Poll: Winning the Lottery.

[EeveeElectro]

After reading this story about the couple who recently won the £148 million EuroMillions and the fact they decided to go public about it got me thinking.

Who here would tell the media if they won on the lottery? (Lets say a few million, not just a couple of quid, LOL.)


The general answer I hear from people I know is, "I'd tell a few close friends and family I can trust."

Why would you even want to go public? I'm sure there would be friends and family you have haven't spoken to in years who just happen to start speaking to you again.
I can imagine people will search for you on Facebook or such and send you some sob story about how poor they are and how they need the money.
The only reason I can think of is so you can say, "Hey, ex/old bully in school/old horrible teacher, I have millions of pounds and you don't which means you suck."

Of course if you do tell everyone and something like this happens, you just end up looking even more stupid.

Bonus question (Don't I spoil you?): What would YOU do with 148 million pounds/dollars/euros/whatever your currency is?

I'd probably make sure my mum and siblings get a few million each so they can live comfortably. Get a new house somewhere nice with the boyfriend, give some to charity after researching about the different ones, go on holiday because I haven't been on one in 7 years and probably stick the rest in the bank.

Saying that, I've never even done the Lottery, never even bought a scratch card. Oh well, I'm sure if I just sit here and do nothing something will happen.

Artists rendition of me with all that money.

​

 

[Solo-Wing]

That artists rendition of you and your money?

 

[TheSaw]

I'd tell my family, and give them a couple of million each. Close family anyone, parents, sisters, grand parents.

With the money, I'd put half in the bank and let the interest build up. Buy a decent house, decorate it with everything needed, quit my job, and pretty much just chill on the money. Boring? Perhaps, but not having to do a job for ages sounds like heaven.

A year or so ago, I won a tenner on a fruit machine, bought a few scratch cards, and won £100. That's the only time I've won anything remotely like the Lottery.

 

[EeveeElectro]

That artists rendition of you and your money?

Well the only other sort of pictures like that were naked girls with money over their boobs and I'm sure if I put that I'd either get wanred or a couple of messages along the lines of "How bouts you send me a pic without the money!!!"

 

[Berithil]

Tell only close friends and family. Why would anyone else need to know? Although, winning that big of a lotto, you're sure to have your name get out there, whether you want it to or not.

What would I do with the money? Travel, probably. Then put a big chunk of the remainder in a bank, and the rest bury away somewhere where no one can find it. You know, for a rainy day.

 

[Akytalusia]

i'd treat the event with the same blasé as any other event. people who knew i had more money than usual would know, and those who didn't would never suspect it, as my secular expressions would be no less mundane than usual.

 

[Scarim Coral]

Of course I wouldn't reveal myself to the public! I will get all paranoid if the new sexy women I had met recently is a gold digger or not (no offence to the women out there)!

Honestly I would have more of a problem telling the news to my closest friends. Sure I trust them to not spill it out but the problem is how much pride they got. Ideally I want to give them some money to help them out and etc, it's a matter of if they will accept it with no problems or if they don't want any hand out or etc and etc.

Anyway if I did win the lottery, I would paid off my student loan and give some of it to my parent, brother, my uncle (I kind of want to own him back for taking me under his wing well just helping with his work when I was unemployed) and maybe my closest friends if they're ok about it.

I would then buy a nice flat in the city and pretty much lived out anyway I want to. Likewise I WILL be put the rest in several new banks (in case I get robbed) and spend it responsibly. Heck I may still even get a part time job anyway since I know how boring it can get when you got nothing to do althought I would like to think I spend my free time in the gym or watching alot of film or playing alot of games!

 

[Phasmal]

Tell only close friends and family.

What I would do with the money?
Get my nan treated at a really nice posh hospital, also buy her and my grandad a house that's not in the middle of nowhere.
Pay off my parents debt.
Buy my parents a house closer to me.
Spoil my little brother and my sisters.
Get myself a nice house.
Put the rest in the bank.
Never tell my dad.

 

[Andy Shandy]

I'd only tell close friends and family.

Then I would end up buying all of them various things, and help them financially (if need be).
I'd obviously put the rest of the money in various banks and then live how I would want to live.

 

[Jedoro]

I'd tell close family and friends after some fun and simple tests to see who actually cares about me. Those who do, shall be rewarded.

 

[TimeLord]

I'd tell no one, stick the money in a bank account and live off the interest.

It would work fine until I started buying gold plated hoverboards and a TV the size of Ireland

 

[MammothBlade]

Only my close family at first, who will live with me in my new house. I hardly keep in touch with anyone anyway, so they wouldn't notice. The neighbours would notice that we were gone and probably letting the house out, that's about it. I'd have to tell my extended family and friends eventually, maybe give them a small share of £50k each, but if you get too generous they will see you as a cash cow. Lottery winners can become besieged by family asking for their share, or lose out to conmen who take advantage of their inexperience dealing with huge amounts of money. I don't think I'm the sort of person who'd give in to either, but it's still best to be cautious if you want some sort of a decent relationship with outsiders.

