But every now and then, people buy some silly things and still get to enjoy the rest of their mega jackpot win.
Of course, as we’re prone to the odd fit of schaden-freude, we usually prefer the ‘had it all and blew it all’ tales rather than the ones where Lotto winners are sensible with their new pile of cash.
You can check tickets live here to see if you’ve won the lottery, but before you do, would you know what to spend your win on? Below are just a few of the surprising things that Lotto money has been put towards.
New knees: Tony and Greta Dodd won the UK National Lottery in 2007 when they were in their sixties. Both had suffered from years of chronic knee pain and they had been waiting for knee replacements so that they could enjoy hobbies such as golf, dancing and swimming. The first purchase on the list after their lotto win was knee replacement surgery.
Women wrestlers: A teenage Powerball winner was able to fulfill his wildest dream after he won $35million on Powerball in 2008. Jonathan Vargas put some of his money into a new production company called Wrestilicious, where the programmes all feature women in bikinis and similarly scanty items taking part in wrestling matches and comedy sketches.
Splash! John Kutey was part of a syndicate that won $319 million on MegaMillions in 2011. With his $28.7 million share, Kutey and his wife went to a community meeting to find out how they could give back to their hometown. The end result was a $200,000 donation to the $250,000 spray park in Green Island, New York, giving the whole community somewhere fun to cool off and splash around.
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