What would you do if you won the lottery? I don't know about you, but I've asked myself that question before, and had the same conversation with friends. It's fun to imagine what luxuries you could afford with that much money, where you would draw the line, and figure out whether you would do anything charitable with the money or simply go on a spending spree.
I'm sure a lot of winners will pay off their mortgage, get a fancy a car, or maybe invest in some property. But there are a fair amount of lottery winners out there that went completely mad with their money, choosing the ridiculous over the sensible.
1. Evelyn Adams gambled away $6 millionBy some stroke of luck, Evelyn Adams won the New Jersey Lottery twice, in 1985 and 1986 - for $5.4 million. Being a compulsive gambler, she ended up whittling away her money in Atlantic City casinos. Luckily, she paid off bills and set up a fund to pay college tuition for her daughter before she spent it all.
2. Michael Carroll went full hedonistFormer garbageman won £9.7 million in the UK National Lottery in 2002 said he only wanted to spend his winnings on a three-bedroom house near a lake, but things turned out a little different. Firstly, he was given an ASBO for drunkenly catapulting steel balls from his Mercedes van, damaging 32 cars. Then he spent his money on an estimated $3,000 of cocaine each day, and bought luxury cars to drive on a homemade racetrack. In 2010, his money supposedly depleted, he applied for his old job once again.
3. Jonathan Vargas made his own wrestling showThe 19-year-old won $35.3 million in 2008, and decided to use some of his money to create 'Wrestlicious' - an all-female wrestling show, which only lasted for one season before being cancelled.
4. Suzanne Mullins... took out loans?In 1993, Suzanne Mullins won $4.2 million in the Virginia Lottery. As it was paid in 20 annual payments, she tried to take out massive loans to have faster access the cash - so she could split it between her family members and pay the bills. Unfortunately, years later she owes a hell lot of money to loan payments, and ended up going bankrupt.
5. Bob Erb tried to legalize weedAfter winning $25 million in 2012, Canadian Robert Erb lived up to his name by donating $1 million to support the campaign to legalize marijuana, while also donating to other charities and local community projects.
6. Ronnie Music Jr. invested in crystal meth ringPart of his $3 million lottery winnings were invested into a drug ring, with Ronnie purchasing $500,000 worth of meth for resale. Eventually, agents seized more than $1,000,000 of meth, firearms, and cars as part of the case.
7. John Kutey built a water parkJohn Kutey was one of seven who shared a massive jackpot in 2011, but decided to donate part of his $19 million to build a water park. Located in his hometown, the project was apparently in honor of his and his wife's parents. He also used $200,000 of his winnings to replace an old park in Green Island, New York - with the new Spray Park opening in 2013 at no expense to local tax payers.
Ask yourself honestly - would you do something completely ridiculous with lottery winnings, or be sensible and invest and save the money you've won? I think if I'm true to myself, I'd probably do a little of both, but I'm pretty sure I wouldn't want to start a wrestling show.