Lessons in managing money from lottery winners

Regrets? Past lottery winners have had a few.

- Mark Walker

The Powerball jackpot has swelled to US$1.8 billion (S$2.3 billion), or an estimated US$826.4 million in cash a sum so vast that if no one wins, and it climbs higher still, it could cross into record-setting territory.

It is the kind of prize, the second-largest in US history, that sends people to corner stores and petrol stations to buy tickets, which are then folded into a wallet or tucked into a glove compartment.

While there have been plenty of stories of lottery winners being murdered or wishing they had torn up the ticket, some have fared better.

Some past lottery winners shared their hard lessons learnt and advice for those who might hold a lucky ticket.

In Iowa, in 1999, Mr Timothy Schultz was at home when his father woke him with the news: The winning ticket came from the petrol station where Mr Schultz worked as a clerk.

In an interview, Mr Schultz recalled waking up in a panic and not being able to find the ticket.

He said he rummaged through his desk and shuffled through old papers in his room. Finally, he discovered the ticket crumpled in a pocket of his jeans.

He then found a copy of The Des Moines Register and compared the numbers on his ticket to those in the newspaper. He learnt that the quick-pick Powerball numbers on his ticket, chosen randomly by computer, matched. He had won US$28 million.