Interesting stats on what happens to Lottery Winners

PolarityMan · August 2023

The only issue with beggars is not having enough to give to every one right? So just use that £79m to buy 79 million lottery tickets for the next week......

SpoonMan · August 2023

Sporky said:

I worked with someone a few years back who once came out with "if you won the lottery, you'd upgrade your girlfriend, right?"

Definitely, mine has a slow puncture.

Sporky · August 2023

Neilybob said:

What a waste of money playing the lottery!! It's for dreamers who really think they actually have a chance in winning! The odds are stacked highly against players and are lining the pockets of Camelot. Most people I know who are still playing have lost more than they have win.

I occasionally buy a ticket. I am well aware that on average I'll lose half of what I spend, and in practice it's likely to be more.

I generally do it when I'm stressed and fed up at work. It gives me a brief moment of escapist hope, and a frisson if excitement at the possibility of winning. These are generally enough to knock my brain out of self-pity, and to fry on with fixing the situation.

I don't dispute that there must be people who keep funnelling money in genuinely believing it'll pay off, but it is possible to be rational about it.

SpoonMan · August 2023

I honestly don't know if I would want to win it.
I won't because I don't do it.

Some guys I used to work with would by £10 tickets! Don't know anything about it but that seemed mad to me.

I wouldn't mind enough to buy a small house and not need to work again, but I really think multiple millions would be too life changing, in a negative way.

munckee · August 2023

I have told work that if I ever win I will come in just to hand in my notice, while being carried on a throne and have trumpeters providing a fanfare and a procession of jugglers and fire eaters.

RaymondLin · August 2023

I think it is easy to say what you would do, but I think, even i will admit myself, what I actually do if it actually happens would most likely not be how I imagined it to be.

Having a sudden large amount of wealth changes people, and changes all those around you. It is hard to know how it affects someone until it actually happens.

I get excited waiting for an Amazon parcel at times, I certainly get butterflies waiting for a new guitar, so I can't imagine having to wait to go collect my winnings and to set up all the stuff like solicitor, trusts, open index fund accounts etc in preparation.

EricTheWeary · August 2023

Sporky said:

Neilybob said:

What a waste of money playing the lottery!! It's for dreamers who really think they actually have a chance in winning! The odds are stacked highly against players and are lining the pockets of Camelot. Most people I know who are still playing have lost more than they have win.

I occasionally buy a ticket. I am well aware that on average I'll lose half of what I spend, and in practice it's likely to be more.

I generally do it when I'm stressed and fed up at work. It gives me a brief moment of escapist hope, and a frisson if excitement at the possibility of winning. These are generally enough to knock my brain out of self-pity, and to fry on with fixing the situation.

I don't dispute that there must be people who keep funnelling money in genuinely believing it'll pay off, but it is possible to be rational about it.

If I do something like a lottery ticket or one of those guitar lottery things or a BOTB car one it is very much that moment of escapist hope. I probably spend less than £5 a month on these kind of things. But I am aware that it is a whole rabbit whole of hope and defying rationality which could be very enticing and very spendy.

SpoonMan · August 2023

EricTheWeary said:

Sporky said:

Neilybob said:

What a waste of money playing the lottery!! It's for dreamers who really think they actually have a chance in winning! The odds are stacked highly against players and are lining the pockets of Camelot. Most people I know who are still playing have lost more than they have win.

I occasionally buy a ticket. I am well aware that on average I'll lose half of what I spend, and in practice it's likely to be more.

I generally do it when I'm stressed and fed up at work. It gives me a brief moment of escapist hope, and a frisson if excitement at the possibility of winning. These are generally enough to knock my brain out of self-pity, and to fry on with fixing the situation.

I don't dispute that there must be people who keep funnelling money in genuinely believing it'll pay off, but it is possible to be rational about it.

If I do something like a lottery ticket or one of those guitar lottery things or a BOTB car one it is very much that moment of escapist hope. I probably spend less than £5 a month on these kind of things. But I am aware that it is a whole rabbit whole of hope and defying rationality which could be very enticing and very spendy.

