Top 7 Successful Lottery Winners Who Defeated All Odds of Insanity
Yep, this is probably the only time I smile when I write, successful lottery winners – the phrase makes me want to giggle! Really? Like for real, they’re not broke? They haven’t wasted their fortune on boob jobs, prostitutes, crack and pot? Yep, you heard that right! They probably already enjoyed all that and grew out of it, I don’t know, but it does seem to interest me how someone cannot just spend what they have and how others don’t even have a penny for their future. Bringing over to you a fresh outlook on the top 7 successful lottery winners – in their valley everything is nice and swell!
Successful Lottery Winner #1 – Les Robins
In 1993 the earth shook beneath the feet of a junior high school teacher, Les Robins, when he won a staggering amount of $111 million (yeah, please pick that jaw, thank you!) in a Powerball jackpot. Unlike most lottery winners, Les didn’t use his fortune carelessly; in fact, he founded Camp Winnegator – a 226 acre campground for local Wisconsin children to use as their day camp. Les loves working with kids so he enrolled himself as a volunteer basketball coach so that he could work with kids, but on a less rigorous schedule. Cool dude, don’t you think?
Successful Lottery Winner #2 – Yancy Hicks
Now Yancy didn’t win that big an amount like Les, but in 2008 he still was the proud owner of a solid $1 million. His lifelong dream – a subway sandwich shop franchise! He invested in his dreams, but still kept his feet firmly on the ground. He didn’t start living a lavish lifestyle, he just bought a new Corvette and that’s that. The construction of his franchise investment began in 2010. The next time you’re looking for something to bite, visit Yancy’s subway sandwich, provided the construction is complete! The one thing he knew was to keep his old friends and say no to new people wanting to take advantage of him or his newfound richness.
Successful Lottery Winner #3 – Jackie Cisneros
In 2010, the sky tore apart, allowing the Lady Luck to personally come down with her blessings for an overnight newsroom editor, Jackie Cisneros. Ok drama aside! She won a jaw-dropping $266 million in the Mega Millions lottery jackpot. The timing couldn’t have been better for Jackie; it was like the Lady Luck was watching them with a telescope, really. Just two weeks before her win, her husband, Gilbert had been laid off from his job, releasing stress and tension in the lives of the couple. The best part is that even after the win; Jackie continued to work because her job made her happy! Now this is what most people want to hear! As for how they spent it, they were deciding to donate to charity, but we’re sure they will make sound investments!
Successful Lottery Winner #4 – Jay Vargas
Hmm, 2008 seemed to be a very lucky year… 19 year old Jay Vargas, who now calls himself ‘JVRich’, won a cool $17 million in the Powerball lottery and he invested in girls and wrestling. Now, wait, don’t get this wrong. He founded Wrestlicious – a live events production company that featured female wrestlers in comedy sketches. Weird passion and even weird investment, but hey, at least he didn’t lose his mind!
Successful Lottery Winner #5 – James Harvey
Then in 2010 another winner emerged and this time it was an MIT student called James Harvey. This dude manipulated a Massachusetts State Lottery game called Cash WinFall for seven years and finally won a fortune worth $3.5 million. Okay, Cash WinFall has been shut down in case you’d want to get sneaky! James and his lottery partner Yuran Lu are currently in San Fransisco, establishing a startup called ZeroMailer for making and managing mailing lists! Who knew, huh!
Successful Lottery Winner #6 – Cynthia Stafford
Back in 2007, when gas prices were unbelievable, Cynthia Stafford was about to have the luckiest Mother’s Day! After her brother passed away in an auto accident, Cynthia stopped working to care for her five nieces and nephews, but the $2 ticket that she bought with her father and brother win. She, DreamWorks SKS and David Geffen launched Queen Nefertari Productions, LLC with a $30 million fund for producing around 4 movies a year! Someday she even plans to make a movie about herself… now that’s what I’d want to watch!
Successful Lottery Winner #7 – Brad Duke
Have you heard of Gold’s Gym? Who knew someone working in that gym could have the time to play the lottery?! In 2005 an employee called Brad Duke won $84 million from the Idaho State Lottery, and he planned to convert it into $1 billion within 15 years. He hired a team of marketing, financial and legal experts to help him achieve his dream of $1 billion. He has established a Synergy Fitness Group, Duke Speed Academy and even invested in real estate, oil and gas bonds, a family foundation and lots more. As of 2007 his net worth was $128 million! In 2012 he was reported saying that he just spends 2.5% of his income on necessary expenditures! Whoa I’m totally inspired!
