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Thread: Lottery Winner Can't Stop Losing

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    Lottery Winner Can't Stop Losing

    July 9) -- For all his multimillion-dollar lottery winnings, Jack Whittaker can't seem to do anything but lose.
    The man who landed a $315 million jackpot on Christmas Day seven years ago has since lost his wife to divorce, his granddaughter to drugs and now his daughter, found dead in her West Virginia home on July 5, according to the Charleston Daily Mail.

    Whittaker has also been arrested on charges of driving drunk, lost more than $500,000 in cash to thieves and settled with the parents of a teenage friend of his granddaughter's who died at his house from a drug overdose.
    A surprising number of other lottery winners share his pain.
    According to a health study reported this week in London's Daily Mail, winners smoked and drank far more two years after winning then they did before, countering the notion that more money means better health. The paper cites the tragedy of Phil Kitchen, a jobless carpenter who won big in 1999, turned to binge drinking and died three years later, at age 58, of self-neglect.
    Perhaps he can serve as a lesson to the latest massive jackpot winner, someone who hasn't yet come forward to claim the $133 million Mega Millions prize with a ticket that was sold in New York City's Queens borough, as reported in the New York Daily News.
    The Raleigh County, W.Va., Sheriff's Office said Thursday that investigators don't know Ginger Whittaker Bragg's cause of death, and autopsy results are expected to take at least a few weeks. They don't suspect foul play.
    Bragg, 42, had battled Hodgkin's lymphoma, The Associated Press reported in 2007.
    Her daughter, Brandi Bragg, died just before Christmas, 2004. She was 17.
    Less than six months after Brandi's death, Whittaker's wife, Jewell, started divorce proceedings.
    Even before the recent blow of his daughter's death, Whittaker told ABC News in 2007, "Since I won the lottery, I think there is no control for greed.
    "I think if you have something, there's always someone else that wants it," he said.
    "I wish I'd torn that ticket up."

    http://news.aol.com/article/jackpot-...ittaker/564287

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    Senior Member Eternally Solo's Avatar
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    Re: Lottery Winner Can't Stop Losing

    This is why I quit playing the lottery ... I've heard the same story time and time again ... it almost always ended badly.
    Саша VIIXIVMMIX

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    Re: Lottery Winner Can't Stop Losing

    I had a nursing home resident at my facility that won the lottery 3 times.  Multi Millions each time.  Hers was the only occupied room on the whole wing because she paid for all of the others to have the xtra space.
    I know this isnt the same thing as the topic of the thread, but the title made me think of it.

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    Re: Lottery Winner Can't Stop Losing

    It's a risk I'm still willing to take.  I have a year subscription to MegaMillions. 

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    Re: Lottery Winner Can't Stop Losing

    [quote author=U25150 link=topic=20891.msg1329605#msg1329605 date=1247200346]
    This is why I quit playing the lottery ... I've heard the same story time and time again ... it almost always ended badly.
    [/quote]

    Is this really true? I've never heard of it before this article. I couldn't believe all the bad luck this poor guy had. There was a sad picture of him too, but I don't know how to transfer pictures yet. I have heard though, that when someone wins big, people start coming out of the woodwork......long lost cousins, etc. I used to play the numbers every week, the same #s for about a year or more, and I never won a dime. Then for years, I just bought scratch tickets and I would win once in awhile, small amounts, a couple of times $400 and one time I won $1,000 on a $2 scratch ticket. I was in shock at first but it all went towards credit cards & bills. But that was OK too. It helped a lot.

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    Re: Lottery Winner Can't Stop Losing

    [quote author=berryblu link=topic=20891.msg1329610#msg1329610 date=1247200533]
    I had a nursing home resident at my facility that won the lottery 3 times.  Multi Millions each time.  Hers was the only occupied room on the whole wing because she paid for all of the others to have the xtra space.
    I know this isnt the same thing as the topic of the thread, but the title made me think of it.
    [/quote]

    I've been trying to figure out what you said. Did she pay for all the other rooms so that SHE could have the space? At first, I thought that she offered to pay for the other people's rooms so they wouldn't have to pay themselves. You know, just to be nice, since she had all of that money. But now, I think it's the other way around.

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    Re: Lottery Winner Can't Stop Losing

    [quote author=Nocturnal1 link=topic=20891.msg1329687#msg1329687 date=1247204798]
    Is this really true? I've never heard of it before this article. I couldn't believe all the bad luck this poor guy had. There was a sad picture of him too, but I don't know how to transfer pictures yet. I have heard though, that when someone wins big, people start coming out of the woodwork......long lost cousins, etc.
    [/quote]

    It is true. I have been hearing about this guy for years, but a lot of it is hardly "bad luck." When he won, he claimed he was going to donate like 10% to his church, and ended up having a few hundred thousand $ stolen from his car outside of a strip club. He was well known not to trust banks, and was known to carry huge amounts of cash in his home and vehicle. Hardly a shock when people start breaking into the car!