It's just a form of gambling though, I suppose, and I'm sure there's many people become addicted. That dopamine hit.

axisus · August 2023

stickyfiddle said:

Yeah, I'm in the "tell noone" camp. I'd quit my job straight away, and tell my wife ....

Hmmmn ... tell the wife. That hadn't occurred to me. I kind of assumed that I would leave 'for work' at the usual time every day and just head off for fun ...

beed84 · August 2023

If you can learn to live and be content on less, then you don’t need to do the lottery.

Kilgore · August 2023

I have a tendency to let lottery tickets build up in my wallet for months without checking them. You're supposed to claim within 180 days.

On occasion I've binned ones significantly older than this without checking the numbers, it would be devastating to have a winning ticket but too late to claim the money.

BillDL · August 2023

One difficult aspect of winning big and trying to keep it quiet would be work. Most of us that are employed, and more or less just go through to work to earn a wage rather than actually enjoying what we do, would be required to give the employer a period of notice. With a massive amount of money to pay any punitive amount for "damages" by leaving without notice it would be easily affordable, but it would attract attention. The best way would be to just go off sick with a GP note and wait a month before saying that you aren't fit to return to the job.

I have a verbal "pact" with the guy I've worked with for about 8 years. If either of us wins enough money where something like £100 grand wouldn't make any significant dent in the winnings or lessen the amount we could give to family members, we made an agreement that the winner would pay something like 3 or 4 years worth of net pay to the other and we would both go off sick simultaneously and then give notice of leaving after a month or two, staggering that notification. We are the only two that really know all the full ins and outs of the job and it would leave them floundering for a good while. Have I mentioned before that I hate my job and am rather fed up being treated like shit?

Chalky · August 2023

SpoonMan said:

EricTheWeary said:

Sporky said:

Neilybob said:

What a waste of money playing the lottery!! It's for dreamers who really think they actually have a chance in winning! The odds are stacked highly against players and are lining the pockets of Camelot. Most people I know who are still playing have lost more than they have win.

I occasionally buy a ticket. I am well aware that on average I'll lose half of what I spend, and in practice it's likely to be more.

I generally do it when I'm stressed and fed up at work. It gives me a brief moment of escapist hope, and a frisson if excitement at the possibility of winning. These are generally enough to knock my brain out of self-pity, and to fry on with fixing the situation.

I don't dispute that there must be people who keep funnelling money in genuinely believing it'll pay off, but it is possible to be rational about it.

If I do something like a lottery ticket or one of those guitar lottery things or a BOTB car one it is very much that moment of escapist hope. I probably spend less than £5 a month on these kind of things. But I am aware that it is a whole rabbit whole of hope and defying rationality which could be very enticing and very spendy.

It's just a form of gambling though, I suppose, and I'm sure there's many people become addicted. That dopamine hit.

Addiction to the Lottery draws is rare in the UK, but addiction to scratchcards is very common. Its to do with the gambler's control of timing (they can choose when to scratch, delaying their enjoyment until the time suits them), the immediacy of knowing whether they've won (rather than waiting for the draw), and the variable size of winnings (the "second surprise" of how much).

As for lining the pockets of Camelot, their take is tiny. When the Canadian Teachers Pension Fund (OTTP) bought Camelot a decade ago, the business case was based on the intended reuse of the UK model in other jurisdictions (e.g. California) because the UK profit limits were so low.

RaymondLin · August 2023

The American model of lottery (or lottery anywhere in the world) is more a tax on the poor.

Stevepage · August 2023

I’d just live a comfortable life in the countryside. Nothing fancy, have a nice car and live my life spending more time with the Mrs and our daughter (hiking at weekends, take up wood work as a hobby), I doubt I’d even have a huge guitar collection either. It’s not having vast wealth for the sake of it that appeals to me, it’s having the financial security and choice about doing what I’d like, when I’d like. Rather than being a wage slave. No interest at all in the fancy clothes and rich boy image

axisus · August 2023

beed84 said:

If you can learn to live and be content on less, then you don’t need to do the lottery.

