From spending it all to unsolved murders...stay
tuned to number 1 to find out who lost millions of dollars before they could even spend it!! Number 10: From Rags to Riches...and Back
to Rags. Lou Eisenberg became an overnight sensation
in 1981, when he won $5 million... At the time, it was the biggest lottery payout
of all time. And, crazy enough, it actually happened on
Friday 13th. Talk about luck! Needless to say, Eisenberg's life changed
immediately, and he couldn't keep track of what was happening around him. He was nicknamed "Light Bulb Lou," because
his old job was changing light bulbs in an office building. Following his lottery win, he even became
a small-time TV celebrity, doing lottery commercials and visiting several late-night talk shows
as a prominent guest. Lou's fame grew bigger and bigger...but so
did his spending habit. As would be expected with a lottery winner,
he constantly treated himself with expensive trips around the world, dined out in high-end
restaurants, and gave money away to everyone who needed it. Over the years, he gave some money to his
second ex-wife, remarried again, (but the third time still wasn't the charm) and by
2001...Light Bulb Lou was broke. His final check was cashed and the good life
was over. But all's well that ends well, Lou said that
he was happy to have had such an amazing turn of events, and that he didn't regret a single
thing. That's what's called "going out in style." Number 9: The Lottery Karma. Denise Rossi lived with her husband for 25
years, and everything was working out. They both trusted each other, supported each
other, etc. But that all changed. When Denise won $1.3 million in the California
Lottery, she rethought her life, and decided to do something different. Something completely different...she filed
for divorce. This happened only 11 days after she won the
lottery. But here's the plot twist: she didn't tell
anyone about the win. Including her husband. She probably figured it was best to keep everything
a secret and then, when all the fuss is over, she'd be single with all of her winnings. Unfortunately for her, secrets this big aren't
easily kept. Very soon after their divorce, Denise's husband
found out about the whole lottery thing, and he didn't want to let it go. He pressed charges and a couple of years later...the
court ruled in his favor. It was determined that Denise broke asset
disclosure laws and, due to the fraudulent behavior, all the lottery money went over
to her husband. That's karma for you. Number 8: Too Young to Make It. Callie Rogers is the youngest Brit to win
the lottery jackpot, at the age of 16. But she would soon learn that winning the
lottery at such an early age isn't such a good thing after all. Upon winning the jackpot, Callie went into
straight party mode. But, unfortunately for her, it probably wasn't
the best idea. She spent the majority of her $6 million winnings
on parties, drugs, gifts, holidays, and cosmetic surgery. Unfortunately, all that money couldn't bring
her the most important thing...happiness. At times, Callie was so lonely and depressed
that she even attempted suicide. Things eventually worked out for her. And it happened AFTER she lost all her money. She's now living with her partner, Paul, and
her son. All that's left of the lottery jackpot is
measly $2,000. But Callie says this is the happiest she's
ever felt. And the lottery win...well, it appears to
have been too much, too soon. Number 7: What Goes Around. In 1991, Ibi Roncaioli won $5 million in the
lottery, but she came up with a plan...to give a part of it away and not tell her husband
about it. What happened was that Ibi had a child with
another man and she wanted to give some money to them. Well, not some money, more like - $2 million. Ibi's marriage to Joseph Roncalioli was far
from perfect, as the woman was apparently an alcoholic, and the two lived separately
in their big mansion. When her husband found out about her secret
plan to give a chunk of the lottery win to a child she had with another man...he decided
to kill her by injecting her with painkillers. After going through the doctor's documents,
it was revealed that Ibi had forged her husband's signature and transferred the property to
her name. I guess money IS the root of all evil. Number 6: Twice Bitten, Once Broke. Evelyn Marie Adams is a phenomenon, because
she actually had something absolutely insane happen to her...winning the New Jersey lottery
TWICE. The first time was in October 1985, for $3.9
million, and the second time was just a couple of month later...in February 1986...for $1.4
million. The odds of one person winning two such lottery
jackpots are...wait for it...17 trillion to one! So, it's fair to say that Evelyn might be
one of the luckiest people alive! After the first win, things started working
out pretty well for Evelyn: she paid off all of her bills, gave her daughter money for
college tuition, bought a new car, etc. But later on, especially after the second
win, all that money took her under its wing...and Evelyn went on a gambling spree, spending
too much and giving money away to so many people. By the year 2012, Evelyn was living in a trailer,
without any money left. Her chances of winning two jackpots were close