Absolutely no media attention, I'm set for life and I don't want any publicity. My mansion will be protected by high walls, reinforced intercom gates, etc. Granted, it would be quite modest as lottery money can only buy so much, but it would be at least enough to protect my privacy and have plenty of land, a library, something which offers more than a typical large family house. I'd spend a lot on improving and customising to my specifications.

I'd still want a job but it would not be an immediate concern. I'd have time and money to pursue a second degree or a master's, and learn all I like. But first, travelling the world...

 

[Kae]

Knowing myself, I would tell no one lock it in a safe or a bank account, and then completely forget it exists and never use it, I know because the other day I found a box with around 500 dollars I had been saving as a kid, which isn't much but still, I had completely forgotten I had that, and it's not the only time it's happened, not to mention when I was working as a waiter I did always forget to pick up my tips, so yeah I'm not too keen on money, not that I dislike it, I just forget about it and keep forgetting it's actually worth something.

 

[Aris Khandr]

Close friends only. I doubt I'd even tell my family. I might tell my mother, I might just tell her that something came through for me and I was moving away, and then send her some money from time to time.

Things I would do with it:

Find the best cancer specialists in the world, and fly them in to take a look at my girlfriend. I don't care what it costs, this is #1 for me. Everything else on this list comes after.

Buy land in Orlando and have a house built there. I'd be heavily involved in the design process, to make the house more unique. Hire an accountant to help me set up bank accounts that have sufficient funds in them to pay all property taxes, utilities, and other requirements of the home via the interest alone on those accounts.

Get some cosmetic surgery done. Laser hair removal, moderate implants, that sort of thing.

Gift about 3 million to each of my three closest friends. Purchase the equivalent in savings bonds to mature in 20 years. This gives them 3 million to go nuts with, and even if they manage to blow through it all, they'll get another 3 million + interest to fall back on in the future, and hopefully going from millionaires to having nothing again for those 20 years will teach them to be responsible with the second set.

Take 5 million or so and buy as many shares of stock in Disney as I can. Not so much as an investment, just to be able to say I own part of something I love.

Buy a plane and get flying lessons. Ideally with a capacity of six to ten passengers.

Year long vacation. Take in an Arsenal match at the Emirates. Skiing in the French Alps. Visiting Japan. Taking a cruise. Basically spend a year hitting all of the "I'd like to do that sometime" destinations.

After that, we move into the more mundane things like a new car and such. In summary:

1. Take care of the important things first.
2. Make sure I'll be financially secure long-term
3. Have a lot of immediate fun.
4. Live life in the moment. No plans, just go where the mood takes me.

 

[gmaverick019_v1legacy]

I'd tell no one, stick the money in a bank account and live off the interest.

It would work fine until I started buying gold plated hoverboards and a TV the size of Ireland

basically this, there is a contractor I know/working for and he takes the money he earns each month from the budget and sticks it into a crazy amount of stocks, then takes it out at the end of the month and pockets the surplus to buy new machines/stuff for the company that isn't out of his original pocket. rich bastard.

still...can't blame him. You were living just fine without the lottery before, there is no reason why you can't live off the interest of it and be a lazy pile the rest of your life. (buying nice toys now and then doesn't hurt either!)

 

[krazykidd]

I wouldn't tell ANYONE . I don't have anyone to tell anyways . I'll take my money , and move far far away . 148 million canadian dollars , i will invest 50 million . Share 50 million between my parents , sister , aunt and godmother . Put 25 million in my son's saving account. Give my ex gf ( babies mama ) 3 million. And with the other 20 millions . Buy myself a modest house in the middle of nowhere and play videogames until i die of old age or cancer ( which i don't have yet ).

But right now i don't have a penny to my name , and am strugglig to make ends meat .

 

[Dragonclaw]

I wouldn't want to win a ton of money...I'd be happy with just enough to buy a modest house and a building nearby for my store. That being said I'd actually tell as few people as humanly possible. Ideally I'd move my business without anyone ever knowing I wasn't ever going to be worried about rent again and the home would be nice enough to be enjoyable without being extravagant enough to draw a lot of extra attention since my wife also has a really good job.

I would go to the banks right before Christmas and pay off the home of my dad (who helped me buy the business!) and my sister's home...MERRY CHRISTMAS If they ask, I came into some REALLY good comic books and sold them quickly

 

[FalloutJack]

I tell my girlfriend only. She needs it way more than I do.

 

[Girl With One Eye]

I remember reading a story about a lottery winner who went public and said that people would camp outside his house so they could ask him for money.

I would never go public, I'm a really shy person and I hate being the centre of attention. I'd keep it to just my close friends and a few family members. With that money I'd like to set up a business so that my future generations can benefit from my fortune and so that I wouldn't just be lazing around all day. I'd also like to set up a charity (not sure for what cause yet).

I'd like to spoil my mum for all the hard work she did as a single parent to feed us when my dad walked out. And I'd buy her an awesome house. I'd personally buy a house for myself thats small and cosy because big houses scare me.

Then finally I would want to go a lot of travelling, and see as many different countries as possible.

 

[Nouw]

Deposit and wait for the interest to pile up xD. That's how it works, right?