It's not always about that though, I'd like to give money to my family - oldest son and partner have two kids and rent a small flat. Tough times at the moment financially. Son no 2 has autism and I'd like to sort out stuff for his future, oldest daughter wants to learn to drive to help her chance of finding a job, but has no money for a car. Having said all that, I only do the lottery about once every 5 years, and I don't think I've bought a ticket since it went up to £2.

stickyfiddle · August 2023

axisus said:

beed84 said:

If you can learn to live and be content on less, then you don’t need to do the lottery.

It's not always about that though, I'd like to give money to my family - oldest son and partner have two kids and rent a small flat. Tough times at the moment financially. Son no 2 has autism and I'd like to sort out stuff for his future, oldest daughter wants to learn to drive to help her chance of finding a job, but has no money for a car. Having said all that, I only do the lottery about once every 5 years, and I don't think I've bought a ticket since it went up to £2.

I'd love to buy my sister a house, and put some money into funds for her kids' futures. Similarly that sort of cash could make a huge difference to my parents as they get older - just being able to spend a bunch of time together on holidays and stuff would be fantastic.

Obviously on top of that would come simply not needing to work because you don't need to worry about monthly income. I'd start a studio and a label that invested properly in great young bands making music that would benefit from not being produced on a shoestring and didn't make them signed shitty contracts.

AntonHunter · August 2023

I'd blow the lot on opening a jazz club. Reckon I'd get through it in a couple of years, then back to work.

breakstuff · August 2023

AntonHunter said:

I'd blow the lot on opening a jazz club. Reckon I'd get through it in a couple of years, then back to work.

Nice!

DefaultM · August 2023

RiftAmps said:

If I win the £79m on the Euros tonight, the only person who would know would be my accountant. I wouldn't tell anyone including friends, partner, or family. Your relationship with people immediately changes the second they know you've got money.

"You've got £79m in the bank and all I'm asking for is £10k to cover a few debts"

If you give them the money, they'll always take advantage of you. If you don't, you're the asshole.

Whittaker quickly became the subject of a number of financial stalkers, who would lurk at his regular breakfast hideout and accost him with suggestions for how to spend his money. They were unemployed. No, an interview tomorrow morning wasn't good enough. They needed cash NOW. Perhaps they had a sure-fire business plan. Their daughter had cancer. A niece needed dialysis. Needless to say, Whittaker stopped going to his breakfast haunt. Eventually, they began ringing his doorbell. Sometimes in the early morning. Before long he was paying off-duty deputies to protect his family. He was accused of being heartless. Cold. Stingy.

It's not worth it, keep schtum.

If I had £79m I’d happily give someone £10k if I knew they needed help, but yeah if they asked for it I wouldn’t cos you’d never hear the end of it.
To not raise suspicion you would probably have to say it was a loan, knowing it was actually a gift and you were never getting it back.

TheMarlin · August 2023

I won £2.30 that last time I did the Euromillions (rarely bother). It didn’t change me at all.

Emp_Fab · August 2023

I think I would actually rather enjoy telling relatives that asked for a handout to go fuck themselves. Or.... If I did decide to give money to them, it would be on the condition that it was a one-off - any attempt to request more would result in men in masks coming round to break their legs. If they were happy to agree to that, in writing, they could have some money. If not.... there's the door.

I would also have their homes bugged and any ungrateful comments made... men, masks, legs.

On the whole though it would be easier to tell them to get fucked.

Offset · August 2023

roberty said:

I'd be building a recording studio somewhere

Essex?

Sporky · August 2023

I'd be tempted to anonymously commission large, disturbing, possibly vulgar sculptures, and have them installed around the country.

Including a 5m tall Cthuturkey on that bit of grass they use to interview MPs next to Parliament.

DefaultM · August 2023

Roulette has got a return to player of 97.3% on single numbers. I used to know a guy that would sit in the bookies all day just betting number 26 over and over again on the video one £2 a spin. After tens of thousands of goes his losses were way more than 2.7%.

