Canadian Lottery Winners Who Lost It All
Lessons to be learned from Canadian lottery winners who lost it all
Many people dream of winning it big at the lottery, with very few fortunate people achieving it. Even the thought of winning massive amounts of money is thrilling. Who doesn’t want to get a life-changing cash amount and eliminate all worries?
However, winning lots of money at the lottery can be a curse to some. There are numerous examples of people from all over the world going deeper and deeper into problems after winning the lottery. Canada is no exception. The luck has struck many people, but unfortunately, there are also many Canadian lottery winners who lost it all. Let their stories be a warning of what (not) to do if you ever win the lottery.
From Riches To Rags -Too Much Is Never Enough
Sharon Tirabassi of Hamilton, Ontario, jumped with joy when she won a fantastic C$10.5 million lottery prize in 2004. With so much money on her hands, she did not know what to do first. She started by treating her friends with lavish vacations and trips to Cancun, the Caribbean, Las Vegas, California, Florida, and many other places.
Sharon also married and bought a house for over half a million dollars. Instead of paying in cash, she also got a C$360,000 mortgage loan, which was not a good sign. Then she started acting out of her mind, constantly buying expensive cars (some of them with a cost of over $200,000) and throwing away millions of dollars as gifts to family members and friends.
The spending sprees never stopped, so by 2007, less than three years after she won, almost all her money was gone. By 2008, her husband ended up in jail for Driving Under Influence, and Tirabassi lost the house she had. The story got over in 2008 when she went bankrupt.
Today, Sharon is working as a personal support worker, raising and supporting her six kids, and living in a rented house in her hometown Hamilton, Ontario.
A Winning Ticket Leading To Lost Money And Death
Ibi Roncailoli was an Ontario resident that won a cool C$5 million at Lotto 649 in 1991. The win made her life uncomfortable from the start. First, she did not tell her husband about how she wanted to spend her money. Without her husband knowing, Ibi gave away $2 million of her lotto prize money to a child she had secretly had with another man behind her husband’s back.
When her husband discovered this affair, he poisoned his wife Ibi and got convicted of manslaughter. Before getting sentenced, he asked his wife’s family to cover the funeral bill. So instead of joy and happiness, an excellent lotto win led to jail time, tragic death, and lost money.
A Lottery Win and Narcotics Don’t Mix
Dan Carley was one of the famous Canadian lottery winners. However, his win opened up a whole other world for him. As soon as he collected his lottery winnings, his life started to look like a crime-action drama.
Since Canadian lotteries are very popular, Carley decided to test his luck in February 2006. A 26-years-old then, Carley purchased his lottery tickets in a small local store in St. Catharine. Of course, his happiness was enormous, as he was a good boy with good intentions and a clean record. To spread his joy, he got engaged with his girlfriend.
He was living the times of his life – happier than ever and started celebrating every day. His celebrations soon spiralled out of control as Dan began blowing off his money on endless parties, large amounts of alcohol, and cocaine.
He started spending over C$20,000 per day, dwindling his fortune. In 2007, he tried to enter a business and open bars in the Niagara region. However, the bad investments lead to him losing C$1.5 million. At the same time, his life is without control as he goes deeper into his addiction to cocaine, heroin, and oxycodone. Understandably, his wife leaves him after giving birth to a baby daughter.
In 2013, Dan Carley got involved with biker gangs in the Niagara region and got arrested for drugs trafficking, weapons trafficking, assault, blackmail, and organized crime charges.
Currently locked in prison, Carley gave an interview from the prison once, saying that he is content with his life. He is in jail, but he survived personal downfall, separation, drugs addiction, and suicide attempts.
Unfortunately, his little daughter has never seen him or visited him in prison.
A Lottery Winner On A Downward Spiral
Sometimes life resembles classical horror movies. Things start with fun and cheer and end up tragically. Something like that happened to Gerald Muswagon, from northern Manitoba. In 1998, this happy Canadian won the Super 7 Lotto drawing for a fantastic C$10 million jackpot. Of course, he started spending his lottery money in the usual way – buying several large-screen TVs for friends, partying, getting designer clothes, gold jewelry, and other things.
He then tried to purchase a local lumber-cutting business, which led to a significant loss of money. Soon after, Muswagon entered a no return point, got addicted to drugs and alcohol, and spent all his money impulsively.
In the early 2000s, Muswagon was a part of a police chase which resulted in him spending three months in jail for reckless driving, speeding, and criminal activity.
His money was gone when his so-called friends and other shady characters started asking him for more and more.
Less than a decade after his lottery win, Gerald Muswagon’s life ended tragically, as he took his own life by hanging himself in the parents’ garage.
A Great Lotto Win Leading to the Greatest Fall
It’s incredible how some terrific stories end up in tragic endings. In 2015, Randal Rush achieved something extraordinary – he won an astonishing prize of C$50 million at the Alberta Lotto Max lottery. As with all lotto winners, he immediately got into the spotlight.
Regardless of whether someone plays the Canadian lottery, Pennsylvania lottery, Missouri Lottery, Florida Lottery, California Lottery, Virginia Lottery, Illinois Lottery, Michigan Lottery, New Jersey Lottery, or any other lottery out there – Lottery winners end similarly like many before them – losing all that money to stupid things.
Randall Rush wished to try investing after spending vast amounts of money on a nightly party pad, shopping, political donations, fancy cars, exotic trips, and many other unnecessary things.
Investing can be an excellent thing if you know what you are doing, have a good financial education, or get solid financial advice from professionals. Otherwise, it is a sure path towards disaster.
Randal Rush soon became a victim of scammers. Without exploring or knowing anything more, Rush invested a fantastic sum of C$4.6 million into someone’s mobile app for online shopping. He was also involved in some heavy lawsuits and discovered that he wasted money on never-delivered things. A bit by bit, he lost all his money, ending up alone and forgotten by everyone.
What To Do If You Are A Lottery Winner
A winning lottery ticket can be either a blessing or a curse. Many stories end up badly because of some usual things:
- Scammers trying to scam winners into investing in shady ventures and fake apps
- Deceptive charities asking for donations
- Hackers trying to get into the winner’s bank account
- Old friends, relatives, family members, and acquaintances showing out of nowhere willing to get close to the winner
Unfortunately, when it comes to Canada, The Ontario Lottery and Gaming Corp do not have an established system for following up with lottery winners. There is also no requirement for the lotto winners to use the services of financial advisors. If you do not want to be one of the Canadian lottery winners who lost it all, make sure you pay attention to some essential advice.
An important thing you should NOT do if you win the lottery is the following:
- Do not quit your job right away. Keep yourself busy with work, so you do not get carried away.
- Do not change your lifestyle. Be patient and make a good plan for investing. Spending some money to celebrate is alright, but you should avoid lavish expenses on parties, alcohol, and trips.
- Do not feel obliged that you have to give money away to friends, relatives, or charities. Remember, no matter how high the lump sum payout is, it is not unlimited.
Conclusion
An important thing to remember is that no one is guaranteed a great life if they win big. These cautionary tales from Canadian lottery winners who lost it all show us that patience and discipline are of utmost importance.
Never get carried away regardless of how big the lotto winning sum is. Hopefully, these stories will keep you grounded and help you remember that playing the lotto should be a fun experience, not a tragic story.
