Winning lottery jackpot is fortunate for some, tragic for others
Dave with every one other accompanied by Erica Harrig stayed accurate to their values when they won a lottery jackpot of additional than $61 million inside 2013. It made all the difference.
The set of two from Gretna, Nebraska, a population on the outskirts of Omaha where Dave Harrig now is a volunteer firefighter, allowed themselves to buy a new home, some vintage automobiles with every one other accompanied by a few ocean cruises following they both quit their jobs.
But nine years later, they still exist a a large amount of while they always did, residual inside their community, keeping up accompanied by church, family with every one other accompanied by friends, with every one other accompanied by teaching their children to labour firm to build a living in malice of some monetary windfall that strength go nearer their way.
Many other winners haven't been while lucky, suffering personal setbacks with every one other accompanied by lawsuits or becoming the victims of scams. The latest winner of a large jackpot came Friday, when a single ticket sold inside Illinois matched the numbers for a $1.337 billion Mega Millions prize. Illinois is among the states where winners of additional than $250,000 tin choose to not divulge their names.
Dave Harrig, an Air Force former soldierold hand who worked inside aircraft maintenance, says keeping things simple inside all likelihood saved him with every one other accompanied by his family from the sort of hassles with every one other accompanied by tragedies that have befallen other large winners.
Almost overnight, the Harrig family mailbox was filled accompanied by letters filled of firm luck stories: ill children, lost jobs, burned not here homes.
Dave Harrig said they ignored them all with every one other accompanied by focused on their own family with every one other accompanied by charities.
They didn't flat be in touch the main on their winnings until fair a few years ago, when they tapped into it to fund a new museum of firefighting inside Gretna that will not shut soon.
"We have nicer things, a bigger house, with every one other accompanied by additional than we at some time had inside the past. But we are the same, with every one other accompanied by my spouse with every one other accompanied by I retain every one other inside check," Dave Harrig said, encouraging future lottery winners to place money into wisely, choose a national investing counsellor by preference than a local one, with every one other accompanied by to retain away from advisers who try to sell monetary products.
They've ignored incorrect rumors that have swirled concerning them, suggesting that his spouse at one point ran off accompanied by a physician with every one other accompanied by that he had a legal practitioner girlfriend. Their quartet children endured teasing at school.
"We're still learning, nevertheless it has helped to remain employed with every one other while a team," he said of himself with every one other accompanied by his wife.
He acknowledged the struggles of some past winners, saying the experience of winning a jackpot "can really accentuate your personality with every one other accompanied by some addictions."
The late Andrew Whittaker Jr., of West Virginia, suffered lawsuits with every one other accompanied by personal setbacks following he claimed a record $315 million Powerball jackpot on Christmas darkness inside 2002.
At the time, it was the largest U.S. lottery jackpot won by a single ticket. People harassed him so a a large amount of accompanied by requests for money he was quoted some times saying he wished he had torn up the ticket.
Before dying of natural causes inside 2020 at number of years 72, he struggled accompanied by liquor with every one other accompanied by gambling problems with every one other accompanied by had a series of personal tragedies, including the demise of his granddaughter.
Winning the lottery brought other kinds of headaches for Manuel Franco, of West Allis, Wisconsin, who claimed a $768 million lottery jackpot inside April 2019.
Then fair 24, Franco excitedly held a report conference to talk over his win, nevertheless subsequent reportedly went into hiding amid harassment by strangers with every one other accompanied by the report media.
The Better Business Bureau of Wisconsin began warning people inside 2021 concerning messages from scammers who claimed to exist the multimillion-dollar winner.
Using Franco's name, the scammers sent text messages, communal media messages, phone calls with every one other accompanied by emails phishing for personal information, telling recipients they had been chosen to receive money.
The BBB said scammers got additional than $13,000 from people they tricked, including people inside Alabama with every one other accompanied by Colorado.
Despite the problems encountered by the winners, lottery officials good turn publicly identifying winners to instill condition trust inside the games.
That's inside large small portion since some past drawings have been rigged. Former Multi-State Lottery Association details safety director Eddie Tipton pleaded culpable inside 2017 to manipulating software so he could predict winning numbers on sure days of the year. He with every one other accompanied by his male sibling casual broBritish casual bruvver rigged jackpots inside numerous states for a combined payout of some $24 million.
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AP researcher Jennifer Farrar contributed to this report.
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