    One time, I was buying a lottery ticket and the clerk said "Money wont solve your problems," to which I replied, "Well, I know poor people problems. I would like to try out a few rich people ones for a change."  :-)

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    Senior Member blu's Avatar
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    Re: Lottery Winner Can't Stop Losing

    [quote author=Nocturnal1 link=topic=20891.msg1329697#msg1329697 date=1247205480]
    I've been trying to figure out what you said. Did she pay for all the other rooms so that SHE could have the space? At first, I thought that she offered to pay for the other people's rooms so they wouldn't have to pay themselves. You know, just to be nice, since she had all of that money. But now, I think it's the other way around.
    [/quote]

    Yes.

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    Re: Lottery Winner Can't Stop Losing

    Ungrateful pricks, if it's so bad, give it away. There are millions of people who could benefit from it.
    http://formspring.me/atm142 - To stare into the abyss is to invite the abyss to stare into you.

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    Re: Lottery Winner Can't Stop Losing

    [quote author=Just Jenn link=topic=20891.msg1329817#msg1329817 date=1247216458]


    It is true. I have been hearing about this guy for years, but a lot of it is hardly "bad luck." When he won, he claimed he was going to donate like 10% to his church, and ended up having a few hundred thousand $ stolen from his car outside of a strip club. He was well known not to trust banks, and was known to carry huge amounts of cash in his home and vehicle. Hardly a shock when people start breaking into the car!

    One time, I was buying a lottery ticket and the clerk said "Money wont solve your problems," to which I replied, "Well, I know poor people problems. I would like to try out a few rich people ones for a change."  :-)

    [/quote]

    What the hell, is the lottery only won by conspiracy theorists?  How can you not trust the bank, but you trust the money is safe inside your car outside of a strip club? 

  11. #11
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    Re: Lottery Winner Can't Stop Losing

    Most of that stuff probably would have happened anyway.  Why blame it on the money?

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    Re: Lottery Winner Can't Stop Losing

    Whittaker was already very well to do from his business.  I agree with Nine, most of that stuff probably would have happened regardless of the money. 

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    Re: Lottery Winner Can't Stop Losing

    [quote author=the color nine link=topic=20891.msg1329999#msg1329999 date=1247239766]
    Most of that stuff probably would have happened anyway.  Why blame it on the money?
    [/quote]

    [quote author=Cap-n Meow link=topic=20891.msg1330002#msg1330002 date=1247240100]
    Whittaker was already very well to do from his business.  I agree with Nine, most of that stuff probably would have happened regardless of the money. 
    [/quote]

    I guess you have to have somebody to blame, right?

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    Re: Lottery Winner Can't Stop Losing

    This guy lives about 30 minutes away from me and he is a huge joke in this area. I knew one of the girls who was working at the strip club the night his car was broken into and she claimed he was being a huge ass that night and what really happened was that he was trashed, gambling with some people and told them to up his ante, that he had more money in the car. When he lost his hand, he refused to pay it, so one of the guys went out and smashed a window, then took what he owed (and left like $100,000 alone) out of the car. Not sure of how true that is, but he was a FREQUENT (3-4 times a week) visitor at that club.

    He also went gambling at the dog tracks one night and shoved a waitress's head into his crotch.

    There was another guy from Ashland, KY-- about 10 minutes from me-- that won something like 50 million in the lottery. He bought a huge house in W. Palm Beach and didn't pay the homeowner's association his dues, so his property was confiscated. When the police went in, this gorgeous house was trashed and they found crack and heroin all over the place, including his 13-YR-OLD DAUGHTER'S ROOM!
    [quote author=Olivia link=topic=21574.msg1377077#msg1377077 date=1251870961]<br />You are every kind of fail<br />[/quote]

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    Re: Lottery Winner Can't Stop Losing

    [quote author=MeMeMeMe link=topic=20891.msg1330564#msg1330564 date=1247272572]
    This guy lives about 30 minutes away from me and he is a huge joke in this area. I knew one of the girls who was working at the strip club the night his car was broken into and she claimed he was being a huge ass that night and what really happened was that he was trashed, gambling with some people and told them to up his ante, that he had more money in the car. When he lost his hand, he refused to pay it, so one of the guys went out and smashed a window, then took what he owed (and left like $100,000 alone) out of the car. Not sure of how true that is, but he was a FREQUENT (3-4 times a week) visitor at that club.

    He also went gambling at the dog tracks one night and shoved a waitress's head into his crotch.

