Lotto winners misfortune

Lotto bettors will have another crack tomorrow at winning one of the biggest lottery pots in the history of the country as the 6/55 Grand Lotto pot is expected to hit the P160-million mark for tomorrows draw.



A total of 16 bettors missed only one number from the winning six-number combination of 43-49-53-44-37-23 for last Wednesday April 27 draw.. Each will receive P150,000 in consolation prize.

A total of 22 bettors also missed one number from the winning six-number combination of 38-10-49-40-09-26 last Monday April 25 lotto draw

This is the first time this year that the lotto jackpot breached P100 million after a balikbayan from New York City hit the biggest lotto jackpot prize of P740 million late last year in olongapo.

The second biggest lotto jackpot was P347 million for the 6/45 Mega Lotto game. The jackpot was shared by two winners from Olongapo again and Pasig City, but the winner from Pasig did not came forward and the jackpot prize was forfeited by PCSO.

While the 3rd biggest lotto jackpot was P264 million for the 6/49. The winner was a 61-year-old construction worker from Novaliches in Quezon city who won the jackpot in 2008.


3 Lotto winners famous for their misfortune

Jason Canterbury, from the Cape Flats, who won R6.7-million in the lottery in 2003 at the age of 18. He was sentenced to 28 years in jail for murder after turning to drugs and crime to support his lifestyle after his winnings evaporated.

William Post, who won more than $780-million in a US draw in 1998, only to end up living on a social grant after relatives siphoned away his windfall.

Jeffrey Dampier, who died after his 1986 US win of $134- million. His sister-in-law, who had hoped to inherit his windfall, was sentenced to life in prison for his murder.

One lotto combination

Newspaper printed the wrong draw.

For a moment it seemed like their world had changed.

Jim and Dorothy Sprague believed that they had become millionaires overnight when matched six numbers in the Colorado Lottery.

They began celebrating and thinking about the new life of luxury they would be living with the $4.3m jackpot.

But their hopes were dashed a few hours later when they realised the local newspaper in which they checked their numbers had printed the wrong draw.

The couple had chosen their numbers for the draw last Saturday and checked them the following day in the Pueblo Chieftain newspaper.

To their surprise, the numbers on their tickets matched exactly the six that were in the local newspaper.

'I woke up and found out we were millionaires,' Jim Sprague told NBC station KOAA.


Mr Sprague, from Pueblo, Colorado, called his children and excitedly told them that he had won the jackpot in the Lotto and Cash 5 draw.

The family no doubt had started dreaming of their new life - and how to spend the millions they believed they had won.

But a few hours later after checking the numbers again they were politely informed that they had actually matched the numbers from the Friday Matchplay draw which had been printed again by mistake.

'We had told my son and my daughter, and we were getting ready to tell our other kids, but we found the mistake, that it was wrong,' Sprague said.
'It's a good thing that I didn't talk to too many people.'

The couple said that they are able to laugh about the mistake and will continue playing the lottery. Mr Sprague said that he hopes to find the right numbers 'one day'.

The newspaper published a correction saying the error was down to 'misinformation and an oversight.'

SOURCE: dailymail.co.uk




April 18 2011

The long wait has paid off.

In debt for P500,000, housewife wins, claims P3.1-M lotto pot.

For 16 years they've been awaiting lady luck to smile on them while their housing loan payment arrears kept piling up, until it ballooned to a whopping P500,000.

That was then, this is now.

On April 16, this seemingly desperate 55-year-old housewife and her husband, a security guard, won P3.1 million in the April 16 draw of Lotto 6/42 and claimed their winnings on April 18.

The couple was becoming desperate because they could lose their house to the bank because their housing loan payments were piling up. Their arrears today stand at P500,000.

The housewife, placed a mere P10 bet for one combination on April 16 for 6/42, hoping and keeping in mind that their house could be forfeited anytime.

