SD rancher wins $232 million jackpot

[JLEW1818]

PIERRE, S.D. – If this were a movie, nobody would believe it: A rancher struggling to eke out a living in one of the poorest corners of America claimed one of the biggest undivided jackpots in U.S. lottery history Friday — $232 million — after buying the ticket in a town by the name of Winner.

Neal Wanless, 23, said he intends to buy himself more room to roam and repay the kindness other townspeople have shown his family.

"I want to thank the Lord for giving me this opportunity and blessing me with this great fortune. I will not squander it," he promised, wearing a big black cowboy hat and a huge grin.

Wanless, who is single, lives with his mother and father on the family's 320-acre ranch near Mission, where they raise cattle, sheep and horses. They don't own a phone, a mobile home of theirs was repossessed last year, and records show they have fallen $3,552 behind in their property taxes.

Wanless bought $15 worth of tickets to the May 27 30-state Powerball drawing at a convenience store in Winner during a trip to buy livestock feed. He will take home a lump sum of $88.5 million after taxes are deducted.

The Wanless home stands in a grove of trees in Todd County, home to the Rosebud Sioux Tribe. It was the nation's seventh-poorest county in 2007, according to the Census Bureau.

Dave Assman, who owns farmland next to the Wanless ranch, said he is happy the family won't have to worry about money any more. "They've been real short on finances for a long time," Assman said. "They are from real meager means, I guess you'd say."

"I hope they enjoy their money," said county assessor Cathy Vrbka, a family friend. "They work hard, backbreaking hard work."

Wanless' father, Arlen Wanless, 54, has made a living in recent years mainly by buying and selling scrap metal, but his fortunes dropped with the price of iron, said Dan Clark, an auctioneer from Winner and a friend of more than two decades.

The younger Wanless told lottery officials that he spent the last week working on the ranch and that he intends to continue that lifestyle, albeit on a larger piece of land. According to lottery officials, he recently told his horse, Eleanor, "It'd be nice if we go for a longer ride than usual on a bigger ranch of our own."

"My family has been helped by the community, and I intend to repay that help many times over," Wanless said. He gave no details.

An Oregon family turned $40 worth of tickets into $340 million Powerball prize in 2005, and at least four other winners collected larger jackpots than Wanless' prize.

The store where Wanless bought the winning ticket will get a $50,000 bonus. Sharon Ulmer, manager of the store, said she is glad the Wanless family won.

"From what I understand they don't have a lot, so the money definitely went to a good place," Ulmer said. "I know it went to a good home. They can use it."

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20090605/ap_on_re_us/us_rags_to_riches

[JLEW1818]

lucky bastard... what is the highest amount of money you ever won on a lotto ticket or scratch off?

[Curly Bill]

Dave Assman, who owns farmland next to the Wanless ranch, said he is happy the family won't have to worry about money any more. "They've been real short on finances for a long time," Assman said. "They are from real meager means, I guess you'd say."


:D

[Curly Bill]

lucky bastard... what is the highest amount of money you ever won on a lotto ticket or scratch off?

My Dad bought some scratch-offs on his way to my house once, we scratched a couple handfuls of them off and didn't win a cent, we get to the last one and he tells my dog that this one is for him, I scratch it off for him and it's a $20 winner. My Dad insisted that I spend every bit of that money buying Hannibal treats and ice cream, and I did. :D

[JLEW1818]

hahahaha.

[sooner ngintunr]

He will take home a lump sum of $88.5 million after taxes are deducted.



:eek: Someone else is getting a fat payday too!!! Over 140,000,000 in TAXES? carp!


I'd be pissed.;)

[Sooner98]

Dave Assman, who owns farmland next to the Wanless ranch, said he is happy the family won't have to worry about money any more. "They've been real short on finances for a long time," Assman said. "They are from real meager means, I guess you'd say."

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20090605/ap_on_re_us/us_rags_to_riches

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/7/72/Kramer%27s_ASSMAN_plates.jpg

"You ARE the Assman!"

[Curly Bill]

tujqM2u-BVo

[NYC Poke]

:eek: Someone else is getting a fat payday too!!! Over 140,000,000 in TAXES? carp!


I'd be pissed.;)


Not all of that is taxes. He took the lump sum, so he got the present value of $232 paid out over 20 years (or whatever).

THAT SHOULD HAVE BEEN MY MONEY!!! :mad:

[OUAlumni1990]

I just bought my lottery ticket tonight. I won't be going to work Monday morning...