    There was another guy from Ashland, KY-- about 10 minutes from me-- that won something like 50 million in the lottery. He bought a huge house in W. Palm Beach and didn't pay the homeowner's association his dues, so his property was confiscated. When the police went in, this gorgeous house was trashed and they found crack and heroin all over the place, including his 13-YR-OLD DAUGHTER'S ROOM!
    [/quote]

    It sounds like they both caused their own problems then.(or they had problems to begin with). I think that sometimes when people win an incredible amount of $ they just go haywire and out of control. This is the first time I heard about this guy.

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    Re: Lottery Winner Can't Stop Losing

    [quote author=Nocturnal1 link=topic=20891.msg1330583#msg1330583 date=1247273307]
    It sounds like they both caused their own problems then.(or they had problems to begin with). I think that sometimes when people win an incredible amount of $ they just go haywire and out of control. This is the first time I heard about this guy.
    [/quote]

    Jack Whittaker already had a nice fortune amassed because of his various companies. From my understanding, he was a character way before he won the lotto. The other guy was near homeless when he won, so I think the money just went to his head. I saw him on some show about lottery winners before he went all drug-crazy and he was talking about how he loved to leave serving staff at restaurants big tips if they were nice because he knew they worked hard for their money and deserved to be rewarded. He seemed like a nice guy&nbsp; :|
    [quote author=Olivia link=topic=21574.msg1377077#msg1377077 date=1251870961]<br />You are every kind of fail<br />[/quote]

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    Re: Lottery Winner Can't Stop Losing

    No better role model can be found than Sheelah Ryan, who won a then-record $55.1-million in 1988.

    &quot;Most people who come in always mention that they're going to donate money to their church or help neighbors or help their families,&quot; said Sheila Griffin, a spokeswoman for the Florida Lottery in Tallahassee. &quot;We don't know anyone who has given at the level of Sheelah Ryan. That doesn't mean others haven't, but we just don't know about it.&quot;

    Ryan, of Seminole County, died in 1994 at age 69 after spending a generous portion of her winnings on setting up a charitable foundation that helps abused woman, gives scholarships to young adults, pays for job training programs and provides Meals on Wheels for the elderly.

    The Ryan Foundation, based in Winter Springs, spends about $200,000 annually on charitable work, primarily in Seminole County.

    &quot;She is still making a difference in the community 15 years later,&quot; said Pamela Ohab, Ryan's former accountant and now president of the foundation.

    Ryan was a modest woman - a former real estate agent who lived in a mobile home before she won the jackpot. She was divorced and never had children.

    But Ryan's good fortune had a dark side, her former attorney, Evelyn Cloninger. A stranger once followed her into the post office asking for money. Another jumped over the security fence of her home to beg for assistance. She was inundated with thousands of letters and phone calls asking her for help. Toward the end of her life, she grew suspicious of people
    http://www.sptimes.com/2003/07/26/State/_88_Lotto_winner_was_.shtml.

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    Re: Lottery Winner Can't Stop Losing

    It's nice to see for a change someone like Sheela Ryan, who didn't have a lot to begin with, win the lottery. And also, donating so much of it to charity, since it seems that most people that have money are so stingy with it and never think of those less fortunate.

    However, I'm sure that all of the winners are inundated with pleas and requests from strangers and long lost relatives. I am not surprised that she became suspicious of people. They will drive you crazy if you let them.

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    Re: Lottery Winner Can't Stop Losing

    i play the lotto for my mom.
    she also plays and runs the lotto at her job, where everyone gives $5 and she gets the tickets.
    I play for her because I really want her to win.&nbsp; I want her to quit her job.&nbsp; Her job stresses her the fuck out, and she was caught in NYC during 9/11 and came home covered in ash.&nbsp;
    She has been dianosed with &quot;WTC cough&quot; and has back spasms from the cough attacks she gets in cold weather.&nbsp; I love nothing more than to win and show up with the winning ticket and tell her to quit her fucking job.&nbsp; I mean, i would like to keep some to get rid of my debt, but she could have the rest.

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    Re: Lottery Winner Can't Stop Losing

    I always said if I won the lottery I would buy acres of land, tons of insurance and provide activities for the kids in this area.&nbsp; Everything from winter to summer, educational to physical.&nbsp; There is nothing here for them to do here except drugs and screwing.&nbsp; I have actually had dreams about this.

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    Quote Originally Posted by Nocturnal1 View Post
    July 9) -- For all his multimillion-dollar lottery winnings, Jack Whittaker can't seem to do anything but lose.
    The man who landed a $315 million jackpot on Christmas Day seven years ago has since lost his wife to divorce, his granddaughter to drugs and now his daughter, found dead in her West Virginia home on July 5, according to the Charleston Daily Mail.

