Woman who won lottery twice lost it all

Winning the lottery is a dream for all of us, right? Winning it twice just seems a bit unfair. Now, imagine claiming the winnings (twice) - and losing the entire fortune.

That's exactly what happened to Evelyn Adams from New Jersey after she bagged $5.4 million but then went on to lose the lot, per The Sun.

She won a massive $3.9 million in October 1985, followed by another $1.4 million in February 1986. She was the first person in the state of New Jersey to win multiple multi-million jackpot prizes.

According to The Sun, the odds of winning the first prize were 1 in 3.2 million and the second was 1 in 5.2 million.

Per Lotto Analyst, her winnings were paid out as annuities, meaning she received $218,000 in annual payments after 20% was lost to tax.

Adams used the first prize to pay off some debts, set up college tuition for her daughter along with splashing out on a new car and some gifts for close family and friends - because why not!

All that glitters is not gold, however, as she began getting noticed on the street as a two-time lottery winner, and this brought with it resentment from some members of her family.

She would often give loans to those close to her, however, a lot of those people didn't feel obliged to pay back the initial loan, resulting in Adams losing a large portion of her winnings.

She intended to open a music store and to marry her fiancé who was the owner of the convenience store she used to work at before she won the lottery.

Evelyn Adams defied the odds and won the lottery twice. Credit: Francine Orr / Los Angeles Times via Getty Images

Whilst she did end up marrying her fiancé, they never ended up opening a music store despite selling the convenience store they owned.

Things took a turn when Adams developed a gambling addiction and spent much of her winnings gambling on slot machines in Atlantic City casinos, whilst having a string of bad business ventures.

The lottery winner is now living in a trailer park having lost all of the money. She said that in hindsight, she wouldn't have been as generous with giving her money to those close to her, and would also have stayed away from casinos.

If she could do it again, she'd be smarter with her money. Credit: Tasos Katopodis/Getty Images

As cited by The Sun, she said: "I wish I had the chance to do it all over again. I'd be much smarter about it now.

"I made mistakes, some I regret, some I don't. I'm human. I can't go back now so I just go forward, one step at a time."

Featured image credit: Francine Orr / Los Angeles Times via Getty Images