{"id":20,"date":"2007-04-10T08:26:20","date_gmt":"2007-04-10T16:26:20","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/gotsteve.com\/blog\/?p=20"},"modified":"2007-04-10T10:06:09","modified_gmt":"2007-04-10T18:06:09","slug":"what-do-you-gain-from-300-million-bux-apparently-not-a-whole-lot","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.gotsteve.com\/blog\/what-do-you-gain-from-300-million-bux-apparently-not-a-whole-lot\/","title":{"rendered":"What do you gain from $300 million bux? Apparently, a whole lot more trouble than good&#8230;"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>A friend of mine and I were talking about winning the lottery a few days ago, and we had different opinions:  He thought winning the lottery would be awesome, and my impression was quite the opposite:  that it would be a nightmare.   Having previously heard stories about people ruining their lives by fulfilling their &#8220;dream&#8221; of winning the lottery, I knew better than to think all would be well, winning big cash.<\/p>\n<p>The following article brought scripture to mind. Check it out for yourself in the ABC News Article: (additionally, for historical purposes I will paste the article at the bottom of this document)<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/abcnews.go.com\/2020\/story?id=3012631&amp;page=1\" target=\"_blank\">https:\/\/abcnews.go.com\/2020\/story?id=3012631&amp;page=1<\/a><\/p>\n<h3><\/h3>\n<h3>Matthew 16:26 (New Living Translation)<\/h3>\n<p class=\"publisher-info-inset\"><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.biblegateway.com\/versions\/?action=getVersionInfo&amp;vid=51\">New Living Translation<\/a> (NLT)<\/strong>Holy Bible. New Living Translation copyright \u00a9 1996, 2004 by <a href=\"https:\/\/www.newlivingtranslation.com\/\">Tyndale Charitable Trust. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers.<\/a><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.biblegateway.com\/bg_versions\/bgclick.php?what=216\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.biblegateway.com\/bg_versions\/bgview.php?what=216\" lt=\"NLT at Tyndale\" title=\"NLT at Tyndale\" align=\"middle\" border=\"0\" \/><\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/www.biblegateway.com\/bg_versions\/bgclick.php?what=29\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.biblegateway.com\/bg_versions\/bgview.php?what=29\" lt=\"Tyndale House Publishers, Inc.\" title=\"Tyndale House Publishers, Inc.\" align=\"middle\" border=\"0\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p class=\"result-text-style-normal\"><span id=\"en-NLT-23674\" class=\"sup\">26<\/span> <woj><\/woj>And what do you benefit if you gain the whole world but lose your own soul?<sup>[<a href=\"https:\/\/www.biblegateway.com\/passage\/?search=matthew+16:26#fen-NLT-23674a\" title=\"See footnote a\">a<\/a>]<\/sup> Is anything worth more than your soul?<\/p>\n<p><strong>Footnotes:<\/strong><\/p>\n<ol type=\"a\">\n<li id=\"fen-NLT-23674a\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.biblegateway.com\/passage\/?search=matthew+16:26#en-NLT-23674\" title=\"Go to Matthew 16:26\">Matthew 16:26<\/a> Or <em>your self?<\/em> also in 16:26b.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<p>Powerball Winner Says He&#8217;s Cursed by His Jackpot<\/p>\n<p><span class=\"storytext\"><\/span><\/p>\n<h4 id=\"feature_author\">By MARTIN BASHIR and SARA HOLMBERG<\/h4>\n<h4 id=\"feature_abclogo\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/a.abcnews.com\/images\/site\/story\/byline_abcnews.gif\" \/><\/h4>\n<p><strong> <\/strong><strong>April 6, 2007 \u2014<\/strong> On Christmas morning in 2002, Jack Whittaker woke up  to perhaps the biggest gift imaginable. Whittaker had won the Powerball lottery  jackpot \u2014 a whopping $315 million.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;I got sick at my stomach, and I just was [at] a loss for words and advice,&#8221;  Whittaker said. &#8220;You know, I was really searching for advice, and it&#8217;s, like,  Christmas Day.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p id=\"embed_links\" style=\"background: transparent url('https:\/\/a.abcnews.com\/images\/site\/story\/img_scanlinesbkg.gif') repeat scroll 231px 0px; -moz-background-clip: -moz-initial; -moz-background-origin: -moz-initial; -moz-background-inline-policy: -moz-initial; margin-left: 220px; width: 360px; text-align: center\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/a.abcnews.com\/images\/site\/story\/feature_img_bkg_btmstripe.gif\" style=\"margin: 0pt; padding-bottom: 5px\" height=\"5\" width=\"100%\" \/><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><a href=\"\/Video\/playerIndex?id=3023380\" onclick=\"openPopup(this.href, 'popup', 800, 635, 'status=1, resizable=1');return false;\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/a.abcnews.com\/images\/site\/icon_video_transparent.gif\" align=\"absmiddle\" border=\"0\" \/><\/a> <a href=\"\/Video\/playerIndex?id=3023380\" onclick=\"openPopup(this.href, 'popup', 800, 635, 'status=1, resizable=1');return false;\">Unlucky Lotto Winner?