Why Winning the Lottery Was a 19 Year-Old's Worst Nightmare

that ticket that's a winner uh-huh isn't that heartwarming and wrong [Music] stop me if you've heard this one before money can't buy happiness despite the feel-good ads it's widely accepted that coming into sudden wealth won't make your life any better in fact it might just make things worse especially if it comes in the form of a big flashy televised event with your name and face plastered all over you know like the lottery there's really no shortage of examples from CSI to Phoenix bright winning the lottery sure seems to only bring misery and pain whoa that was depressing pots what blend is this extra dog haha funny coffee machine make more fast water also my name is hot today's topic concerns gambling which is a common addiction we're not here to tell you what to do with your time or money we just want to explore this subject from an unbiased perspective if you want to try your luck maybe come up with a budget you can afford to spend with him and with that out of the way let's get into it well there is truth in the trope so to say happy lottery stories seem few and far between so let's focus on the larger-than-life case of 19 year old Briton Michael Carroll he won nine point seven million pounds in 2002 and quickly became one of the UK's most infamous winners starting his fame by collecting his winnings wearing a police tracking anklet according to the BBC Michael then went about spending his newly found fortune responsibly investing in his future and keeping a low profile except he did none of those things the first thing Michael did quit his job working as a garbage man or bin man as they say across the pond let's just put a little pin in here for a minute we'll be coming back to this Michael kept partying gaining nicknames like the lotto lout and king of the chaps for those of you not in the know lout is British slang for a lazy untidy and idle man and chaff as a derogatory term used towards lower-income people who dress in sports clothing and jewelry he spent about four million pounds on friends and family which seems fine on paper but according to Michael can become a problem for winners nor in his words family and friends will come out of the woodwork wanting their money and they will find themselves surrounded by lots of fake people Michael also purchased a five-bedroom mansion known as The Grange for a three hundred and forty three thousand pound according to the Daily Mail followed by another 400,000 pounds renovating it into a personal party house here he would entertain guests with the fine English art of the Destruction Derby in his garden and massive parties that involved a copious amount of vices including companionship ditch Mike who kept up his previous lifestyle indulging in luxuries like bling in cars and getting in trouble with the law you violated the law for shooting pellet guns at cars holding rowdy all-night parties at hotels and throwing big macs at pedestrians oh goodness it wasn't all parties though Michael also suffered two failed relationships and was extorted by local gangs according to an interview he gave the mirror in the end Michael was down to his last million in 2005 and sold his mansion at a significant loss in 2010 due to impressive damages he eventually moved to Scotland and after a brief stint of homelessness now has a steady job and a place to live Michael's story still ends on a happier note than sum as far as we can tell no one died a statement I realized sets the tone of the rest of this episode using Michael as a case study we can identify four common points into which lottery winners pour their money even if his spending was more extravagant than others first off quitting jobs after winning odds are if you've read an article about someone winning the jackpot you've seen this mention which makes sense relaxing without having to worry about money is certainly appealing that's probably why in 2019 alone we have multiple cases where that exact thing happened it's with Lara and Roger Griffiths did when they won one point eight million pounds leaving their jobs as a teacher and IT manager respectively their winnings lasted less than 10 years after vacations investing in a spa and buying a home for 800,000 pounds Lara and Rogers marriage also ended with their fortune as the two divorced with Lara having to sell off her possessions to feed her children blaming her husband for their financial woes which brings us to point number two buying an expensive home like with William bud post the third a drifter who won sixteen point eight million dollars from the Pennsylvania Lottery in 1988 he bought himself a mansion in 1989 for 395 thousand dollars or about eight hundred thousand dollars today it later sold for just sixty-five thousand dollars after years of neglect he also bought a plane well you told me he had a plane they didn't even have a license for it of course not Oh William went on to lose a third of his winnings to his former landlady who had actually paid for a third of the lottery tickets he bond he also faced a game of Thrones style attempt on the lives of him and his wife by his brother who wanted to inherit his money thankfully for William the hit man his brother hired turned out to actually be a police informant despite all of this and the sale of most of his assets William later spent all of his remaining 2.6 million dollars on two houses cars motorcycles TVs computers a luxury camper and a sailboat William later received a restraining order from his now ex-wife because he fired a rifle at her car was arrested on his boat because he fired a shotgun at a debt collector and then went back to his old drifter life which brings us to 0.3 expensive changes in lifestyle you know buying expensive cars jewelry luxury items and vices Britain's youngest lotto winner 16 year-old Callie Rogers won 1.9 million pounds in 2003 and spent it on expensive clothes vacations cars a breast augmentation and a quarter of a million dollars solely on stuff Oh after blowing through her fortune Kaylee went through a better depression and was sent to the hospital after being savagely beaten by two women dogs sitting at her boyfriend's house she now says she regrets not keeping enough of her winnings to help her youngest son Blake who suffers from cerebral palsy though she did also purchase her mother a home and which is nice it's nice to help people you care about which brings us to our final points spreading the wealth spending that cash without thinking about it even for her benevolent reasons can have consequences take John Whitaker already worth 17 million dollars thanks to his construction business he took home one hundred and thirteen point nine million dollars from the lottery in 2002 besides drinks and gentlemen's clubs according to USA Today Whitaker spent his fortune building churches setting up a foundation to help others and sharing money with his granddaughter his granddaughter who later passed away of a believed overdose something that he blamed on the money but spending so much money gets attention and soon his foundation was hit with so many requests that the Postal Service wouldn't even deliver the mail and he'd even be a constant in public for money should this be surprising well maybe not as wealth counsellor chef roberta the Eagle Tribune for many people who come into wealth suddenly if they have not acquired good money skills prior to this windfall often they struggle it make poor choices so in that case what can you do to avoid having a sudden windfall twist your dream into a nightmare well according to insurance firms State Farm there are a few things you can do take some time to clear your head hire a lawyer financial adviser and an accountant and if you have to give interviews or release your name maybe set up a Pio box and new phone number to protect your identity but maybe the best idea is to just set a budget that's what Shark Tank investor in Dallas Mavericks owner Mark Cuban suggested you don't become a smart investor when you win the lottery don't make investments you can put in the bank and live comfortably forever or as fellow shark tank investor kevin O'Leary put it when speaking to NBC you've won financial freedom don't screw it up his advice pay yourself a fixed sum each year and if you want to invest invest in low volatility dividend paying stocks or in other words not the high risk world of gambling and that's the thing it's fun to think about this kind of thing but your odds of winning are one in 292 point 2 million and this is important playing the lottery is gambling gambling can be addictive and gambling addiction is a serious problem whether you're spending on lottery tickets or loot boxes be sure to set a budget that you can afford to lose and don't get taken in chasing the big win it can cost more than you can afford whew that was a heavy story hey paw Howard Howard got any stories to lighten the mood like how a man took his last $5,000 to the blackjack table beat the odds yeah go on which company ooh weyland-yutani no Hogwarts not accompany the worshipful company of fishmongers the hog theme is there at least but you've lost the plot if you want to learn the story of a big gamble with a billion dollar happy ending check out the latest video from our friends at hook

Channel: Brew

Views: 1,837,780

Rating: 4.9105797 out of 5

Keywords: why lottery winners go broke, why lottery is a waste of money, why lottery is bad, how lottery changed my life, how lottery ruined my life, lottery ruined my life, unluckiest lottery winners, dumbest lottery winers, winning the lottery is the worst thing, biggest lottery winners, explained, science explained, mysteries solved

Id: NIURc1eNBs8

Length: 9min 38sec (578 seconds)

Published: Fri Feb 21 2020