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Sometimes, we just need a bit of luck to get us through the worst of times.
Nobody knows this better than the subjects of this installment of 10 Homeless People
Who Won The Lottery.
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Do you ever play the lottery?
What's the most you've ever won?
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10.
Shawn Samuels Not every big win has to be a lump sum of
money.
Just ask Memphis, Tennessee homeless resident Shawn Samuels, who lived as a panhandler after
being laid off from the Cargill Corporation corn mill.
One day, though his mind instinctively wanted liquor, he decided instead to spend the money
he earned on a Tennessee Cash 4 Life lottery ticket.
Though he didn't win the top prize of $1,000 per day for life, he did win a livable wage
of $1,000 per week for life.
9.
Crystal Nelson To anyone that's not knee-deep in cash, $50,000
is a big deal and can be life-changing.
To someone that doesn't even have a stable roof over their head, suddenly winning that
sum of money is enough to completely change one's outlook on life.
Sixty-year-old Crystal Nelson had spent five months living in her truck when a Powerball
lottery ticket proved most fruitful in 2017.
Nelson's windfall wasn't the first time the lottery worked out for her as she also had
won several $1,000 prizes here and there.
8.
Dennis Mahurin Not every homeless person that comes into
money will change the way they live.
Dennis Mahurin is a prime example.
When the 59-year-old Bloomington, Illinois resident collected his $50,000 prize, he didn't
up and leave the tent he had lived in for the past 20 years.
Instead, he took his winnings and used it to help his friends.
Mahurin dished out $100 to each of his homeless friends and others he had come to know.
7.
Adam H. In February of 2017, one Adam H., a regular
at the Denver Rescue Mission, became the winner of a $50,000 jackpot from a Colorado Lottery
scratchoff.
It was a prize he never expected to win, but one that provided him the promise of a new
life - just not in Colorado.
After getting his winnings, minus taxes of course, he announced he was moving back to
Kentucky to be closer to his daughter.
6.
Vanessa Goode Vanessa Goode wasn't a person that had a lot,
but thanks to the people in her life, she did have more than most.
Though she spent her time in Richmond, Virginia living among 300 other homeless women and
suffering from PTSD and injuries sustained during combat in the Middle East, the veteran
was given an unexpected birthday gift one year.
The $5 lottery scratchoff gifted by her family yielded $150,000.
5.
Grant Freeman Many people come to Las Vegas thinking they'll
walk away having hit it big on the slots.
Grant Freeman was such a traveler.
Unfortunately, not only did the slots and tables forsake him during his trip, they left
him homeless and panhandling on the Strip.
Tired of this lifestyle, Freeman hitchhiked to Nipton, California, where lottery tickets
are readily available, and spent $2 on Mega Millions lottery tickets.
No, he didn't win the Mega Millions, but he did walk away with $180,000 and a second chance
at a normal life.
4.
Josh Bryant A prideful man isn't going to beg on the streets
for money, but there's nothing that says he won't pick up an odd job just for $20 and
a lottery ticket.
That's precisely what Chicago, Illinois resident and homeless man Josh Bryant did after an
accident and compounding medical bills forced him to file bankruptcy and live on the streets.
A stroke of luck came to him when the scratchoff bestowed upon him $200,000 and he was able
to repay his debts, move into an apartment, and take up employment.
3.
Emily Reyes $200,000.
That's what Texan native Emily Reyes won when she played the Texas Two Step lottery.
Prior to her change in luck, which she shared with other women in a local shelter, Reyes
had been living on the street's of Amarillo, dabbling in drugs and alcohol.
After spending time in jail for stealing, she checked into a homeless shelter and decided
it was time to kick her old habits.
When she reached sobriety, he celebrated by purchasing her winning lottery ticket.
Despite Leach's claim that the hand-off was accidental, the California Lottery Commission
ruled that she had no right to the money as surveillance footage looked as though she
willingly gave the ticket away.
2.
The Gifted Ticket Emily Leach once knew what it was like to
be piled under debt.
So when she won $1 million one year and could afford to, she occasionally gave $100 bills
to the homeless.
While in line at a liquor store, however, the generous woman accidentally handed over
a scratchoff.
One that she later found out was worth $260,000.
According to Leach, she never intended to give the homeless man the ticket and tried
to get what she believed to be her winnings. 1.
Michael Engfors With alcoholism and just life in general getting
in his way, Michael Engfors never expected that just weeks before Christmas in 2015,
he would receive a most unexpected but welcomed surprise.
After finalizing his divorce, Engfors was forced out of his home and spent six years
bouncing in and out of homeless shelters.
Then, he decided to play a lottery scratchcard and, just as quickly as it all fell apart,
he found himself the proud owner of $500,000.
When asked what he wanted to do with the money, the 60-year-old simply said he wanted to buy
skiis and also visit his daughter, whom he hadn't seen in 20 years.