<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/a.abcnews.com\/images\/site\/story\/feature_img_bkg_btmstripe.gif\" style=\"padding-top: 5px\" height=\"5\" width=\"100%\" \/><\/p>\n<p><script type=\"text\/javascript\">             var oDiv = document.getElementById(\\\\\\'columnad\\\\\\');             var embedDiv = document.getElementById(\\\\\\'embed_links\\\\\\');              if(oDiv.offsetWidth > 160 && oDiv.offsetHeight > 300) {                 embedDiv.style.width = \"238px\";             } else {                 embedDiv.style.width = \"360px\";             }         <\/script>It was a made-for-TV Christmas story, and Whittaker&#8217;s hardworking family  became celebrities overnight. Whittaker&#8217;s wife, Jewel, and their granddaughter  Brandi Bragg would appear on no fewer than eight television shows. But as  Whittaker celebrated his good fortune, he had no way of knowing that he was  embarking on a journey that would lead to tragedy and the loss of everything he  held dear.<\/p>\n<h4>&#8216;No Control for Greed&#8217;<\/h4>\n<p>Whittaker now says that he regrets winning the lottery.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;Since I won the lottery, I think there is no control for greed,&#8221; he said. &#8220;I  think if you have something, there&#8217;s always someone else that wants it. I wish  I&#8217;d torn that ticket up.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>Whittaker had the very best of intentions: He truly wanted to share his good  fortune and help people.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;I wanted to build churches,&#8221; he said. &#8220;I wanted to get people food that  didn&#8217;t have food. I wanted to provide clothing for children that needed  clothing.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>Within months, Whittaker was making good on his promise. He handed over $15  million for the construction of two churches alone.<\/p>\n<p>The initial blitz of publicity meant that everyone knew about Whittaker&#8217;s  record-breaking win, and he was besieged by requests for help. In order to deal  with these requests, he formed the Jack Whittaker Foundation. Jill, the clerk  who sold him his winning ticket, went to work for him in the mailroom.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;There were so many letters that they wouldn&#8217;t even deliver the mail. It was  nothing for us to sit for 10 hours just opening envelopes,&#8221; said Jill, who asked  that her last name be kept private.<\/p>\n<p>Jill says the foundation received all kinds of requests, such as, &#8220;people  wanting new carpet, people wanting entertainment systems, people wanting  Hummers, people wanting houses \u2014 just absolutely bizarre things.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>Whittaker gave away at least $50 million worth of houses, cars and cash.  Suddenly, the man who won a fortune at Christmas had become everybody&#8217;s Santa  Claus.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;Any place that I would go they would come up,&#8221; he said. &#8220;I mean, we went to  a ballgame, a basketball game \u2026 and we must have had 150 people come up to us \u2026  and it would be going right back to asking for money.&#8221;<\/p>\n<h4>Humble Beginnings<\/h4>\n<p>For a man who didn&#8217;t start out with much, the experience was a bit  overwhelming. &#8220;I grew up very, very poor in Jumping Branch, W.Va.,&#8221; said  Whittaker. &#8220;We never had a lot of luxuries. We never had a car. We didn&#8217;t have a  TV until later in life.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>At the age of 14, Whittaker met the woman who would become his wife, and  started his own construction company. Whittaker said it was the birth of his  granddaughter that finally changed his obsession with work.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;I was with my daughter going to her doctor&#8217;s visits,&#8221; he said. &#8220;And Brandi  waved at me on the first sonogram, so I was hooked then.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>By the time Whittaker won the lottery, he said, he was doing $16 million to  $17 million worth of work. He enjoyed years of success with few complaints, but  less than a year after winning the lottery things began to change.<\/p>\n<p>Rob Dunlap, one of Whittaker&#8217;s many attorneys, said Whittaker has spent at  least $3 million dollars fending off lawsuits.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;I&#8217;ve had over 400 legal claims made on me or one of my companies since I&#8217;ve  won the lottery, &#8221; said Whittaker.<\/p>\n<p>When asked why that might happen, Whittaker said it&#8217;s because &#8220;everybody  wants something for nothing.&#8221;<\/p>\n<h4>&#8216;I Just Didn&#8217;t Care&#8217;<\/h4>\n<p>As his company&#8217;s reputation was challenged by lawsuits, Whittaker began  drinking heavily to console himself. At night, he made the rounds of the local  bars throwing money around everywhere he went.