Meagn+Br+Oral

Winning the ‘Big One’ doesn’t always solve your problems! Imagine this, luxury cruises, fast cars, big flash houses and almost anything else you could dream of. It’s Thursday morning, the day after the Big Wednesday $36 million Lotto draw and the numbers 19, 9, 11, 39, 24 and 28 are still flashing before your eyes. You are the winner. At last every problem solved all at once. But is winning all it seems to be or would all your dreams actually turn into nightmares? Lotteries are nothing new, they existed way back in the Roman times where they were used to determine guilty people and to select politicians. Now days there is a huge attraction to want to win the “Big One”, but why do people play, one explanation is that it costs only a small amount of dollars to get the chance to win a very large jackpot. The winners of the $36 million from Masterton spent only $12 on their ticket, it was their first time every playing and the next thing they are instant millionaires. According to peoples experiences winners usually respond in two ways, either to heck with it and share it al until it’s gone or to seal up and trust no one. For instance one couple won $793,151 and spent it all in just seven weeks. Life would never be the same, you could do anything you wanted. What a relief it would be to pay your mortgage and bills, maybe get that home theatre you’ve always wanted, or better still, your parents could finally pay you all that pocket money that they owe you, plus a little bonus or two.

Have you ever been in a situation where you can’t decide what colour I-pod or cell phone to get? No need to waste time thinking, tell the shop assistant you will take one of every colour. Dilemma solved. Many people gain a lot of satisfaction and fulfillment by been in the position of been able to give a lot of money away to charities, churches and to their family and friends. One of the recent $36 million dollar winners, commented that she would buy a new ambulance for her district. My mum said if she won millions that she would buy a new rescue helicopter and she would help train more pilots. However, winning millions of dollars has been known to cause more headaches and nightmares than ever before. There would be the big decision whether to keep your winnings a secret or to tell the whole world. But lets face it, it would be tricky to keep that kind of news a secret especially when you come from a small town like Masterton or Te Awamutu, where everyone knows everyone. Picture trying to disguise yourself going to claim your prize At he New Zealand Lotteries commission in Wellington. Would you wear a wig and sun- Glasses or maybe even change your voice? Author Edward Ugel who wrote the book “Money for Nothing. One Mans Journey through the dark Side of Lottery Millions” states lottery winners walk around with a “bulls-eye painted on their back”. They become perfect targets for all kinds of people to take aim such as real estate agents, insurance agents, financial advisors and wait for it… even your closest friends and most trusted family!! According to research, the downfalls are many.

Privacy destroyed, strained relationships, phone disconnections to keep the media away and all those unwanted relatives arriving on the doorstep are just a few. Personally I think that winning the lotto doesn’t always solve your problems. But I guess I could maybe handle winning a million or two. With plenty of sound advice I would put money away and take my time to make plans of how to spend my windfall. I would wait until I had claimed my prize before I tell too many people because the wider the circle of people you do tell, the greater chance of the media finding out about your win. As you can clearly see winning the“Big one” is not that black and white. The Lotteries campaign for advertising gives the impression that life will be happy ever after. What would you honestly do if you were to ever be in this position? Your dreams would become reality but watch out for those nightmares. So, will I see you in the queue at the lotto shop this Wednesday with a dreamy look on your face?

You can listen to my speech here. media type="custom" key="4253311"