[tulsaoilerfan]

So the guy was deep in debt, spent what little money he had on lottery tickets, and managed against all odds to win; what a bunch of bull****

[olevetonahill]

So the guy was deep in debt, spent what little money he had on lottery tickets, and managed against all odds to win; what a bunch of bull****

Kinda my thinking

Now every Poor mother****er thats struglin to feed his kids or pay the light bill , will rush right out and spend what few bucks they have hoping to hit the BIG ONE :rolleyes:

[Curly Bill]

So the guy was deep in debt, spent what little money he had on lottery tickets, and managed against all odds to win; what a bunch of bull****

Hey, it gives inspiration to the rest of the poor out there to do the same! ;)

Nothing like blowing what little cash you have on a billion-to-one shot...cause sometimes dreams really do come true. :D

[Curly Bill]

Damn Vet, another great minds moment for us. :D

[OUAlumni1990]

Hey, it gives inspiration to the rest of the poor out there to do the same! ;)

Nothing like blowing what little cash you have on a billion-to-one shot...cause sometimes dreams really do come true. :D

Whadda ya wanna bet a good percentage of the new katrina money will go towards the lotto? :)

[olevetonahill]

Damn Vet, another great minds moment for us. :D

;)

[Curly Bill]

...but lets get back to what's important here, the guy is neighbors with a guy with the last name of: ASSMAN!!!

[OUAlumni1990]

heheheh you said assman...heh...hehehe....

[olevetonahill]

...but lets get back to what's important here, the guy is neighbors with a guy with the last name of: ASSMAN!!!

Ima Titsman myself ;)

[Curly Bill]

Ima Titsman myself ;)

Right there with ya buddy, that and a nice setta legs. :)

[AlbqSooner]

Not all of that is taxes. He took the lump sum, so he got the present value of $232 paid out over 20 years (or whatever).

THAT SHOULD HAVE BEEN MY MONEY!!! :mad:

The lump sum was $113 mill. They apparently withheld 25% or 24.5 mill to net him 88.5 I am guessing he will owe some more taxes.

[olevetonahill]

Right there with ya buddy, that and a nice setta legs. :)

Dont get me wrong I have been known to make an ASSMAN of myself at times :O

[Curly Bill]

Dont get me wrong I have been known to make an ASSMAN of myself at times :O

That goes without saying. ;) :D

[olevetonahill]

The lump sum was $113 mill. They apparently withheld 25% or 24.5 mill to net him 88.5 I am guessing he will owe some more taxes.

Wonder how much and How long the payout would be on the whole thing ?

[sooner ngintunr]

The lump sum was $113 mill. They apparently withheld 25% or 24.5 mill to net him 88.5 I am guessing he will owe some more taxes.

No way I would have took the lump sum. That seems real stupid.

[olevetonahill]

No way I would have took the lump sum. That seems real stupid.

Specially at his young age :confused:

[Curly Bill]

Supposedy if you take the lump sum and invest it properly you'll come out ahead of letting them pay it out to you over however many years. Sadly, I don't have firsthand knowledge of this.

[sooner ngintunr]

Specially at his young age :confused:

And as far as his winnings were concerned, he had no debt. Makes zero sense. He would have been banking, what, like 10 mil a year for twenty years, instead he takes 80 mil lump? weird.

[olevetonahill]

Yea but if Hes Stupid enough to be playin Lotto in the 1st place he aint gonna be smart enough to handle it wisely :D

[Curly Bill]

Yea but if Hes Stupid enough to be playin Lotto in the 1st place he aint gonna be smart enough to handle it wisely :D

tru dat

[olevetonahill]

And as far as his winnings were concerned, he had no debt. Makes zero sense. He would have been banking, what, like 10 mil a year for twenty years, instead he takes 80 mil lump? weird.

Dont they get a Large Up front payment anyway ?
hell im almost 59 , I think Id take the time payout and sponsor every SF TG from now till I were Dead :D

[GottaHavePride]

Nah - if I hit a big lotto I'd take the lump sum too. Payments over 20 years is no good if the gov't. goes bankrupt in ten. ;)

Invest 95% of your lump, live off the interest, and you'll never have to work again, unless you decide to do stupid crap like buy a $40 million house in LA.

[tulsaoilerfan]

No way i would do the annuity either; you should be able to invest the money conservatively and come out ok in the long run; also, i'm not sure but i've always heard that if you die before it's entirely paid out that the money is lost; anyone know if that is true?

[AlbqSooner]

The annuity pays out in 30 equal annual installments. One immediately, one each of the next 29 years. So with a 232 mill annuity it would be $7.33 mill per payment.

[olevetonahill]

The annuity pays out in 30 equal annual installments. One immediately, one each of the next 29 years. So with a 232 mill annuity it would be $7.33 mill per payment.