A stroke of luck, finally came with her bet based on her family's birth dates, hitting the drawn numbers, 10-29-04-08-24-27.

Source: MB
By EDD K. USMAN

Lotto Jackpot Prize : 17 billion 550 million pesos

The latest winner to claim the P16-million jackpot is a working couple who bought their ticket at a bus terminal in Sta. Maria, Pangasinan. When they reached Manila several hours later, they were already millionaires.

A 73-year-old widow from Iriga City also claimed the jackpot of P38 million after moving from one place to another for one week to evade neighbors and relatives who trooped to her house after the news that she won the lotto spread in the neighborhood.

Fourteen bettors were one number away from hitting the nearly P102 million 6/55 Grand Lotto jackpot, on last Monday nights draw April 11 2011.

Heard from 2 old woman lotto bettors talking while waiting for our turn to buy our lotto ticket.

She has special rituals. She always use red colored t shirt for luck when he goes to the lotto outlet to buy her lotto tickets. She rubs the tummy of a Buddha statue and hides her ticket in her bra before the draw is held.

I think at her age at 80's, she knew it was safe there.

Biggest Lotto Jackpot Prize

The top 5 biggest lotto jackpot prize in United States Lottery history are as follows:
(lets convert this to Philippine peso X 45 pesos per 1 dollar)

1.$390 million Jackpot or 17 billion 550 million pesos

The March 6, 2007, Mega Millions $390 million. The Jackpot was shared by two winners.

2.Lotto jackpot prize $365 million or P16 billion 425 million pesos.

On February 18, 2006, the jackpot worth $365 million was won by a single ticket sold in Lincoln, Nebraska. That single ticket was shared by eight meat plant workers.

3. $340 million or P15 billion 300 million pesos

A grand prize won on October 19, 2005 worth $340 million was awarded to the West family in Jacksonville, Oregon. The family won less than two months after the rules were changed to promote larger payouts. Steve West, who purchased the ticket, put in $20 for tickets, along with another $20 from his in-laws. The family planned to split the prize among themselves.

4. $314 million or P14 billion 130 million pesos

Prior to the $340 million winner, Jack Whittaker of West Virginia was the claimant to the biggest jackpot. He won $314 million on Christmas Day, 2002.

5. $295 million or P13 billion 275 million pesos

On July 29, 1998, a jackpot worth $295 million was won by 13 machinists.


So far our biggest lotto jackpot prize record is the 6/55 jackpot prize of P741 million won in Olongapo city.

A balikbayan won the P741 million after correctly guessing the Grand Lotto winning numbers last December 2010.

The P741-million jackpot was the highest in Philippine lotto history.

Lottery Winner Loses $114 Million In Four Years

The Loser

Just four and half years ago, Andrew Jackson "Jack" Whittaker, Jr. was the president of of a successful contracting firm called Diversified Enterprises Construction. At 55 years old, Whittaker was living a successfully comfortable American life complete with a a net worth of over one million dollars, a well rounded family, great job and healthy grandkids. On December 25, 2002, Whittaker's life changed forever when he stopped at a supermarket to fuel his Lincoln Navigator and purchased a deli breakfast sandwich and a Powerball Ticket worth US$315 million. The jackpot won by Whittaker was the highest ever in the United States at the time and Whittaker chose the cash payment option receiving a check after taxes for about US$113.4 million. Little did Whittaker know, the devastation that ticket would cause on his life.



The Good
Charitable Contributions

Whittaker's first cause of action was to pledge ten percent of his winnings to Christian charities in West Virginia including several churches affiliated with the Church of God. Whittaker next donated about fourteen million dollars to create the Jack Whittaker Foundation as a non profit entity to provide food and clothing to low income families in rural areas of West Virginia. Lastly, Whittaker returned to the supermarket he purchased the ticket and bought the woman who sold him the ticket a new house and a new car as a tip.


The Bad
How to loose $114 million dollars in 4 years.

