Not to be the bearer of bad news but your chances of winning the lottery with a single
ticket is 1 in 13,000,000.
But if you still insist on taking your chances, here’s a pro-tip: Go beyond yours and your
family member’s birthdays and anniversaries!
Despite the extremely low probability, there are still some lucky souls who have hit the
jackpot, but didn’t know to handle their newfound fortune that they ended up losing
everything!
You’re in luck because today, we’re counting down the 9 Dumbest Lottery Winners Ever!
What’s up, fact-natics!
This is Discovery Amuse, serving up your daily dose of the most outrageous, outlandish, and
out-of-this-world fun facts!
Try not to bang your head against the wall in frustration when you learn the story of
our number one pick!
#9: Michael Carroll
Our first riches-to-rags story stars this British lad, who was only 19 when he won the
lottery back in 2002 to the tune of 9.7 million pounds.
At the time, he was engaged to her girlfriend Sandra Aitken, who was seven months pregnant
at the time.
As expected, the two got hitched a year later and lived happily ever after, or so Sandra
thought.
Not long after they got married, Sandra left Michael after he began living a lavish lifestyle
full of sex, drugs, and rock and roll.
Michael’s mansion became infamous for wild orgies, non-stop parties and cocaine dealing.
He even claimed he had sex with over 4,000 women over the course of his high-rolling
days.
In 2010, he put his ruined mansion up for sale and in 2012, Michael ended up without
a cent to his name.
He went to Scotland to start anew and worked as a forklift driver and a slaughterman, coming
full circle in the worst way possible.
Stay tuned because I bet your bottom dollar our number one entry will leave you scratching
your head!
#8: Etta May Urquhart
In May 2011, after 18 years of playing the lottery, then 76-year-old California woman
Etta May Urquhart finally lucked out when he hit the $51 million jackpot.
Being the frail old lady that she is, she asked her son Ronnie Orender to sign the ticket
on her behalf when they went out to claim the prize.
It proved to be a costly mistake for Etta May as Ronnie immediately went on a shopping
spree after collecting her mom’s lottery winnings, getting himself 4 houses, 10 cars,
and gave cash gifts to his daughters amounting to $350,000, and spared Etta May $125,000
in cash, a Lincoln SUV and a house that wasn’t even in her name!
Etta May and her husband ended up filing a multi-million dollar lawsuit against their
son for fraud, constructive trust and financial elder abuse.
#7: Callie Rogers
At 16, Callie Rogers became UK’s youngest lotto winner when she won a whopping 1.8 million
pounds in 2003.
Fast forward to 2019 and Callie says she has completely burned through all the cash.
What happened?
Well, she simply says she was too young to handle all the money!
The instant millionaire splurged on parties, cars, expensive gifts to friends and family,
and a couple of plastic surgeries.
10 years later, she barely had 3 grand left in her account for her training as a nurse
to support her 3 children.
Now, she lives off of her 12,000-pound-a-year salary as a caregiver and admits she’s never
felt better.
#6: Evelyn Adams
This New Jersey resident might as well be considered the luckiest woman on Earth, when
she struck lottery gold not once, but twice!
In October 1985 and February 1986, to be exact.
Evelyn’s total winnings amounted to $5.4 million.
Unfortunately, the former convenience store clerk went down the gambling rabbit hole and
lost large sums of money at casinos.
She also couldn’t say no to family and friends who asked her for handouts.
By 2012, Evelyn claimed she had spent up all her winnings, with nothing to show for it.
While she admits that being a millionaire overnight didn’t exactly change her, she
says it did change the people around her.
#5: John Ross, Jr.
How could a lottery winner end up stealing a car?
It’s hard to imagine but that’s exactly what happened to California man John Ross
Jr. who, in 2012, won $2 million which was supposed to be paid out to him for the next
20 years at $70,000 per year.
But just a few months after hitting the jackpot, he already used a portion of his winnings
to bail himself out of jail for allegedly helping out a woman in stealing a Honda Civic!