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;I just got to the point that I just couldn&#8217;t tolerate what was happening to  me anymore,&#8221; he said. &#8220;I would fly off the handle and if somebody wanted to  fight me, I&#8217;d fight them. I just didn&#8217;t care.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>Whittaker alienated just about everyone in town, and things came to a head  when he left his car running in front of the Pink Pony strip club and more than  $2,000 in cash was stolen.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;I parked my car in the middle of the driveway, I went in to get me a drink  to go, and I was drugged and my briefcase was stolen,&#8221; Whittaker said.<\/p>\n<p id=\"pagination\" style=\"padding: 5px 180px 10px 0px; background-image: none; background-color: #ffffff\" onmouseout=\"this.style.backgroundColor='#FFF';this.style.backgroundImage='none'\">&nbsp;<\/p>\n<h5>Continued<\/h5>\n<p><span class=\"storytext\"><strong>(Page 2 of 3)<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<p>The money was recovered, but the luckiest man in West Virginia was left  friendless and lonely. It seemed as if everyone still wanted a piece of his  winnings, but the one person Whittaker was determined to share every moment of  his good fortune with was his granddaughter.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;What I really enjoyed the most was \u2026 watching Brandi enjoy it,&#8221; he said.<\/p>\n<p id=\"embed_links\" style=\"background: transparent url('https:\/\/a.abcnews.com\/images\/site\/story\/img_scanlinesbkg.gif') repeat scroll 231px 0px; -moz-background-clip: -moz-initial; -moz-background-origin: -moz-initial; -moz-background-inline-policy: -moz-initial; margin-left: 220px; width: 360px; text-align: center\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/a.abcnews.com\/images\/site\/story\/feature_img_bkg_btmstripe.gif\" style=\"margin: 0pt; padding-bottom: 5px\" height=\"5\" width=\"100%\" \/><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><a href=\"\/Video\/playerIndex?id=3023380\" onclick=\"openPopup(this.href, 'popup', 800, 635, 'status=1, resizable=1');return false;\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/a.abcnews.com\/images\/site\/icon_video_transparent.gif\" align=\"absmiddle\" border=\"0\" \/><\/a> <a href=\"\/Video\/playerIndex?id=3023380\" onclick=\"openPopup(this.href, 'popup', 800, 635, 'status=1, resizable=1');return false;\">Unlucky Lotto Winner?<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/a.abcnews.com\/images\/site\/story\/feature_img_bkg_btmstripe.gif\" style=\"padding-top: 5px\" height=\"5\" width=\"100%\" \/><\/p>\n<p><script type=\"text\/javascript\">             var oDiv = document.getElementById(\\\\\\'columnad\\\\\\');             var embedDiv = document.getElementById(\\\\\\'embed_links\\\\\\');              if(oDiv.offsetWidth > 160 && oDiv.offsetHeight > 300) {                 embedDiv.style.width = \"238px\";             } else {                 embedDiv.style.width = \"360px\";             }         <\/script>Whittaker bought and decorated an elaborate home for Bragg and her mother  that included a perfect recreation of the bottle from the 1960&#8217;s TV sitcom &#8220;I  Dream of Jeannie.&#8221; He also gave Brandi about $2,000 a week and bought her four  new cars. Whittaker said while Bragg was only 17 years old at the time, she was  very responsible with her money.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;To a young kid cars mean a lot,&#8221; Whittaker said. &#8220;She had four cars and I&#8217;m  very proud that she had four cars.&#8221;<\/p>\n<h4>Downward Spiral<\/h4>\n<p>According to her friends, Bragg&#8217;s cars and cash began to attract the  attention of some &#8220;bad people,&#8221; including drug dealers.<\/p>\n<p>Whittaker said, &#8220;She was bitter because she had lost some of her friends, I  mean the drug dealers, just ganged up on her because of me.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>Bragg started to use illegal drugs. Whittaker repeatedly tried to get her  help and sent her to several treatment programs, but she couldn&#8217;t stay clean.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;She doesn&#8217;t want to be in charge of the money; she doesn&#8217;t want to inherit  the money; she just looks for her next drugs,&#8221; Whittaker said. &#8220;She said,  &#8216;Pawpaw, all I care about is drugs.&#8217; It broke my heart.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>Bragg&#8217;s friend Jessie Tribble was a drug user too. In September 2003, Tribble  was found dead of a drug overdose in a house owned by Whittaker. Tribble&#8217;s  father believes that his son might be alive today if he hadn&#8217;t had access to  Bragg and her weekly allowance.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;I&#8217;m going to say this with total conviction. I blame her for my son&#8217;s death.  I hold her accountable,&#8221; he said.