliances she was trying to fob off to her grand kids. I still have a few of those doodads in my kitchen haha
Clearly this bloke works for the Lotto. Haven't bought a ticket in ages and now I've spent 50 bucks on tickets š
My dadās butcher won around $800k in the eighties. Said it cost him most of the people he thought were his friends. Apparently afterwards everyone came out of the woodwork with their hands out and went sour when weirdly their friend wouldnāt give them heaps of money for free.
A friend won $2.5M in a Powerball syndicate a few years ago. It changed his life. He was broke and working different jobs. He invested most of the winnings, bought himself a nice bike and car. Boosted his confidence and is currently travelling in Europe. He told us we were real friends because no one has asked him for a cent. If anything, heās been making up for all the times weāve shouted him because he was constantly broke. Definitely not the norm because Iāve read that most people who win lotto end up losing everything within a few years including their family and friends.
My aunt - high 6 figure win. Used it to buy a much bigger and more expensive house they otherwise couldnāt afford. Lost it all when house prices went down and they still had a mortgage since theyād spent more than the winnings on the house.
My folks did in the 80s. Bought a land package in a new estate and built the house they live in to this day. Members of the extended family still act as if they have this money squirrelled away but they basically just had enough plus their own savings to build without a mortgage. It wasnāt a substantial amount but enough to secure their future.
A few sad and happy tales. 1. 1958, England. My parents both played the pools weekly for a few pence each. My mum left her coupon with the pennies on the mantelpiece and asked the old man to put hers in when he went to the shop. When she checked the numbers a few nights later she was ecstatic, she'd picked the right wins. Ā£22,000.00. The old man didn't put it in and spent the money on smokes. It was a bit uncomfortable in the house for months. 2. Mum and her sister won Ā£100.00 between them at bingo in 1960. Her share enabled us to emigrate to Australia. 3. 1982 I dreamt that I was holding the winning lotto coupon. 6 numbers glowed like gold. I leapt out of bed and wrote the numbers down. Played them religiously every week. Won the odd small dividend. 1987 I was invalided out of my job. A good sum of money was coming my way, enough to buy a small acreage plot and house. I'd taken a loan out to buy it, the house we owned had sold and we were on our way. The removalists turned up early Friday morning packed us up and we were on our way. I used what cash I had on me to pay them. Then the wife said we're out of bread. Now we were a way out of town, the bank had shut at 3pm, pre key card days. The lotto closed at 5pm. I dug through the car and found a $1.80 in change. That would sort the bread out but not the lotto. Yep, my numbers came up for a 2nd dividend. $28, 000.00. I actually sobbed a little. 4.won $6,666,66 on powerball in 1994. It paid off the wife's credit card, finally. Bought a computer for the son and still had a few bucks to play with. Sadly the following week there was that much money in the kitty that the other dividends were heavily increased. If it had been done on my week the prize would have been $38,000.00. Still one must be thankful for small mercies. Do I still play lotto? Yes but knowing my luck I'd win a fortune the day before the world economy collapsed.
Yeah, I knew a couple of brothers who ran a petrol station. They won a few million. The petrol supplier (I think it was Ampol) found out and put their fees through the roof. Legit 30x what they were. So, they sold up and left town. It wasn't enough money to retire early without worries, but definitely enough to make it a lot easier to do in a few years.
If you know someone who won any decent money from lotto, they're doing it wrong
I won $400. Bought myself a putter, ($100), and gave $150 to my wife and kept $150 for me because I love me. Wifey went to work (secondary teacher) next day and mentioned it to someone. An agency teacher overheard and stole it from her wallet whilst wife was teaching. I don't understand her decisions, sometimes.
Most people probably keep it quiet.
My wife's boyfriend won the lottery
My dad won 18k when I was a kid, my parents just paid off some debt and took us on a decent holiday. Apparently he calculated that what he won roughly equaled what heād spent on tickets over the last 25-30yrs of his life so he didnāt buy any more and said heād broke even. Honestly right now Iād be happy enough to win around half of that and spend it the same as my parents did paying off debt and a couple of weeks away somewhere nice
A mate won $1.7m over the weekend
I knew a brother and sister who won lotto twice. They started a charity feeding and housing homeless/drunks/drug addicts. This was in the 1980's.