I could do that ;) :D

[olevetonahill]

The annuity pays out in 30 equal annual installments. One immediately, one each of the next 29 years. So with a 232 mill annuity it would be $7.33 mill per payment.

So this Kid is 23 , coulda had 7 mil a year fer the next 30 or so, and he takes 88 up front
That's STUPID , If ya cant live LARGE on 7 mil a year, yer a loser .
That 88 will be pissed away faster than Bessie the cow can do it on a rock :rolleyes:

[Okla-homey]

I heard a joke yesterday that went, "You hear the one about the farmer who won the lottery? Well sir, when his friends asked him what he was gonna do with the 20 million bucks, he replied, 'I'm gonna keep farming as long as it lasts'":D

[badger]

This guy's 23, yet he elects to go with a lump sum and lose millions?

I know it's easy to say this when you don't have outstanding bills of... heh... $3,500 and a... heh... trailer home repossessed, but $232 million, even with half going to taxes, is a lot of money to give up even if it gets split over 20 years... even if it gets split over 40 years, it's still something they should have considered!

Over 10 years = about $11 mil per year.
Over 20 years = about $6 mil per year.
Over 40 years = about $3 mil per year.
Over one year = Give up $30 mil of it.

I hope he doesn't turn out like these guys (http://lifetwo.com/production/node/20070425-more-sad-stories-of-lottery-winners-ending-up-broke-depressed-and-lonely). It sounds like he's already headed in that direction with his vows to help everyone.

[RUSH LIMBAUGH is my clone!]

:eek: Someone else is getting a fat payday too!!! Over 140,000,000 in TAXES? carp!


I'd be pissed.;)THAT is the bigger story!

[tulsaoilerfan]

You know it's bs that you get hit with the penalty for not doing the annuity; what the hell happens to that money anyway?

[Okla-homey]

You know it's bs that you get hit with the penalty for not doing the annuity; what the hell happens to that money anyway?

It's paid to the IRS, who in turn gives it to GM, so they can build cars no one wants. Please try to keep up.;)

[Jerk]

What an arsehole.

[AlbqSooner]

You know it's bs that you get hit with the penalty for not doing the annuity; what the hell happens to that money anyway?

The annuity amount ($232mill) is discounted to present value. That is to say, the amount you would have to invest now, in a lump sum, to pay out the annuity in 30 equal annual installments. The Lottery Commission takes the lump sum amount and invests it (after paying you installment #1) so that each year for the next 29 years you will have a like amount.

Given the current state of investment opportunities, I suggest that you would be better off to take the lump sum, spend the fug out of it on such things as real estate, precious metals, large living, guns and ammo.

[Jerk]

t #1) so that each year for the next 29 years you will have a like amount.

Given the current state of investment opportunities, I suggest that you would be better off to take the lump sum, spend the fug out of it on such things as real estate, precious metals, large living, guns and ammo.

What are you talking about? The stock market is rallying! Haha, sold to you!

[Okla-homey]

Given the current state of investment opportunities, I suggest that you would be better off to take the lump sum, spend the fug out of it on such things as real estate, precious metals, large living, guns and ammo.

For the record, AR-15's have tripled in value since the election. I can't think of any other investment that's appreciated that much. Quality handgun ammo is as scarce as hen's teeth. Democrat-averse people are hoarding and buying out retailers the moment a shipment arrives.

And FWIW, for those of you who may suffer some sort of permanent injury and sue, you have to state your economic damages (cost of future medical care, lost earnings, lost earning potential, etc.) in terms of present value dollars. Thus, if you're permamnently jacked-up and can't work, therefore missing out on a million bucks or so over the rest of your working life, you'll likely only get around $400K to cover that $1M.

You can, of course, arrange a structured pay-out as well. We highly encourage folks to go that route, that way, all those 3d cousins whose kids allegedly need surgery to correct their harelips and/or lazy eyes won't tap you out by the end of your first post-award year.;)

[badger]

You can, of course, arrange a structured pay-out as well. We highly encourage folks to go that route, that way, all those 3d cousins whose kids allegedly need surgery to correct their harelips and/or lazy eyes won't tap you out by the end of your first post-award year.;)

There's a very good article on how to handle unexpected large amounts of money here. (http://articles.moneycentral.msn.com/SavingandDebt/SaveMoney/8lotteryWinnersWhoLostTheirMillions.aspx)

Based on the article, something tells me this guy's gonna lump sum his way to helping everyone who asks until the money is gone in a few years.

The sound advice seems to be to have a decision-free zone of several months, where you meet with a financial planner to discuss how to make the money last the rest of your lifetime (and it should, whether it be $80 mil or $220 mil)