The Good, the Bad and the Heartwarming

Sorting through lottery news for interesting stories can be very entertaining. There are strange, weird lottery stories, heartwarming stories and occasionally tragic stories. A recent story from New Jersey tells the story of a man who walked into the Indian Fields Market in Bridgetown to purchase a New Jersey Deuces Wild scratch-off lottery ticket. The clerk at the store mistakenly handed the man an Aces High ticket instead. When the clerk realized that she had made a mistake she ran out of the store in search of the man but he had left. The man came back to the store an hour later with a winning Aces High ticket worth $100,000. The man had no complaints about the mistake.

A story from Kansas tells the story of a radio executive who was addicted to lottery scratch off tickets and funded his lottery habit through embezzlement. Paul W. Lyle had been charged with embezzlement by his employer and had stolen about $88,000 dollars which he said he spent on scratch off lottery tickets. During his preliminary hearing Lyle learned that he had won a $96,000 lottery jackpot. The prize included a boat, cash and NASCAR tickets. Unfortunately for Mr. Lyle prosecutors say the prize will go towards paying back his former employer American Media Investments. Since Lyle has no previous criminal record he is expected to get probation.

In the UK a British cancer patient received a double dose of good news when she was declared cancer free and was informed of a huge lottery jackpot. Nicky Cusack, 43, of Swindon, 80 miles west of London was the only winner in a lottery draw and won 2.49 million pounds ($4 million USD). Earlier in the year Ms. Cusack had a run of bad luck. In January she was attacked by a pack of dogs while trying to defend her children. In April she was diagnosed with breast cancer and endured two operations and chemotherapy and radiation therapy. Ms. Cusack plans to take a vacation with her children and return to her job at a supermarket.

When buying lottery tickets players should realize that while a big win can mean instant riches it can also lead to trouble. Newspapers are full of stories of lottery winners who are broke within a few years. Scammers are out there waiting to take advantage of lottery winners who are not used to handling large amounts of money. Buying lottery tickets can lead to great wealth but can also mean trouble for the unprepared.