Would You Like to Win a Huge Jackpot in a Lottery?
A vision of winning a nice sum of money in a lottery is for many people very congenial. An opportunity to change one's life, quit boring work, buy a dream house and a dream car, travel and enjoy the freedom that money brings about. However each coin has two sides and so the winning in a lottery has the dark side too.
Dangerous Luck
The life of many of those who were lucky to win a huge jackpot in a lottery turned bitter and they wished that they had never won and that their life could get back to an ordinary track. There are a number of sad fates. In any case the winning in a lottery is a great shock. The life of the winner turns upside down, either in good or bad way, either he wants it or not, and only few people are ready to it and get through it in a cool way.
Based on the former events, the lottery winner must count on these poor human traits and possible life situations:
- Envy, malice, slander;
- New "friends";
- Bottomless spending, easy come easy go;
- Constant request for (usually irreversible) loans by old and new acquaintances;
- Deceptions, a new target of fraudsters;
- Feeling of unhappiness, fear and stress;
- Alcohol and drugs;
- Artificial lawsuits;
- Murder charges,
- Contract killings by other family members (inheritance).
Story of the British Baker
One for all is the story of the British baker Keith Gough, who won £9,000,000 in a lottery back in 2005. He thought that all his troubles were gone, but the opposite was true.
He used to live a relatively content life with his beloved wife. However the peaceful life, no matter how thought it was sometimes, was over. They bought a new house, shiny cars and a luxury sky box at his favorite Aston Villa.
The more he bought, the fewer friends he had. The stress and unhappiness – despite he "missed nothing" – he started chasing away by alcohol. Later he became addicted and in the end he lost his beloved wife. One could say that this "poor" guy had enough. He took his last vital force and money that he had been left after divorce and he commenced alcohol treatment.
However the fate was not in favor as he met an investment fraudster in a clinic, who sensed his vulnerability and cost him additional money. Keith Gough died of heart attack in 2010 – destroyed and lonely.
How to Survive a Great Winning
The story above proves that the verb "to survive" in the title of this chapter does not have to be overstated. There is no universal solution, but it seems very reasonable to think about the next steps properly before collecting and spending the win. However it needs to be said too, that even in this mean-time period the lucky winner will be likely to face some stress and fear.
One should always keep in mind that money itself will not make anyone happy. If the person was unhappy before winning, then there had been something wrong in his life anyway and he will likely stay unhappy afterwards. The euphoria might not last long, luck is shaky and fickle. It is good to concentrate on family firm relations, while staying humble and tolerant.
This article by no means aims at raising fear of winning in a lottery, but only points out to some hidden danger. The luck favors those who are prepared. Those who manage to stand on firm ground and do not let the sudden favor of Mrs. Fortune come into their heads, can truly make their lives better in a positive way and enjoy the freedom that money secures.
→ Lottery Games – Rules, Odds of Winning and Expected Value
Published: 1 June 2013. Based on / translated from the original Czech article: Chtěli byste vyhrát obří jackpot v loterii?