Did you know that the lottery was used to fix and expand the Great Wall of China in 200 BCE? How about the fact that the lottery was available in 100 BCE in Ancient Rome where citizens should win treasures brought back from conquests? That’s right, the history of the lottery is a long one, and with that in mind, there are a lot of interesting tales that can inspire purchasing a ticket every now and then.
Some people opt against buying lottery tickets because they’ve heard of cursed lottery winners, the ones who won it big but soon after they lost it all. However, there are so many more success stories that are truly heart-warming. Let’s take a look at some examples.
South Africa Winning Big
There are many triumph stories in South Africa so far. For instance, an unnamed person has been playing the same numbers for four years. Until now, his biggest win was R1,200 but on 29th July 2020, he won R37 million by spending only R20 on his ticket. He says he will not tell anyone that he won but intends to buy a house for himself, extend his mother’s home and invest in growing his business. Other big wins in 2020 include R135 million from April and R77m from June.
That’s right, even due to the current COVID-related circumstances, SA people have found other ways to play the lottery and win big by purchasing their tickets online. In fact, very recently, an online Lotto player won nearly R17 million! As reported by OnlineCasinosOnline.co.za, the winner played a quick pick ticket for R20 and hit a luck since it just so happened to contain the winning numbers.
If we’re talking about the biggest payouts in the history of the South African lottery, there are some Lotto and Powerball players that won a lot of money. A ticket purchased in Cape Town has the biggest win so far in South Africa, netting the winner R232 million. The man in question decided to stay anonymous and said that the money will go towards securing his children’s education while he has no plans to quit his job. Another anonymous man that has been playing for years claimed the second-highest win of R145 million, from Powerball as well. On the other hand, Lotto players are also lucky. Most people chose not to disclose their identity but a man won R110 million and two women won R79m and R58m, respectively.
Biggest winners worldwide
It’s not unusual to see lottery winners donate a part or all of their winnings to charity. Tom Crist from Canada won 40 million dollars and decided to donate all of it to a cancer charity in Calgary. He made this decision because his wife of 44 years, Jan, passed away from cancer. Similarly, Paul and Sue Rosenau from Minnesota used their $181.2 million to set up The Legacy of Angels Foundation that funds research on Krabbe Disease, a rare and incurable disease that killed their granddaughter.
Sometimes, those that are really in need of some help are lucky enough to win big. One such example is Cynthia P. Stafford. She took in her late brother’s five kids, raising them as a single mom, in addition to also caring for her father, so it’s no wonder that money was tight. Then, in 2007, she won the 112 million dollar California lottery and her life was never the same. She is now a philanthropist that empowers people and a successful businesswoman that has a production company. She still plays the lottery, though!
In terms of the biggest lottery winnings, the biggest Powerball prize was $1.586 billion and was split between three tickets. Families from Florida, Tennessee, and California got around $327.8 million after taxes were subtracted. Then, Mavis L. Wanczyk of Chicopee, Massachusetts won $480.5 million and decided to quit her job soon after.
When it comes to Europe, the biggest win on EuroMillions counted €190 million and was won by Adrian and Gillian Bayford from the UK in 2012. In 2019, Italy’s SuperEnalotto lottery had a winning ticket worth €209 million.
What can we say, guess luck often comes unexpectedly!