He’s certainly off to a bad start but here’s to hoping the rest of his winnings can help
him get back on his feet, and stay on the right side of the law.
#4: Willie Hurt
In the summer of 1989, Michigan man Willie Hurt was on cloud 9 when he won a cool $3.1
million lottery jackpot.
But just 2 years later, he got entangled in a murder case and his lawyer said Willie was
already penniless.
Well, that escalated quickly.
On September 19, 1991, the body of Wendy Elizabeth Kimmey was found inside an inn where Willie
had been renting a room for about three weeks.
The woman, who was suspected to be Willie’s partner, was shot in the head.
Witnesses said the couple had been binging on alcohol and crack coke for two days, until
they heard the two arguing.
Police believed Willie got mad at Wendy because they couldn’t get their hands on more crack.
But what happened to the 3.1 million that was supposed to be paid in 20 annual installments
of about $156,000 per year?
Willie’s lawyer just said that along with Willie’s addiction, the winnings were spent
on his divorce and custody battle for his 3 kids.
#3: Viv Nicholson
If you won the equivalent of 3.5 million pounds, how many years do you think you could finish
spending that money?
For Viv Nicholson, it only took 3 years!
When Viv won the lottery back in 1961 that amounted to 152,000 pounds--which is equivalent
to 3.5 million pounds today—and was asked by the media what she would do with her newfound
wealth, she famously said, “Spend, spend, spend!”
And that’s exactly what she did when she and her husband bought a ranch-style home,
luxury cars and an obscene amount of jewelry.
When her husband at the time died in a car crash, Viv was left with an exorbitant tax
bill and she later declared herself bankrupt.
Her happy-go-lucky life was later turned into a West End musical in 1999, and in 2015, at
the age of 79, Viv passed away following a long battle with dementia.
#2: Jack Whittaker
The stars had aligned on Christmas night of 2002 for West Virginian Jack Whittaker, when
he won the Powerball jackpot that earned him a merry $315 million!
Just like that, he went from a simple businessman to instant celebrity when he made the rounds
of TV shows as one of the biggest lottery winners in US history.
Perhaps that was his mistake, because along with the fame came the constant requests for
money, that he eventually fell victim to a number of scandals and lawsuits.
He also struggled with his gambling and drinking addiction, and was charged twice for driving
under the influence.
A string of bad luck ensued; his wife divorced him, his 17-year-old granddaughter was murdered
in 2004 and his Virginia home caught fire in 2016.
But on a positive note, a foundation was also started in his name which built two churches
and granted college scholarships to deserving students.
In June 2020, Jack died at the age of 72.
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#1: Denise Rossi
This California woman was so selfish that her greed came back to bite her in the butt.
When Denise won the California lotto for $ 1.3 million in December of 1996, she decided not
to share it with her husband, Thomas.
So she filed for divorce just 11 days after hitting the jackpot which left Thomas absolutely
blindsided.
After all, Thomas never saw any major problems in their 25 years of marriage!
Thomas agreed to the divorce despite thinking something was fishy.
Three years later, her lies caught up with her when an LA family court determined that
Denise acted out of fraud by not disclosing her winnings.
The court ruled in Thomas’ favor and the ex-husband walked away with 100% of Denise’s
winnings.
Every.
Single.
Penny.
Oh yes, karma is a bigger bitch.
And there you have it, our list of the 9 Dumbest Lottery Winners, Ever!
How about you, if you were to win a million dollars today, what’s the first thing you
will buy?
Tell us all about it in the comments section below.
Take home any of our exclusive gear by browsing our merch shelf or clicking the link in the
video description!
And while you’re at it, take our quiz to find out how you can earn extra cash online
doing what you do best!
Awesome, right?
If you’re looking for ideas on where to spend your benjamins, then check out our list
of the 10 Expensive Dogs Only Rich People Can Afford!
‘Til then, stay lucky, fact-natics!
And see you in the next video!