Move that over to the lottery where there’s 59 numbers instead of 37 and the RTP is apparently 45%, you really don’t want to be doing anything other than having 1 go a week for fun.

fretmeister · August 2023

AntonHunter said:

I'd blow the lot on opening a jazz club. Reckon I'd get through it in a couple of years, then back to work.

Just buy a table at Ronnie Scott's.

I'm sure there will be a number where it is reserved for you every night for life.

Jez6345789 · August 2023

SpoonMan said:

Sporky said:

I worked with someone a few years back who once came out with "if you won the lottery, you'd upgrade your girlfriend, right?"

Definitely, mine has a slow puncture.

Sure if you keep her pumped up regular she will last the distance lol

fretmeister · August 2023

Chalky said:

RiftAmps said:

If I win the £79m on the Euros tonight, the only person who would know would be my accountant. I wouldn't tell anyone including friends, partner, or family. Your relationship with people immediately changes the second they know you've got money.

"You've got £79m in the bank and all I'm asking for is £10k to cover a few debts"

If you give them the money, they'll always take advantage of you. If you don't, you're the asshole.

Whittaker quickly became the subject of a number of financial stalkers, who would lurk at his regular breakfast hideout and accost him with suggestions for how to spend his money. They were unemployed. No, an interview tomorrow morning wasn't good enough. They needed cash NOW. Perhaps they had a sure-fire business plan. Their daughter had cancer. A niece needed dialysis. Needless to say, Whittaker stopped going to his breakfast haunt. Eventually, they began ringing his doorbell. Sometimes in the early morning. Before long he was paying off-duty deputies to protect his family. He was accused of being heartless. Cold. Stingy.

It's not worth it, keep schtum.

The thing is, it is very hard to keep it quiet. So you have the first choice - extricate yourself from your current family and friends then disappear with the money. This used to be a fairly regular occurrence with the no publicity winners.

If you decide to stay it is very very hard to keep it quiet. Most people are simply incapable of keeping such a huge secret, especially when they stop working but show signs of increased expenditure. Keeping the secret will create mental health problems for most people. The truth also seeps out. Like wedding guest invitations, it expands relentlessly - "We have to tell her and so we have to tell him, otherwise she'll tell him", etc. This is usually the reason folks choose publicity. One big announcement and its all done.

I wonder if those who have kept secrets professionally have it easier to say nothing? Accountants / lawyers etc. Or whether that cross into home life makes a difference or not.

I'd tell my wife of course but I wouldn't even tell my kids. I'm self employed and work from home and they are at Uni or school all day so they won't notice anything different in my usual day.

I'd set up investments or buy annuities to ensure the kids had a lifetime income that kicked in after graduation. At least that way they couldn't blow any lump sums and it would be like an extra salary going in for them. Probably do the same for me and the mrs too for the same reasons. Then decide on what to do with the rest.

I'm not really interested in owning fantasy cars. I don't ride motorbikes and I don't need a boat. I don't wear jewelry and the only watch I own is a good old £15 Casio FW91 (FTLOG Casio - make one with a longer strap!).

I suppose I might upgrade my car, but as I only ever buy estate cars I can fit my bass rig in, that won't look odd either. And I refuse to buy brand new. The only trouble I'd have is finding something as both the Focus Estate and Mondeo Estates are discontinued. I like Fords!

I already have the bass rig of my dreams and a bass that I would find it very difficult to improve upon, and more to the point I really really love how it plays and sounds.

The thing that really appeals to me about winning isn't being rich, it's (with a little planning) making sure the kids will always have a roof over them.

Still, there may well be signs....

Image: https://tfb-user-images.eu-central-1.linodeobjects.com/9f880e6ef14114c283232c779f2d452d435ec44170a1a71a03

I stopped using them when the price doubled over the last year!

Sporky · August 2023

You could get an eagle.

fretmeister · August 2023

Sporky said:

You could get an eagle.

Damnit. Now I'm having ideas about hollowed out volcano lairs as well!

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Interesting stats on what happens to Lottery Winners

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