This afternoon I bought my $5 lottery ticket for Friday night’s Mega Millions drawing. My four hand-scribbled and one quick-pick option ticket was handed to the cashier at the corner gas station. I was given my print out and as always a “good luck” from the cashier followed. I’ve been playing twice a week now for the past few weeks, watching the unclaimed jackpot slowly rise after each drawing from around $100m to now $224m. I have only won $7 since my first $5 bet back when I was hoping to win a cash buyout of $70m. With Friday night’s buyout option, this dream win would be $138m. That amount of money is enough to inspire people. If not for the very idea of winning, much less possessing $138m, people wouldn’t play. I think in some ways we imagine that we’re going to be that guy one day. The one driving the Lamborghini, living in that mansion by the sea. But in reality it’s truly unimaginable, no matter how hard we try and wrap our minds around it. What happens to those who achieve the unimaginable. An award as grand as the lottery, the highest on record being $390m. An amount so large, from an amount so little, $1. Not even an investment. A value less than a gallon of milk or a loaf of bread multiplying $390m times. What happens to the man who goes from having nothing to suddenly having it all? In once instance, it was a man who already had it all and was given more and then lost everything.
The Big Game stared in 1996 with just six participating states and has since expanded to 38 states with 3 more being added next month and has gone under name changes to ultimately end up as Mega Millions. Having some of the world’s largest wins on record, yet the lottery also gives huge amounts back to its state holding participants with 35% of ticket sales going to government services, like education. Perhaps this is one of the reasons the lottery has expanded to so many states, so quickly. As a depression ensues, people play the lottery more than ever, adding to the cycle of give and take and in hopes of having that life like no other, imagined by millions of people twice a week around 11pm eastern standard time.
Their website advertises all the great things you could do with the money. “Save for retirement,” “buy your dream house,” “go back to school,” but what about the real-life headlines from some of the big game’s winners. “$20 million winner, kidnapped and murdered by own sister-in-law,” “16-year marriage disintegrated,” and the multiple headlines for one of the most infamous winners, Jack Whittaker.
In 2002 he won $314,900,000.00 dollars, the biggest lottery winner of all time up until 2007. The already self-made millionaire won the Powerball game on Christmas day and took home a lump sum of $113m after taxes. In just a short amount of time Jack has gone through a list of devastation. His granddaughter died by drug overdose, he’s been sued for bouncing checks at casinos, multiple burglaries and arrests for drunk driving. $500k was stolen from his car parked outside of a stripclub and he has been sued by the Father of an 18 year old boy whose body was found dead inside his home. To whom much is given, much is expected I guess.
Here’s to Friday night’s big win!
Above, $315m Lottery winner, Jack Whittaker