His enormous new wealth, meant everyone wanted a piece of Whittaker and his legal and personal problems quickly spiraled out of control. Less than one month after winning $114million, Whittaker was arrested for drunk driving.

In August of 2003, while spending over one hundred thousand dollars at the Pink Pony strip club in Cross Lanes West Virginia, thieves stole $545,000 in cash from his car. Two strip club employees were later arrested and charged with drugging Whittaker's drinks and arranging the robbery, however the money was never recovered.

In January of 2004, thieves again broke into his car and stole over $200,000 in cash. This cash was later recovered. Next Whittaker was arrested and charged with misdemeanor assault after allegedly threatening the life of a bar manager. This suit was settled out of court for an undisclosed amount. A couple of months later, Whittaker was sued for allegedly groping a woman at a dog racetrack. Again, he settled this suit out of court for an undisclosed amount. When interviewed about his legal run ins around this time Whittaker replied, "It doesn't bother me because I can tell everyone to kiss off!"


The Ugly
Irresponsibility and Personal Problems Destroy Whittaker

In September of 2003, Jesse Tribble, a 17 year old friend of Brandi Bragg, Whittaker's granddaughter was found dead in Whittaker's West Virginia home. The autopsy determined that Bragg died of a drug overdose. Bragg's family would sue Whittaker for wrongful death and that case discussed below was also settled for a large monetary amount.

Shortly after the Tribble death, Whittaker's granddaughter, Brandi Bragg was found dead on December 20, 2004. Brandi had been missing for several weeks and was found under a tarpaulin near her boyfriend's home. During a hearing on October 11, 2005, a disheveled Whittaker berated law enforcement agencies for their fixation on him and demanded that they solve his granddaughters death.

In 2006, Whittaker was sued by Caesers Atlantic City casino. Whittaker promptly countersued. Caesers claims that Whittaker bounced $1.5 million in checks that were supposed to cover his gambling losses. Whittaker claimed that he should be credited due to a slot machine he developed for them and that Caesers owes him money.

In January of 2007, Whittaker came forward to the police alleging that thieves had stole the remainder of his fortune. He stated that thieves, in a coordinated plan had cashed 12 checks effectively emptying his bank account. Whittaker did not find out about the theft until Kitti French who had had settle with earlier filed an additional claim against Whittaker for non-payment.

To top it all off, on March 26, 2007, Whittaker was forced to settle a wrongful death civil suit for the death of Jessie Tribble, his granddaughters ex-boyfriend who had died 3 years before. Under questioning Whittaker admitted providing his deceased granddaughter with a $2100 per week allowance and that he hardly watched the child even though she was in his custody. A multi-million dollar deal was
immediately struck after this testimony.

The End

Whittaker now claims to be struggling financially and barely able to make ends meet with the payouts from previous lawsuits. He has frequently stated that no amount of money lent to friends and family was ever enough and that his experiences with the lottery destroyed his life. He states that if he could do it all over again, he would have just filled up his tank, bought a sandwich and gone on his merry way.


Source:Karemar
Submitted by Marvin

Typhoon victim wins

MANILA, Philippines -- Pinning his hopes on the lottery games of the Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office (PCSO) to recover from the devastation wrought by Super typhoon "Ondoy" in Sept. 2009 has been the source of strength for a 57-year-old poor jeepney driver of Cainta, Rizal, until it was pay back time: On Monday morning, he claimed the P23,585,160.60 Mega Lotto 6/45 jackpot in the draw on March 21.

PCSO General Manager Jose Ferdinand M. Rojas II relayed this to journalists, saying the PCSO management led by Chairperson Margarita P. Juico feels happy for the 32 lotto winners in 2011.

Meanwhile, Rojas said two lotto bettors of Iriga City, Camarines Sur, and Las Piñas City, Metro Manila, also realized their dreams of making it big through the on-line lotteries of the PCSO.

They won and will split the P76,874,533.20 bonanza in the SuperLotto 6/49 draw on Sunday, March 27, Rojas said.