to impossible, but her chances of squandering it all were pretty good...and she managed
to do it. Number 5: Too generous? Being generous is great and all, but it can
sometimes be the cause of your own downfall. This is exactly what happened to Janite Lee. In 1993, she won $18 million, and one would
think that she immediately hit the upper-class lifestyle, living it up in the Bahamas and
stuff. However, Janite decided to do something completely
different. She went on to donate the bulk of her winnings
to political organizations and government programs, and she also gave $1 million to
the Washington University in St. Louis...helping them built a new library which was even named
after her! In addition to her generous acts, Janite also
gambled quite a bit, losing close to $350,000 a year in the process. With that kind of lifestyle, going broke was
inevitable, and that's precisely what happened. In 2001, Janite Lee filed for bankruptcy. Number 4: A Curse in Disguise. Billie Bob Harrell Jr. and his wife won the
Texas Lottery jackpot in 1997...winning a cool $31 million, as they were the only ones
with the winning numbers. And for a while, things were working out great
for their family. They bought a new ranch, all the extended
family members got their own house, and more! Bob was helping his local church community,
but also everyone else who came to him, begging for some money. And that list of those people was never-ending,
which put an extra strain on Bob's marriage. Unfortunately, he and his wife split in the
following year. He also made a bad business deal, which cost
him even more money. Devastated and deep in depression, Billy Bob
took his own life on May 22, 1999...less than two years after he and his then wife had won
the big prize. His financial adviser said that, in the months
prior to his suicide, Bob claimed that the lottery win was the worst thing that happened
to him. Number 3: Bitter "Taste" of Victory. Urooj Khan, a businessman from Chicago, won
$425,000 in the Illinois Lottery...but he didn't live long to see it. Just one day after the winning check was mailed,
Khan was found dead. According to the testimony from the lottery
official, the chances are high he never even had time to see the check with his own eyes. When he won the lottery, Khan was very happy,
saying that the money would help him grow his business. But less than one month after that, he was
dead. At first, his death was ruled as natural causes,
but the family members grew suspicious and demanded a more serious investigation. After a full toxicology test was conducted,
it turned out that Khan had been poisoned with cyanide, and the case was classified
as murder. In the months to come, different stories have
been spun, even those of Khan's widow trying to cash the lottery check days after his death. Five years later, there are still no arrests
in the case, and it's still one of the biggest lottery mysteries ever. Number 2: Charges of Murder. Everyone loves the idea of winning the lottery. But it often isn't as magical as it sounds. And for Willie Hurt, it became tragic. Back in 1989, Willie Hurt was living in Michigan
as a happy family man. But his life took a wild turn when he won
the Michigan state lottery. Everyone, including Hurt himself, expected
the lottery win of $3.1 million to improve every aspect of his life...but it all went
downhill from there. The annual installment for Willie Hurt's win
was around $156,000, but after only two of those...he lost custody of his children during
a divorce. Not only that, but he also spent a vast amount
of money on illegal drugs. When he started living with his girlfriend,
the whole drug-induced lifestyle got completely out of hand, and they started arguing over
drugs, and the best way to get more of them. One day, Hurt's girlfriend was found shot,
and he ended up being charged with murder. To this day, it's not clear what happened
between them, but it's safe to say that the lottery win probably didn't improve his life. Number 1: Throwing it All Away. In 1998, Gerald Muswagon from Manitoba won
$10 million, after buying a $2-ticket. It was some story, as no one could believe
it...including Gerald. He wanted to turn his life around, and he
did...quite literally. Gerald immediately started shopping around,
for all kinds of stuff, even the stuff he didn't really need. His shopping sprees always ended up in buying
new cars for his friends and family, a new house and several big-screen TVs. But money can be a cruel master sometimes,
and in Gerald's case...it was just that. He turned his new house into a party pad,
but it attracted all the wrong people. There was too much drugs, too much alcohol,
and Gerald was slowly losing his touch with reality. He did start his own logging business, but
it soon fell apart; after all, it's easy to start a business, but it's hard-work keeping
it all together. After a series of criminal charges for drunk
driving and sexual assault, Gerald's fast-lane lifestyle led him to spend every dime...and
he actually had to go back to work. Not being able to come to grips with his new
situation, Gerald took his life in 2005. Maybe money CAN'T buy happiness. Tell us what you would do if YOU won the lottery
in the comment below and...good luck!