    Whittaker has also been arrested on charges of driving drunk, lost more than $500,000 in cash to thieves and settled with the parents of a teenage friend of his granddaughter's who died at his house from a drug overdose.
    A surprising number of other lottery winners share his pain.
    According to a health study reported this week in London's Daily Mail, winners smoked and drank far more two years after winning then they did before, countering the notion that more money means better health. The paper cites the tragedy of Phil Kitchen, a jobless carpenter who won big in 1999, turned to binge drinking and died three years later, at age 58, of self-neglect.
    Perhaps he can serve as a lesson to the latest massive jackpot winner, someone who hasn't yet come forward to claim the $133 million Mega Millions prize with a ticket that was sold in New York City's Queens borough, as reported in the New York Daily News.
    The Raleigh County, W.Va., Sheriff's Office said Thursday that investigators don't know Ginger Whittaker Bragg's cause of death, and autopsy results are expected to take at least a few weeks. They don't suspect foul play.
    Bragg, 42, had battled Hodgkin's lymphoma, The Associated Press reported in 2007.
    Her daughter, Brandi Bragg, died just before Christmas, 2004. She was 17.
    Less than six months after Brandi's death, Whittaker's wife, Jewell, started divorce proceedings.
    Even before the recent blow of his daughter's death, Whittaker told ABC News in 2007, "Since I won the lottery, I think there is no control for greed.
    "I think if you have something, there's always someone else that wants it," he said.
    "I wish I'd torn that ticket up."

    http://news.aol.com/article/jackpot-...ittaker/564287
    https://apnews.com/article/97c2aae55...5e5bbfa2d364d0


    Here is an Update Jack Whittaker has died in July at the age of (72)

    CHARLESTON, W.Va. (AP) — Andrew “Jack” Whittaker Jr., whose life became rife with setbacks and tragedy after winning a record $315 million Powerball jackpot on Christmas night in 2002, has died. He was 72.

    The Ronald Meadows Funeral Parlor in Hinton confirmed it. A funeral home official who declined to give his name said Tuesday that Whittaker died of natural causes, but he refused to say when or where, and he said a service would be private.

    Whittaker became an instant celebrity at 55 when he claimed what was then the largest U.S. lottery jackpot won by a single ticket. He opted for the lump-sum payout of $113.4 million after taxes, and flew off to New York with his family in a private jet to appear on network TV morning shows.

    But he quickly fell victim to scandals, lawsuits and personal setbacks as he endured constant requests for money, leaving him unable to trust others. Several times, he was quoted as saying he wished he had torn up the ticket.

    His wife left him. A friend of his drug-addicted granddaughter was found dead at his home in 2004. Three months later, his 17-year-old granddaughter was gone, too.

    His daughter, Ginger Whittaker Bragg, died in 2009 at age 42 after struggling for years with cancer.

    And in 2016, he lost a Virginia home to a fire.

    He struggled with drinking and gambling. His home and car were repeatedly burglarized. At a strip club, thieves broke into his Lincoln Navigator and stole a briefcase stuffed with $245,000 and three $100,000 cashiers’ checks.

    That time, at least, he caught a break — the briefcase was later found, with the money still inside.

    Whittaker was charged twice with driving while under the influence and sued repeatedly, once by three female casino employees who accused him of assault.

    In a 2007 interview with The Associated Press, Whittaker knew his legacy was already written.

    “I’m only going to be remembered as the lunatic who won the lottery,” Whittaker said. “I’m not proud of that. I wanted to be remembered as someone who helped a lot of people.”

    At that point, Whittaker said he still had plenty of money. How much remained at his death, and who might benefit from his estate, was not immediately clear on Tuesday.

    Known for wearing cowboy hats and western-style clothing, Whittaker was a self-made millionaire long before he won the lottery, having built construction businesses worth $17 million.

    A regular Powerball player, Whittaker, who then lived in Scott Depot, already had concrete plans to share his prize with churches and his family when he claimed his winnings.

    “I’ve had to work for everything in my life. This is the first thing that’s ever been given to me,” Whittaker said then.

    A foundation started in Whittaker’s name spent $23 million building two churches in the years after his jackpot win, and his family donated food, clothing and college scholarships to local students.

    Whittaker also put his granddaughter, Brandi Bragg, on his payroll. But his plans to give his inheritance to her were vanquished just before Christmas in 2004, when her body was found in a junked van, hidden by a boyfriend who panicked when he found her dead. An autopsy didn’t pinpoint a cause.

    “She was going to inherit everything,” Whittaker said.


    Here is an Interview on how Jack Whittaker fell from grace when he won the Powerball Lottery.

  22. #22
    Cousin Greg Angiebla's Avatar
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    I know someone that won the lottery and had a massive heart attack and died like a week after.

    RIP Jack

    "The love for all living creatures is the most noble attribute of man" -Charles Darwin

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