He said the Bicol winner placed a bet at a lotto outlet along Highway 1, Rizal Street in Iriga City while the Las Piñas winner purchased ticket at 39-C BF Resort Village, Talon 3.

They both got the winning numbers of 03-37-10-07-23-05 and will split equally at P38,437,266.60 each the jackpot.

Information reaching Rojas from lawyer Lauro Patiag, manager of the Internal Audit Department (PCSO-IAD), showed that the Cainta winner was one of the victims of “Ondoy” during which his house was completely destroyed.

Rojas said the Mega Lotto winner will first buy a house and rebuild his family's shattered life because of “Ondoy.”

The PCSO official said the super typhoon completely destroyed the winner's house.

Thus, the driver, who plies a rented dilapidated jeep to make both ends meet, vowed to bet on the PCSO’s lotto games so he can build a new house for his family and rebuild their shattered life.

From then on, he said, the jeep driver never failed to bet P20 on the combination he maintained out of his birthday, his two children’s and his grandchildren's.



Las Piñas housewife claims P38-M jackpot


MANILA, Philippines – A 54-year-old housewife, a pharmacist by profession, of Las Piñas City, Metro Manila, on Monday afternoon claimed her P38,437,266.60 share from the P76,874,533.20 Super Lotto 6/49 jackpot drawn on March 27 by the Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office (PCSO).

PCSO General Manager Jose Ferdinand M. Rojas II said the Las Piñas mother is one of the two winners of the Super Lotto, who split the windfall from the Sunday draw.

The other winner from Iriga City, Camarines Sur, has yet to claim the other half, he said. They both guessed the winning numbers — 03-37-10-07-23-05, the PCSO official said Rojas said the PCSO management led by Chairperson Margarita P. Juico hopes that out of their winnings the lotto patrons would be able to transform their lives for the better.

"That's the beauty of the PCSO. We help the poor and sometimes even make them rich," Juico once said.

Rojas said this is how it goes:

"Aside from helping the PCSO fulfill its charity work through medical and health services for poor Filipinos the lotto bettors also have the chance to realize their dreams of escaping the scourge of poverty every time they buy lottery tickets," said Rojas, concurrent media manager and spokesman of PCSO.

For every peso bet on any lotto game of the PCSO, he said, 55 centavos go to the Prize Fund, 30 centavos for Charity Fund, and only 15 centavos are channeled to the state agency's Operating Fund.

Lawyer Lauro Patiag, manager of Internal Audit Department (PCSO-IAD), said the Las Piñas winner put her luck on two System 7 bets, each one costing P140.

(In a System 7 bet, the lotto computer will generate seven six-number combinations out of a bettor's seven chosen numbers.)

Patiag said the winner had been betting on her numbers which she got from a magazine for 15 years. She got her wish in the draw on March 27 draw of 6/49, he added Patiag said from his personal analysis, the various lotteries, such as Grand Lotto 6/55, Super Lotto, Mega Lotto 6/45, and Lotto 6/42, have loyal patrons of about two million.

"So, because of the many numbers of sure bettors there is a bigger chance that the jackpot, especially of 6/45, is won," said Patiag, also a certified public accountant (CPA).

His personal analysis seems plausible because of the four lotto games Mega Lotto from Jan. 1 to March 28, 2011 has been the most prolific maker of millionaires.

In that period alone, Mega Lotto produced 18 winners, Grand Lotto yielded three, Super Lotto made six, and 6/42 gave out four.

From 2005 to 2010, Patiag said, PCSO's lotto games produced 853 winners and gave out P14.4 billion.

Also in that six month period, he said, 76 bettors won P50 million and above jackpot, for a total of P6.8 billion.

This developed as Patiag assured every winner's confidentiality, saying the PCSO will never give out the name, picture and address of the winners for security reason and in conformity with PCSO policy.

source: MB
By EDD K. USMAN