<\/p>\n<p>Whittaker doesn&#8217;t feel responsible for Tribble&#8217;s death.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;The house was closed down,&#8221; he said. &#8220;They didn&#8217;t have permission to be in  my house.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p id=\"embed_links\" style=\"background: transparent url('https:\/\/a.abcnews.com\/images\/site\/story\/img_scanlinesbkg.gif') repeat scroll 231px 0px; -moz-background-clip: -moz-initial; -moz-background-origin: -moz-initial; -moz-background-inline-policy: -moz-initial; margin-left: 220px; width: 360px; text-align: center\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/a.abcnews.com\/images\/site\/story\/feature_img_bkg_btmstripe.gif\" style=\"margin: 0pt; padding-bottom: 5px\" height=\"5\" width=\"100%\" \/><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><a href=\"\/Video\/playerIndex?id=3023380\" onclick=\"openPopup(this.href, 'popup', 800, 635, 'status=1, resizable=1');return false;\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/a.abcnews.com\/images\/site\/icon_video_transparent.gif\" align=\"absmiddle\" border=\"0\" \/><\/a> <a href=\"\/Video\/playerIndex?id=3023380\" onclick=\"openPopup(this.href, 'popup', 800, 635, 'status=1, resizable=1');return false;\">Unlucky Lotto Winner?<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/a.abcnews.com\/images\/site\/story\/feature_img_bkg_btmstripe.gif\" style=\"padding-top: 5px\" height=\"5\" width=\"100%\" \/><\/p>\n<p><script type=\"text\/javascript\">             var oDiv = document.getElementById(\\\\\\'columnad\\\\\\');             var embedDiv = document.getElementById(\\\\\\'embed_links\\\\\\');              if(oDiv.offsetWidth > 160 && oDiv.offsetHeight > 300) {                 embedDiv.style.width = \"238px\";             } else {                 embedDiv.style.width = \"360px\";             }         <\/script><\/p>\n<h4>The Powerball Curse?<\/h4>\n<p>Almost two years after Whittaker hit the jackpot, Bragg disappeared. After a  frantic two-week search, on Dec. 20, 2004, she was found dead, wrapped in a  plastic sheet, dumped behind a junked van. The cause of death was listed as  unknown. Whittaker believes that the Powerball win had become a curse upon his  family.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;My granddaughter is dead because of the money,&#8221; he said.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;She was the shining star of my life, and she was what it was all about for  me,&#8221; he said. &#8220;From the day she was born, it was all about providing, and  protecting, and taking care of her. You know, my wife had said she wished that  she had torn the ticket up. Well, I wish that we had torn the ticket up too.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>Whittaker believes that money isn&#8217;t what makes people happy \u2014 family is.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;Family is what is dear,&#8221; he said. &#8220;I don&#8217;t know where it&#8217;ll end. But you  know, I just don&#8217;t like Jack Whittaker. I don&#8217;t like the hard heart I&#8217;ve got. I  don&#8217;t like what I&#8217;ve become.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p><span class=\"storytext\"><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>A friend of mine and I were talking about winning the lottery a few days ago, and we had different opinions: He thought winning the lottery would be awesome, and my impression was quite the opposite: that it would be a nightmare. Having previously heard stories about people ruining their lives by fulfilling their &#8220;dream&#8221;&hellip; <a class=\"more-link\" href=\"https:\/\/www.gotsteve.com\/blog\/what-do-you-gain-from-300-million-bux-apparently-not-a-whole-lot\/\">Continue reading <span class=\"screen-reader-text\">What do you gain from $300 million bux? Apparently, a whole lot more trouble than good&#8230;<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[7,8],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-20","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-life","category-scripture","entry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.gotsteve.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/20","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.gotsteve.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.gotsteve.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.gotsteve.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.gotsteve.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=20"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.gotsteve.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/20\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.gotsteve.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=20"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.gotsteve.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=20"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.gotsteve.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=20"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}